HEADING 1

OCTOBER 2019 | EDITION 3

ECONOMIC

POLICY

SOCIAL POLICY REGIONAL

INTEGRATION

GOVERNANCE

Is it the festivities first or the environment?

BY AMISHA

The festival of lights, vigor and joy is getting hazy under the influence of air and noise pollution. The bright

colorful crackers and zestful rockets are the reason why children and adults alike enjoy this festival to the

fullest. The debate around Diwali’s fire crackers has taken many grounds. The question and the debate revolve

around on what cost people are celebrating. The fire crackers have sparked many controversies amongst

government, public and the environmentalists. Over the years country’s pollution rate is rising to levels

higher than usual. These increasing numbers have become ubiquitous. The spike in the air pollution level is

alarming and the environment is getting hazardous. Despite the ban by government the pollution levels have

not come down this year either. The backdrop of the consensus that exits amongst government agencies and

the law also demands the banning of fire crackers.

OCTOBER 25, 2019 CPRG NEWSLETTER EDITION 3 It is mainly because bursting fire crackers creates mammoth air pollution during Diwali. Release of toxic smoke like

sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide from crackers soars every year that causes environmental damage and health

ailments like asthma and bronchitis. Harmful effects of chemicals like copper, cadmium, lead, magnesium, sodium, zinc

and nitrate used in crackers can cause irritation of respiratory tract, anemia and damage to kidney, affect the nervous

system cause mental fume fever, skin diseases and mental impairment. Some questions of concern pinch here. Why

people let this pollution escalates every year? Why people well aware of their actions, choose to remain oblivious to this

grim problem that affects their children and future generation that has no immediate remedy. This has almost become an

annual affair. No one follows the rules formulated.

The question is, are people willing to comply with the order? Will measures be taken to control other sources of pollution

such as factory emissions and vehicular pollution? Most people think that the ban on fire crackers would put a blanket on

their religious and cultural identities; while the other school of thought wants the complete ban on fire crackers and that

doing this would be a pragmatic approach. The Supreme Court over the years has come up with many solutions of

reducing the time limit of bursting crackers to complete ban but it has only caused chaos in the country. Many claim that

the Supreme Court has failed to look in through that lens of religious and cultural paradigm. This brings us to the debate

of whether the government takes precedence of green brigade over religious brigade?1 The festival of lights also

conceals a dark underside. Firecrackers, the symbol of festivity, saliently reminds of child laborers engaged illegally in

hazardous firecrackers manufacturing industry. The complete ban would help them be out of the harmful business. Like

many other countries, India also is trying to act in accordance with Explosive act, 1884 but their attempts are futile and

the quality of air continues to drop.

The impact on livelihoods and how the complete ban on would affect the manufactures is another factor in this

paradigm.2 Many advocates have been debating about the proper enforcement of the policies and rehabilitation of these

1 https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=et+now+india+development+debate++fire+crackers 2 https://www.timesnownews.com/videos/et-now/shows/learn-about-diwali-beyond-gifts-lights-and-diyas-india-development-debate/44742

CPRG NEWSLETTER October 25, 2019 EDITION 3

people. The consequences faced by the people involved in this sector must have some beneficial ramifications of how the

complete ban would not harm them and their families. The state must have a mechanism to make this a successful plan.

There is also a mixed bag of reactions to all the cultural religious and social changes that are going to accompany the ban

of fireworks but whatever measures are taken every year to lessen noise and air pollution, ultimately get hazes in the

heavy smoke of the crackers.

Diwali firecrackers damage ecology as much as other regular pollutants pollute the environment over the years.

Aftermaths of the celebration gets even worst with roads littered and remnants of fireworks

Over the last few years the national capital of India has primarily been the center of the debate. 3Delhi’s air pollution

level rises higher than the permissible levels by the WHO. The national capital sees a massive rise in pollution levels during

Diwali, which makes the air in the region extremely toxic. The phenomenon is blamed on the burning of crop stubble by

farmers in Punjab and Haryana, as well as construction activities and Diwali festivities during a season with low wind

speeds, which prevent pollutants from settling down. This leads to major smog over Delhi making the capital city almost

unlivable. This is a special argument from the Supreme Court that this pollution keeps on adding, making Delhi congested

and unfit for survival.

3 https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Opinion/2017-10-12/Why-it-is-a-good-idea-to-ban-Diwali-crackers/332664

OCTOBER 25, 2019 CPRG NEWSLETTER EDITION 3

HEADING 1

OCTOBER 2019 | EDITION 4

ECONOMIC

POLICY

SOCIAL POLICY REGIONAL

INTEGRATION

GOVERNANCE

Davos of the Desert

BY AAKRITI KANDOI

The recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi Arabia marked the beginning of a

strategic relationship between both the countries from a simple buyer-seller relationship to better

investment and long term ties. New Delhi and Riyadh have been on an upswing over the last two

decades based on burgeoning energy ties but the recent visit focused more on deeper involvement

of Indian companies in downstream oil and gas sector projects in the Gulf nation.

CPRG NEWSLETTER October 25, 2019 EDITION 3

The relationship with Saudi Arabia is one of the key pillars of India’s Middle East policy. Apart from major source

of oil, jobs, and remittances, it is also a destination for over 400,000 Indians who go to the country for Hajj or

Umra every year. In recent decades, with India’s rise as a major player in world politics and economy, Saudi

Arabia has come to realise the importance of maintaining strong ties with India. India has been a natural choice

for an economic and developmental partnership in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify its relationships by

engaging various Asian countries.

Security Cooperation and intelligence is an important element of partnership between both the countries. Saudi

Arabia has been targeted by the Islamic State (IS) militants operating from neighbouring Iraq and Syria. India is

continuously suffering from the menace of terrorism perpetrated by Pakistan and internal security issues.

Therefore, the rise of terrorism has been a concern for both the countries which has eventually led to signing of

agreements on intelligence sharing and issues of terror financing between both the super powers. Modi

emphasised on the importance of entering into agreements on security cooperation, collaboration in defence

industries, and to hold a comprehensive security dialogue mechanism between both the countries. iHe also

called for ‘a balanced approach to resolve the conflicts, while respecting the principles of sovereignty and non-

interference in each other’s internal matters’.ii

OCTOBER 25, 2019 CPRG NEWSLETTER EDITION 3 In the lines of business investment Prime Minister Modi made a keynote address at the Future Investment

Initiative summit in Riyadh on October 29th, 2019 listing the attractiveness of the Indian Economy and inviting

the global business men to invest in India. He said the government has undertaken major policy reforms and

would continue to take measures to boost the growth of the economy. He highlighted India’s improvement in

the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking where it reached 63rd position from 142 in five years

specifying that India’s business environment was friendly for kingdom’s investment. iiiHe also mentioned about

India’s major flagship initiatives, like Make in India, Digital India, Skill India, Swachh Bharat, Smart Cities and

Startup India, which are offering a lot of opportunities to foreign investors. Call for investment in infrastructure

was made where he mentioned that the crown prince, in February 2019 had indicated the intent to invest in

excess of $100 billion in India across various sectors. He welcomed greater Saudi investments in India’s

infrastructure projects, including the Smart Cities program, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.iv

Speaking on energy terms, Saudi Arabia is the second largest source of crude oil for India, importing nearly 18%

of crude oil from the oil exporting nation. Modi also emphasised on the kingdom’s vital role on India’s energy

requirements and Saudi Aramco’s participation in India’s strategic petroleum reserves. Saudi Aramco, Saudi

Arabia’s state energy group, is set to acquire a 20% stake in Reliance Industries’ (RIL) oil-to-chemical business

for an enterprise value of $75 billion.v This acquirement will allow Reliance Oil Refinery to process crude oil at a

larger rate and catalyse its mission to expand its capacity to two million BPD (barrels per day) by 2030. Such an

investment will give India an opportunity to market its footprint on a global platform.

India and Saudi Arabia are trying to wield their foreign policies to improve their strategic relationship. Both the

countries have realised that they would benefit more by harnessing on their national interest instead of letting

third parties dictate their bilateral relationship. The relationship can scale heights if leaders of both the

countries fructify their talks and agreements.

CPRG NEWSLETTER October 25, 2019 EDITION 3

i www.pib.com ii www.pib.com iii www.timesofindia.com iv www.narendramodi.in v www.quartz.com

OCTOBER 2019 | EDITION 3

RUSSIA: INDIA’s LNG GATEWAY

BY MANAN PAHWA

During the cold war India and Soviet Union had a strong strategic, military and diplomatic relationship. After the collapse

of USSR, Russia inherited its close relationship with India which resulted in a special relationship which also translated in

the energy sector. Russia and India have a long history of cooperation in the energy sector and the prospects for the

development of the energy dialogue are as promising now as they were during the period of friendship between soviet

union and India in fact since the late 2000s the Russia – India energy partnerships has been enjoying a renaissance.

OCTOBER 25, 2019 CPRG NEWSLETTER EDITION 3 Energy sector is an important area in Indo- Russian bilateral relations. In 2001, ONGC – Videsh acquired 20% stake in

Sakhalin – I oil and gas project in the Russian Federation and has invested about US $ 1.7 billion in the project. Gazprom

the Russian company and gas authority of India have collaborated in joint development of a block in the Bay of Bengal.

India the world’s third largest consumer and importer aims to raise the proportion of gas in its energy mix to 15% in the

next few years and diversify its energy supply to hedge against geopolitical risk. Modi who wants to cut India’s oil imports

by 10% by 2022 is steering efforts to buy foreign energy assets taking advantage of low global oil prices and a slowdown in

china’s overseas acquisitions.

The Saudi Aramco attack open some window of opportunities for India and Russia who are working to increase the

supplies of Russian crude oil to Indian refiners in the light of a supply disruption in Saudi Arabia. PM Modi’s recent visit to

Russia in Vladivostok saw many MOU’S being signed between two countries, these included MOU’s between ministry of

energy of the Russian federation and the ministry of petroleum and natural gas of the republic of India on the use of

natural gas for transportation and expansion of cooperation in oil and gas sector. MOU’s between the joint stock

companies NOVATEK and PETRONET LNG limited on cooperation with respect to the joint development of downstream

LNG business and LNG supplies. Besides investing in each other’s future LNG projects, Novatek and H energy plan to set

up a joint venture to market Russian LNG in India, Bangladesh and other markets. On top of this Indian gas company GAIL

which has a 20 year contract to buy LNG from Gazprom is looking to acquire a minority stake in the Arctic LNG -2 project

led by Novatek.

REFERENCES -

1) (n.d.). Retrieved from https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=193002.

2) Bureau, O. (2019, September 26). Saudi Aramco attack fallout: India to increase crude oil supplies from

Russia. Retrieved from https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/saudi-aramco-attack-fallout-

india-to-increase-crude-oil-supplies-from-russia/article29441530.ece.

CPRG NEWSLETTER October 25, 2019 EDITION 3

3) Reuters. (2019, September 4). India and Russia target $30 billion in trade by 2025, announce new energy

deals. Retrieved from https://www.livemint.com/news/india/india-and-russia-target-30-billion-in-trade-

by-2025-announce-new-energy-deals-1567607174631.html.

4) YenNee_Lee. (2019, October 4). Russia can help India to be less dependent on oil, says Indian energy

minister. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/04/russia-can-help-india-be-less-dependent-on-

oil-indian-energy-minister.html.

Pti. (2018, June 4). India gets cheapest LNG as Russia's Gazprom begins supplies - Times of India. Retrieved

from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/india-gets-cheapest-lng-as-russias-gazprom-

begins-supplies/articleshow/64450442.cms