INDIA NEWS
July 16-31, 2022 - Vol 3, Issue 1
EDUCATION
STUDENT MENTORING AND RESEARCH TRAINING (SMART) PROGRAM June-August 2022
Bennett University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Australia-based Institute for Australia India Engagement (IAIE) to create opportunities for students to undertake internships in Australia. As a part of the MoU students are inducted into the Student Mentoring and Research Training (SMART) program which provides research and leadership training and mentoring and an opportunity to design, edit and publish commentaries on Australia-India relationship, for the INDIA NEWS and IAIE’s SMART Newsletter. Program Coordinator: Ms. Anushka Saxena, IAIE Adjunct Fellow, and post-graduate student, O.P. Jindal Global University Page Editor: Ms. Pooja Lakshmi, Student, BBA LLB Hons., Bennett University Commentators: Ms. Isha Raje, Ms Yashi Sharma, Ms. Sreejoni Baruah, Mr. Ishan Vats, Mr. Yuvraj Singh, Ms. Maitreyi Upadhyay and Ms. Pooja
Watershed Moment in Bilateral Ties Co-operation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) between India and Australia, which aims to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion in five years while facilitating the movement of people, goods, and services across borders.
By Pooja Lakshmi, BBA LLB Hons. Student, Bennett University Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his former counterpart Scott Morrison witnessed the signing of the Economic
Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the agreement with Australia as a “watershed moment in bilateral ties,” and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal anticipates that it will contribute 10 lakh new employment to the nation over the following five years. According to the agreement, which will facilitate work visas for Indian students in Australia for two to four years on a “reciprocal basis” and allow Indian chefs and yoga practitioners to work Down Under, “together we will be able to increase the resilience
of supply chains, and also contribute to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region,” he said. Indian exports to Australia have been expanding at a rapid rate. The agreement will provide for zero duty access on over 96 percent of Indian exports, including several laborintensive industries, according to Mr. Goyal and according to Mr. Morrison, for Australian producers, manufacturers, and farmers, among many others, the agreement opens a massive door into the world’s fastest expanding major economy. Australia’s trade, tourism, and industry minister Dan Trehan said in a joint statement with Mr. Morrison that “tariffs will be eliminated on more than 85% of Australian goods exports to India (valued at more than $12.6 billion annually), rising to almost 91 % (valued at $13.4 billion over 10 years)”.
India-Australia Critical Mineral Partnership cobalt. These minerals are used everywhere right from making mobile phones, electric vehicles, green technologies like solar panels and wind turbines, and computers to batteries.
global production. According to International Energy Agency, was responsible for some 70% and 60% of global production of cobalt and rare earth elements, respectively, in 2019.
Significance of this partnership
Stand of different countries around this issue
Since India has to fulfill its emissions and also India needs critical minerals for the space and defense industries, Australia can help India fulfill these ambitions with its resources. By Sreejoni Baruah, BA LLB Student, Bennett University Recently both India and Australia decided to strengthen their partnership in critical minerals, where Australia committed USD 5.8 million to the three-year India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership. Critical minerals are the building blocks of important modern-day technologies and are at risk of supply chain disruptions. Different countries make their own lists depending on their own needs and other considerations. Mostly included are graphite, lithium, and
India has a strong interest in diversifying its bilateral partnership with Australia through critical minerals and similar projects, this will also help India in expanding global trade and supply chains. The China Challenge China is the world’s largest producer of 16 critical minerals, as per the 2019 US Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries report. China refines around 50-70% for lithium and cobalt, 35% for nickel, and nearly 90% for rare earth elements.
Recently, the UK revealed its new Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre to study critical minerals in near future.
Though the Chinese Officials claim that the initiative is to protect the trade interests of China, it is clear that China is trying to grow its presence in the Indian Ocean Region. The region is very crucial for India as about two-thirds of India’s oil imports and half of the liquified gas pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Not only India but other Southeast Asian countries and Oceania are also dependent on the IOR as their majority maritime trade passes through the region. By Ishaan Vats, BA LLB Hons. Student, Bennett University Since 1962, with a dispute over the Aksai Chin region in the Himalayas, China has come a long way to continuously threaten the territorial integrity of India. The threat to India is not only posed at the borders but also through the sea routes as China under the Belt and Road Initiative (formerly known as the One Belt One Road or OBOR Initiative) is establishing military bases in India’s neighbour, Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka, Gwadar Port in Pakistan, etc. which is also famously known as the String of Pearls Policy (a name given by the United States in 2004).
The United States, after ordering a review of vulnerabilities in its critical minerals supply chains, has shifted its focus on expanding production, domestic mining, processing, and recycling of critical minerals. As of 2020, different countries, have launched a map of critical mineral deposits to help governments to find out options to expand the sources of their critical minerals.
China is also responsible for
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Thus, it is necessary for these countries especially India (in the light of the recent Sea Guardians 2 naval exercise between China and Pakistan) to have a stable relationship with each other to cope with the growing presence of China in the Indian Ocean Region and to combat China during the standoffs. Towards this India has taken significant steps such as actively participating in the ASEAN, QUAD, and other dialogues. India has also built strong relationships with Iran and Bangladesh which led to the stationing of the Indian Naval Force at the Chabahar Port in Iran and the Chittagong Port in Bangladesh.
Job and Skills in the Digital Transformation: A Gender Perspective
India has set, up KABIL, or the Khanij Bidesh India Limited, to ensure the mineral security of the nation.
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String of Pearls: Can China dominate the IOR?
By Yashi Sharma, BA LLB Hons. Student, Bennett University The nature and substance of occupations are changing as a result of the digital revolution, and this has an impact on the skills that are in demand. However, a sizable portion of the workforce may lack the abilities needed in this new technological paradigm and runs the risk of being left behind in a labour market that is heavily reliant on digital technology. Evidence from the “computer revolution”
of the 1980s and 1990s suggests that women may benefit more from digitalization than men due to their superior cognitive abilities compared to manual or motor skills and their superior interpersonal skills, which have become more crucial with the spread of computers. The existence of gender-specific returns to skills, which are investigated by keeping the skill endowment of workers constant, is one of the factors contributing to the persistence of gender wage inequalities. In other words, men are found to not only be better equipped with the abilities that are most in demand in the digital age, but they are also compensated higher for those skills in industries that rely heavily on technology. While gender disparities still exist in many aspects of economies and society, tremendous progress has been made in recent decades to support girls’ education in all nations, regardless of economic development level. Closing
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