
India puts Indus Waters Treaty on hold: What it signifies
In a bold diplomatic offensive against Pakistan following the deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has decided to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 in abeyance with immediate effect.The decision, taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting of the country's highest decision-making body on national security, reflected an unprecedented shift in India's strategic posture, as the government declared that the treaty will remain suspended until Pakistan "credibly and irreversibly" abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.advertisementWHAT IS INDUS WATERS TREATY?Brokered by the World Bank and signed in 1960, the Indus Waters Treaty has long been hailed as a rare instance of sustained cooperation between India and Pakistan. Under the agreement, India was granted exclusive control over the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — while Pakistan was given rights over the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — despite their origins in Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir.
The treaty has endured through wars and diplomatic breakdowns, but the recent attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of security personnel and civilians, appears to have redrawn the lines.The CCS concluded that Pakistan's continued support for terrorism violates the very spirit of the treaty. Rather than a formal withdrawal, India is opting to freeze all treaty-related cooperation — including technical meetings, data sharing, and water flow notifications.HOW WILL IT IMPACT PAKISTAN?advertisementThe decision is poised to have far-reaching consequences for Pakistan. The country is heavily dependent on the Indus River system for its agriculture, which forms the backbone of its economy. Nearly 90% of Pakistan's irrigation depends on water from the Indus basin. Any disruption — or even the perception of future disruption — in water supply from the western rivers could exacerbate water scarcity, reduce crop yields, and fuel domestic unrest, especially in the already water-stressed provinces of Punjab and Sindh.Strategically, India's move is aimed at applying pressure on Pakistan's establishment by converting a long-standing symbol of cooperation into a lever of deterrence. For years, India refrained from linking water diplomacy with terrorism, but the Pahalgam attack seems to have redrawn that line.The message is clear: Cross-border terror will now invite strategic costs. This shift could force Islamabad to reconsider its policy calculus, especially if international support for India's position builds.WHAT CAN PAKISTAN DO?On the international front, Pakistan may seek the World Bank's intervention — the treaty's guarantor. However, India is expected to argue that no country can expect the benefits of a peacetime agreement while actively undermining peace.New Delhi will likely emphasise that abeyance is a temporary suspension, not a breach, and that cooperation can resume once Pakistan takes verifiable steps against terror groups operating from its soil.advertisementDomestically, the CCS decision may put Pakistan's leadership under pressure. The military, which holds significant sway over national security and foreign policy, may be forced to respond with either de-escalation or heightened rhetoric. Civilian political parties, meanwhile, will face increasing pressure from their constituents — especially farmers — to ensure that water flow from India remains uninterrupted.India, meanwhile, is expected to accelerate development on a number of hydroelectric and storage projects along the western rivers — including Pakal Dul, Ratle, Kiru, and Sawalkot — all permissible under the treaty but often delayed due to Pakistani objections.With the treaty in abeyance, India could now proceed without engaging in traditional bilateral consultations.Must Watch
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Mint
28 minutes ago
- Mint
EV vs hybrid war: All clean fuel-run vehicles are equal for the PMO
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) believes the Centre needs to support all clean-fuel vehicles including hybrids, even as a rift widens in the Indian auto industry over hybrids being put on a par with pure electric vehicles (EVs). The stand, confirmed by two top government officials, comes after manufacturers of both electric and hybrid vehicles sought the Centre's favour after several state governments proposed incentivizing electric, hybrid and CNG vehicles equally. 'I do not understand why there is so much lobbying. State policies may differ, but the central government has supported both EVs and hybrids in clean mobility schemes. It cannot be that you incentivize one and not the other. The idea is to help all forms and all clean fuels," one of the two officials said on the condition of anonymity. The incentives for EVs and hybrids are aimed at reducing the country's fuel imports and carbon emissions. "All clean mobility initiatives which contribute to this have been incentivized so far, and will continue to be so," the second official said, also on the condition of anonymity. Govt support Mint reported on 6 June, quoting Union heavy industries minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, that the government would continue to support all forms of clean mobility, including hybrid vehicles, which combine the power of a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) with an electric motor, improving fuel efficiency while cutting down on emissions and fuel usage. Even in the past, the Centre supported hybrids and EVs alike in various subsidy schemes, including the second iteration of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India), which ran from 2018-19 to 2023-24. Also read | ARAI likely to plan division of auto testing agencies allocation Eventually, support for clean-fuel cars was removed under the PM E-Drive scheme (2023-24 to 2025-26). However, it continues to incentivize pure electric buses and electric and hybrid ambulances. The outlay for incentivising such ambulances is ₹500 crore till the end of FY26. Nevertheless, the Union government will continue to support policies to promote clean mobility through all possible means, including EVs, hybrid vehicles, as well as vehicles running on compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquified natural gas (LNG), among others, according to the government officials cited above. The EV vs hybrid war Mint reported on 24 April that the Delhi government had proposed to grant hybrid cars the same benefits as fully electric ones, raising concern among carmakers that had committed vast amounts to develop battery EVs, skipping hybrid technologies. The draft of the Delhi Electric Vehicles Policy 2.0 seeks to waive road tax and registration fees on electric cars priced up to ₹20 lakh ex-showroom and extend the benefit to strong hybrid EVs (SHEVs) and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) with a similar price cap as well. Also read | More than 6 lakh electric 2, 3-wheelers sold under PM E-Drive scheme since April An SHEV is typically a car in which an electric motor gives significant assistance to the combustion engine. PHEVs, as the name suggests, come with a charging port for the battery that drives the motor. These vehicles can also run exclusively on the electric motor. Uttar Pradesh was the first state to waive these charges for hybrid vehicles in July 2024. CAQM direction Meanwhile, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on 4 June also directed commercial vehicle operators to include 'clean' vehicles, including hybrids, in their fleets to help curb air pollution in the national capital. Worried about losing market share, EV makers have urged the Union government not to incentivize them on par with EVs. They have argued that parity between incentives for hybrids and pure EVs would push consumers towards hybrids, which are not zero-emission vehicles. Also read | Tata Motors pushes for e-taxi subsidy after exclusion from PM E-Drive India's EV market was valued at $54.41 billion in 2025, and the hybrid vehicle market at about $0.53 billion, according to market research company Mordor Intelligence. India's automobile market, the world's third-largest by sales, was valued at $137.06 billion. Clean-fuel clash India's major EV makers include Tata Motors Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, Kia India Pvt. Ltd, and JSW MG Motor India Ltd. The hybrid carmakers are led by Maruti Suzuki India Pvt. Ltd, Honda Cars India Ltd, and Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. 'Tata Motors believes that government incentives should be directed towards promoting zero-emission technologies such as EVs by bridging funding gaps, developing enabling infrastructure, and accelerating innovation to help them reach scale and maturity. Hybrid is an incremental and mature ICE technology, which is commercially viable and faces no funding or adoption barriers that typically warrant government support," said a Tata Motors spokesperson in an emailed statement. Also read | Subsidies on e-scooters to slide to ₹5,000 per scooter in Oct 2025 The spokesperson added that hybrids use fossil fuels, resulting in PM2.5, CO2, and other tailpipe emissions like any other ICE vehicles. Directing any incentives or subsidies toward them can divert India from its net-zero and energy security objectives. 'Viability gap' Rahul Bharti, senior executive officer, corporate affairs, Maruti Suzuki, countered the argument, saying that strong hybrid EVs reduce CO2 emissions by 25% to 31% over pure petrol vehicles and increase energy efficiency by 36% to 44%, but they still have a viability gap. 'So, the tax cannot be the same for a strong hybrid and a pure petrol/diesel vehicle. Data shows that wherever SHEVs have been incentivized, the sales of BEVs have not fallen at all; on the contrary, they have gone up. SHEVs will help reduce pure diesel/petrol cars, and that is in the national interest," he added. Also read | E-buses under PM E-drive to be used now for intercity, tourist travel While hybrid vehicle sales rose about 12% year-on-year to 365,024 in 2024-25, pure EV sales rose 17% to 1,967,313, showed data from the central government's Vahan portal. Queries emailed on 5 June to the PMO, on 6 June to Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai Motor India, Kia India, JSW MG Motor, Honda Cars, and Toyota Kirloskar Motor, and on 7 June to the heavy industries ministry, remained unanswered until the time of publishing this story. Experts weigh in The share of non-conventional fuels has increased to a fifth of total passenger vehicle volumes, as against less than 5% five years ago, said Srikumar Krishnamurthy, senior vice-president and co-group head, corporate ratings, Icra Ltd. 'Specifically, hybrids have seen better acceptance in the last one and a half years as they reduce carbon emissions while managing to achieve good ranges. While hybrids at this stage are a stop-gap solution as EV infrastructure is yet to mature, they are also playing a strategic role in achieving sustainability and with more product launches and better product quality, it has become more popular."


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
India's first envoy to Bolivia has a Gujarat connection, is a native of Okha
Ahmedabad: Rohitkumar Vadhwana, 44, made history when he was recently appointed as the first ambassador to the Plurinational State of Bolivia. He heads India's first mission in the South American country known for its natural resources. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now At La Paz, the highest capital city in the world at nearly 12,000 feet in the Andes mountains, Vadhwana has a tall task at hand. "Now, I am in La Paz, tasked with setting up an embassy from the ground up," explains the envoy with a Gujarat connection, the scale of the job evident in his voice. "First, we set up the office and recruit staff. It's a matter of laying the foundation of the Indian mission," says Vadhwana, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 2010 batch with an illustrious career. His path has taken him from Embassy of India in Iran to Indian High Commissions in the UK and Kenya. He also had a stint as deputy permanent representative to the UNEP and UN-Habitat during his tenure in Nairobi. Speaking to TOI about his 'unconventional' journey from the coastal town of Okha to the highlands of La Paz, he said, "I did not know about the Union Public Service Commission exams till I graduated in 2003. In Porbandar, he earned his LLB degree from Saurashtra University and also pursued an MA through distance learning. "It was advice from a well-wisher that put me on the path to becoming a civil servant. I enrolled at the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) in 2004-05 and other organisations for preparations," he said. In Ahmedabad, while he was preparing for his career in civil service, he also achieved a personal milestone – he met Femida Shaikh, the love of his life, and the couple eventually married. Vadhwana even took a year's break to address challenges of their inter-religious union. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The couple is now in La Paz, making new friends in the Spanish-speaking country. Vadhwana's family, including his parents and sister, are still in Okha. "I want to promote India's soft and hard power in the country," he says. "It is significant today as Bolivia celebrates its 200 years of independence this year, and India opening a diplomatic mission here is a symbolically high point in bilateral relations." The last fiscal year saw India exporting automobiles and pharmaceuticals to Bolivia and importing gold and fertilisers from Bolivia. It is trade of about $2.3 billion, which fell to less than half a billion dollars mainly due to the restriction of gold export from Bolivia, indicate official sources. "As a mission, we are committed to increasing bilateral trade," he said. "India is keen explore collaborations in critical sectors such as infrastructure, mining, minerals, and energy."


The Print
2 hours ago
- The Print
CJI Gavai emphasises transformative power of technology in enhancing access to justice
'The path forward demands adherence to fundamental principles. Technology must enhance rather than replace judicial functions, particularly reasoned decision-making and individual case assessment. We must ensure that automated systems support rather than supplant judicial judgment,' the CJI said. Speaking at the international symposium on 'The Role of Technology to Improve Access to Justice' at the University of Cambridge, CJI Gavai, however, said that technology must enhance the judicial functions and cannot be allowed to replace the decision making process. New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Monday emphasised the transformative power of technology in enhancing access to justice in a vast, diverse, and complex country like India. 'No revolution in the justice delivery mechanism can come without policy interventions. The governance frameworks that ensure human oversight, algorithmic transparency, and accountability for technology-mediated decisions should be developed,' he said. The CJI laid out a comprehensive vision for a more inclusive and responsive legal system, underpinned by digital innovation. 'Access to justice represents the backbone of any fair and equitable legal system. It ensures that all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic status, geographic location, or personal circumstances, can effectively participate in and benefit from legal processes,' he said. He said in a country where more than two-thirds of the population lives in rural areas and over 121 languages are spoken as mother tongues, ensuring equitable access to the courts is both a constitutional obligation and a moral imperative. He highlighted the foresight of Constitution makers, who enshrined mechanisms to guarantee access to justice, including Articles 32 and 226, which empower citizens to directly approach the Supreme Court and high courts for the protection of their rights. 'Recognizing access to justice as the cornerstone of any democracy, the framers of the Indian Constitution, with foresight, understood that without meaningful access to legal recourse, the rights enshrined within the Constitution would remain mere hollow promises for millions of citizens,' he said. 'Technology has become the bridge between the constitutional promise of justice and the lived experience of citizens,' he said. The CJI referred to several key initiatives that have digitally transformed the Indian judiciary and said now video conferencing has become a permanent fixture in courts and enables lawyers from remote areas to argue cases before the Supreme Court without costly and time-consuming travel. Barriers to access to justice are now being diluted with the help of technology, he said. 'Video conferencing technology has made the most impact on accessibility to the court. A lawyer practising in rural Bihar or rural Maharashtra can now appear before the Supreme Court without the expense and time of travelling to Delhi. 'It has democratized access to the country's highest court, ensuring that geographical location no longer determines the quality of legal representation available to citizens. Vulnerable witnesses, particularly children, can now testify without being physically present in intimidating courtroom environments,' he said. The CJI said with the use of technology, citizens can now track case status, download court orders, and view hearing schedules through the Case Information System, eliminating the need for physical presence. He also referred to the SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software) and said that this AI-powered translation tool converts legal documents into nine regional languages, empowering non-English speakers with access to critical information. Justice Gavai lauded the efforts of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), which leverages technology to extend its services to the most vulnerable. 'These innovations are not just conveniences; they are lifelines for those who would otherwise be left outside the judicial system,' the CJI noted. He hailed the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) as a game-changer in judicial transparency and performance monitoring. As of early 2025, the NJDG tracks more than 23 crore cases and 22 crore orders from over 18,000 courts, enabling data-backed policymaking and identifying procedural bottlenecks, he said. The CJI, however, cautioned that technology must not become a new barrier to justice as 'the digital divide is real'. Without equitable access to internet connectivity, devices, and digital literacy, marginalized communities risk further exclusion, he said. 'As we readily integrate technology in our quest to make justice more accessible, we must also acknowledge that technology can act as a double-edged sword, which may also lead to unparalleled divides. 'A primary concern is the digital divide, where unequal access to internet connectivity, devices, and digital literacy can lead to the exclusion of marginalized communities who already face barriers to justice. For technology to truly serve justice, accessibility and inclusion must be foundational to its design,' he added. PTI SJK KVK KVK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.