Latest news with #CDS
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
CDS General Anil Chauhan meets Japan's Chief of Staff to reinforce defence ties
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan interacted with General Yoshida Yoshihide, Chief of Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces ( JSDF ), to reinforce defence ties between India and Japan. The interaction took place on Thursday as part of ongoing efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region . Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Others healthcare Technology Product Management MCA Operations Management Data Science Data Analytics Public Policy Leadership Project Management Digital Marketing PGDM others MBA Data Science Artificial Intelligence Management Cybersecurity CXO Healthcare Finance Design Thinking Degree Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT-ISB Transforming HR with Analytics & AI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 months IIM Lucknow SEPO - IIML CHRO India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 28 Weeks MICA CERT-MICA SBMPR Async India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 28 Weeks MICA CERT-MICA SBMPR Async India Starts on undefined Get Details In a post on X, the Integrated Defence Staff said, "General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff interacts with Gen. YOSHIDA Yoshihide, Chief of Staff, JSDF to reinforce defence ties between India and Japan. General Chauhan conveyed best wishes to General Yoshida on his superannuation, appreciating his contributions in strengthening Defence Cooperation between both nations. He also extended greetings to Gen. HIROAKI Uchikura, who will assume the appointment as the next Chief of Staff, JSDF, expressing confidence that the strong momentum in bilateral military ties will continue to grow. CDS reaffirmed India's commitment to deepen Strategic Cooperation with Japan in the Indo-Pacific." General Chauhan's message reaffirmed India's strategic commitment to enhancing cooperation with Japan, especially in light of the evolving regional security environment. Separately, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi , Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), is currently on an official visit to Japan. As part of the visit, he paid tributes at the Memorial Cenotaph and reviewed a Guard of Honour. He also held discussions with Admiral Saito Akira, Chief of Staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF). Live Events The Indian Navy said the two naval chiefs discussed steps to strengthen cooperation and synergy between the two navies. These include enhanced operational engagements, interoperability, exchange of best practices, collaborative capacity building, and training exchange initiatives. According to the Ministry of Defence, The visit is part of ongoing efforts to consolidate bilateral defence relations between India and Japan, in line with the deepening 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership,' with a focus on maritime cooperation. Discussions are expected to cover a broad range of defence cooperation areas, with a particular focus on maritime security, technological collaboration, and exploring new opportunities for naval synergy and interoperability. The Chief of the Naval Staff is also scheduled to visit JMSDF units and interact with the Commander-in-Chief of the Self-Defence Fleet at the Funakoshi JMSDF Base, the Ministry added. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
Scroll.in
18 hours ago
- Business
- Scroll.in
Why the Indian government has struggled to protect skilled overseas labourers in the Gulf
Most Indians migrate with dreams of a better future, wrote Irudaya Rajan, a highly regarded and longstanding researcher on labour migration. 'But far too often, they are seen only in a reductive manner, as people sending remittances to the home country.' Over the past three decades, ever since the World Trade Organization came into being and India began to focus on services trade, official policy on out-migration of labour has been shaped by the desire to earn foreign exchange and to find an employment outlet that eases the burden of population at home. Based in Kerala, home to millions of labour migrants to the Gulf, Irudaya Rajan has long complained both about the inadequate database on labour migration and the absence of adequate infrastructure to support migrant workers, despite their growing importance both to the Indian economy and the economies of the Gulf. West Asia has had an intimate economic and social link with the Indian subcontinent for centuries, especially with regions along the Indian west coast from Gujarat down to Kerala. Arab traders were regular visitors all along the western coastline and Gujarati and Malayalee merchants had extensive links into the Arab world. Following the 'oil shocks' of the 1970s, when crude oil prices shot up, an economic boom in the region ensued. The construction and consumption boom that followed created a huge demand for labour in the construction and services sectors. Muslims from the Malabar region of Kerala were the first to seize the opportunity, given their historic links with the Arab world, but thousands of semi-skilled and skilled workers went across the Arabian Sea from the 1970s onwards. My batchmate in the MPhil course (1976–78) at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Trivandrum, Raju Kurian, was among the first to study, as part of his MPhil dissertation, the emerging trend of rising migration from Kerala to the Gulf. The CDS has since become an important repository of research on Indian labour migration to the Gulf. Beginning with a few thousand labour migrants per year in the 1970s, the numbers rose sharply in the 1980s and 1990s to touch 3 million in 2000. By 2023, it was estimated that close to 9 million Indians were residents in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This sustained and high level of labour migration from India to the Gulf was not regulated under any bilateral or multilateral framework. The Government of India enacted the Emigration Act 1983 to ensure oversight on the recruitment and passage of labour going overseas. Over time, some bilateral treaties have been signed, yet issues like conditions and terms of work, security of tenure, health and social security and related issues remain problem areas. Despite all this, and considerable publicity in the media on the travails of Gulf workers, hundreds of thousands continue to go there in search of jobs, given the relatively better incomes earned. Remittances home by migrants in the region have risen sharply with total inward remittances, including from workers in other countries, adding up to well over $100 billion. Researchers and activists have pointed to the need for changes to the 1983 Emigration Act aimed at enabling the government to better protect the rights of emigrant workers, especially in the non-democratic countries of the Gulf, where human rights protection is lacking. The Government of India's eMigrate Project is an online system that links the Protector General of Emigrants and Protector of Emigrants to Indian diplomatic missions and the relevant offices of the Ministry of External Affairs. It allows recruiting and insurance agencies, overseas employers, project-based labour exporters and workers opting to migrate to link into a single information network. All foreign employers are required to register with the eMigrate system and secure permission to recruit, declaring the terms and conditions of employment. As Rupa Chanda and Pralok Gupta note, the importance that successive Indian governments have been attaching to this labour outsourcing is testified to by the fact that the government has several offices in place to protect the interests of overseas workers. These include the Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Overseas Workers Resources Centre, Migration Research Centre and the Pre-departure Orientation and Training programme. Despite such efforts, migrant labour, especially those located in the Gulf countries, continues to face various problems ranging from being cheated by recruiting agents, being denied full payment of dues, and inadequate housing and provision for medical emergencies and assistance. The Government of India has from time to time used the bilateral route to extend some degree of protection to migrant labour. While local politicians in states like Kerala are focused on the rights of migrant labour, little attention is paid by the national leadership unless there is some crisis or tragedy, as occurs from time to time in the Gulf countries. In a study of India's diaspora diplomacy in the Gulf, Levaillant observes how important diaspora labour welfare management had become for Indian diplomats and to Indian diplomacy in the region. Yet, the lack of adequate funding has impeded diplomatic effort, argues Levaillant. 'Added to this resource issue is the important fact that India's diplomacy in the Gulf rests on a paradox: although diplomats have made increasing efforts to promote Indian migrants' rights, their political priority is directed towards maintaining emigration flows.' Given the importance attached by the government both to sustaining dollar remittance in flows and securing employment opportunities for Indians in the region, officials and diplomats are unwilling to overstep their brief in defending the interests of labour. India presently has bilateral treaties with most GCC countries that ensure that immigrant labour is covered by the same labour laws that apply to local labour, but such protection is not always forthcoming and weakly enforced. They also specify conditions regarding qualifications, benefits, facilities and entitlements of workers, protection of repatriation of income and so on. These treaties provide for joint working groups that ensure their implementation and have become necessary in the absence of any regional or multilateral treaty extending such protection. Apart from Saudi Arabia, none of the other GCC member-countries has as yet agreed to sign up to the Mode 4 component of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It is neither a bilateral agreement nor a multilateral treaty but the simple dynamics of Gulf sociology and demography that have created the demand for Indian labour. In many GCC countries, few among the local population are either trained to or willing to perform the tasks that South Asian labour has been willing to and capable of performing. Resource- and cash-rich GCC countries import labour from most South Asian countries as well as some South-east Asian ones to meet the demand generated by their wealth and prosperity. While Indian analysts and policymakers worry about the danger of this demand petering out over time, and its consequences for the home country that has been benefiting from inward remittances, the Gulf continues to attract immigrants from India. Not just workers and maids, nor drivers and office assistants, but the Indian wealthy, the so-called HNIs. Even as the Gulf demand for labour tapers off, new opportunities are opening up in a world where, for one reason or another, there are episodic labour shortages and India is a willing exporter of labour. As mentioned previously, countries as diverse as Israel and Taiwan have opened up to Indian labour. More recently, so have Greece and Italy. A premier business newspaper reported, after focusing on migration and mobility pacts, that the government is now exploring agreements with developed economies to send skilled workers in the construction, farm and manufacturing sectors, stating, 'These pacts would be along the lines of the deal signed with Israel earlier this year. Greece has approached India for sending up to 10,000 seasonal agricultural workers, while Italy has sought workers to staff municipal bodies in its emptying towns, people in the know said.' Apart from such legal migration, illegal migration is also on the rise. We mentioned the rising numbers of Indians, including from the developed state of Gujarat, entering the US illegally through the Mexican and Canadian borders. Many of the industrial economies of Europe are facing a shortage of manpower and are willing to liberalise their immigration policy to attract labour from developing countries. This source of demand is being driven by global demographics, with declining population growth in developed countries and India is emerging as home to the world's biggest and youngest population. Rising unemployment over the past decade has forced many young Indians to seek even high-risk jobs in countries at war.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'PM Modi surrendered to Pakistan, using military to protect image': Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha
NEW DELHI: Accusing of using the defence forces to "protect his image", leader of opposition in LS on Tuesday said govt "surrendered" before by telling it within moments of that it did not intend to escalate or attack military installations. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He said Modi had "blood of people of Pahalgam" on his hands, and he sent the air force to "protect his image". Rahul asked the PM to realise "the nation is above your image" and not to "sacrifice the armed forces and national interests for your own petty political gains". Rahul said govt showed a lack of political will and did not give the forces "freedom of operation", and cited US President Donald Trump claiming 29 times that he forced a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan. More than once, he challenged the PM to announce that Trump is a liar and did not force "ceasefire" and India did not lose any planes, egging Modi to say this if "you have even 50% courage of Indira Gandhi". Rahul said Modi govt avoided naming "China" in its remarks, but the reality is that India fought Pakistan fused with China militarily, reminding he was laughed at when he had warned about it earlier in LS. "Govt thought they were fighting Pakistan... but realised they were fighting China," he said, quoting Lt Gen Rahul Singh's recent revelations that Pakistan was getting live battlefield information from China. "If you had listened to me, you would not have lost five planes. " He said govt should not allow India to become a "battlefield for big powers". He cited the revelations of CDS Anil Chauhan and defence attache in Indonesia Captain Shiv Kumar, even as he urged the CDS to come out with a statement that the forces were hobbled by the political brass. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "May be Rajnath does not understand what he revealed... that DGMO was told by govt to ask for ceasefire at 1.35am on the day of operation... surrender in 30 minutes," Rahul said. He said Rajnath's comparison of the 1971 war and Operation Sindoor was jarring because then PM Indira Gandhi had rebuffed US President Richard Nixon and the US seventh fleet, and finished the job. He was severe on EAM S Jaishankar, whose claim of "new normal" and of govt having deterred Pakistan was picked apart with the argument that Pahalgam mastermind and Pakistan army chief Feild Marshal Asim Munir was hosted by Trump in the White House for lunch, while the US Central Command head is presently having a discussion with Munir on how to fight terrorism.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Only time will tell if Operation Sindoor was decisive: Chidambaram
Targeting the Government for agreeing on a ceasefire after Operation Sindoor, Congress MP P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that India's military leadership during the operation following the Pahalgam attack was exemplary, but the political leadership was 'thoroughly disappointing.' 'If you ask me 'was Operation Sindoor strong?' I would say yes. If you ask me 'was Operation Sindoor successful?' I would say yes. If you ask me 'Was Operation Sindoor decisive?' I can only say time will tell…' he said. 'On December 16, 1971, there was a historic victory when General Niazi surrendered to General Jagjit Singh Aurora, along with 93,000 soldiers…That was a decisive victory. On the contrary, Operation Sindoor ended with a ceasefire,' he said. Chidambaram said the military leadership was exemplary because it had been 'candid and forthright'. Referring to a statement by CDS General Anil Chauhan on Operation Sindoor, he said, 'I call them candid, forthright and transparent because he (the CDS) admitted tactical mistakes, re-strategising and admitted loss.' However, Chidambaram said, 'The government has so far not acknowledged the security failure and the intelligence failure' in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. 'I took over as home minister the day after (2008) Mumbai terror attack ended on Dec 1. Within a few days, I flew to Bombay, and said I admit security failure, intelligence failure, and I regret the failure. Why can't the Government say that?' Chidambaram also spoke about 'home- grown' terrorism. 'There are foreign terrorists infiltrated by Pak… but remember there are also India based terrorists…' he said, adding that sometimes they work together as well.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Why do you assume that they came from Pakistan?': Chidambaram's remark on Pahalgam attackers stirs row; BJP hits back
P Chidambaram NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and former home minister P Chidambaram has raised several questions about the Union government's handling of the Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent Operation Sindoor . In an interview with news outlet The Quint, Chidambaram said the government has not provided enough information and accused it of being unwilling to share key details. "Where are the terrorist attackers? Why have you not apprehended them, or even identified them? A news item had emerged about the arrest of a few people who gave the attackers shelter. What happened to them?" he asked, referring to the April 22 attack in Jammu and Kashmir 's Pahalgam that killed 26 people. Chidambaram also pointed out what he called the lack of a clear official information. "We get snatches and bits of information from different officers. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) goes to Singapore and makes a statement that give you bits of information. The deputy army chief makes a statement in Mumbai. In Indonesia, a junior officer of the Navy makes a statement. But why is the PM or the defence minister, or the foreign minister not making a comprehensive statement?" he said. Asked what he believed the government was trying to hide, Chidambaram responded, "I think, and this is speculation, I think they are hiding the fact that we made tactical mistakes (during Operation Sindoor), and we re-strategised... by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pirates Climb Aboard Cargo Ship - Watch What The Captain Did Next Tips and Tricks Undo The CDS hinted at that. What tactical mistakes were made? What was the re-strategising? Either the BJP government is incompetent to answer these questions, or it is unwilling to do so. " He also questioned the role of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the investigation. "They are unwilling to disclose what the NIA has done all these weeks. Have they identified the terrorists, where they came from? For all we know, they could be homegrown terrorists. Why do you assume that they came from Pakistan? There's no evidence of that," he said. Chidambaram further added, "They are also hiding the losses. I said it in a column that in a war, losses will occur on both sides. I understand that India would have suffered losses. Be upfront." His comments come ahead of a scheduled debate in Parliament from Monday, where the ruling BJP and the Opposition are set to discuss the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor. Meanwhile, the BJP hit back at Chidambaram's remarks, accusing the Congress of defending Pakistan. BJP leader Amit Malviya said, 'Once again, the Congress rushes to give a clean chit to Pakistan — this time after the Pahalgam terror attack." He added, "Why is it that every time our forces confront Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Congress leaders sound more like Islamabad's defence lawyers than India's opposition?'
