1. the primary goal of India’s external engagement has been
to seek peace and stability, enabling a supportive environment for pursuing our
nation’s multifarious development needs. This approach of foreign policy for
economic progress and development is nowhere more relevant than in our South
Asian neighbourhood and the extended neighbourhood, including Central Asia. The
President said South Asian neighbours are India’s highest priority in keeping
with its neighbourhood first policy. Our approach to South Asia has always been
one of seeking shared prosperity and security. three Cs – greater connectivity,
closer cooperation and broader contacts. Despite geographical contiguity, the
promise of regional integration has eluded us and undermined the goals of
SAARC, solemnly adopted at Summit level meetings. Hence, India must push ahead
with sub-regional cooperation such as through the BBIN Growth Quadrangle and
pursue its bilateral ties with like-minded countries in the region in areas
such as Road Transport, Energy and Water Resources.
2. India needs to make full use of the opportunities offered
by the recent Iranian nuclear deal which opens the possibility of establishing
connectivity with the region through the development of Chahbahar Port in Iran.
This also opens up the possibility of implementing the International North
South Corridor for a competitive and quick route to Eurasia for India.
3. India’s future dependence on imported energy, mainly oil
and gas, is a stark reality that will also require creative and diversifying
sources of supply. The Central Asian States have considerable surplus and the
TAPI pipeline project is worth pursuing both for sourcing energy supplies and
its collateral geo-strategic benefits. The Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas
pipeline can also be revived since Iran has already built the section of the
pipeline in its territory. Such energy projects could also prove to be game
changers for geo-strategic stability.
4. . Shri Parrikar said while we have achieved significant
indigenisation in ‘Float’ component of warships, we are lacking in the
indigenization of the high-end Fight components.
5. All countries need to respect differentiation as a
principle to deliver climate justice to the developing world. The genesis of
Differentiation lies in principle of historical responsibility, polluter pays,
and equity.
6. There is a need to sensitize various strata of the
society towards the challenges being faced by the elderly people. It is
important that institutions to provide geriatric care be established,
strengthened and made more affordable for the common man. we must encourage in
the younger lot the ability and keenness to facilitate ageing in their own
homes. in India, the problem is compounded by two issues. One, the Indian
society is undergoing rapid transformation under the impact of
industrialization, urbanization and globalization. Consequently, the
traditional values and institutions are changing, resulting in the weakening of
inter-generational ties. The second issue is that nearly 90 percent of the
elderly have worked in the informal sector and do not receive any
post–retirement social security coverage, like pensions and medical assistance.
Well-being of older persons has been mandated in the Constitution of India.
Article 41, a Directive Principle of State Policy, provides that the State
shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make
effective provision for securing the right of public assistance in cases of old
age. Social security has been made the concurrent responsibility of the Central
and State Governments. Very few Government hospitals in India that have
specialized geriatrics facilities. Bolivia, a country with resource
constraints, ranks much higher than India in the global index for elderly careWhile
Government supported public social networks and safety nets are essential, we
also need to look at how the elderly can continue contributing to the society
longer. New research on productivity of elder workers shows that while the
older workers were as productive in similar tasks as their younger colleagues,
they actually commanded a higher premium price in certain skill based jobs. The
thrust should be to identify the more vulnerable among the older persons - the
poor, the disabled, the infirm, the chronically sick and those without family
support, and provide welfare services to them on a priority basis. Voluntary
organizations, such as HelpAge India, need to be encouraged and assisted.
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