PM MODI POISED TO SPEED UP CHANGE

In economic policy, an often unremarked aspect has been the consolidation of the banking system.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s achievements resemble an iceberg, in that very little is visible above the surface, despite 24/7 efforts by the I&B Ministry to showcase his successes. Among the most consequential is the breakthrough in relations with both global superpowers, the United States and China. Some days ago, through the US Consul-General in Kol- kata, the Barack Obama administration affirmed in an unprecedented remark that Arunachal Pradesh “was an integral part of India”, thereby distancing Washington from Beijing’s claim to the Indian state. Thus far, bowing to pressure from the Pakistan army, which is nervous at the geopolitical consequences for itself (as a hedge, against India) of a Sino-Indian border settlement, the Chinese side has refused to allow progress on even an agreed marking of the 3,488-kilometre border. Meanwhile, again in an unprecedented gesture, the Indian Navy sent a flotilla of naval vessels through the South China Seas to make goodwill visits to Vietnam and the Philippines. Rather than register its objections, Beijing openly saw the move as innocent of any hostile intent, clearly confident that India was not considering China as a future target for military operations. The credit for such an upswing in relations between Delhi on the one hand and Beijing and Washington on the other vests with the personal diplomacy of Prime Minister Modi, who has developed a close personal rapport between himself and both Barack Obama as well as Xi Jinping.

Although several within the strategic community regard the supply of F-16s to Pakistan as much less of a threat to India than has been made out in Delhi, the blowback from that decision has resulted in a temporary freeze on the supply of the aircraft, even while annual assistance to the Pakistan military (which is kept going largely on the charity of countries such as China, the US and Saudi Arabia) has been reduced to $500 million. A further sign that Washington is in the process of seeing Delhi as its key ally in the region was the drone strike which killed Mullah Mansoor, a terrorist asset protected by the ISI. Should Prime Minister Modi’s coming visit to the US next month result in fresh breakthroughs in the relations between the two largest democracies, the odds are rising that such individuals as Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed may be next on the hit list in view of their numerous operations targeting civilians in Afghanistan and India. And despite pressure from arms lobbies worried at the impact on their clients should India sign three foundation defence agreements with the US, the momentum seems in favour of such a decision being taken before Barack Obama steps down as President of the US in the initial days of 2017. In the case of China, Prime Minister Modi is likely this year itself to ensure that the bureaucratic obstacles to Chinese investment and tourist footfalls, mainly by the MHA, be removed. An example of bungling is the giving of only single-entry e-visas, which has resulted in the stoppage of applications by many Buddhist