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Making up for lost time

 India and Canada must use Justin Trudeau‟s visit to take a long-term view of bilateral ties
 Prime Minister, begins his much anticipated seven-day, •five-city state visit of India on Feb 17
 This is his •first trip to India after he became Prime Minister in 2015
 but he has always had India and Indians around him.
 He is familiar with Indian rituals and customs.
 He and his spouse are practitioners of yoga.
 He can even perform bhangra.
 He has several friends, advisors and colleagues of Indian origin,
 Given that the Indian diaspora comprising 3.6% of the Canadian population is well-educated
 The Khalistan angle- Sikh community, which affectionately calls him „Justin Singh‟
 Khalistani elements in the quest for electoral gains
 Never in Canadian history have at least 19 persons of Indian origin been elected to the House
of Commons, of which 17 (15 Sikhs) represent Mr. Trudeau‟s Liberal Party.
 He has rewarded four Sikhs with key Cabinet berths.
 Canada has truly been a land of opportunity for the Indian diaspora
 Another welcome development in recent years has been a spike investments by well-endowed Canadian Pension Funds
 Canadian companies have have pumped in some $12-15 billion Canadian in India in sectors
including real estate, financial services, distressed assets, modern logistics facilities and
e-commerce.
 Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and Investment Promotion and
Protection Agreements (BIPPA)- which have been under negotiation for several years, would boost our economic partnership.
 Would particularly open up the services sector allowing highly skilled Indian professionals,
for whom there is a ready demand, to work in Canada.
 BIPPA is closer to •finalisation,
 But India would prefer that both agreements be operationalised in one go.
 During Prime Minister Narendra Modi‟s visit to Canada in April 2015,
 Both sides agreed to elevate their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership
 Essentially rest on 3Es — economy, energy and education
 India has started importing uranium from Canada, beginning 2015.
 Canada also has sizeable reserves of oil and gas
 Key partner in India‟s quest for energy security.
 With declining interest in Britain & some uncertainty over the U.S.‟s policies, Indian students
have begun heading for vocational and higher education to Canada in larger numbers
 Canada also continues with a liberal immigration policy.
 Both nations also have some collaboration in agri-tech and much more can be done
 Canadian pulses were being imported by India.
 Enough potential for stepping up cooperation in areas like information technology, science
and technology, clean and green tech, aviation and outer space, cold-climate warfare,
cybersecurity, counterterrorism and tourism.
 The need of the hour is to strengthen mutual trust and con•fidence, by taking a long-term view of the relationship

A deepening crisis

 Our national aspirations will remain unmet(not achieved) at long as we fail to prioritise education
 In 1966, the Kothari Commission had said in its voluminous report that India should aim
at spending 6% of its GDP on education.
 More than half a century later, we are spending less than 3% of our GDP on education. D.S.
Kothari‟s recommendation gives us a symbolic measure of the imp given to education.
 At the time the commission chaired by him was drafting its report,
 India was passing through a difficult period.
 Famines, wars and political uncertainty were taking their toll.
 The economy was stuck in sluggish(सुस्त) growth
 Conditions are rather different today.
 By any standards, India is more prosperous today and people‟s aspirations are higher
 Despite this favourable social climate, education has failed to become a matter of
national concern.
 Every year, the Union Budget indicates that it is not a high priority although it is
loudly announced to be so.
 This year‟s Budget is no different
 There is no sign of funds to enable institutional recovery after a prolonged period of
damage caused by •financial cuts in higher education
 Finance Minister referred to the importance of teacher education.
 This was a welcome reference
 Commission appointed by the Supreme Court under the chairpersonship of the late Chief
Justice of India, J.S. Verma.
 Report of this commission brought to public attention the dismal state of teacher education,
especially the corruption
 Justice Verma Commission offered several good remedies to improve the regulatory structure
 But the progress could not be sustained
 Finance Minister made a special mention of the four-year integrated B.Ed. (Bachelor of Educat
ion) programme as a way forward for achieving quality in teacher training.
 The big question that has remained unanswered since the commission submitted its report is
whether the Central government will spend the money the sector needs.
 A decade ago, the Yash Pal report on renovation and rejuvenation of higher education
 Implementing these recommendations will need increased public spending
 We need to recognise that growing inequality among youth
 United Nations discourse of sustainable development should remind us that our national
aspirations might get a jolt(झटका) if we fail to prioritise education

Should Supreme Court proceedings be live-streamed?

Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis

 Page-1- 5,100 cr. assets seized in PNB case
 Enforcement Directorate carries out searches on Nirav Modi‟s firms across five States
 Page-1,10- Prasar Bharati rejects Ministry‟s directives
 We are autonomous, says Board
 Rejected a range of “directives” coming from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry,
 Saying they constituted “contempt” of the Prasar Bharati Act
 Ministry‟s proposal..to hire two senior journalists, Siddharth Zarab i and Abhijit Majumdar,
 Ministry had •fixed an annual compensation of •1 crore for Mr. Zarabi and •75 lakh for Mr. Majumdar.
 The members argued that the highest…compensation paid to contractual employees in Prasar Bharati was about •1.6 lakh a month and a jump to •1 crore a year cannot be justified.
 Page-1- You value a rape at •6,500, „shocked‟ SC asks M.P. govt.
 Are you doing charity by paying •6,500 to a rape victim, asked Supreme Court on Thursday
after going through an a•davit •led by the Madhya Pradesh government on the compensation
given under the Nirbhaya Fund scheme.
 The apex court said it was “shocking” that Madhya Pradesh, which was among the States that received maximum funds from the Centre under the Nirbhaya scheme
 17 killed in mass shooting at Florida high school.
 KP Oli sworn in as Nepal PM for second time
 Ethiopian PM resigns after protests
 PNB fraud may wipe out profit