Vivekananda International Foundation | Seeking Harmony in Diversity

Q Samarjit Chowdhury asked : It is being predicted that Africa is the next growth story from 2050 with its market and young age population. What is India doing to trap the virgin market of Africa for future? I believe Chinese are already started to penetrate the African market though their various policies including providing loans to the African nations.

Replied by VIF :India-Africa have successfully developed a close partnership in terms of bilateral, regional and multilateral engagements, thus in the recent past, their relationship has scaled new heights. But India is not alone in the continent to deepen its engagement with Africa. China is Africa’s first trading partner and India stands third (after the USA). Moreover, China has extended its reach in areas like agriculture, banking, insurance, housing, information, and communication technology (ICT), and transport and logistics, where it is expected that the returns will be high and investment will be more than double in the coming years. A new beginning in India’s..

Q. Praveen Mangal asked :why china intrude into Ladakh when they already illegally occupy aksai chin? What they want now?

Replied by VIF : China claims much more of Indian territory well to the West of Aksai Chin, right upto the Karakoram Ranges, and may be even beyond. China shirks from stating its claim lines so that it can, if opportunity comes, expand its claims further. Intrusions are aimed at keeping the claim alive. The additional territory is meant to make China's Western flank - the strategically significant hub of Pamir - secure, particularly from a supposedly aggressive India. China has decided that India must be tied up in guarding its territories and so stagnate to the extent that it cannot challenge China's supremacy. These ideas sprout from the legendary, self-centric 'Ch..

Q Jibin Jiju Abraham asked : What are the implications towards Saudi-India relationship if its found that Saudi Crown Prince was indeed behind the murder of Jamal Khashoggi?

Replied by VIF :Saudi Arabia has condemned the heinous murder of Khashogi. The Kingdom has launched its own investigation. We need to await completion of the Saudi domestic process. India has traditionally friendly relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There is a large Indian diaspora present in the country. The two countries enjoy strong ties in political and economic fields. The Indian government will have to take a view once the Saudi judicial processes are completed. It will be premature to speculate on the outcome at this stage. Posted on December 28, 2018..

Q. Alok SHARMA asked : My question is "Should we not improve our education system & inculcate Indian Values, ethos, history & culture rather than continuing with british bavarian system of education as today's youth are unaware of great historical warriors, men & women who gave sacrifices for our country & were involved in development work in India & abroad ? Eg- Angkor wat temples made by tamilian kings in Cambodia.

Replied by VIF : India as a modern progressive country has invested in making its education system compete with the world’s best. Indians has thus over the years contributed to scientific innovations and technology development, medical sciences and social sciences in India and elsewhere. Some of its higher education institutes are recognised as one of the best and has attracted students from across the world, while Indian students have been able to access various distinguished universities and Institutes of learning due to their basic grounding in Indian educational systems. Its education curriculum has also included teaching Indian history its values and ethos. There is ..

Q. Novom Chauhan asked : As compare to other countries like US, China, Israel, how effective is our Defense Procurement Procedure 2016 and which best practices can India imbibe in order to make the system more efficient? please explain.

Replied by VIF : Defence Procurement in India

The defence procurement philosophy of any country gets defined or evolves depending on the nature of political system, the economic growth, the level of technological self-reliance and the type of threat it faces.
The Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) was formulated in 2006 to move beyond General Financial Rules (GFR) and the previous capital acquisition process and to lay down a comprehensive process suited to defence capital acquisitions with suitable planning, approval, execution and oversight mechanisms. While refinements in 2011, 2013 & 2016 have largely improved the procedures, it is still highly cumbers..

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Udbhav Shrivastava asked : Why India isn't shifting it's capital somewhere in middle of country ? It would be accessible to north and south equally and population load in new delhi will reduce too.

Replied by VIF : Delhi is truly overburdened and along with Mumbai has over 10 million population making it the most populated city after Mumbai. But shifting the capital presently is not a likely scenario. Shifting a capital involves many factors and over the years its growth and development has made it more enabling to function as a capital city. Delhi presently provides the best infrastructure that a capital city needs and is very accessible with its wide transport network not only to rest of India but also to the world outside. Posted on December 4, 2018..

We have the largest number of scientist and engineers in the world. Yet, we are looking for technology from the western world. Why is that the case?

Replied by VIF : The present government has often has reiterated that technology is a strong priority area for the government making it is a key element of economic growth. India ranks third among the most attractive investment destinations for technology transactions in the world. A quick reference to the latest Global Technology Innovation Report by KPMG where India is ranked third as leaders in the innovations following USA and China would be instrumental to understand our position globally. According to the report, what has worked in India’s favour is that “India has prioritised government support for entrepreneurship and a burgeoning culture of innovation. Many ..

Q:What is the reason behind our national leaders' failure to follow the progressive ideas of Vivekananda about following up the struggle for our political freedom by those of socio-economic, intellectual and finally spiritual ones?

Replied by VIF : India has always been inspired by great thinkers like Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and many others. The pride in our country’s history and cultural legacy continues to inspire Indians in their different walks of path. While many are certainly inspired by Vivekananda’s progressive thoughts it is difficult to expect a crore plus population, all to follow the same path. He will always remain an icon for not only Indians but large number of people who continue to be inspired by his values and idealism. Actually, it is not the political, social or religious leaders who elevate the society, that urge comes from within the society itself. Genui..

Q1. What is implication of Saudi Arab loan to Pakistan? Q2. How does Saudi Arabia encourage Wahhabism?

Replied by VIF :Ans 1:Pakistan is in serious economic trouble. As of Oct. 12, net reserves in the State Bank of Pakistan had fallen to $8.1 billion, which is not enough to cover three months' worth of imports. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s frantic efforts to manage the balance of payment crisis finally cut ice with the Saudi government which committed $3 billion to Pakistan as balance of payment support for one year and supply of $3 billion worth of oil on deferred payment for three years. The package totals $12 billion. Initially, Riyadh refused to lend Pakistan any financial support while putting out serious conditions. The kingdom expects Pakistan to ..

Q. Brajbhan Singh asked: India has a coastline of around 7517 km. In contrast, Singapore is a small country, with a coastline of roughly 200 km. But it has the busiest Port in the world in terms of tonnage and shipping business has brought great prosperity to Singapore’s economy. Why India does not take advantage of its long coastline and proximity to global shipping lanes like Singapore? Why cannot India leverage its maritime industry to emerge as a maritime power.

Replied by VIF : The question has two parts and both are relevant. The first question is about building large ports like Singapore. Since most trade across the world is containerised, large ports are normally transshipment ports which serve as intermediate destination for the containers. Transshipment ports are like junctions where large and small ships can berth and exchange containers. This is more economical than carrying containers directly between their origins to their final destination. However, a transshipment port needs deep waters for berthing large ships, number of shipping-berths and cranes for speedy container handling, trained manpower to work in shifts round t..