MBA aspirants must be updated with General Awareness on current topics. General awareness topics with analytically drawn conclusions will benefit you in Essay writing / GD & PI. Today, you will read General Awareness Topic: INDO - JAPAN Ties : Gains for India !
Except for the brief lull when India conducted nuclear tests in 1998, Indo-Japan relations have always remained warm and on an upswing. End of the Cold War, beginning of India’s “Look East” policy, opening up of Indian economy in 1990s further cemented the ties between Japan and India. The newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Bhartiya Janta Party government has indicated the resolve to take the Indo-Japan relations to a new height. In fact, the twitter account of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe follows only three people and Indian PM Narendra Modi is one of them. Stronger relationship with the fourth largest economy (in purchasing power parity terms) in the world can benefit India in several ways:
- The challenges in both the countries are of similar nature such as electricity, power, and natural resources etc. Both India and Japan have found common ground for cooperation in these fields.
- Japan is India’s largest aid donor and India is the largest recipient of Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA). Japanese assistance was crucial in building the world class metro trains infrastructure in Delhi. Japan will also be assisting in high cost infrastructure projects like Western Industrial Freight Corridor in India.
- Domestic resources cannot meet the investment needs currently required for the fast paced growth and development of country. Japan is India’s fourth largest investor, investing about $14 billion under Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). It can help in bridging the gap between domestic saving and investment requirements.
- Several projects which will be completed with Japanese assistance including the ambitious Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), Delhi-Ahmadabad-Mumbai Bullet Train etc. The Japanese government is also pitching to help in development of Chennai-Bangalore Industrial corridor and a Dedicated Freight project in the south, which would connect the cities of Bangalore and Chennai.
- Improved trade ties between the third and fourth largest economies will create a huge market for the producers and a wide range of products for the consumers of both the countries.
- Advanced technology of Japan, particularly in automobiles and electronics can help transform Indian industry as well. In fact, Japan can share its ‘advanced technologies’ and India can share the ‘cost effective solutions’ in making the best cars at the lowest price. Also, the mutual cooperation on strength of both nations such as software in India and hardware in Japan will benefit both.
- India is a power starved country and cooperation with Japan in this sector is crucial. India and Japan had agreed to closely cooperate in the development of infrastructure in the sector of electricity and energy such as deployment of highly efficient coal-fired power generation, pumped-storage power generation and power transmission systems.
- India can also gain from the nuclear energy technology of Japan as the Indian nuclear industry development was limited due to embargo imposed by western countries after atomic explosion. Both the sides agreed on importance of civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.
- India is also negotiating the purchase of 15 amphibious aircraft from Japan. With the rising clout of China and increasing fundamentalism in neighbouring Pakistan which inimical to Indian interests, strong defence is of utmost importance for India. In fact in order to strengthen the defence ties with Japan, India has also invited Japan to join the Indo-US Malabar naval exercises this year.
Both India and Japan find their need complementary rather than competitive. While India, as a developing country needs Japanese technology, investments and developmental assistance, Japan can take advantage of the vast Indian markets to fight the slowdown at home. India has so much to gain from Japan both in terms of developmental aid, military and civilian technology and a strategic alliance.
