Passage 1
Less than a year after suspending the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) licence of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), the Government of India has cancelled its FCRA licence. The justification for this move — CPR’s publications have been equated with current affairs programming, prohibited for an entity using FCRA funds — is nothing if not farcical. As a premier think tank, the CPR has been around for more than half a century, during which it has been an exemplar of public-spirited scholarship feeding into an ecosystem of governance and policy-making where multiple stakeholders and their often divergent interests need consensus-building through informed debates — the hallmark of a democracy. A decision to effectively shut down such an institution by crippling its finances is bound to send the message that India is no longer open to the free flow of knowledge and ideas. The move also fits into a broader, and sadly, by now all-too-familiar, pattern of the state wielding the FCRA as a weapon to silence entities whose work is not to its liking — typically those working on environmental issues, civil liberties and human rights.
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Passage 2
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent visit to the United Kingdom (U.K.) came after a hiatus of 22 years. Opportunities have grown significantly in the past few years as opposed to two decades ago. The growth of Chinese military power and in particular, its expansion into the Indian Ocean which threatens India and also Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCs), on which the U.K. depends, have given the British an opportunity to reorient their strategic priorities.
The Indian Navy has several capability-related needs to make up for the shortfalls the service faces vis-à-vis the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Securing key technologies has been an integral part of Mr. Singh’s visit to the U.K. The U.K. is in a position to help redress the Indian Navy’s technological gaps against the Chinese.
Source- https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/crafting-a-new-phase-in-india-uk-defence-ties/article67753514.ece
