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The Modi government has especially lined up heads of governments with a well thought-out agenda – strengthening the economy and working on development. At least, let’s hope the agendas are achieved and not merely a PR exercise. This time it’s yet another strong European power – France. Here’s an analysis by Navodita, our Associate Editor, in the weekly column. A Different Truths exclusive.
The recent visit by French President Emmanuel Macron indicates that the Modi government has especially lined up heads of governments with a well thought-out agenda – strengthening the economy and working on development. At least, let’s hope the agendas are achieved and not merely a PR exercise.
So what is the international solar alliance all about? Its founding ceremony was held in New Delhi on March 11. This was followed by the first summit of the Alliance. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris on November 30, 2015. The main idea was to form a coalition of solar resource-rich countries so that they may collaborate in order to address the identified gaps in their energy requirements through a common unified approach. Hence in order to achieve this, the ISA has set a target of 1TW of solar energy by 2030, which current French President Emmanuel Macron said would require $1 trillion to achieve.
The ISA is open to 121 prospective member countries, most of them located between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn as this is the region worldwide with a lot of surplus bright sunlight throughout the year. So far, only 56 countries have signed the ISA Framework Agreement some of which include Australia, Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, India, Kiribati, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Peru, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, UAE, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela and Yemen.
India has played a significant role in this alliance as apart from being a founding member it is the host as well as a major contributor to achieving the target set out by the group of nations. The ISA is the first business international body that will have a secretariat in India. India, with a target to produce 100 GW of solar energy by 2022, would account for a tenth of ISA’s total goal.
This said and done, it’s time to gauge where does India stand vis-à-vis its economic status in the world.
While these are the pertinent issues on the global front, there’s a lot more going on in the domestic sector that the government needs to think about. As elections approach, the government should leave no stone unturned and work towards improving conditions for farmers. The recent farmer agitation in Maharashtra proves that policies need a rethinking to be done. Long farmers’ protest was called off after the state government agreed to most of their demands and gave a written assurance and timeframe for implementing them. The CPM-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha had brought in farmers from across the state, who trudged more than 180 km from Nashik to Mumbai. Popular support the cause received in Mumbai set alarm bells ringing in BJP. Congress, NCP and even ally Shiv Sena supported the movement essentially led by CPM’s farm wing. This goes onto indicate that the fight may be tough for the BJP if all opposition forces decide to unite against them in the forthcoming 2019 polls.
As elections are a year away, ‘good economics’ will remain high on everyone’s agenda as questions will be raised on GST and demonetisation; what’s more jobs for the unemployed will be the main issue on manifestos, too.
©Navodita Pande
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