The Union Government has done well by setting up a division to co-ordinate the Centre-State Relations in the South Block. This is a long pending issue and has eventually found a possible space in the making of foreign policy. Though the immediate context of establishing this might be FDI related issues, including the ODA- induced projects (such as that of Japan), the role of States in the making of regional policy is critically important. Indias Sri Lanka policy, Bangladesh policy, Nepal-Bhutan policy, Pakistan policy, all demand critical inputs from the adjoining states of India. Trade, water sharing, cross-border terrorism, coastal security power generation, disaster management, energy corridors are issues in place, besides intra-regional migration, illcit drug trafficking etc. I have always felt that such coordinating agencies are important in the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Home and Ministry of Environment too. The day may not be far off when Kerala can do well in the making of Indias West Asia policy and critically engaging expatriates life-world situations. The tragedy of Kerala is also to be noted. When India signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with ASEAN, in 2009, there were more than half a dozen Kerala ministers in the Union Govt They could not even understand what might happen to the state of Kerala though bureaucrats and technocrats were well aware of the long-term implications of the ASEAN FTA. Now we are crying over the spilt milk...with rubber prizes sliding down so much and spices trade reaching a critical state with our market potential being taken over by others. So it is good to catch up with the situation in improving not only Indias relations with the immediate neighbours but enhancing the position of Indian states as well.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 02:36:50 +0000
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