Mea pulled out rs 1crore to the chinese institute of chinese studies

 

When the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) pulled its Rs 1 crore annual supply to the Institute of Chinese Studies at the stop of January, the rest of the think-tank neighborhood sat up and took notice.

For the first time in decades, the MEA's Policy Planning cell, headed by means of joint secretary Santosh Jha, was once exercising the proper to direct funding to meet targets delineated with the aid of Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, the MEA's pinnacle diplomat.

The pass reminded old-timers of the exact ancient days when G Parthasarathy, a shut guide to Mrs Indira Gandhi, ran the Policy Planning mobile in the MEA, and alongside with PN Haksar, truly ran India's overseas policy.

In many ways, Jha is in a similar way powerful. He presides over a 27-crore empire that disburses promises and useful resource to India's think-tank community, which in current instances has begun to rival the media for influence.

Controlling the cash pipeline is solely any other code phrase for access. Being shut to the MEA capability that your think-tank coverage short may additionally properly wind up on the desk of the Foreign Secretary, the National Security Advisor and maybe, even the Prime Minister.

In fact, the PM's choice to tighten sources of records - manifested in his refusal to preserve a Media Advisor in his workplace - has intended that at least on the overseas coverage spectrum, think-tanks have begun to supplant the media.

Certainly, they have emerge as systems for the dissemination of information.

When used to be the final time, for example, you noticed the Foreign Secretary concern himself to an on-the-record interview with any newspaper or TV channel, in which he explained the government's questioning on foreign affairs? Hard to remember, right?

Well, it used to be at the Mumbai-based Gateway House think-tank's Geoeconomic Dialogue lately that S Jaishankar spoke about how there used to be no want for India to "demonise (US president) Trump, however to analyse him."

That dialog between the Foreign Secretary and head of the India chapter of the US think-tank Carnegie Foundation, Dr C Raja Mohan, was once cautiously scrutinized with the aid of journalists as nicely as diplomats in Delhi and elsewhere.

And if some appeared askance as to why a "foreign" think-tank, in this case Carnegie India, used to be in dialog with the Foreign Secretary, well, here is any other departure from the old, ossified wondering in government.

"Foreign" think-tanks, like Carnegie and Brookings, each of which have opened workplaces in India and attracted massive funding from Indian corporates, are no longer past the "lakshman rekha" of overseas policy-making. Carnegie India has, in fact, acquired a sum of about Rs 15 lakhs from the MEA for its Tech Summit held in Bangalore these days - which used to be additionally attended with the aid of the Foreign Secretary.

Brookings India, meanwhile, has been a lot extra cautious about so-called conflict-of-interest problems due to the fact Jaishankar's son, Dhruva, works there.

A 2nd takeaway from the MEA's new think-tank coverage is that the cash will comply with coverage briefs that "are applicable to MEA policy-making." Sources stated the Rs 1 crore annual supply to ICS used to be generally being used to pay salaries, alternatively than producing coverage briefs. Some cash is nonetheless anticipated to glide to ICS, however based totally on the tasks they observe for.

The Rs 1 crore taken away from ICS will now go to the Centre for China Analysis & Strategy (CCAS), a Delhi-based think-tank that focuses on China's strategic desires and Tibet policy. CCAS is run by using Jayadev Ranade, a former officer of India's overseas brain agency, the Research & Analysis Wing.

Third, the MEA looks glad to distribute cash to RSS and BJP-associated think-tanks. Although in their case, it is possibly that funding selections are made in the Prime Minister's Office, above the pay-grade of the Foreign Office. Of course, the MEA presents full guide in organizing their occasions and conferences.

Last July, for example, the MEA partnered with the India Foundation, run by means of RSS-BJP chief Ram Madhav and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's son Shaurya, to preserve an Indian Ocean Conference in Singapore.

The Junior Minister for External Affairs, MJ Akbar, and the Foreign Secretary addressed the event. External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj spoke by way of video link.

In the coming days, the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) - as soon as headed by using Ajit Doval, with whom the VIF maintains in shut contact - will be internet hosting the Indraprastha Dialogue, on things pertaining to to India's "Act East" coverage and India's family members with the higher Bay of Bengal community. The MEA will partly fund this dialogue.

Other extra secular establishments are also, at least partially, funded by way of the MEA. Like Siddharth Shriram's Delhi Policy Group, which is being given dollars to run an annual convention in Japan. Or the Ananta Centre, run through former CII chief mentor Tarun Das, which will now be funded to run an India-US conference.

But the MEA's favored think-tank is actually the Mukesh Ambani-funded Observer Research Foundation, which runs a extraordinarily profitable match known as the Raisina Dialogue, on the mannequin of Singapore's Shangri-La Dialogue. None different than Modi delivered the keynote tackle this year.

It appears the PM is eager that this will become India's signature overseas coverage match to rival China's Boao Forum as properly as the Switzerland-based Davos Forum. Gossip is that the Davos organisers weren't completely happy that Raisina takes area at the equal time. MEA sources stated it offers about Rs 1.75 crores to ORF and the Foreign Secretary is intently worried in its company as properly as debriefing.

Even the Research & Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) think-tank, the coverage arm of the MEA which receives can provide in the vicinity of Rs 6-7 crores annually, has had its funding these days tightened. All tasks are now cleared via Santosh Jha.

The Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA), the different MEA think-tank run with the aid of former diplomat Nalin Surie, additionally receives an annual Rs 10-11 crores funding from the mom ministry. The ICWA will quickly keep a "Bridging the Gulf" dialogue, on India's family members with the Gulf and West Asia, alongside conferences on China and Russia

But ICWA events, even though fairly excessive on content, have little of the razzmatazz  personal enterprises like the ORF and Gateway House effectively pull off. Certainly, it is the distinction between old-style diplomacy and new. In the old-style, diplomats spoke off the document and desired to preserve a low profile, looking for to extend have an impact on at the back of the scene.  

In the new-style, the MEA is eager on the use of partners, each inside and outside, to be its units of public leverage.