UPSC DAILY NEWS UPDATES

RELEVANT FOR GENERAL STUDIES

PAPER II AND PAPER III

Indias Connectivity with Neighboring Nations

IMPORTANCE:
The trial run has demonstrated that time and cost can be saved through
facilitation of seamless transport through the sub-region.
Cargo trucks often had to be off-loaded at the border and also go through
customs clearance. This led to delays and often also caused damage to the
goods.
The steps being taken to facilitate seamless movement of cargo vehicles will
give a major boost to trade and business in the sub-region.
The BBIN agreement was signed on June 15 last year in Thimphu, Bhutan to
facilitate cross border movement of both passengers and cargo vehicles.
Protocols to implement the agreement are being negotiated by the four
countries for passengers and cargo vehicles separately.

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Indias Connectivity with Neighboring Nations

Project under Motor vehicle agreement
Railway project
Petrapole (India) -Benapole (Bangladesh)
Gede(India)-Darsana (Bangladesh)
Singhabad (India)-Rohanpur (Bangladesh)

Proposed rail link

Maitree Express -Khulna(Bangladesh)-Kolkata(India)
Akhaura(Bangladesh)-Agartala (India)
Birol(Bangladesh)-Radhikapur (India)
Shahbazpur(Bangladesh)-Karimganj (India)
Chilahati(Bangladesh)-Haldibari (India)
This project which connect India and Bangladesh will reduce the migration problem
which is regular problem which has been faced by our security forces and it also
connect the enclaves between two nations
Akhaura-Agartala, Shahbazpur-Karimganj are project which will connect
untouched part of India (North East) which is still developing part as compared to
whole of India. It will boost the development in this area and will also give
employment to many people. This project which will connect further connect BCIM

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Indias Connectivity with Neighboring Nations

(Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar) will also boost the transportation and will
serve as hinterland for that area.

The Golden Triangle designates the confluence of the Ruak River and the Mekong
River, since the term has been appropriated by the Thai tourist industry to describe
the nearby border tripoint of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.This is the point from
where drugs entre India in north east part and from their it run in the veins of india
.The porous borders of India with other southasian country, which bring drugs to the
nation, this problem can be solved by giving employment to youth in this region by
the help of this project road connectivity which will also increase the transportation
of security person in the area will also increase security to this region.
This will also boost the KALADAN MULTIMODAL PROJECT.

Dhaka shillong guwahati & kolkata dhaka agartala bus project will give boost
for connectivity to the region.this will further join ASIAN TRILATERAL
HIGHWAY, connecting India to south asian world market which crosses through
Myanmar to Thailand

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Indias Connectivity with Neighboring Nations

A BBIN bus corridor may well be on the cards soon. A BBIN rail corridor may have
to wait a little longer.
India and Bangladesh have deepened their links through rail, road, power and transit;
India and Nepal have started a new era of cooperation in energy; and India and
Bhutan are making those ties stronger by the day. These countries cooperation with
India is at its very best currently and the Modi government feels that the member
countries should take immediate and maximum advantage of it now.
Bangladesh, for example, is hungry for power while Bhutan has power surplus.
Unfortunately, the two nations are not connected by way of power grid. India can
help both countries in this context.
For India, our vision for the region rests on five pillars - trade, investment,
assistance, cooperation in every area, contacts between our people - and, all through
seamless connectivity. This is the call of our times. This is the age of social media,
where boundaries matter little. There is a new awakening in South Asia; a new
recognition of inter-linked destinies; and, a new belief in shared opportunities.

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Indias Connectivity with Neighboring Nations

Opium and heroin base produced in northeastern Myanmar are transported by horse
and donkey caravans to refineries along the ThailandBurma border for conversion
to heroin and heroin base. Most of the finished products are shipped across the border
into various towns in North Thailand and down to Bangkok for further distribution
to international markets.
In the past major Thai Chinese and Burmese Chinese traffickers in Bangkok have
controlled much of the foreign sales and movement of Southeast Asian heroin from
Thailand, but a combination of law enforcement pressure, publicity and a regional
drought has significantly reduced their role. As a consequence, many lesspredominant traffickers in Bangkok and other parts of Thailand now control smaller
quantities of the heroin going to international markets.
By this project we can help our self as well as others to curb this problem According
to the ministry, the time and cost can be saved through facilitation of seamless
transport through the sub-region.
"Cargo trucks earlier had to be off loaded at the border and also go through customs
clearance. This led to delay and also caused damage to the goods. The steps being
taken to facilitate seamless movement of cargo vehicles will give a major boost to
trade and business," said the statement.
A similar trial run of cargo vehicle from India was conducted in November last year
from Kolkata to Agartala through Dhaka. With such facilitation, the distance of more
than 1,550 km from Kolkata to Agartala through Chicken's Neck (the Siliguri
corridor) will be reduced to 650 km if the truck travels through Dhaka resulting in
reduction of overall transaction costs.

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Indias Connectivity with Neighboring Nations

addressing the BBIN Transport Ministers conference, Mr. Nitin Gadkari said, This
indeed is a momentous achievement for all the four neighbours. This historic
agreement will further promote our cooperation in trade and commerce apart from
further cementing our age old cultural ties. Mr. Gadkari further said, The Motor
Vehicles Agreement is the Overarching framework to fulfill our commitment to
enhance regional connectivity. This will need to be followed through with
formulation of the required protocols and procedures in the shortest time possible to
realize the ultimate objective of free movement of people and goods in the region.
This would further need to be supplemented through building and upgrading roads,
railways and waterways infrastructure energy Grids, communications and air links
to ensure smooth cross border flow of goods, services, capital, technology and
people. Taken together, this provides enormous opportunity for integration and
development of our region.
Conclusion.
The problem is India's NE, Tibet and ASEAN nations are more culturally close to
each other than with India. Within that group also, India's NE and Myanmar's
Northern states can be clubbed together, the Burmese and other Northern ASEAN
nations have one culture and finally the Malaysian Peninsula nations from one
cultural group. Unless India takes the initiative before China does, these nations
along with India's NE will easily slide into China's hands. The negative points for
China today is that it is a Communist nation and it is making large territorial claims
which creates fear among these nations and which India can exploit. India's policy

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Indias Connectivity with Neighboring Nations

should be to make North East look towards India for help from ASEAN and China.
Instead today they see India as invaders and look towards ASEAN as brothers. That
is how EU, NATO work too.

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