BUNDI

Ministry of Tourism’s Dekho Apna Desh Webinar series has organised

a webinar titled “Bundi: Architectural Heritage of a Forgotten Rajput
Capital”.
👉 AboutBundi
◎ It is an erstwhile capital of Hada (Chauhan)
Rajput province known as Hadauti located in
south-eastern Rajasthan.
◎ Known as  Bundi is also known as City of
stepwells, blue city and also as Chotti Kashi.
◎ It was known as Chotti Kashi owing to presence
of over hundred temples within and around the
hada capital.
BUN
DI
 BUNDI
◎ Temple architecture 
○ First Phase  Temples constructed in the early phase of Bundi’s growth
were in classical Nagara style.
○ Second Phase  In later phases new temple typologies emerged from
amalgamation of architectural form of traditional haveli with the
classical Nagara style.
○ Third Phase  Jain temples formed the third type of temple type
constructed in an introvert form.
○ Fourth Phase  A fourth temple type emerged in the form of a raised
or elevated temple.
○ Unique Feature  Absence of monumentality (स्मारक) in their scale is a
distinctive feature of temples in Bundi.
 BUNDI
◎Important Places 
◎ Taragarh Fort
○ It was constructed by Rao raja Bair
Singh in 1354.
◎Sukh Mahal
○ A small, two-storied palace was a
summer retreat of past rulers.
○ Located on the banks of JaitSagar lake,
the palace was constructed by Rao raja
Vishnu Singh in 1773 A.D.
◎Rani Ki Baori
○ Bundi has more than 50 stepwells and
is rightly known as the city of stepwells.
 BUNDI
○ Raniji ki Baori also known as ‘Queen’s Stepwell’ is a famous stepwell
built in 1699 by Rani Nathavati Ji of Bundi.
◎84 Pillared Cenotaph ( समाधि )
○ It is a structure supported by 84 columns.
○ Commissioned by Rao Anirudh, the Maharaja of Bundi, this cenotaph
was constructed in memory of his nurse, Deva, under whose love and
guidance the prince grew up.
 SOFIA
NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy(SOFIA) has
confirmed for the first time water on the sunlit surface of the Moon.

👉 AboutSOFIA

◎ What is it?  It is an airborne observatory

jointly built by NASA and German Aerospace
Centre.
◎ It features a reflecting telescope mounted on a
modified Boeing 747SP aircraft flying into the
stratosphere at 38,000-45,000 feet.
 SOFIA
◎ Purpose  It allows researchers to observe the infrared universe as many
objects in space emit almost all their energy at infrared wavelengths and
are often invisible when observed with visible light.
◎ Significance of the discovery of water on Moon  NASA’s Artemis
programme plans to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon
in 2024 and hopes to establish a sustainable human presence there by the
end of the decade. If space explorers can use the Moon’s resources, it
means they need to carry less water from Earth.
SOFIA
 BASIC EXCHANGE AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT(BECA)
Recently, India and the USA have concluded the 3rd India-USA 2+2
dialogue in New Delhi. India and the US have signed the Basic
Exchange and Cooperation Agreement(BECA) for geo-spatial
cooperation.

👉 AboutBECA
◎ What is it?  It is a communication agreement
between the National Geospatial- Intelligence
Agency of the US Department of Defence and
the Ministry of Defence of the Government of
India.
 BASIC EXCHANGE AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT(BECA)
◎ Purpose  It allows India and the US to share military information
including advanced satellite and topographic data.
◎ Significance  It will enable India to use US geospatial maps to enhance
military accuracy of automated hardware systems and weapons such as
cruise and ballistic missiles.
◎ BECA is one of the four foundational military communication agreements
between the two countries. The other three are:
1. General Security Of Military Information Agreement.
2. Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement.
3. Communications and Information Security Memorandum of
Agreement.
 BASIC EXCHANGE AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT(BECA)
◎Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement(LEMOA):
○ Signed in 2016.
○ It allows both countries to have access to each other’s designated
military facilities for refueling and replenishment.
◎General Security Of Military Information Agreement(GSOMIA):
○ Signed in 2002.
○ It allows militaries to share the intelligence gathered by them.
 An extension to the GSOMIA, the Industrial Security Annex (ISA),
was signed at the 2+2 dialogue in 2019. ISA provides a framework
for exchange and protection of classified military information
between the USA and Indian defence industries.
 BASIC EXCHANGE AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT(BECA)
◎COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement):
○ Signed in 2018.
○ It aims to provide a legal framework for the transfer of highly sensitive
communication security equipment from the USA to India that will
streamline and facilitate interoperability between their armed forces.
 BASIC EXCHANGE AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT(BECA)
👉‘2+2’ Dialogue
◎ 2+2 Ministerial is the highest-level institutional mechanism between the
two countries.
◎It is a format of dialogue where the defence/foreign ministers or
secretaries meet with their counterparts from another country.
◎India holds such talks with Australia, Japan and the USA.
 AGREEMENT FOR ELECTRONIC EXCHANGE OF
CUSTOMS DATA
Department of Posts, Government of India (India Post) and United
States Postal Service (USPS) have entered into an agreement for
Electronic Exchange of Customs data related to postal shipments
exchanged between the two countries.

👉 About
◎ Objective  The primary objective of this
agreement is to facilitate ‘ease of exports’ for
small and large exporters through postal
channels from different parts of the country.
 AGREEMENT FOR ELECTRONIC EXCHANGE OF CUSTOMS
DATA
◎ Features  The agreement will make it possible to transmit and receive
electronic data of international postal items prior to their physical arrival
at the destination and would enable customs clearance of postal items in
advance in line with the evolving global postal framework.
○ Exchange of Electronic Advance Data (EAD) will be a key driver towards
promoting mutual trade with emphasis on the exports.
○ USA is the top export destination for India (~17%) which is also
reflected in exchange of goods through postal channels.
○ Benefit  This will fulfill a major demand of the export industry to
expedite customs clearances of export items and will contribute
towards making India an Export Hub for the world.
 WORLD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
According to the October update of the World Economic Outlook
2020, India's gross domestic product (GDP) will witness a contraction
of over 10%.

👉 KeyPoints
◎ Global growth would contract by 4.4% in 2020
and bounce back to 5.2% in 2021.
◎ Indian economy, severely hit by the pandemic,
is projected to contract by 10.3% in 2020.
◎ The spread of the Covid-19 and containment
measures have severely disrupted supply and
demand conditions in India.
 WORLD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
◎ However, India is likely to bounce back with an 8.8% growth rate in 2021,
thus regaining the position of the fastest-growing emerging economy,
surpassing China’s projected growth rate of 8.2%.

👉 WEO
◎What is it?  It is a survey by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
◎It is usually published twice a year in the months of April and October.
 COMPOUND INTEREST WAIVER SCHEME
Government of India has announced a scheme called, ‘Scheme for
grant of ex-gratia (as a favor) payment of difference between
compound interest and simple interest for six months to borrowers in
specified loan accounts’.
👉 About
◎ Aim  To provide major relief for individuals and
MSME borrowers by waiver of the compound
interest on specified loans for six months period.
◎ What does it mean?  In simple words, the
borrowers need to pay simple interest on their loan
amount for the six month period between March
and August as against the compound interest.
 COMPOUND INTEREST WAIVER SCHEME
◎ Categories  The loans eligible under the scheme include MSME loans,
education loans, housing loans, consumer durable loans, credit card dues,
automobile loans, personal loans to professionals and consumption loans.
◎ Eligibility  Any borrower whose aggregate of all facilities with lending
institutions is more than ₹2 crore (sanctioned limits or outstanding
amount) will not be eligible for ex-gratia payment under this scheme.
◎ Also, the loan accounts should not be non-performing assets(NPA) as on
the date mentioned above.
◎ Lending Institutions  The lending institution has to be either a banking
company, or a public sector bank, co-operative bank or a regional rural
bank, or All India Financial Institution, a non-banking financial institution,
housing finance company or a micro finance institution.
 NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON VIGILANCE AND ANTI-
CORRUPTION
The Prime Minister has inaugurated the National Conference on
Vigilance and Anti-Corruption.

👉 About
◎ Organized by  The conference is organised by
the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI).
◎ Aim  To raise awareness and reaffirm India’s
commitment to promotion of integrity and
probity in public life through citizen participation.
◎ Theme  Vigilant India, Prosperous India.
 NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON VIGILANCE AND ANTI-
CORRUPTION
👉 CBI:
◎ It is the premier investigating police agency in India which functions under
the Department of Personnel, Ministry of Personnel, Pension & Public
Grievances.
◎It is governed by the provisions of the DSPE Act,1946.
 FENI BRIDGE
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that the 1.8
kilometre long Feni bridge connecting Sabrum in India with Ramgarh
in Bangladesh will be completed by December this year.

👉 AboutFENIBRIDGE
◎ Name  Feni Bridge is known as Maitree Setu
in Chattogram.
◎ Location  The bridge is being built over the
Feni River and will connect Tripura with
Chittagong port of Bangladesh.
 FENI BRIDGE
◎ Timeline  The foundation of the bridge was laid in 2015 jointly by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
◎ Agencies Involved  The bridge is being constructed by the National
Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd of Ministry of Road
and Transport highways, Government of India.
 FENI BRIDGE
◎FeniRiver
◎ It originates in the South Tripura district, passes through Sabroom town on
the Indian side, and meets the Bay of Bengal after it flows into
Bangladesh.
◎It forms part of the India-Bangladesh border.
 QUICK REVISION (TRUE/FALSE)

Question True / False

1. Bundi -> erstwhile capital of Hada Rajput province known as Hadauti
located in south-eastern Rajasthan.

2. SOFIA -> is an airborne observatory jointly built by NASA and ISRO.

3. World Economic Outlook -> Published by World Economic Forum.

4. FENI BRIDGE -> built over the Feni River and will connect Tripura with
Chittagong port of Bangladesh.

5. Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement(BECA) -> provide a legal

framework for the transfer of highly sensitive communication security
equipment from the USA to India.
2277
 THE INDIA-U.S. DEFENCE
PARTNERSHIP IS DEEPENING
 CONTENTS
• Why in News?
• History of India-United States defencepartnership
• Post1990’s
• Post2000’s
•What factors played an important rolein the path of India – US
Relationship?
• Where doIndia – US relationship stand today?
• Conclusion
 WHY IN NEWS ?

• The India-United States defence partnership

received a major boost earlier this week with
the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
and U.S. Defence Secretary Mark Esper for the
third round of the 2+2 Dialogue with their
Indian counterparts, External Affairs Minister S.
Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
• At a time when most ministerial engagements
and even summits are taking place virtually, the
significance of two senior U.S. officials
travelling to Delhi a week before the U.S. goes
to the polls conveys an unambiguous political
message — the defence partnership has come
of age.
 HISTORY OF INDIA-UNITED STATES DEFENCE PARTNERSHIP

Post 1990’s
• It has been a long process, with many ups
and downs since the first modest steps were
taken with the end of the Cold War three
decades ago.
• The 1991 Kicklighter proposals (Lt. Gen.
Claude Kicklighter was the Army
commander at the U.S. Pacific Command)
suggested establishing contacts between the
three Services to promote exchanges and
explore areas of cooperation.
• An Agreed Minute on Defence Cooperation
was concluded in 1995 instituting a dialogue
at the Defence Secretary level together with
the setting up of a Technology Group.
 HISTORY OF INDIA-UNITED STATES DEFENCE PARTNERSHIP

• The end of the Cold War had helped create this opening but the overhang of
the nuclear issue continued to cast a shadow on the talks.
• There was little appreciation of each other’s threat perceptions and the
differences came to a head when India undertook a series of nuclear tests in
1998.
• The U.S. responded angrily by imposing a whole slew of economic sanctions
and leading the international condemnation campaign.
 RELATIONSHIP POST 2000’S

• An intensive engagement followed with 18 rounds of talks between the then

External Affairs Minister, the late Jaswant Singh, and then U.S. Deputy
Secretary of State Strobe Talbott spanning two years that helped bring about a
shift in perceptions.
• Sanctions were gradually lifted and in 2005, a 10-year Framework for Defence
Relationship established, followed by a Joint Declaration on Defence

• Cooperation in 2013.
• The Framework agreement was renewed in 2015 for another decade.
• The Framework laid out an institutional mechanism for areas of cooperation including joint exercises, intelligence
exchanges, joint training for multinational operations including disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, technology
transfer and a sharing of non-proliferation best practices.
• Initial movement was slow; it gathered momentum once the nuclear hurdle was overcome in 2008 with the India-U.S.
civil nuclear deal.
• Equally important was the progressive
opening up of the Indian economy that was
registering an impressive annual growth rate
of over 7%.
• Bilateral trade in goods and services was $20
billion in 2000 and exceeded $140 billion in
2018.
• The four million-strong Indian diaspora in the
U.S. has come of political age and its impact
can be seen in the bipartisan composition of
the India Caucus (in the House) and the
Senate Friends of India group.
• From less than $400 million of defence
acquisitions till 2005, the U.S. has since
signed defence contracts of $18 billion.
• A bipartisan consensus supporting the steady growth in India-U.S. ties in both
New Delhi and Washington has been a critical supporting factor.
• The first baby steps in the form of the Kicklighter proposals came in 1991 from
the Bush administration (Republican) when P.V. Narasimha Rao led a Congress
coalition.
• Following the nuclear tests, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (Bharatiya
Janata Party) welcomed President Bill Clinton (Democrat) to Delhi.
• The visit, taking place after 22 years — the previous one being U.S. President
Jimmy Carter’s visit in 1978 — marked a shift from “estranged democracies” to
“natural allies”.
• A Congress coalition led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh carried the
process forward with a Republican Bush administration. Heavy political lifting
was needed to conclude the historic nuclear deal in 2008, removing the biggest
legacy obstacle.
 WHAT FACTORS PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE
IN THE PATH OF INDIA –
US RELATIONSHIP ?

• The biggest push has come from Prime Minister Narendra Modi overcoming
the “hesitations of history” and taking forward the relationship, first with a
Democratic Obama administration by announcing a Joint Strategic Vision for
the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region in 2015 ,followed by elevating the
India-U.S. Strategic and Commercial Dialogue (launched in 2009 and the first
round held in 2010) into the 2+2 dialogue in 2018 with the (Republican) Trump
administration reflecting the ‘Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership’.
• Mr Modi is not constrained (at least on the strategic side) unlike Dr. Singh
during his second term who faced opposition within his party, had a Defence
Minister who preferred to shy away from any decision, and often had to prod a
reluctant bureaucracy.
• The signing, last week, of the Basic
Exchange and Cooperation
Agreement (BECA) providing for
the sharing of geospatial data is
the last of the foundational
agreements.
• The first, General Security Of
Military Information Agreement
(GSOMIA), relating to security of
each other’s military information
was signed in 2002.
• The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government signed the End Use
Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) in 2009 but then dragged its feet on the others
on the grounds that it would jeopardise India’s strategic autonomy.
• However, it was apparent that as military exercises with the U.S. expanded,
both in scale and complexity, and U.S. military platforms were inducted, not
signing these agreements was perceived as an obstacle to strengthening
cooperation.
• Nearly 60 countries have signed BECA.
• In 2016, Logistics Exchange
Memorandum of Agreement
(LEMOA) relating to exchange of
logistics support had been concluded,
followed by Communications
Compatibility and Security
Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018
permitting encryption standards of
communication systems.
• More than a 100 countries have
signed these agreements with the
U.S. Equivalent agreements on
logistics and mutual security of
military communication have also
been signed with France but without
the political fuss.
 WHERE DO INDIA – US RELATIONSHIP STAND TODAY ?

• Developing the habit of working together has been a long process of building
mutual respect and trust while accepting differences.
• The U.S. is used to dealing with allies (invariably junior partners in a U.S.-
dominated alliance structure) and adversaries. India falls into neither category.
• Therefore, engaging as equal partners has been a learning experience for both
India and the U.S. Recognising this, the U.S. categorised India as “a Major
Defence Partner” in 2016, a position unique to India that was formalised in the
National Defense Authorisation Act (2017) authorising the Secretaries of State
and Defence to take necessary measures.
 WHERE DO INDIA – US RELATIONSHIP STAND TODAY ?

• It has helped that India also

joined the export control regimes
(Australia Group, Missile
Technology Control Regime and
Wassenaar Arrangement) and has
practices consistent with the
Nuclear Suppliers Group where its
membership was blocked by
China spuriously linking it to
Pakistan.
• In 2018, India was placed in
Category I of the Strategic Trade
Authorisation, easing exports of
sensitive technologies.
 CONCLUSION

• In every relationship, there is a push factor and a pull factor; an alignment of

the two is called the convergence of interests. An idea matures when the
timing is right.
• After all, the Quad (Australia, India, Japan and the U.S.) was first mooted in
2007 but after one meeting, it petered out till its re-emergence now.
• Alongside the ministerial meeting in Tokyo earlier this month, India was invited
for the first time to also attend the Five Eyes (a signals intelligence grouping set
up in 1941 consisting of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom
and the U.S.) meeting.