Faster Visas For Germany

The top gripe Indian business representatives took to visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was the tedious visa process in sending workers to Germany. They said visas for German nationals visiting India on work were cleared in a matter of days but it sometimes took up to two months for similar applications from Indian workers to be cleared by the German missions in India. The chancellor was struck by the inefficiencies and delays this caused when Indian and German businesses, often working in collaboration, were seeking to expand their footprint in both countries. India hopes to benefit from German excellence in engineering and manufacturing and at times finds it difficult to fill in a second shift in Germany. Scholz agreed that this should not be the case and promised swifter processing of visas. The German embassy now offers two new categories for business and trade fair travellers and promises that there will be no waiting time for appointments. German officials accompanying the chancellor explained that the skilled immigration Act that took effect in March 2020 offers opportunities for skilled workers from non-European Union countries. In view of Germany’s age profile, there is a need for workers in various categories, ranging from IT to nursing. However, Germany has tightened the rules as regards illegal immigrants who seek permanent residence in Europe. The view is that a registered migrant must remain within the state where his presence has been recorded. Countries that are the first port of call for illegal immigrants who make hazardous journeys from Africa and the Middle East are not averse to sending them on to neighbouring nations. The crackdown on illegal immigrants might also have something to do with the rise in support for the far-right in Germany which has won elections in the eastern part of the country that is seen to lag the west in economic progress. What will also concern Scholz’s Social Democrats is the support for a new left-leaning outfit led by Sahra Wagenknecht, who has broken from the mainstream Left, which advocates an unusual policy of leftwing economics and an anti-immigrant stand.

Congress Short-Changed

Confusion in the NCP-Pawar, Uddhav Sena and Congress camps ahead of the close of nominations for the Maharashtra Assembly elections has cast serious doubts on the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). As things stand, Congress seems to be the principal loser, falling well short of the 105 seats it had hoped to contest. The problem was that neither Uddhav Sena nor NCP-Pawar was willing to concede that Congress was the rightful claimant to the largest share of Assembly seats since it won the highest number of Lok Sabha seats this year. A decision to hold discussions under the guidance of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar saw Uddhav Sena leader Sanjay Raut declare that an 85-85-85 formula had been finalised. Apart from some faulty maths—Raut said 270 seats had been finalised—the division severely disadvantaged Congress, with Pawar being the principal beneficiary. Since then, Uddhav Sena and NCP-Pawar have gone ahead with declaring candidates for seats Congress had claimed. To add to Congress’ troubles, it has had trouble finalising its list of candidates with last-minute changes leaving many in the party wondering if local leaders had served their own interests rather than taking up the party’s claims. Congress state chief Nana Patole and legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat are facing the flak for the messed-up negotiations although there is little they can do to rein in their allies, or even their own leaders.

Delhi’s Pollution Funds

As winter pollution worsens, the annual blame game is intensifying with AAP claiming that Delhi’s neighbouring states are not collaborating in efforts to reduce the capital’s woes. This blithe claim ignores the fact that Punjab is governed by AAP and though the number of farm fires is down, it is still more than Haryana’s. And while AAP, BJP and Delhi’s lieutenant governor lock horns, reports of the Delhi government’s own efforts make for poor reading. The state has failed to utilise the environmental damage compensation fund it has collected from violators. The state pollution control agency has spent a minuscule amount of the money collected since 2015-16, say activists who point out that while the Delhi government claims that the Centre is not doing its bit, most of the funds collected for compensating environmental damage are lying unspent. If social media commentary is anything to go by, the excuse that the Centre, meaning BJP, is being a hurdle for the Delhi government is beginning to wear thin.

Veil Lifts on the Border

The agreement between India and China on ending a prolonged standoff along the LAC has seen considerable discussion on the wording of the Indian and Chinese communiqués and the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. When attention was drawn to the absence of a joint communiqué after the Modi-Xi meeting by a parliamentary committee, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri explained that this was not always the case. Allowing both sides to articulate the talks provided some leeway in dealing with complicated matters such as the Ladakh LAC confrontation. Though the official did not say so in as many words, the format adopted by the two sides allowed China to avoid a direct admission that it had conceded to India’s demands for restoration of patrolling along the LAC as per pre-May 2020 conditions. The inclusion in the deal of friction points at Demchok and Depsang, which preceded the 2020 tensions, is clear indication that India had prevailed in ensuring the agreement was not piecemeal. Moreover, the Indian statement said that an “agreement has been reached on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas” without distinguishing sectors. Since the agreement allows Chinese patrols to access Yangtse in Arunachal Pradesh, it is evident that India will restart patrolling in Galwan, Gogra-Hot Springs and Pangong Tso’s north and south banks.

E-File Benefits

In a change for the better, file management systems of state governments are switching to the e-file format used by Union ministries. Some states have been slow to see the utility of the system that can drastically reduce the possibility of crucial papers in the decision-making process going missing. There are instances of officials being reluctant to process sensitive files, fearing that the papers would not be available later, thereby landing them in trouble. The e-file system has backup and a paper cannot be deleted or abstracted as the case can be with a physical file. The change has naturally discomfited middlemen and a section of officialdom that has thrived on manipulating paperwork and making papers disappear.

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