UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 2: Questions on India’s evolving partnership with Saudi Arabia and Eighth Schedule (Week 99)

QUESTION 1

“India’s evolving partnership with Saudi Arabia reflects a shift from transactional energy ties to a comprehensive strategic alliance.” Discuss the key drivers of this transformation and its implications for India’s role in West Asia.​

QUESTION 2

“The inclusion of languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution has led to both empowerment and marginalisation.” Discuss the constitutional provisions related to language recognition and analyse their impact on linguistic diversity in India.​

General points on the structure of the answers

Introduction

— The introduction of the answer is essential and should be restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one-liner is not a standard introduction.

— It may consist of basic information by giving some definitions from the trusted source and authentic facts.

Body

— It is the central part of the answer and one should understand the demand of the question to provide rich content.

— The answer must be preferably written as a mix of points and short paragraphs rather than using long paragraphs or just points.

— Using facts from authentic government sources makes your answer more comprehensive. Analysis is important based on the demand of the question, but do not over analyse.

QUESTION 1: “India’s evolving partnership with Saudi Arabia reflects a shift from transactional energy ties to a comprehensive strategic alliance.” Discuss the key drivers of this transformation and its implications for India’s role in West Asia.​

Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— The Indian Prime Minister is making another historic visit to Saudi Arabia. This is his third visit to the kingdom, the most by any Indian prime, and comes after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to India during the G20 Presidency in 2023.

— The tour intends to strengthen India and Saudi Arabia’s strategic, economic, and cultural ties, building on Modi’s previous visits in 2016 and 2019.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

— The visit takes place amid a challenging regional backdrop in West Asia, which is dealing with ongoing crises such as those in Gaza and Yemen, as well as the resurgence of extremist groups, all of which pose regional and global security challenges.

— The visit is essential because the region expects India to take a more active role in supporting security and securing critical maritime trade routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.

— Bilateral relations between India and Saudi Arabia have advanced dramatically during the last decade. They have altered the relationship from a transactional concentration on energy and trade to a multifaceted strategic alliance based on economic linkages, security, and defence cooperation.

— The formation of the Strategic Partnership Council in 2019 codified and extended this collaboration across multiple sectors. Tangible outcomes include bilateral trade reaching $43 billion in 2023-24 and an increase in investment, with Indian investments in Saudi Arabia exceeding $3 billion, equal to the United Kingdom’s total FDI in India.

— The upcoming visit is anticipated to cover a wide range of topics, including regional stability, connectivity, energy and food security, trade, investment, and face-to-face interactions. Security and defence cooperation will be a key focus of these discussions.

— Security cooperation between the two countries has also grown, with more intelligence sharing, coordinated measures to combat terror financing and radicalisation, and improved collaboration on transnational crime. Furthermore, Saudi authorities have actively tracked suspected terrorist finance networks and aided India’s efforts to apprehend fugitives.

— Saudi Arabia is critical to India’s energy security, as its third-largest supplier, accounting for around 14.3% of crude oil and 18.2% of LPG imports. Building on this core energy connection, discussions during the upcoming visit may include India requesting more favourable crude import terms, potentially addressing pricing or the “Asian Premium” while underlining the partnership’s long-term worth.

Conclusion:

— Beyond traditional energy, both countries are anticipated to strengthen collaboration in renewables, with an emphasis on solar energy, green hydrogen, and green ammonia. This accords with both countries’ lofty 2030 ambitions (India: 500 GW of renewable capacity; Saudi Arabia: 50% renewable energy).

— India and Saudi Arabia are working to identify particular projects that can capitalise on Saudi Arabia’s commitment to invest more than $100 billion in India across different sectors. A joint task force under the Strategic Partnership Council offers a structured approach to facilitating this. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to create an office in Gujarat’s GIFT City, which will greatly speed these investments.

(Source: PM Modi’s crucial visit to Saudi Arabia highlights India’s vision to act as a reliable regional power)

Points to Ponder

Trade between India and Saudi Arabia

Recent developments between India and Saudi Arabia

Related Previous Year Questions

‘Clean energy is the order of the day.’ Describe briefly India’s changing policy towards climate change in various international fora in the context of geopolitics. (2022)

The question of India’s Energy Security Constitutes the most important part of India’s economic progress. Analyse India’s energy policy cooperation with West Asian countries. (2017)

QUESTION 2: “The inclusion of languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution has led to both empowerment and marginalisation.” Discuss the constitutional provisions related to language recognition and analyse their impact on linguistic diversity in India.​

Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Constitution contain provisions relating to the Eighth Schedule.

— The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution includes the following 22 languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili, and Dogri.

— Of these languages, 14 were first incorporated into the Constitution. The Sindhi language was added in 1967. Three additional languages, Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali, were added in 1992. Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were introduced in 2004.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

— The Eighth Schedule was created as a list of languages that would help to enrich Hindi. Birla notes that M Satyanarayana, a Constituent Assembly member, initially created a list of 12 languages for inclusion in the Schedule, which was approved by Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru then added Urdu to the list, emphasising its importance in symbolising India’s Indo-Islamic heritage.

— Furthermore, K M Munshi, a well-known nationalist and member of the Constituent Assembly, argued for the inclusion of Sanskrit, citing its long-standing civilisational relevance across the Indian subcontinent and effect on several important Indian languages.

— According to the Constitution, including regional languages in the Eighth Schedule serves two key purposes: drawing members from these languages to create a Committee to assess the use of Hindi as the Official Language, and drawing from these languages for Hindi development. In her conclusion, Birla states: “The background for including the Eighth Schedule when India became a Republic includes both anti-colonial nationalism and regional language movements since the late 1800s.”

— According to Indian linguist Bhadriraju Krishnamurti, in his article Official Language Policies with Special Reference to the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, the Constituent Assembly did not establish any explicit criteria for including languages in the Eighth Schedule.

— The debate over whether Hindi or Hindustani should be the official language, as well as the mechanisms for promoting the chosen language; the planned withdrawal of English as an associate official language following a 15-year transition period that ends in 1965; and the establishment of constitutional safeguards to protect and promote India’s major regional and minority languages. However, Krishnamurti determined that the considerations included languages with literary traditions and established scripts, those spoken by large populations in contiguous regions, languages added as political concessions—as in the case of Sindhi and Nepali—and those recognised as official languages in newly formed states, such as Konkani and Manipuri.

— “Another guiding principle in the selection process,” Birla said, “was the languages’ suitability for administrative, communicative, cultural, educational, scientific, and technological purposes.” She says that this criterion resulted in the elimination of several of India’s indigenous tribal languages from the original fourteen since they were deemed insufficiently developed for political and administrative purposes.

— The claimed benefits of being included on the Eighth Schedule are both symbolic and practical. Krishnamurti provides numerous real benefits based on his observations of how the Eighth Schedule has been implemented since 1950. He points out that languages listed in the Eighth Schedule are eligible for translation services in Parliament if any member speaks them, are included as options in the Indian language paper for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations, and receive developmental funds from the central government because they are on the Concurrent List. Furthermore, mass media sources make it easier to transmit content in specific languages, which strengthens their public visibility and accessibility.

Conclusion:

— Some languages on the Eighth Schedule, such as Manipuri and Bodo, and those recognised by state governments, such as Ao, Angami, Chang, Khasi, Khiamniungan, and Konyak, are still endangered.

— This highlights the limited role of official acknowledgement in language preservation. It instead emphasises fundamental political and social structures and attitudes, held by both governmental and non-governmental entities, that must be addressed if India’s linguistic variety is to be successfully safeguarded.

(Source: The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution: how language inclusion creates exclusion)

Points to Ponder

Benefits of inclusion of language in eight schedule

Read about other schedules of the Indian Constitution

What is Article 344 and 351?

Related Previous Year Question

“The Constitution of India is a living instrument with capabilities of enormous dynamism. It is a constitution made for a progressive society.” Illustrate with special reference to the expanding horizons of the right to life and personal liberty. (2023)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 98)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 99)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 98)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 97)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 98)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 97)

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