The Study IAS

India and Mauritius to Enhance Bilateral Cooperation in Personnel Management and Governance

Written by

blogweb

in

,

Context:

During his visit to Mauritius on July 16-17, 2024, India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar, proposed capacity-building programs for Mauritius Civil Service Officers at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG). 

 

More in News:

  • A follow-up meeting between India’s Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances(DARPG) and Mauritius’ Ministry of Public Service took place on August 6, 2024.
  • The meeting focused on collaboration in personnel administration and governance, including sharing good governance practices, exchanging information, and organising capacity building programs for Mauritius Civil Service officers at NCGG.
  • The Mauritius side expressed interest in utilising AI/ML to resolve grievances through CPGRAMS.

 

[stextbox id=’info’]

Steps Taken by the Indian Government for Effective Public Administration:

  • CPGRAMS reforms: The government is improving the CPGRAMS system in key ministries and departments by using a questionnaire to register complaints and automatically forwarding these complaints to the relevant officials to speed up resolution.
  • Benchmarking e-Services using the National e-Services Delivery Assessment: NeSDA is a periodic assessment conducted by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of e-governance service delivery in India.
  • Recognizing meritocracy through the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration.

 

Digital transformation of institutions

  • Initiatives like Bhashini, an AI-powered language translation platform, aim to support digital inclusion across diverse languages in India.
  • Use of AI in the CoWIN app helped manage the COVID-19 vaccination drive efficiently.
  • Launch of “Mission Karmayogi”- From rules-based to roles-based, the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB) was launched as a new national architecture for civil services.  It is a comprehensive reform of the capacity-building apparatus at the individual, institutional and process levels for efficient public service delivery.
  • e-Samiksha- A real-time online system for monitoring and following up on the decisions taken by the Government at the Apex level in respect of the implementation of important Government programmes/projects.

 

Digital empowerment of citizens

  • Projects like BharatNet aim to connect rural areas with high-speed internet, significantly enhancing access to digital services.
  • Digital India has streamlined service delivery with platforms like MyGov, Digi Locker, and the National Scholarship Portal, allowing online access to government services and enhancing efficiency.

[/stextbox]

 

India- Mauritius Relations:

 

Bilateral Relation Overview: 

  • A key reason for the special ties is the fact that Indian origin people comprise nearly 70% of the island’s population of 1.2 million.
  • The enduring cultural and people-to-people ties between 
  • India and Mauritius are nurtured by the Indian Cultural Centre in Mauritius (India’s biggest in the world) and the 
  • World Hindi Secretariat, a bilateral organisation for the global promotion of Hindi.
  • India has traditionally been the ‘first responder’ for Mauritius in times of crisis, including during the recent Covid-19 and Wakashio oil-spill crises.

 

[stextbox id=’info’]

Commercial Relations

  • Trade: Since 2005, India has been a major trading partner of Mauritius. 
  • In FY 2022-2023, India exported goods worth USD 462.69 million to Mauritius, while Mauritius exported USD 91.50 million to India, totaling USD 554.19 million in trade. 
  • Trade has increased by 132% over 17 years.
  • FDI: From 2000 to 2022, Mauritius contributed USD 161 billion in cumulative FDI to India, accounting for 26% of total FDI inflows.
  • Since the 2016 DTAC amendment, FDI from Mauritius has decreased from USD 15.72 billion in 2016-17 to USD 6.13 billion in 2022-23. 
  • Mauritius remains India’s third largest FDI source,
  • Indian companies investing over USD 200 million in Mauritius in the past five years.
  • Mauritius and India signed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) on February 22, 2021, after nearly 15 years of negotiations. 
  • Effective from April 1, 2021, it is India’s first trade agreement with an African country.

[/stextbox]

 

India- Mauritius Strategic relations:

  • Military and Security Collaboration
  • Coastal Surveillance: India has set up radar stations in Mauritius to boost maritime security.
  • Joint Exercises: The two nations conduct joint military exercises and training to strengthen defence ties.
  • Strategic Importance
  • Geopolitical Context: Mauritius is key to India’s strategy against China’s influence in the Indian Ocean, crucial for trade and maritime security.
  • SAGAR Initiative: India’s SAGAR initiative focuses on enhancing engagement with maritime neighbours like Mauritius for regional security and stability.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts