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Maldives had its Presidential election on 23rd September 2018 and Ibrahim Mohamed Solih emerged as the victor with 58% votes in his favour. Initially, Former President Abdulla Yameen showed signs of resistance and was against the results but has accepted defeat and agreed to the peaceful transfer of power. The new term is set to begin on November 17, 2018 and would be crucial not just for Maldives but also for India and China.
Both China and India have been trying to maintain their influence in the region. While China hoped for Abdulla Yameen to get re-elected, India has been weary of the growing Chinese investments and its implications. Male becomes very important for both the countries due to its geo-strategic location and the tide seems to turn in India's favour as of now. The new President is widely seen as close ally to India and has also promised to reassess many deals signed with China. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs was also swift in welcoming the election result. But, experts believe that India needs to be careful as it does not have deep pockets like China to provide assistance in monetary terms. People of Maldives claim this to be a victory of democracy and the International community has to see how things will unfold for the newly elected government.
The tiny Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan held its third general elections on the 18th of October 2018. A total of 94 candidates were contesting for 47 seats in the lower house of parliament- the National Assembly.
Elections in Bhutan take place in two rounds, the first is the primary round where all the registered political parties are allowed to participate and contest elections. Only the two parties with the highest number of votes in the primary round are allowed to participate in the second round, i.e., the general round.
The National Assembly preliminary round took place on the 15th of October 2018 and qualified 2 major parties Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) and Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT). Voting was open to all 20 districts and the primary round saw a voting turnout of 66.27%. Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT), a centre-left party won the National Assembly elections with a majority of 30 seats while Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) won the remainder of 17 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the President of DNT, Lotay Tshering on his party's victory.
Bhutan, previously run by a monarchy, is now one of the youngest democracies in the world and it is believed that the recent general elections will only strengthen the spirit of democracy.
The bilateral relations of India and Sri Lanka are century old relations both culturally and politically thereby making Sri Lanka an important ally to India. The geographical location of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean also makes it a strategic partner. The Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe arrives in New Delhi on the 19th of October for a three-day official visit.
The visit of the PM is scheduled to find solutions to the lagging progress of India-aided projects in Sri Lanka, mainly the construction of Mattala airport near the Chinese Hambantota port because of its strategic importance and other housing projects in Jaffna. Other problems include straying fishermen in territorial waters separating the island nation from India. Further, the leaders are expected to discuss the agreement on the joint operation of the oil storage facility in the port town in Trincomalee.
India is required to align itself with the island nation to secure its national interests with a focus on trade and investments due to the growing threats in the neighbourhood. India's relations with its immediate neighbours and its distant neighbours i.e. littoral nations of the Indian Ocean hold crucial importance in securing its borders from external threats and counter-balancing China in the Indian Ocean. Even though Sri Lanka's relations with India have faced few obstacles, with frequent high-level visits, the nations have managed to maintain warm relations which are driven by strategic and commercial objectives.
The American Dream is now more distant than ever before especially for the Indian aspirants. The Trump administration is planning several changes one of which being the issue of H-1B visa. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that the US Citizenship and Immigration services (USCIS) plan to propose new changes by January 2019. The Trump administration feels that H-1B visa policy is being misused by companies to replace American workers. An H-1B visa is a work visa issued to professional workers in specialty occupation which requires the applicant to hold at least a bachelor's degree. The US immigration law defines specialty occupation as one that requires the applicant to complete their bachelor's degree in a specialized field. But, off late, USCIS has denied H-1B visa for several titles including programmer, general manager, operation manager, and market analysts. It has also dismissed cases of an MBA graduate, saying an MBA is not a degree in specific subject. There are reforms to ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most skilled or the highest paid beneficiaries in their respective field.
One of the other major proposals pertaining to H-1B visa is that of revoking H-4 visas. The H-4 visa is issued to the immediate family members (spouse and children under the age of 21) of the H-1B visa holders. In 2015, the DHS extended the eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 holders. It is believed that abandoning the current practice of granting employment authorisation to H-4 visa holders would benefit the US workers while affecting a large number of families. The predicted date for the implementation of these changes in policy is in August 2019.
Contributors: Vishwajeet Singh Raghav, Sanaya Dhondy, Shambhavi Joshi, Rahul Kamath
Image Source: Daily News, Al Jazeera, The Pioneer, DNA