The Week Ahead: Afghanistan turmoil worsens; India gets closer to kids’ inoculation

Afghanistan remains the primary foreign policy issue for India, with the focus on pulling out Indian nationals still in Kabul before the August 31 (Tuesday) deadline for the drawdown of US troops

Will the entire world’s diplomatic might be able to save Afghan lives or the country’s slide into Taliban-enforced authoritarianism? Not an easy question to answer, but this week we will get a glimpse into what India and the rest of the world could possibly do to prevent a complete breakdown of a fragile society.

An evacuee from Afghanistan boards a US-bound flight. (REUTERS)

Afghanistan remains the primary foreign policy issue for India, with the focus on pulling out Indian nationals still in Kabul before the August 31 (Tuesday) deadline for the drawdown of US troops. To be sure, India has taken a cautious approach on the issue of any recognition of the new set-up in Kabul, especially at a time when there are indications that Russia and China are willing to work with the Taliban. On the other hand, the Taliban have been indicating that they want good relations with India, but these feelers are being seen in the context of the group’s efforts to gain legitimacy with the international community.

Back in India, the focus continues to be Covid and the world’s second largest vaccination drive. The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) is likely to meet this week to discuss whether to allow Covid vaccination in children or not; and whether to prioritise children with comorbidities. The meeting is being conducted because the national drugs regulator (Drugs Controller General of India or DCGI) recently granted emergency use approval to Zydus Cadila’s anti Covid-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D that has been tested in participants who were as young as 12 years.

GDP estimates will be released on Tuesday, providing a window to what the economy has been going through. India’s GDP contracted by an unprecedented 24.4% in the April-June 2020 quarter, thanks largely to the 68-day national lockdown. This year, though, the story will be different. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has projected a 21.4% GDP growth for this quarter.

In two of India’s largest, most important metros, the question that continues to be on everyone’s mind is, “What do we do about school and college education?” In Mumbai, the clamour for the first year junior college (Class XI) admissions is not likely to end anytime soon, and another merit list is expected this week. In Delhi, public and private schools will start reopening for classes 9 to 12 from September 1 after the government’s green signal last Friday. This is the first time they will reopen since March this year. Central and state universities are also expected to take a call on the phased reopening of campuses based on Delhi Disaster Management Authority orders.

Delhi University’s Executive Council will hold a meeting on August 31 and pass the National Education Policy provisions implementing the four-year undergraduate programme course structure from the next academic year, along with allowing students to enter-exit the course at any point and use academic credits to switch between universities to finish their degree. The move is significant as it will change the undergraduate course structure. Registrations for undergraduate admissions for this academic session in DU will also close on August 31.

In other states, the political activity will continue to remain red hot. In poll-bound Uttarakhand, the state government will organise camps from September 1 to provide 1 lakh self-employment opportunities to the youth of the state by providing them loans. In response to BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra, the Congress will start Parivartan Yatra from chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s home turf -- Khatima, in Kumaon -- from September 3. Char Dham priests and people also associated with shrines have warned of intensifying their agitation and resigning from the membership of BJP from September 1 if a decision on dissolution of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board is not taken by then. In West Bengal, Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira Banerjee had been summoned by Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a multi-crore coal smuggling case on September 1. Meanwhile, the CBI will continue with its probe in post poll violence case. Two persons have alrady been arrested.