2+2 India-US Ministerial Dialogue

Mundka Factory Fire Caused by Negligence, Many Haven’t Received Compensation: Fact-Finding Report

Most victims of the May 13 fire were women, and almost all of them were found to be underpaid.

New Delhi: A fact-finding report on the Mundka factory fire in west Delhi on May 13, 2022 has charged that the “catastrophic incident could have been avoided by proper enforcement of the laws and by limiting human greed”. The fire had claimed the lives of at least 27 workers, of which 21 were women, and left 40 workers grievously injured. The new report by the Delhi Chapter of Working Peoples’ Charter (WPC) has termed the fire incident a “monumental criminal negligence of workers’ safety by employers in connivance with the administration”.

The WPC team, comprising labour NGOs, trade unionists, women’s rights activists and public health experts, had visited the factory site and surrounding areas and interacted with the victims and their family members on June 11. It enquired about the factory building, status of the locality and regulatory provisions and gaps.

In its report, released in July 4, the WPC said the four-storey building was being used for industrial purposes in the extended Lal Dora area. It said such operation in the area “is not permitted” and that the unit was operating without a valid factory licence. “It was acting in violation of all labour laws and safety regulations, as it was in a congested area, without any sufficient fire safety mechanisms in place and without a No Objection Certificate from the fire department,” the report said.

The devastating fire had resulted in the death of 27 workers, out of which 21 were women. The report said “this was not surprising since nearly 90 per cent of the workforce in this factory were women.” Most of them, it said, were below 30 years of age and some were as young as 18-19 years old.

Victims, families facing financial hardship, distress following tragedy

Following the tragedy, a majority of the affected families have been forced to live in a state of severe financial hardship and emotional distress, the report said.

The report also pointed to some structural aspects of the building that contributed to the tragedy. It said “the fibreglass facade of the building was unbreakable during the fire and there were no windows in the building”.

The workers also told the WPC team that they were not allowed to take mobile phones inside the factory. One of the workers, Aanchal, who survived the tragedy, told the team members that when the fire started one of her co-workers Preeti was carrying her phone. Through this, Aanchal informed her brother about the incident and he immediately reached the factory with a rope to evacuate those trapped. Some of the workers also told the fact-finding team that “the employer, showing utter disregard for the lives of the workers, fled the scheme after incurring minor injuries”.

Also read: ‘No One Cares’: Naseem Ansari Is Still Waiting for His Wife, Missing After Mundka Fire

`Deaths under-reported as many workers were not on rolls’

The team members spoke to a number of survivors and family members of the victims. Following this interaction, the report said the factory was not paying minimum wages to its workers and some they were also not being issued pay slips. “This was just one, among a host of labour code violations by the factory,” it said, adding that “most employees did not have any documentation that they were employed by the factory”.

The fact-finding claimed that lack of proper documentation was also a reason why “official figures of death were underestimated”. “Workers reported to the fact-finding team that more than 50 people were killed, of which 45 were women,” the report said.

The Mundka factory fire. Photo: PTI

Victim says no support or compensation received from Delhi government

The report also quoted a survivor, Kajal, as saying that they were yet to get any support from the government and not a single rupee has been given as compensation.

Reacting to the approach of the authorities towards the fire incident, national secretary of the WPC, Dharmendra Kumar, said there cannot be any compromise on compliance with statutory provisions protecting workers’ rights. He blamed the nexus between government departments and companies for the Mundka factory fire and demanded that fair affirmative actions be taken to regularise work sites.

The WPC also released another report on the actual access to minimum wages by workers in Delhi. This report was based on a survey of 1,076 workers in Delhi across the four clusters – domestic, construction, industrial and security guards. This study, conceptualised by WPC and guided by Delhi Shramik Sanghatan, Janpahal, Gram Vaani and Yuva, stated that in 2015, the Delhi government implemented the historical Supreme Court ruling on implementation of ‘need-based minimum wages’.

95% workers not being paid minimum wages

However, the report said, “95 per cent of workers, despite having required skill sets, are not being paid a statutory minimum wage as stipulated by the Government of Delhi.” It said “approximately 46% of workers earn monthly wages between Rs 5,000 and Rs 9,000 and around 74% of workers are able to save less than Rs 500 per month. This amount, the report suggests, is not enough to even get a social insurance scheme as provided by the Government of India, such as ESIC.

It added that over two-thirds of the workers were not aware of the laws that strengthen their right to receive decent wages and 98% of workers do not receive pay slips. Women were worse off as 98% of female workers, in comparison to 95% of male workers, were found to be receiving wages below the stipulated minimum wages.

`75% workers work in indecent environment’

The study also revealed that over 75% of the workers work in indecent working environments without sufficient facilities and insecure work site premises. This, it said, could lead to unhealthy industrial relations and welfare losses for workers.

Ramendra Kumar of Delhi Shramik Sangathan and vice president of WPC lauded the Delhi government for fixing need-based minimum wages. However, he expressed his disappointment at the non-enforcement of the minimum wages for workers in Delhi and urged the government to prioritise strengthening labour administration for proper implementation of the minimum wages including for unorganised and migrant workers.

Shruti of Jagori demanded exemplary punishment for gender-based discrimination at work and advocated for constituting labour monitoring committees at central, state and local levels with due representation of women and informal workers.

‘Buying Russian Oil Is Not in India’s Interests,’ US President Tells PM Modi

The virtual meeting between two leaders was held hours before the ‘2 plus 2’ bilateral engagement between top foreign policy and defence officials in Washington on Monday.

New Delhi: US President Joe Biden on Monday told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that importing more Russian oil was not in New Delhi’s interest, even as he asserted that Washington would continue “close consultations” with India to manage the “destabilising effect” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The push from the highest level in the United States specifically endorsed the message conveyed by deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh, who said that there would be “consequences” if India attempted to actively circumvent the sanctions against Russia.

White House Press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Biden’s remarks in his call with the Indian leader were “consistent with what our deputy national security advisor, of course, did during his visit just a few weeks ago”.

She was referring to the visit of Daleep Singh, US deputy NSA for international economics, who is considered the chief architect of the sanctions against Russia.

Singh’s blunt message had annoyed New Delhi, which had led the White House to clarify earlier that the US had not warned India over buying Russian oil.

However, following the Modi-Biden call on Monday, the White House asserted that the US President had endorsed the missive delivered by Daleep Singh.

The US President made it “clear that it was in India’s interest to accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy and other commodities,” Psaki said.

She stated that while Russian crude accounts for just 1-2% of India’s energy imports, “we also made clear that we will be happy to help them diversify this as well”.

US President Biden had requested for the virtual interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their first one-on-one interaction since the Ukraine war began on February 24. They had previously taken part in the ‘Quad’ leaders summit in March.

The virtual meeting was held hours before the ‘2 plus 2’ bilateral engagement between top foreign policy and defence officials in Washington on Monday.

India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and defence minister Rajnath Singh, who had travelled to Washington for the first ‘2 plus 2’ meeting under the Biden administration, sat at the round table with the US President as he began the talks.

Also read: ‘With Us or Against Us?’: What to Expect from the India-US ‘2+2’ Ministerial Talks

In a reflection of India’s stance, there had been no mention of Ukraine on the bilateral agenda in the Indian press release announcing the virtual meeting between the two leaders. However, the White House statement was categorical that President Biden would talk about the “ consequences of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and mitigating its destabilising impact on global food supply and commodity markets”.

The two leaders ‘ opening remarks clearly showed the differences between New Delhi and Washington over their public posturing on Ukraine.

“US and India are going to continue our close consultation on how to manage the destabilising effect of the Russian war. And I am looking forward to our discussion today,” he said.

India has been increasing its purchase of Russian crude to reduce the spiralling fuel import bill. But, this has met with disapproval in Western capitals, where economic sanctions have been the primary weapon in pressuring Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.

India had asserted that it has been open to talks with Russia to “stabilise” its “established” economic relationship with Russia. Both countries have been in the negotiations for setting up a payment mechanism that will allow India to keep on buying Russian commodities.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov praised India for not taking a “one-sided view” on the Ukraine war during his visit.

From Daleep Singh to Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, senior US administration officials have increasingly made public noises about their discomfort with India attempting to thwart western sanctions. India responded by pointing out that Europe was still buying fuel from Russia and demanded “political colouring” should not be attributed to New Delhi’s actions.

At a background briefing on the Modi-Biden call, a senior US administration described the conversation as “very candid.”

“We know that not all countries will be able to do what we’ve done. We know that India is not a major consumer of Russian oil. Its current imports are about 1 to 2 per cent of its total energy imports. And, as of now, our energy payments — our energy payments are exempt from current sanctions. And we’ve been very clear that we’ve been able to ban oil and LNG and coal imports from Russia, but other countries have to make their own choices,” he said.

In his opening remarks, Biden also acknowledged that India had sent humanitarian support to the war-ravaged country.

“On that note, I want to welcome India’s humanitarian support for people of Ukraine who are suffering a horrific assault, including a tragic attack on a train station,” said the US President. Biden’s reference to the Indian assistance came after his previous assertion that the “root” of the India-US partnership is a “deep connection between our people, ties of family, friendship and shared values”.

The Indian PM stated that India remains deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine. He also repeated India’s condemnation of the killing of civilians in Bucha, which Ukrainian and Western governments had blamed on Russian soldiers.

In line with India’s stance, Modi did not, as usual, criticise Russia directly but restated India’s demand for an impartial probe.

“The news of the recent killings of innocent civilians in Bucha city was very worrying. We condemned it immediately and have also demanded an independent investigation”.

In answer to repeated media queries on whether US pressure would finally lead India to condemn the Ukraine invasion, the White House spokesperson only observed that India had “condemned” the Bucha killing. However, she did not state that New Delhi had not pointed the finger at Russia for allegedly carrying out the civilian massacre.

India has, so far, abstained from voting on all the ten resolutions brought by western countries against Russia in UN bodies, including the latest one, which expelled the Russian delegation from the UN Human Rights Council.

Modi also hoped that ongoing dialogue between Russia and Ukraine would lead to peace.

“I spoke on the phone several times with the Presidents of both Ukraine and Russia. Not only did I appeal for peace, but I also suggested President Putin to have direct talks with the President of Ukraine. The subject of Ukraine has also been discussed in great detail in our Parliament,” said Modi.

He also referred to India’s evacuation of 20,000 medical students from Ukraine after the invasion began.

The US side also sought to wean India away from Russia by referring to Moscow’s tight embrace of Beijing. This had also been a refrain of visiting US officials in India.

“…we know that India has concerns about the links between Russia and China. India, of course, is facing a very tense situation along the Line of Actual Control. And when India sees the tight links between China and Russia, that’s obviously going to impact their thinking,” the senior US administration official told reporters.

In answer to another question during the briefing, Psaki added that no decision had been taken on providing India with a waiver against the CAATSA sanctions triggered by the purchase of the S-400 missile system.

Note: This story has been updated with new information since it was first published.

‘With Us or Against Us?’: What to Expect from the India-US ‘2+2’ Ministerial Talks

The meeting in Washington assumes significance in the wake of the US’s efforts in the recent weeks to try and wean India off Russian defence materiel and lure it into its own domestic military-industrial complex.

Chandigarh: Other than tackle the burning issue of Russia’s ongoing military campaign in Ukraine, the ‘2+2’ ministerial dialogue between the Indian and US defence and foreign ministers in Washington early next week is expected to see the two sides fast-track New Delhi’s deferred $3 billion purchase of multi-mission armed unmanned aerial vehicles.

Security sources have told The Wire that the April 11 meeting between Rajnath Singh and S. Jaishankar and their US counterparts Lloyd Austin and Antony Blinken is expected to progress the acquisition of 30 General Atomics-Aeronautics Systems Incorporated MQ-9B Reaper/Sea Guardian unmanned aerial vehicles – 10 for each of the three services – via the US Foreign Military Sales route.

“The high costs involved in the long-endurance MQ-9B unmanned aerial vehicles purchase is the principal handicap in clinching the deal, and the discussions in Washington next week are likely to focus on that aspect,” says retired Brigadier Rahul Bhonsle of the Security Risks Consultancy Group in Delhi.

Other technical and operational details of the Indian Navy-led unmanned aerial vehicles procurement have already been finalised over the past two years, he adds.

Also read: US Sanctions Against Russia Take India’s Materiel Upkeep Concerns From Bad to Worse

Major issues to be on the table

Earlier, in late 2020, the Indian Navy had leased two non-weaponised Sea Guardian unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor the Indian Ocean Region from Indian Naval Air Station INS Rajali in Tamil Nadu. With an endurance of over 30 hours, the two maritime variants of the armed Predator-B supplemented surveillance operations conducted over the Indian Ocean Region by the Indian Navy’s Boeing P-8I Neptune long-range maritime multi-mission fleet, that too is based at Rajali.

The two unmanned aerial vehicles were the first lot of military equipment that India had leased under the new provisions incorporated in the Defence Acquisition Procedure-2020 manual.

A Chetak helicopter. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Nani1992 CC BY-SA 3.0

Alongside, the potential purchase by the Indian Navy of Boeing F/A-18 Block III ‘Super Hornet’ fighters for employment aboard, its indigenously designed and built 37, 500-tonne short take-off barrier arrested recovery aircraft carrier – scheduled for commissioning as INS Vikrant on Independence Day in August 2022 – is also expected to feature in next week’s 2+2 meet, the fourth such conclave since 2018.

The Indian Navy has a long-pending requirement for 57 multi-role carrier-borne fighters – a number which could be pared down to 36-odd platforms due to budgetary constraints – and consequently two F-18s are expected to imminently conduct a series of operational demonstrations at the shore-based test facility (SBTF) at INS Hansa in Goa. The SBTF’s 283m mock-up ski jump facility resembles the deck of an aircraft carrier and was also where Dassault’s two Rafale-Maritime (M) fighters displayed their capabilities earlier this year, as a possible rival to the F-18 in meeting the Navy’s eventual requirements.

At present, the Indian Navy operates two squadrons of 44 Russian MiG29K/KUB deck-based fighters that comprise the air arm of INS Vikramaditya (ex-Admiral Gorshkov), the Navy’s sole 44,750 tonne refurbished Kiev-class carrier. But these fighters are facing maintainability, availability and spare parts problems, industry sources say and need possible supplementation and subsequent replacement.

Official sources say that other than the MQ-9B UAVs and the F-18s, the “hugely sensitive” issue of invoking Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on India over its procurement of five Russian Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf self-propelled surface-to-air (SAM) missile systems too would doubtlessly feature in the 2+2 Dialogue.

The US has already effected CAATSA against Turkey and China in 2018 and 2020 respectively for installing their respective S-400s. With India deploying an analogous Russian SAM system earlier this year, it too was susceptible to embargoes. But as the US’ close strategic and military ally, India is hopeful of a CAATSA bypass, which can be granted by President Joe Biden under the Act’s “modified waiver authority” for “certain sanctionable transactions”.

Changed scenario

The transfer of diverse other materiel to India will also be high on the 2+2’s agenda following Washington’s repeated calls over the past three years for Delhi to reduce its extraordinary dependence on Russian defence equipment.

Also read: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and India’s Diminishing Global Role

In recent weeks, the Ukrainian invasion has only raised Washington’s pitch to a frenzy to try and wean India off Russian materiel and lure it into its own domestic military-industrial complex, which senses a lucrative opportunity to enrich itself. Over 60% of India’s in-service defence equipment in all three services is of Soviet or Russian origin, which under harsh US-led sanctions faces severe problems in sourcing spares and ancillary equipment to remain operational.

“By severely sanctioning Russia’s arms industry, for which Delhi is the principal customer, the US is hoping to close it down and take up the slack with regard to India’s defence needs which remain substantial,” says Amit Cowshish, former Ministry of Defence (MoD) acquisitions advisor. “It’s a well-calculated move by Washington that has potentially lucrative spinoffs for US armament companies for decades in direct sales or in technology transfers.”

Potential problems with the US defence procurements

But despite the $20-odd billion worth of platforms like P-8Is, C-17 Globemaster IIIs and C-130J-30 Super Hercules transports, AH-64E Apache and CH-47F Chinook attack and heavy-lift helicopters, which India had acquired from 2002 onwards, there is an inherent inhibition in these procurements: it forecloses the possibility of India’s military pursuing its long-established and hugely accomplished, and at times, resort to jugaad (‘make do’) with regard to equipment.

Ladakh India-China tensions Indian Air Force

An Indian Air Force’s Apache helicopter is seen in the Ladakh region on September 17, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Danish Siddiqui.

Entirely feasible on Soviet or Russian platforms and equipment – at times even welcomed and with no restrictions whatsoever – the attitude of jugaad has not only provided India’s military flexibility in operating its kit but also ably rendered foreign equipment wholly serviceable in climatic extremes and assorted terrain and for varied operational deployments.

But the US protocols like the End Use Monitoring Agreement (EUMA), agreed upon in 2009 after much wrangling and extended negotiation, proscribes India from retrofitting and adapting military equipment to its needs without the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) consent and participation for the entire duration of its service, which in the US’s case, has almost never ever been permitted.

With the 80-odd countries with which Washington has concluded the EUMA, it has reportedly made an exception only a handful of times, once by allowing the Israel Air Force to incorporate locally developed sensors and weapons onto Lockheed Martin F-16’s supplied to Tel Aviv and subsequently with regard to some systems aboard Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightening II fifth generation fighters supplied recently to the Israel Air Force.

Besides, all US military purchases by India under the Foreign Military Sales programme have been concluded under the stricter ‘Golden Sentry’ EUMA, which governs the physical verification of the equipment and its eventual disposal. This protocol is far stricter than the less stringent ‘Blue Lantern’ EUMA which directs the direct commercial sale of US materiel worldwide.

And though the Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance government had then obliquely claimed success in concluding the EUMA on Indian terms, by securing the concession that the time and location of the US equipment’s verification process would be determined by Delhi, it had deftly avoided all mention of life-long and costly reliance on OEMs to keep the US equipment in service.

Be that as it may, military officers say such foreclosure on the US defence gear supplied to India prohibits “amazing and efficient implementation of jugaad” that has been elevated to sophisticated levels. Generations of military officers concede that jugaad not only ensures that imported weapon systems perform well above their declared operational potential but also render a range of platforms and ordnance not only highly serviceable and effective, but in some instances even deadly.

These include the fleet of Chetak’s and Cheetah’s – principally Alouette IIIs and SA-315B Lama’s – rendered capable after jugaad of operating almost daily for decades at heights of over 14,000 feet in the Siachen glacier region and corresponding elevations, a feat their French OEMs could never ever have imagined possible.

Also read: Will India Roll Out Ingenious Measures to Bypass Sanctions Imposed on Russia?

Besides, some 100-odd MiG-21 ‘Bis’ ground attack fighters were effectively upgraded in the late 1990s with Russian collaboration by innovatively equipping them with French, Israeli, locally developed and commercial – off-the-shelf weapons, sensors and electronic warfare systems. The fleet of ground attack Anglo-French SEPECAT Jaguar’s too had been successfully retrofitted, provided with mid-air refuelling capability, amongst other systems, supplied by vendors other than their OEM.

Even the frontline Russian Sukhoi Su-30MkI multi-role fighters, which comprise the backbone of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) combat squadrons, had local and other-than-Russian force multipliers fitted on board, increasing their lethality. And during the 1999 Kargil conflict, the IAF had ably equipped its Mirage 2000Hs with indigenous 1,000-lb precision-guided munitions, delivering them with devastating effect on Pakistani army bunkers in the Himalayas. Even the Dassault Rafale fighters, the IAF’s most recent buy, were fitted with Israeli helmet-mounted displays as part of the platforms 13 India Specific Enhancements in a somewhat more sophisticated version of jugaad.

Midair refuelling of one of the five Rafale jets. Photo: PTI

Alongside, the Indian Army’s Soviet and Russian T72M1 and T 90S main battle tanks, 130mm M46 field guns and BMP-1/2 infantry combat vehicles, in addition to numerous naval assets had all been innovatively and effectively adapted through jugaad with their efficiency, operability and life span greatly enhanced.

But, under the EUMA, India’s military will have to forego this functional option to retrofit US-supplied equipment which, for the duration of its service would exclusively remain the OEMs responsibility to maintain, service and overhaul. This Agreement also irrevocably prevents India from getting US-origin defence equipment serviced by any other country or acquiring spares from other sources.

“Such cradle-to-grave restrictions provide Washington continuing leverage over the equipment recipient country,” says a two-star Indian Navy officer. “Such leverage,” he adds, “which is not the case with Russian equipment, has the inherent possibility of ensuring that the recipient country cooperates with Washington on US-centric strategic, political and diplomatic goals.”

Such a state of affairs would also firmly cement the “with-us-or-against-us” proclivity that Rambo-like the US is so fond of mouthing and one which will, no doubt, be in evidence at the 2+2 meet, though unsubtly sheathed in a velvet glove.