Iran- Saudi Deal

Subject : International relations

Section: International Events

Context:

Saudi Arabia and Iran have announced that they are restoring full diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by China.

More about the Deal:

Saudi Arabia and Iran, represented by their national security advisers, signed an agreement in Beijing, China, to re-establish diplomatic ties, respect each other’s sovereignty and maintain non-interference in the other’s domestic affairs.
This agreement ends seven years of diplomatic estrangement between the two Gulf neighbours.
The deal has been necessitated by mutual interests of both nations.
For instance, Saudi Arabia, which is undergoing rapid changes, wants peace in its neighbourhood. Also, Iran, which is under the U.S.-imposed sanctions, wants more diplomatic and economic openings.

Earlier Efforts Towards Brokering Peace Deal:

Saudi Arabia and Iran started directly talking to each other in 2021 and had held multiple rounds of negotiations thereafter, first in Iraq and then Oman.
However, no breakthrough was achieved as issues that divide the two countries like the wars in Syria and Yemen, and Saudi concerns relating to Iran’s mobilization of Shia communities in the region against the Arab states were left unaddressed.

Emergence of China as a Power Broker in West Asia:

China has been involved in multilateral peace talks such as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which the U.S. unilaterally withdrew in 2018.
But this is the first time Beijing is using its leverage directly to bring conflicting parties to reconciliation.
Also, unlike the U.S., which has hostile ties with Iran, Beijing enjoys good ties with Tehran and Riyadh, as a leading oil buyer and trading partner, respectively.
This has hence put China in a unique position to bring two of the region’s most significant powers closer.

West Asia’s Strategic Realignments in Recent Years:

In 2020, the UAE became the first Arab country to normalize relations with Israel in a quarter century.
In the following years, Israel and Arab countries deepened their partnerships.
In 2021, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their allies decided to end their failed blockade of Qatar.

Govt. names Mohanty as chairperson of PFRDA

PFRDA is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament to promote old age income security by establishing, developing and regulating pension funds, to protect the interests of subscribers to schemes of pension funds and for matters connected there with or incidental thereto.
PFRDA performs the function of appointing various intermediate agencies like Pension Fund Managers, Central Record Keeping Agency (CRA) etc.
It develops, promotes and regulates the pension industry under National Pension System and also administers the Atal Pension Yojana.

Atal Pension Yojana

The scheme was launched on 9th May, 2015, with the objective of creating a universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor, the under-privileged and the workers in the unorganised sector.
Administered By: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority through National Pension System (NPS).
Any citizen of India can join the APY scheme. The age of the subscriber should be between 18-40 years. The contribution levels would vary and would be low if a subscriber joins early and increases if she joins late.
Benefits:
- It provides a minimum guaranteed pension ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 on attaining 60 years of age.
- The amount of pension is guaranteed for lifetime to the spouse on death of the subscriber.
- In the event of death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the entire pension corpus is paid to the nominee.
- Contributions to the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) are eligible for tax benefits similar to the National Pension System (NPS).

National Pension System

NPS is a government-sponsored pension scheme. It was launched in 2004 for government employees.
Now, any individual citizen of India (both resident and non-resident) in the age group of 18-65 can join NPS.

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