Context: Recently, the External Affairs Minister announced that India will fund the implementation of Greater Male Connectivity. 

Key highlights of the project

• It will be a 6.7 kilometre bridge project connecting Male with Gulhifalhu Port and Thilafushi industrial zone, which will help in revitalizing and transforming the Maldivian economy.
• It will be funded through a $400 million dollar Line of Credit and $100 million dollar grant.
• Once completed, this landmark project will streamline connectivity between the four islands, thereby boosting economic activity, generating employment and promoting holistic urban development in the Male region. 
• It will ease much of the pressure of the main capital island of Male for commercial and residential purposes.

Other Important Announcements made

• A regular cargo ferry service between India and Maldives will be started to boost trade and commerce.
• An air travel bubble between the countries will start soon to sustain and promote the dynamic people-to-people ties between the two countries.
• India has decided to renew quotas for supply of essential commodities to Maldives for the year 2020-21.
• The commodities include food items like potatoes, onions, rice, wheat, flour, sugar, dal and eggs as well as river sand and stone aggregates and the quotas assure food security and hence provide certainty and price stability for essential items in the Maldives. 

India – Maldives Relations
Background

• India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links.
• India was among the first to recognize the Maldives after its independence in 1965 and later established its mission at Male in 1972.
• India and Maldives officially and amicably decided their maritime boundary in 1976.
• Diaspora: There are 25,000 Indian nationals living in the Maldives (second largest expatriate community). 

India’s crucial help to Maldives

• Operation Cactus: It was an attempt by a group of Maldivians led by Abdullah Luthufi and assisted by armed mercenaries of a Tamil secessionist organization from Sri Lanka, the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), to overthrow the government in the island republic of Maldives on 3rd November 1988. The coup d’état failed due to the intervention of the Indian Army, whose military operations efforts were code-named Operation Cactus.
• Maldives urged India for help following the collapse of the island’s only water treatment plant, India helped by sending its heavy lift transporters like C-17 Globemaster III, II-76 carrying bottled water.

Political Relations-

• Both nations are founding members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the South Asian Economic Union and signatories to the South Asia Free Trade Agreement.
• Maldives is an important aspect of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and ‘India First’ has been a stated policy of the Government of Maldives. Both nations are working together to counter China’s presence in the IOR. 

Strategic Importance

• In the Indian Ocean, Maldives archipelago comprising 1,200 coral islands lies next to key shipping lanes which ensure uninterrupted energy supplies to countries like China, Japan, and India.
• Since 1988, defence and security have been a major area of cooperation between India and Maldives. India has adopted a very flexible and accommodating approach in meeting Maldivian requirements of defence training and equipment
• India provides the largest number of training opportunities for Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF), meeting around 70% of their defence training requirements. 
• Ekuverin’is a joint military exercise between India and Maldives.

Trade and Economy

• Maldives has extended its support for India’s candidature for permanent membership of an expanded and reformed UN Security Council. The Maldives also has reiterated support for India’s candidature for a non-permanent seat for the year 2020-21.
• India is Maldives’ 4th largest trade partner after UAE, China and Singapore. In 2018, India was the 5th largest source of tourist arrivals in the Maldives.
• At present, India-assisted projects in the region include water and sewerage projects on 34 islands, reclamation of the project for the Addl island, a port on Gulhifalhu, airport redevelopment at Hanimadhoo, and a hospital and a cricket stadium in Hulhumale.

Development Assistance Programme

• India has helped Maldives in many diverse areas to bolster the development of Maldives e.g. Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Maldives Institute of Technical Education (now called the Maldives Polytechnic), India-Maldives Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism Studies, Technology Adoption Programme in Education Sector in the Maldives etc. 

Concerns

• As China’s naval expansion into the Indian Ocean has been growing, the significance of Maldives has steadily grown and now it’s at the heart of international geopolitics.
• India-Maldives ties had deteriorated significantly under its President Yameen who was perceived to be close to China.

Location of Maldives

• Maldives lies south-west of the Indian sub-continent and its capital is Male.
• It is made up of a chain of nearly 1,200 islands, most of them are uninhabited.
• None of the coral islands stand more than 1.8 metres above sea level, which makes the country vulnerable to any rise in sea levels associated with global warming.