INDIA & THE WORLD BILATERAL AFFAIRS MAY 2014

INDIA & THE WORLD BILATERAL AFFAIRS MAY 2014

• Pakistan on 26th May handed over 150 Indian fishermen and another prisoner held for crossing the border to Indian authorities at the Wagah border in a goodwill gesture by Premier Nawaz Sharif who is in India to attend the swearing in ceremony of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.Out of the 151 people handed over to the Border Security Force at the Wagah border, 150 were fishermen and one was a prisoner in Karachi jail who inadvertently crossed into Pakistan from the Sindh border. They were brought to the Wagah Border from Karachi by buses. Nawaz Sharif on 25 May ordered the release of the 151 Indian prisoners and 57 boats, a day before his visit to India.
  
• Mr. Alon Ushpiz, the Ambassador of Israel to India met Mrs Smriti Irani, the Minister of Human Resource Development, on 29th May, 2014 to discuss strengthening of educational relations between India and Israel. The Minister stressed that education is an engine of growth and collaborative knowledge creation is very important for building a better world. During the discussion the new Joint Research programme between India and Israel was taken up in which both countries have pledged to take up joint research programmes amounting up to USD 5.0 million per year. It was highlighted that in the first round 66 joint research proposals have been received and the evaluation by the experts from both the sides will start on 29 May and will be completed by June, 2014. Mr. Ushpiz informed that Israel offers 200 Post Doctoral fellowships of which about 80 percent are availed by the Indian students. The Ambassador also informed that Nobel Laureate Ms Ada E Yonath, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Dr. V. Ramakrishnan will be visiting India during March, 2015. The Ambassador also invited the Hon’ble Minister to visit Israel.
  
• A Credit Agreement for World Bank (IDA) assistance of US$ 100 million for Accelerating Universal Access to Early and Effective Tuberculosis Care has been signed between the Government of India and the World Bank in New Delhi on 30 May. This Agreement was signed by Nilaya Mitash, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of Government of India and Mr. Michael Haney, World Bank’s Operation’s Advisor in India, on behalf of the World Bank.
  • This project is the third in a series of projects supporting the Government of India’s Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP).
  • It will support implementation of India’s National Strategic Plan for TB Control during 2014-15 and 2015-16 by contributing annually to the care of 3.1 million TB patients, better treatment for 40,000 MDR-TB patients and 90,000 paediatric TB cases.
  • Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is the implementing agency for the project.
  • Tuberculosis remains one of the top four causes of death among the most productive age groups with huge economic costs, particularly for poor households.
    
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay in New Delhi on 27th as Tobgay had been attended Modi's swearing-in ceremony. India has been agreed to build four new joint venture hydropower projects in Bhutan as the two governments agreed to closely coordinate on issues relating to their national security and interests. India agreed that it would build four new hydropower projects with a capacity to generate 2120 MW in Bhutan. Tobgay also called on President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
  
• Navies of India and Singapore are conducting joint war drills in the Andaman Sea from May 22-28, to enhance understanding and inter-operability between the two sides. Every year, the two countries hold the SIMBEX-series of naval drills along the Andaman Sea . SIMBEX 14 will be the 21st exercise of the war games between the two navies. Bilateral naval cooperation between the two navies was first formalised when Singaporean Navy ships began training in anti-submarine warfare with us in 1994.SIMBEX stands for 'Singapore Indian Maritime Bilateral Exercise’. This year, the Indian Navy is being represented by IN ships Kuthar and Karmuk from the Eastern Naval Command. In addition, a maritime reconnaissance aircraft and a helicopter each from Andaman and Nicobar Command are also participating in the exercise. The Singapore Navy is represented by the missile corvette, 'Valour' and the patrol vessel, 'Independence'.