INDIA & THE WORLD BILATERAL AFFAIRS NOVEMBER 2014
- Canada province offers uranium
Brad Wall, Premier of the Saskatchewan province in Canada, who was on an official visit to India from November 16-23, said the province is discussing sale of uranium to India as well as partnering in agriculture and clean coal technologies.
On energy cooperation, Premier Wall said that like India, Saskatchewan province too depends on coal for about 50 per cent of its needs and to minimize carbon emissions, a clean coal technology has been developed resulting in significant carbon capture and storage.
India and China are globally the largest users of coal and shifting to clean coal will contribute to their carbon reduction measures. Agriculture and trade are major focus areas and Saskatchewan province already caters to the large Indian demand for pulses and potash which is a substitute for urea.
Saskatchewan led Canada’s exports to India in 2013 with $1 billion worth of products. Saskatchewan’s exports to India were $999 million in 2013, an increase of 69 per cent since 2007 while imports from India were $40 million in 2013, an increase of 244 per cent. - India, US agree to step up bilateral ties
India and the US have agreed to step up bilateral engagement, building on the progress made after the two countries recently reached a landmark deal to break the deadlock at the WTO, but did not report any progress on contentious issues at the ministerial-level meeting in Delhi on 25th November.
The trade policy forum that took place after a gap of four years was co-chaired by commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her US counterpart, Trade Representative Michael Michael Froman. The forum is the principal trade dialogue body between the two countries, with five focus groups - agriculture, investment, innovation and creativity, services and tariff and non-tariff barriers. Bilateral trade stands at around $100 billion
The US also agreed to facilitate further engagement on India's traditional knowledge to enhance access to affordable healthcare. On common IPR concerns, India and the US agreed to deepen cooperation to build capacity and generate awareness on copyrights - Ecuador seeks to boost bilateral trade with India sees potential
Spanish speaking South American nation of Ecuador is seeking to boost bilateral trade with India, up from $ 500 million now, by inviting manufacturing units, including Indian automotive companies, to locate their facilities back home there promising to offer slew of incentives.
Priscila Moscoso Meiller, Trade Officer Consulate General of Ecuador, told Ecuador has opened its office in Mumbai and is now seeking to boost the two way trade between the two countries. She has spoken on the sidelines of a CII meet. - India, Mozambique ink MoU for oil, gas cooperation
India and Mozambique on 28th November signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the oil and gas sector for a period of five years. The MoU was signed at a meeting between Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Mozambique's Minister of Foreign Affairs Oldemiro Julio Marques Baloi. Indian public sector companies have participating interest in Mozambique's gas fields. - PIO, OCI merger before January 7: Modi
Indian Prime Minister Modi said said the PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) and OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) status would be merged ahead of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held from January 7 in Ahmadabad. He had announced the merger during his visit to the US in September but had not given a timeline. While talking in Australia, he had clarified this issue
All about NRI, PIO, OCI
NRI - A citizen of India, holding an Indian passport, but residing abroad
PIO - A foreign national who has Indian origins or Indian ancestors.
PIO Card Holder - A PIO holding a PIO Card, as per the Scheme of The Ministry of Home Affairs, 2002
OCI - Overseas Indians who migrated from India after 26th January, 1950, except those from Pakistan and Bangladesh
The Constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously. Based on the recommendation of the High Level committee on Indian Diaspora, the Government of India decided to grant Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) commonly known as ‘Dual Citizenship’. Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) of certain category who migrated from India and acquired citizenship of a foreign country other than Pakistan and Bangladesh, are eligible for grant of OCI as long as their home countries allow dual citizenship in some form or the other under their local laws.
Persons who register as OCI are not given any voting rights, election to Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha/Legislative Assembly/Council, holding Constitutional posts such as President, Vice President, Judge of Supreme Court/High Court etc. Registered OCIs are entitled to following benefits:
Multiple entry, multi-purpose lifelong visa to visit India;
Exemption from reporting to Police authorities for any length of stay in India; and
Parity with NRIs in financial, economic and educational fields, except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties. - India, US sign infra development pact
India and the US have signed a memorandum of understanding for putting in place an infrastructure collaboration platform that will help the US industry to participate in projects in India. Representatives from infrastructure ministries such as Urban Development, Commerce and Industry, Railways, Road Transport and Highways, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Information and Broadcasting, Communications & Information Technology, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation attended the meeting. - Adani’s Australian mine project cleared
Adani Enterprises won support on 17th November from the State Bank of India (SBI) and an Australian state to help it build a $7 billion coal mine, defying a slump in coal prices to 5-1/2-year lows that has stalled rival projects.
The infrastructure conglomerate, whose founder, Gautam Adani, has close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has signed a memorandum of understanding for a loan of up to $1 billion from the SBI for the mine, rail and port project, which it aims to build by end-2017.
The loan, which would be one of the largest extended by an Indian bank for an overseas project, was announced as Mr. Adani was in Brisbane with a business delegation for the G20 summit, which Mr. Modi attended over the weekend. - India, China armies begin exercise in counter-terror
With the aim of getting acquainted with each other’s operating procedures in counter-terrorism, Indian and Chinese armies began their fourth joint training exercise, Hand-in-Hand, in Pune on 17th November. The objective of the training is to enhance the confidence and trust between the two armies, which may be called upon to grapple with anti-terrorism operations even under the U.N. mandate. Conducting joint military exercises is also an important step to uphold the values of peace, prosperity and stability in the region by jointly eradicating terrorism. - Railways sign with South Korea
The Railway Ministry on 17th November signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with South Korea in Seoul to increase the cooperation between the two countries in the sector. The MoU was signed by Chairman Railway Board Arunendra Kumar and Yeo Hyung Koo, Vice Minister, Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) of South Korea.
The MoU would enable technical assistance and cooperation between the Railways of the two countries on areas such as high speed rail, modernization of rolling stock, railway operations, modernization of signaling, construction and maintenance technologies and in development of logistics parks and terminals. - India-Australia five pacts
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 18th November addressed Australian Parliament and he is the first Indian Prime Minister to do so, he is also the first Prime Minister to visit Australia in the last 28 years. Mr. Modi addressed the Parliament after holding talks with Prime Minister Tony Abbott following which the two countries signed five pacts on social security, transfer of sentenced prisoners, combating narcotics trade, tourism, and arts and culture.During the talks, the two sides sought an early comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted to his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott Australian lawyer John Lang’s 1854 petition against the East India Company on behalf of Rani Lakshmibai. John Lang’s original petition of 1854 on behalf of Jhansi ki Rani against the East India Company. In 1854, Lang became the counsel of Lakshmibai — an iconic figure in the Indian uprising of 1857. - PM announced line of credit to Fiji
India's Pacific Ocean outreach gained traction on 19th November with the announcement of a slew of Lines of Credit and development assistance totaling $80 million for Fiji and a visa on arrival for all the 14 island countries in the region during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit.
Mr Modi, who held talks with his Fijian counterpart Mr Frank Bainimirama, also announced a $1million Special Adaptation Fund for the Pacific nations and a proposal to develop Pan Pacific Islands Project for tele-medicine and tele-education. His trip is the first by an Indian premier to Fiji in 33 years after Indira Gandhi in 1981.
India and Fiji also agreed to expand their security and defense co-operation
Mr Modi also utilized his visit to address a meeting of leaders of 12 Pacific Ocean countries, a move considered significant. He also addressed the Fijian National University, the first by a world leader.
The other decisions announced at this meeting relate to an increase in Grant-in-Aid to Pacific Island Countries from $125,000 annually to $200,000 to each Pacific Island country for community projects, complimentary space to Pacific Island countries during exhibitions organized by ITPO to showcase their products and an offer to support the setting up of a Trade Office in New Delhi to promote trade between India and Pacific Island countries.
Seeking stronger engagement with Fiji, India will give a lines of credit of $70 million for a co-generation power plant, $5 million for upgrading the sugar industry besides a $5 million fund to develop its small business and villages. India will also set up a Parliament library, and double the scholarships and training slots for Fijians.
The lines of credit were part of three agreements signed between the two countries in the presence of the two leaders. Out of the 849,000 population in Fiji, 37 per cent people are of Indian-origin. Many Indians arrived in Fiji as indentured labour in the 19th century.
Mr Modi also addressed the Fijian parliament during which he said that India was prepared to work with Fiji to build a “Digital Fiji”. Mr Modi proposed to depute technical experts to Pacific Island countries including in the fields of agriculture, healthcare and IT. He also offered cooperation in use of space technology applications for improving the quality of life of people and communications.
Mr Modi offered training programmes to the diplomats of Pacific Island countries and proposed a distinguished visitor’s programme under which the two sides can organize seminars explore new ideas for strengthening mutually beneficially economic cooperation. He proposed a Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation be held on a regular basis and invited the Pacific Island leaders for next meeting in New Delhi in 2015. - India to offer online visas to 45 countries
India will offer online visa facilities for 45 countries including US, Australia, Germany, Israel, Japan, UAE, Palestine, Jordan, Thailand, Singapore and Russia. The facility will be announced on November 27 by the ministries of home affairs and tourism.
Countries that already have visa on arrival and will be able to apply under the electronic travel authorization scheme include Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos and South Korea.
Once implemented ETA will allow foreign travelers to apply for a visa and receive an online confirmation within three to five working days. ETA will be available for a 30 day period from the date of the tourist's arrival in India. The government plans to establish a separate website to extend the facility to foreigners intending to visit India as tourists.
To get the visa, they would need to apply in the designated website along with the required fees. The e-visa scheme — received the PMO's nod in June — and is expected to be implemented in the coming months.
The countries that are unlikely to be on the list include SAARC and countries that are on "prior reference" list which include Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Afghanistan. This is the first time that electronic visas will be implemented in the country. Officials said plans were afoot to include all 109 countries in a phase-wise manner. - Indo-Israel centre unveiled for citrus growers in Punjab
A new Indo-Israel centre of excellence at Khunara in Hoshiarpur in Punjab has been opened. The main aim of this centre is to introduce Israel technology for citrus fruit growers. This is the second centre in Punjab. The other centre at Kartarpur village in the state focuses on vegetables.
A total of 28 such centres are to be set up under the mutual cooperation agreement signed between the two countries. Currently, nine of them are operational. These centres are being set up as part of the Indian government's National Horticulture Mission. MASHAV, Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation has been providing professional leadership in the shape of experts, know-how and technologies in this regard. - India pushes presidential pardon for fishermen
India is making a strong diplomatic push for a presidential pardon of the five Indian fishermen who were recently sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court. India wants Sri Lanka to take a “political” rather than a “legalistic” view of the case of the five Indian fishermen sentenced to death by a court in that country. Sri Lanka is learnt to have conveyed to India that at the moment, the best option would be to approach the court of appeals. - Modi visit to Myanmar
Indian Prime Minister visited Myanmar and he met Myanmar’s President Thein Sein met at capital Nay Pyi Taw on 11th November. The two leaders spoke about the need for more direct air links, as well as an India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway and the Kaladan multi-modal transport project. They signed a MoU for a bus service between Imphal and Mandalay only this year.
Although bilateral trade between India and Myanmar is well below its potential, efforts are being made to enhance it, bilateral trade stood at less than $2 billion in 2013.
They also discussed other economic ties and cooperation in the oil and gas sector, as well as the need for more cultural contacts, including sending Myanmar’s students to Nalanda University. - 10 day tour of Modi
Modi is going to vist for 10 days to three nations. The meeting was one of more than 20 bilateral ones, three-nation tour during which he will attend the ASEAN-India summit, the East Asia Summit and the G-20 and Pacific Island Leaders-India summits. During the tour, he is expected to engage with leaders of 40 countries. He will also attend the ASEAN-India summit with 10 other countries, where a free trade agreement is being discussed. - Pact on enhancing skill development
Australia and India have decided to map common standards on job roles and further strengthen bilateral cooperation on skill development. The Indian Government has also decided to expand the capacities of 12,000 industrial training institutes.
At the ‘3rd India Australia Skills Conference: Skills for Better Business’ in Mumbai on 12th November, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the National Skill Development Corporation, India (NSDC) and TAFE Directors, Australia, on Technical and Vocational Education and Training cooperation. The purpose is to further strengthen cooperation between the two to enhance and extend bilateral cooperation between Australia and India, a statement noted. The aim is to contribute positively to the development of technical and vocational education and training related linkages between India and Australia, it added.
Around three years ago, the India-Australia engagement on skills development had made an initial foray. The project has made rapid progress. It may be recalled that during the visit of the Indian delegation to Australia in July 2014, five sectors were identified and one or more critical job roles were taken up for developing the Indo-Australian Trans National Standards.
These job roles are facing a shortage of skilled manpower in Australia. Indian candidates, when trained and certified to these Trans National Standards, would be available to cover the skills shortage in Australia. Ian McFarlane, Minister for Industry, Australia noted that an exchange of mutually beneficial standards in the skills landscape was bound to build strong resources for both countries. - India-US agreement to safe pass for trade facilitation
India and the US reached a compromise on issues relating to food security and trade facilitation at the World Trade Organization (WTO), which could soon lead to a resolution of the current impasse in global trade talks.
However, neither country shared the finer details of the agreements. US Trade Representative Michael Froman said the bilateral agreements were a result of discussions between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who said an agreement has been reached with the US, ducked questions on whether US had agreed to concessions over and above an indefinite continuation of the ‘peace clause’, which it had already agreed to last month.
A peace clause is an undertaking that action won’t be taken against a member for breaching agriculture subsidy caps (fixed at 10 per cent of production) till the formula for calculating such subsidies is re-worked. The concessions, which India had been pitching for, include dropping the condition that the tool can be used only when subsidies are non-trade distortive and on submission of data.
Back ground:
India had refused to support a protocol on trade facilitation — a pact to ease movement of goods between borders by upgrading infrastructure and improving processes — on July 31, as agreed to in Bali last December, as it wanted a better deal on food security.
India had demanded that, as a permanent solution, the subsidies should either be dropped from the list of trade-distorting subsidies, calculated on a more recent base year (as opposed to existing base year of 1986-88), or indexed to inflation.
The agreement between the US and India also sets out elements for an intensified programme of work and negotiations to arrive at such a permanent solution, the US Trade Representative’s office said in a statement. - India, partners set up company to build TAPI pipeline
The four state gas companies of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have established a company that will build, own and operate the planned 1,800-km Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline.
In a statement ADB issued on 13th November, the transaction advisor for the TAPI gas pipeline, said that State concerns Turkmengas, Afghan Gas Enterprise, Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited, and GAIL (India) Limited will own equal shares of the company.
November 2013, ADB was appointed the transaction advisor for the TAPI gas pipeline project. Establishment of the TAPI pipeline company is an integral part of the larger goal of identifying and selecting a commercial consortium leader to spearhead the construction and operation of the pipeline.
The TAPI pipeline will export up to 33 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India over 30 years. Turkmenistan has the world’s fourth-largest proven gas reserves, and the pipeline will allow the landlocked country to diversify its gas export markets to the southeast. - Australia to increase operations through Indian centre
Australia’s Deakin University is set to leverage its India centre to expand its operations in South Asia, Vice-Chancellor Jane den Hollander said. The university is also keen to become the knowledge partner for the Government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign.The varsity set up an office in India in 1994. “After 20 years of being here, we have decided to expand the operations of India office to include South Asia. We see the internationalization pillar we have here as a significant strategy for us and we will extend it to South Asian countries such as Mauritius, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and UAE,”
Recognizing that countries must have capabilities and skills for jobs of their future, she said that the university sees ‘Make in India’ very significant at the educational level. There is already a partnership between the university, Indian Oil and Government of India for a joint centre for bio energy, said Ravneet H Pawha, Director-South Asia, Deakin University. - India, Russia agree on negotiations for FTA
For the first time, India and Russia have agreed on negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India & the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan & Russia.
The agreement marks the first FTA negotiations initiated by the NDA government, and discussed by visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during the 20th session of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC) in New Delhi on 5th November.
The Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economics, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) oversees 20 working groups covering trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation.
Other major decisions include proposals for establishment of a ‘Smart City’ in India by the Russian company “Sistema,” joint cooperation for development of potassium and magnesium deposits in Russia, project for launching telecommunication satellites “NextStar” in the geostationary orbit of the Earth on low cost platforms and projects in high end computing. As expected, the focus was largely on boosting economic cooperation.
Both sides also reviewed preparations for the forthcoming visits of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later this month and the Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 15 India-Russia Annual Summit in December. - India and New Zealand cooperation
India has asked New Zealand to extend cooperation in the field of controlling diseases in animals through vaccines, an official release said on 6th November.Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, told a high-level delegation led by New Zealand’s Minister of Primary Industries, Nathan Guy, of the big scope for export of a large number of Indian agricultural commodities, such as garlic, grapes, wheat, groundnut, and sugar. - India, Israel co-op in fighting terror
Recognizing the evolving global terror threats, India and Israel have resolved to deepen cooperation in fighting the menace and collaborate in the field of cyber security.During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting Home Minister Rajnath Singh discussed the regional situation and the evolving threats to the global community from terror on 6th November.
The Home Minister expressed satisfaction at the growth in bilateral ties in a range of areas, including defense and agriculture. Mr. Singh noted that signing of agreements in the area of homeland security had opened another area of mutually beneficial cooperation.
Both Mr. Singh and Mr. Netanyahu agreed that the Free Trade Agreement under discussion between the two sides should be inked soon. India and Israel have signed three agreements related to homeland security, which cover important areas such as cooperation in preventing organized crime, human trafficking, cyber crimes, money laundering, counter-terrorism and fight against spread of fake currency notes. India is Israel’s largest purchaser of defense equipments and the Jewish state is the second largest supplier of arms and armaments for New Delhi, next only to Russia. - India, Bhutan to collaborate on Nalanda University
India and Bhutan on 7th November agreed to collaborate on the “noble objectives” of the establishment of Nalanda University in Bihar to develop the institution as an international centre of excellence. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard in Thimphu after President Pranab Mukherjee held talks with Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
According to the MoU, signed by Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and her Bhutanese counterpart Yeshey Dorji, Nalanda University will be located at Rajgir in Bihar and will have the power to confer degrees, diplomas and certificates.
The MoU says the objectives and functions of the university include the establishment “of an international institution of learning that will bring together the brightest and the most dedicated students from all countries irrespective of gender, caste, creed, disability, ethnicity or socioeconomic background.” According to the MoU, India will provide visa to students, faculty and staff for travel to India to study or work in the university - U.S., U.K. to CERT
A joint effort by the Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERT) from India, the United States and the United Kingdom helped the National Investigation Agency (NIA) extract crucial online chats of key Indian Mujahideen (IM) members with the al-Qaeda.The IM is not only banned in India but also in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. In the United States, the outfit is listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation under the Immigration and Nationality Act and also declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under an Executive Order.
The NIA claimed to have achieved a major breakthrough in August 2013 with the arrest of accused Mohammad Ahmed Siddibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah Akhtar near the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar.
During interrogation, Yasin purportedly disclosed that he used Internet chat tools to contact the outfit founder Riyaz Bhatkal (operating from Pakistan) and other key members. It is alleged that he identified one such Yahoo mail ID as “hbhaddur.”
The CERT also helped the NIA obtain email/chat account details of Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi. The charge sheet records that the experts helped extract chat/email details of four IDs used by Yasin: “jankarko” and “hbhaddur” for chats allegedly with Riyaz Bhatkal; “Ahaddad29” for chats with another outfit cadre Afeef; and “Halwa.wala” for chats with one Sultan.
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