India and World: August 2010

Reprocessing accord signed

India and the U.S. signed the much-debated agreement on modalities for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, under the civilian nuclear deal between the two countries. The agreement on arrangements and procedures for reprocessing was signed at a State Department ceremony by Indian ambassador Meera Shankar and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns. Pursuant to Article 6(iii) of the bilateral 123 Agreement' on civilian nuclear cooperation, the agreement was hailed by the Indian embassy here as a significant step which highlights the strong relationship and growing cooperation between India and the U.S. Upon entry into force, it will enable reprocessing by India of United States-obligated nuclear material under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. Indias target was to increase the installed capacity more than seven fold to 35,000 MWe by the year 2022, and to 60,000 MWe by 2032. In this context, the government had already designated two sites for nuclear power plants to be established in in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. In an effort to end the stalemate in Nepal over the election of a new prime minister, India is sending its former Foreign Secretary, Shyam Saran, as special envoy to Kathmandu with a mandate to engage all political parties, including the Maoists, and help build a consensus on the formation of a government that can take the peace process and the task of Constitution writing to a conclusion by next year's new deadline. A leading Russian manufacture Transas group, which produces navigation systems (marine and aviation) and training simulators is ready to share with India sophisticated technology for building flight simulators to train military pilots. Their use would help to reduce operational cost and the accident rate in the Indian Air Force. The company has supplied helicopter simulators for several pilot training centres in Russia. It has built a full motion simulator complex for Venezuela to operate Mikoyan Mi-17 military transport helicopters it recently purchased from Russia. India has a large fleet of Mikoyan helicopters, and four years ago, signed a new contract to buy 80 Mi-17IV helicopters. Aviation simulators help to slash cost on pilot training and save aircraft and lives. If India had motion-based pilot training simulators it wouldn't have had such a high rate of accidents with its MiG-21 fighters. The IAF has lost about 300 MiG-21 interceptor planes around a third of the entire fleet over the past four decades, many of which were caused by pilot error. New contracts for the purchase of Russia-built warplanes, such as MiG-29K jets, to be deployed on the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier, include the supply of simulators. The Transas offer will enable India to join an elite countries capable of manufacturing top-notch full motion flight simulators. India and Iran rounded off extensive discussions on Afghanistan, which included an Indo-

Shyam Saran being sent as special envoy to Nepal

Russian firm offers knowhow

India, Iran discuss regional solution' in Afghanistan

Iranian initiative to develop a new trading route to the land locked country and a regional approach to bringing peace and stability. The talks appear to have further coordinated Indian and Iranian positions on national reconciliation in Afghanistan. Both countries agreed that the Afghan Constitution would be the basis and pillar for any action. Both sides want to accommodate only those militia groups that accept the suzerainty of Kabul in governing Afghanistan. The issue of modernisation of Iranian port of Chabar, to give a fillip to economic activity in Afghanistan was also discussed in detail. India has proposed expanding the capacity of the port, currently working at its full handling capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of cargo per year from two active berths, by five times and linking it to the Iranian town of Bam, on Afghan border, with a railway line. From there goods are proposed to be taken to Afganistan through the Zaranj-Delaram road, built by India, which in turn links up with the garland highway connecting all major Afghan cities. As Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao recently noted, the Zaranj-Delaram road has already revived the economy in Nimroz province of Afghanistan. She is confident that the link up with Chabar would enable it to gain from transit of goods to Central Asia, in addition to the local economy benefiting from access to a sea port. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee made a brief visit to Dhaka for talks with Bangladesh leaders on the growing cooperation between the two neighbours. This is the first visit by a key Indian leader since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi in January. One of the main objectives of Mr. Mukharjee's visit was to witness the signing of $1-billion credit facility offered by India to Bangladesh. the agreement was signed by the chief of the EXIM Bank of India and the Secretary of Bangladesh's Economic Relations Division (ERD). The amount will be used for implementing 14 projects, mostly related to the development of railway infrastructure in Bangladesh, the upgrading of the Ashuganj river port, construction of roads and bridges to facilitate trans-shipment of Indian goods to its north-eastern region through Bangladesh, purchase of double-decker buses from India and setting up of a power gridline between India and Bangladesh. The main features of the credit line agreement are rate of interest 1.75 per cent per annum (fixed); commitment fee 0.5 percent per annum on unutilised credit after 12 months from the date of contract approval; and repayment period of 20 years (including a grace of 5 years). In her part Bangladesh said his country would serve as the best transit service-providing country in the South Asian region. Bangladesh could provide transit facilities to Bhutan, India, Nepal, Myanmar and China . Bangladesh had agreed to revive the land customs stations along the Tripura Mizoram border, build a bridge over the common river Feni at Sabroom-Ramgarh point, and strengthen other border infrastructure. A Rotary South Asia Conference for Development and Co-operation may be held in March 2011 in Colombo, Chennai or New Delhi, following a suggestion to the effect by a group of senior Rotary International office-bearers, led by president-elect Kalyan Banerjee. Around 1,000-1,200 delegates from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal are expected to attend the conference, which will be in the form of a revival of the successful

Pranab reviews growing India-Bangladesh ties

Rotary Goodwill meet may be held in March

Goodwill Conferences held by Rotary in earlier years, the representatives said. At the two-day discussion on peace in South Asia, held in Chennai, representatives from the five south Asian countries said there was a felt need for integration in the region along the lines of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the Eurozone. As an immediate step, Rotary International would write to the Pakistan government to see if a medical mission could be allowed into the flood-hit areas to support the people. Three Indian soldiers, part of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo, were killed in a rebel attack in the Kirumba province. India has decided to suspend defence exchanges with China following Beijing's refusal to allow the Army's Northern Command chief, Lt. Gen. B.S. Jaswal to join a military delegation for a high-level visit. In retaliation, India has refused to allow two Chinese Army captains to attend a defence course and a colonel to speak at a higher defence course. While border meetings between Army personnel will continue as before, a cloud hangs over future military exchanges and even a joint exercise. It will remain so until China unties the knot it has tied, said senior officials. New Delhi has accepted Islamabad's suggestion to route its offer of $5 million in relief materials for flood victims through the United Nations system. From the time India made the offer, the Foreign Office officials have been maintaining that it would be best if the relief material came through the U.N. system as this would remove any irritants in the logistics of transporting goods between the two countries and also address whatever sensitivities Pakistan has about taking direct aid. India and Switzerland signed a protocol to the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement that would enable the government get information about some of the wealth illegally stashed away in Swiss banks. The revised Double Taxation Agreement contains provisions on the exchange of information in accordance with the OECD(Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) standards, which were negotiated in line with the parameters decided by the (Swiss) Federal Council, said a statement from the Swiss Federal Department of Finance. It became mandatory for Switzerland to open up its confidentiality-driven banking system after adopting the OECD's standards on transparency last year.

3 Indian soldiers killed in Congo

India to suspend defence exchanges with China

India's flood relief through U.N.

Information on money stashed away in Swiss banks now easier