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INDIA AND W ORLD
Indian-American appointed federal judge in California

In yet another historic appointment for the IndianAmerican community under the Obama administration, Vijay Gandhi was sworn in Magistrate Judge for the District Court of the Central District of California. Mr. Gandhi is the first Indian-American federal judge in California and only the second ever IndianAmerican federal judge in the history of the United States. The first was Judge Amul Thapar, who was appointed to the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Kentucky on December 13, 2007. While Mr. Justice Gandhi was not appointed by the White House, he had to go through a rigorous district courts selection process including appearing before a merit selection panel, interviews by the full court and appointment by statute, said Ms. Matsuoka. Other high-profile appointments of Indian-Americans by the Obama administration include Rajiv Shah as administrator, USAID; Vivek Kundra as Federal Chief Information Officer; Aneesh Chopra as First Chief Technology Officer; Farah Pandith as Special Representative to Muslim communities; Richard Verma as Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the State Department; Preet Bharara as U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York; and actor Kal Penn as White Houses Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison.
Five leading Indian firms under U.S. scanner for Iran links
With five leading Indian firms under the American scanner for doing business with Irans oil and gas sector, the Manmohan Singh government might soon have to walk its talk on opposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic. In a week in which the House of Representatives voted to speed up the process of reconciling its antiIran bill with the version passed by the Senate, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) made public a report naming the five Indian companies as part of a list of 41 foreign firms helping Iran develop its oil and gas sector. The Indian companies named are the Indian Oil Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, ONGC Videsh (OVL), Oil India Limited and the governmentsponsored private company, Petronet LNG. In addition, the U.K.-based Hinduja group is listed.
Canada denied visas to Brigadiers

Canada has denied visas to a member of the Armed Forces Tribunal, three Brigadiers, a retired Lt. General and a former official of the Intelligence Bureau on the grounds that their organisations are engaged in violence.
Sibal pitches for U.S.-India University partnerships

Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal made a strong pitch for university-level partnerships in education between India and the United States.
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Canadian court bars kirpan

A Canadian court has refused to allow a Sikh religious leader to enter the courtroom with a kirpan, a symbol of Sikh religion, saying it could be used as a weapon.
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CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR I.A.S. (PRE.) 2011
India & the World all 329 people aboard, including 280 Canadians many of Indian origin and 22 Indians.
Speaking before the start of the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue at an event hosted by the U.S.-India Business Council, he said India could not singlehandedly build the 700 universities and 35,000 colleges it would need over the next 10 years of growth. He noted that given that under the Right to Education Act, the government aimed to reach a gross enrolment ratio of 30 per cent for Indians between the ages of 18-24 by 2020, up from the current level of 12.4 per cent. Arguing that 22 per cent Americans today were more than 65 years of age and that number would by 2050 increase to 39 per cent, he asked, Which part of the world will the workforce come from? I guess the only answer is countries like India.
India, Canada sign civil nuclear deal

India and Canada signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described it as breaking new ground in the history of our cooperation in this sector. India and Canada have had a long but rocky relationship on nuclear cooperation after the nuclear test at Pokhran in 1974. Dr. Singh said both nations also agreed to try and take the bilateral trade up to $15 billion in the next five years, up from the current level of around $5 billion. A comprehensive economic cooperation agreement is being envisaged and the initial work on it was on.
India, U.S. sign counter-terrorism initiative After strategic dialogue, big push to U.S.-India India and the U.S. signed the Counter Terrorism cooperation
At the end of the first round of strategic dialogue India and the United States have significantly expanded the breadth of their collaboration across a range of areas. These include counter-terrorism, disarmament and non-proliferation, United Nations Security Council reform, trade and investment, science and technology, climate change mitigation, energy and food security, education, agriculture, healthcare and empowerment of women.
Initiative (CCI) to forge close and effective cooperation in counter-terrorism, information-sharing and capacitybuilding. Today, with the formal signing of the initiative, we take several significant steps forward against terrorism, said U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer, who signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Home Secretary G.K. Pillai. During Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs visit to Washington in November 2009, he and President Barrack Obama had agreed on the Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative. The CCI is aimed at giving both the U.S. and India additional opportunities to work together across a broad spectrum, including transport security, money-laundering, counterfeit currency and terrorist financing, maritime, port and border security, cyber security and mega-city policing.
Ottawa could have averted Kanishka tragedy: probe panel

After waiting 25 years for a closure, families of the victims of the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history, the bombing of Air India 182, were told by a Commission of Inquiry that the Canadian government was responsible for failing to act upon credible information indicating that the attack was imminent. In a scathing report by the Commission, its head, the former Canadian Supreme Court Justice, John Major, noted: Government agencies were in possession of significant pieces of information that, taken together, would have led a competent analyst to conclude that Flight 182 was at high risk of being bombed by known Sikh terrorists in June 1985. Flight 182, nicknamed Emperor Kanishka and operating on the Montral-London-Delhi-Bombay route, was blown up by a bomb at an altitude of 31,000 feet on June 23, 1985. The Boeing 747-237B aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in Irish airspace, killing
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 as a significant step which highlights the strong relationship and growing
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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 the States of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI).Both are Republicans.
U.S., India constructing paradigm beyond Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

In committing itself to supporting Indias full membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and other multilateral export control regimes, the Obama administration has finally opened a door for the country to transcend the legal confines of a treaty that has defined global attitudes towards nuclear weapons for over four decades: the NPT. The American decision to support Indias membership in the NSG, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australian Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement was made public by Deputy National Security Adviser Mike Froman and is conditional on these clubs deciding, by consensus, to change their rules on who can join. The current membership rules of the NSG, though not formally stated, require adherence to the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty or a regional nuclear weapons free zone (which in turn requires NPT membership). And the same treaty requirement applies in the case of the MTCR and the Wassenaar Arrangement a cartel of 40 states which governs the export of conventional weapons and dual-use goods and technologies. But Mr. Froman said the U.S. would encourage the evolution of a membership criteria of these regimes consistent with maintaining their core principles. The Bush administrations initiatives from 2005 to 2008 saw the U.S. helping to peel away export restrictions that were never originally a part of the NPT itself. That is why the NSG was able to give India an exemption from its export restrictions without getting into the trickier issue of what Indias legal status in relation to the treaty actually was. But with NSG membership essentially tied to the NPT, any new joining criteria will effectively establish for nucleararmed India in clearer legal terms than anything else so far has done a parallel status equivalent to that of the five nuclear weapons states which are part of the NPT. Apart from easing Indian access to sensitive high technology items, membership of these clubs which will come in a phased manner will give New Delhi a say in their rule-making process. Under the terms of the NSGs 2008 waiver, India is today in the anomalous position of being obligated to abide by future guidelines that NSG and even MTCR
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India seeks a relationship of equals with U.S., says Menon

Speaking ahead of President Barack Obamas visit amid a controversy over whether Washington informed New Delhi of Lashkar operative David Headleys reconnaissance missions before the Mumbai attacks, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon maintained that existing counter-terrorism cooperation between India and the U.S. was unprecedented compared to the period five years ago. Speaking at a seminar on Indo-U.S. ties organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the NSA said bilateral cooperation in hi-tech trade, including in dual use items, had reached critical mass. Mr. Menon described Indias foreign policy as genuine non-alignment and said better India-U.S. ties would not impact either India-China or ChinaU.S. relations because this was not a binary world. He said India sought a relationship of equals with the U.S. and was very optimistic of the future. On U.S. export control laws, the NSA said Washington had gradually changed the regime since the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership was signed in 2004 which was followed by the setting up of the High Technology Cooperation Group the following year. This now reached critical mass with some high-tech transfers from the U.S. to India being better than what Washingtons closer allies such as the U.K got.
Two Indian American doctors win in U.S. polls

Two Indian-American doctors belonging to the Republican Party have won State Congressional elections. Dr. Prasad Srinivasan won the 31st district of the Connecticut State House of Representatives and Dr. Janak Joshi secured victory in the 14th district of the Colorado State House of Representatives, said the
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India & the World What Mr. Obama and Dr. Singh envisage, however, is a framework which will bring all eight countries possessing nuclear weapons together for a dialogue on building trust and confidence, a major step in the direction of harmonising the NPT, which the three outsiders will never sign, with the wider aim of universal and non-discriminatory global nuclear disarmament in the 21st century. In doing so, India and the U.S. have assembled the basic building blocks of a framework which has the potential to transcend the NPT, while remaining faithful to the twin goals of non-proliferation and the elimination of nuclear weapons. The joint statement also says the U.S. intends to support Indias full membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and Missile Technology Control Regime in a phased manner and to consult with regime members to encourage the evolution of regime membership criteria, consistent with maintaining the core principles of these regimes, as the Indian government simultaneously moves ahead with coming into conformity with these regimes export control requirements.
members may adopt without being part of their formal decision-making process. The MTCR deals the export of missiles with a range greater than 300 kilometres while the Australian Group regulates the export of materials that could be used for manufacturing chemical and biological weapons.
Changes in U.S. export control laws reflect present reality: India

The declaration of an export control reform package made by a senior U.S. official accompanying President Barack Obama would lead to greater exchanges in high-tech trade and dual-use items. It would also bring to a virtual close a five-year-long process that began with the formation of the High Technology Cooperation Group. The export control reform package being announced is that we will remove Indias defence and spacerelated entities from the U.S. entity list. The list at one point had, I believe, 220 Indian entities on it. And there are only four left. And today we will be announcing a removal of three. They are the organisations under Defence Research and Development Organisation [DRDO], the four subordinates under the Indian Space and Research Organisation [ISRO], and Bharat Dynamics Limited [BDL], observed Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Mike Froman. Removing these entities from the list will allow for greater trade and cooperation in civilian space and defence, and enable our governments to focus on other outstanding barriers that hinder the expansion of bilateral high-tech trade. And this is a very significant step forward, he added.
U.S., India sign MoU for global diseases detection

The United States and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding on establishing and operationalising a Global Diseases Detection Centre in New delhi The agreement will facilitate the development of human resources, both in epidemiology and research, enable sharing of best practices for detection of and response to emerging infections, wh e r eve r r e qui r ed. T h e M oU woul d be implemented through an agreed plan between the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), India, a n d t h e Cen t r es for Di se a se Con t r ol a n d Prevention (CDC), Atlanta. It would also facilitate advanced training in the fields of epidemiology, surveillance for emerging infectious diseases, and the health and mentoring of public health professionals internationally. The MoU also aims to build laboratory capacity in India for the diagnosis of emerging infectious diseases usi ng well ch aracterised reference material and advanced technology transfer. The GDD programme was established in 2004 to rapidly detect and contain emerging health threats.
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In a first, India, U.S. for dialogue of all nuclear weapon states

The United States has become the first nuclear weapons state (NWS) as defined by the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty to endorse the idea of talks between the five NWSs and the three nuclear-armed nations outside the NPT, i.e. India, Pakistan and Israel. Until now, the U.S. has remained firmly wedded to the NPT framework and structures or to bilateral forums with other NWSs like Russia for all dialogues related to nuclear weapons. Others like China have also been reluctant to engage in any discussion with India on nuclear strategic issues such as no first use, risk reduction and confidence-building measures.
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There are currently six regional centres across the world with varying capacity levels. These are at Guatemala, Kazakhstan, China, Thailand, Egypt and Kenya. India will host the seventh centre.
The trilateral meeting the tenth since the format was launched in 2002. Ms. Rao will then move on to Beijing for the next round of the India-China Strategic Dialogue.
India, U.S. sign pact on clean technologies

India and the United States signed an agreement to establish a virtual centre to promote research, development and deployment in the area of clean energy technologies. Under the pact, the two countries would each contribute $5 million every year for supporting collaborative R&D projects involving academics and private sectors of both nations. The pact will initially be valid for 10 years and can be renewed for blocks of five years at a time. It will work in the consortia mode. Each consortium will comprise entities or individuals from national laboratories, academic institutions, the private sector, non-governmental organisations, and other stakeholders, who have the requisite knowledge and expertise of undertaking first-rate programmes. Initially, the focus will be on solar energy, second generation bio-fuels and energy efficiency of buildings. Each consortium will be responsible for establishing its own internal governance structure.
U.S.-India pact to better monsoon forecasts

Indias monsoon forecasting is expected to improve with its entering into a new agreement with the United States. The agreement between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Indias Ministry of Earth Sciences is part of a series of food security agreements formalised during President Barack Obamas visit. The Monsoon Agreement, by striving to improve long-range monsoon prediction, holds great potential to improve the well-being of the people of India, while also benefitting the United States and other nations through improvements in their own seasonal climate forecasts, said NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco. India experiences monsoon weather, typically resulting in six months of rain beginning in early June. But it is difficult to predict when the monsoon will begin, how strong it will be or when it will end information that can help plan for seasonal crops and project surface water supplies. In addition to the regional impacts, the Indian OceanAsia monsoon system represents one of the largest weather and climate features in the world, transporting energy between the northern and southern hemispheres and impacting weather and climate throughout the world. Under the agreement, the U.S. will create a monsoon forecast desk at the National Centres for Environmental Prediction, part of NOAAs National Weather Service in Camp Springs, Maryland.
After Obama visit, India set to play ball with U.S. rivals
If Barack Obamas triumphant visit gave the world the impression that the Manmohan Singh government was drawing too close to the United States, the RussiaIndia-China (RIC) Foreign Ministers meeting in Wuhan will serve as a reminder that India is still willing to play ball with powers that see themselves as rivals to America. The timing of the Wuhan trilateral is fortunate because it allows us to do a bit of a repositioning exercise, a senior Indian official told. Both Russia and China and everyone else will be able to see that we have not given up pursuing all our other interests just because our relations with the U.S. have improved. Russia, which once unambiguously backed India for a permanent seat now speaks of the need for U.N. reform by consensus, while the Chinese have been willing to support Indias aspirations only in a general way. India will be represented at Wuhan by External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.
A programme that enriches lives of Indian students in U.S.

The United States and India reaffirmed and celebrated an important partnership in the field of education the Nehru-Fulbright Educational Exchange Programme. More recently, in 2008 the U.S. and India signed an historic agreement making the two countries full partners in the governance and funding of the Fulbright Program, and in November 2009 President Obama and Prime Minister Singh announced a significant expansion of the Fulbright-Nehru
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India & the World
scholarships under the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, the State Department statement noted.
Cable quotes Hillary as saying India is a selfappointed front runner for UNSC
On his recent visit to India, United States President Barack Obama hoped that the country would become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), but the WikiLeaks has quoted a secret cable in which his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described India and its three partners (Brazil, Germany and Japan) as self-appointed front runners. Ms. Clinton also directed her diplomats to seek minute details about their Indian counterparts posted at the U.N. headquarters in New York. Another cable that quotes a top Turkish diplomat states that India was deliberately kept out of the Turkey-sponsored meeting on Afghanistan earlier this year in order to cater to Pakistans sensitivities. In a cable UNSC Reform positions, attitudes, and divisions among member states, while terming the G-4 as self-appointed front runners, Ms. Clinton opted for the staid option of describing the alternate grouping by its name the Uniting for Consensus group (especially Mexico, Italy, and Pakistan) that opposes additional permanent UNSC seats.
Religious freedom not fully enforced in India: U.S. report

While legal protections against violations of religious freedom exist in India, corruption and lack of trained police led to the laws not always being enforced rigorously, according to a United States State Department report. In the International Religious Freedom Report 2010, the State Department said despite government efforts to foster communal harmony, extremist groups continued to view ineffective investigation and prosecution of attacks on religious minorities as a signal that they could commit such violence with impunity. However, the report did not completely clear the government of all responsibility for acts of violence relating to religion, in particular suggesting that law enforcement and prosecution was weak due to a low police to population ratio, corruption, and an overburdened and antiquated court system.
India- Central America

50 years of friendship with Cuba recalled
A half century of friendship and excellent relations between Cuba and India were recalled at a function. The meeting was taking place ahead of voting on a resolution at the UN General Assembly on ending the economic, financial and commercial embargo imposed by the U.S. against Cuba. This will be the 19th consecutive time a resolution will be passed at the UNGA, urging the U.S. to end its economic blockade. Last year, 187 countries voted in favour of and only three against it the U.S., Israel and Marshall Islands.
India- South America

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India- Africa
India, South Africa sign 3 pacts
India and South Africa signed three pacts and agreed to support each others candidature in the elections to the rotating non-permanent seats of the United Nations Security Council. At a summit-level meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting South African President Jacob Zuma also resolved to step up bilateral cooperation as well as greater coordination at multilateral fora. However, both sides decided to continue discussing resumption of full-fledged defence ties which suffered a setback after the blacklisting of a major South African firm from defence tenders. They also agreed on the need to expand the Brazil-RussiaIndia-China grouping to include South Africa. In the civil nuclear sector, talks between nuclear power operators of both countries would continue as country-level cooperation was inhibited by an African treaty that bars business with countries that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
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The three agreements signed pertain to air services, agriculture and contacts between their think tanks.
3 Indian soldiers killed in Congo

Three Indian soldiers, part of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo, were killed in a rebel attack in the Kirumba province. (Locate in atlas)
India offers $500 m credit line to Mozambique
India and Mozambique signed three agreements besides agreeing upon a credit line of $500 million for infrastructure projects. During talks with the visiting Mozambique president Armando Guebuza, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed the safety and security of sea lanes against the backdrop of nearly a decade of intermittent cooperation in this area between the two countries.
India- Europe
Indian art and culture festival opens in Paris
Energy, vigour and unbridled joie de vivre marked the dancers from Mallika Sarabhais Darpana Academy in Ahmedabad as they performed a variety of tribal dances from across India. Adi Nriitya, or Indias indigenous dances, was held in the auditorium of the Quai Branly Museum devoted to tribal, aboriginal and primitive arts, opening a year-long Indian art and culture festival in Paris and the French provinces entitled Namaste France. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had visited Prague twice in 1921 and 1926. Professor Vincenc Lesny of the Charles University was the first European to have translated Tagores verses directly from Bengali to Czech. The two leaders recalled the formation of an Indian Association in Prague in 1934 as part of the Oriental Institute, at a meeting chaired by Professor Lesny. Among those who attended the meeting was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, who was visiting Czechoslovakia.
Ansari to sign social security pact with Czech Republic

Vice-President Hamid Ansari sign several agreements during his six-day tour of the Czech Republic and Croatia. The visit to Croatia would be the first by a VVIP from India. Both countries have supported Indias permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council and its bid for a non-permanent seat for the 2011-12 term. Mr. Ansari is slated to sign a Social Security Agreement with the Czech Republic, under which citizens working in either country for less than five years would be exempted from social security contributions and the benefits of those who return would be carried forward. India has begun to sign such pacts with some other countries too, including Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden. (Locate In Atlas)
Non-alignment relevant in multipolar world: Ansari

The concept of non-alignment is extremely relevant in the multipolar scenario emerging today, VicePresident Hamid Ansari said at a banquet held in his honour by Croatian President Ivo Josipovic. He was accorded a ceremonial welcome on his arrival from Prague on a two-day visit. Mr. Ansaris visit to this tiny country on the coast of the Adriatic Sea is the first-ever state visit by a VVIP after India recognised Croatia in 1992 and established diplomatic relations with this former republic of Yugoslavia. The visit not only marks the revival of Indias warm ties with erstwhile Yugoslavia under President Joseph Tito but takes the bilateral relationship forward. It assumes significance as India is looking to the support of Croatia for its candidature for the United Nations Security Council seat. India also reiterated the need to combat terrorism at international level. Mr. Ansari recalled the visit of Paulinus a Sancto Bartholomaeo, better known as Filip Vesdin, who stayed in Southern India for 13 years from 1776 and pioneered the Croatian tradition of Indological Studies. He published several books and papers on Indian culture, ranging from Sanskrit grammar to Indian botany.
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Czech Republic to support Indias bid for United Nations seat

President of the Czech Republic Vclav Klaus committed his countrys support for Indias bid for United Nations Security Council membership during his meeting with the visiting Vice-President, Hamid Ansari.
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India & the World
Mr. Ansari emphasised the need to expand the trade between India and Croatia which stands at $160 million. In fact, Croatia had dominated bilateral trade relations with the former Yugoslavia. This included large-scale purchases of Croatian ships by India in the 1970s and 80s. (Locate In Atlas)
Cameron: we cant tolerate Pakistan exporting terror

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will discuss with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the leakage of funds provided to Pakistan to terrorists based in that country. Mr. Cameron witnessed the signing of an agreement at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltds facility for the supply 57 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer aircraft to the Indian Air Force and the Navy. While the IAF will acquire 40 aircraft, the Navy, for the first time, will obtain 17 Hawk AJT aircraft at a total cost of Rs. 5,100 crore. Rolls Royce is to supply 57 Adour engines, which will power the Hawk aircraft. The deal is valued at Rs. 1,460 crore. The BAE Systems Hawk is to be powered by the Mk871 variant of the Adour, which will be assembled in partnership with HAL. In 2004, India signed a deal for the acquisition of 66 Hawks for the IAF.
Russia invites Indian investment

Russia wants strong Indian presence in the energy, pharmaceutical and IT sectors, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. Receiving the Indian Minister in his Novo-Ogoryovo residence outside Moscow, Mr. Putin promised to support Indias bid for a stake in the Sakhalin-3 oil and gas project in the Russian Far East and invited Indian companies to invest in Russia, notably in the pharma and IT industries. An ONGC Videsh Ltd. delegation will soon visit Russia to discuss Indian participation in tapping huge natural gas fields in the Yamal Peninsula in northwest Siberia. During Mr. Putins visit to India in March, ONGC and Gazprom agreed to study the possibility of building an LNG project in Yamal. For the first time, an India-Russia Business Dialogue has been organised with the framework of St. Petersburg Forum. The Confederation of Indian Industry signed a cooperation pact with Russian Business Council on Cooperation with India. India and Russia have pledged to strengthen further the bilateral trade and increase it to $20 billion by 2015. It is also agreed to start negotiations on putting in place a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to boost trade and investment.
India-Russia nuclear talks hit liability snag

It is not just American suppliers, Russia too is insisting that all liability for any accident that may occur in reactors sold to India must rest solely with the Indian operator and not with Russian companies involved in supplying components and knowhow. At the last round of commercial negotiations held in Moscow recently between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Atomstroyexport for the supply of four additional 1000 MWe reactors at Kudankulam (KK 3,4,5,6), the two countries failed to agree on the issue of liability. The Indian side wanted the contract to include a right of recourse which would allow NPCIL to claim damages from Atomstroyexport in the event of an accident resulting from negligence on the part of the Russian supplier. But Russian officials refused, citing the InterGovernmental Agreement (IGA) the two countries signed in 2008 to back up their stand that all liability must be channelled on to NPCIL, the operator at Kudankulam.
U.K. to review aid to India

Britain is to review its 250 million annual development assistance to India amid a growing sense in Whitehall and among independent experts that a country which spends millions on its nuclear programme and is seen as an emerging economic giant does not need foreign aid any more. India is the single largest recipient of British overseas aid, mostly tied to specific projects, and in recent months ministers have struggled to justify this at a time when Britain itself is facing sweeping cuts in public spending following its worst post-War economic crisis.
Russian firm offers knowhow

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
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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 Ivanov to head India-Russia panel full motion simulator complex for Venezuela to operate Mikoyan Mi-17 military transport helicopters Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov has been appointed to head the Russian part of the Indoit recently purchased from Russia. Russian Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC) for India has a large fleet of Mikoyan helicopters, and trade, economic, scientific-technical and cultural four years ago, signed a new contract to buy 80 Micooperation. 17IV helicopters. A decree signed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Aviation simulators help to slash cost on pilot Mr. Ivanov was replacing the former Deputy Prime training and save aircraft and lives. If India had Minister, Sergei Sobyanin, who last month became motion-based pilot training simulators it wouldnt the Mayor of Moscow. have had such a high rate of accidents with its MiG Mr. Ivanovs appointment is good news for the 21 fighters. defence establishments both in India and Russia. The IAF has lost about 300 MiG-21 interceptor planes around a third of the entire fleet over the past four As Russias Defence Minister in 2001-2007, he cochaired the IRIGC for military-technical cooperation decades, many of which were caused by pilot error. and helped formulate Russias arms export strategy, New contracts for the purchase of Russia-built which calls for the supply of the most cutting-edge warplanes, such as MiG-29K jets, to be deployed on defence technologies to India, while exercising the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier, include the supply of extreme discretion in selling weapons to China. simulators. The Transas offer will enable India to join an elite countries capable of manufacturing top-notch German envoy refutes Jairams remarks full motion flight simulators. Environment Minister Jairam Rameshs remark about Information on money stashed away in S w i s s criminal gas guzzlers has irked the German embassy, banks now easier and provoked Ambassador Thomas Matussek into delivering a statement in defence of his countrys auto India and Switzerland signed a protocol to the Double technology. Taxation Avoidance Agreement that would enable the government get information about some of the wealth Speaking at a workshop on promoting low-carbon illegally stashed away in Swiss banks. transport , Mr. Ramesh criticised the owners of large 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 OECDs standards on transparency last year. cars, BMWs, Benzs and Hondas as having become the real beneficiaries of diesel subsidy that was meant to benefit poor farmers. Both BMW and Mercedes Benz are German firms.
practised by each nation to combat terrorism. It also involved many tactical exercises with the use of stateof-the-art technology, an official release said.
Sarkozy calls for permanent Security Council seat for India

During his first stopover on his four-day visit to India, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a permanent seat for India in the U.N. Security Council. The UNSC must be expanded to include new permanent members India, Brazil, Germany and Japan and it must have representation from Africa and the MiddleEast, he said, adding India should join the Security Council as a permanent member so that it could assume its full role in the G20. Nuclear energy would be the focus of Indo-French cooperation, he said, lauding the considerable
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India-Russia joint exercise concludes

The strike infantry units from India and Russia concluded the joint military exercises whose thrust was terror attacks. The 10-day exercise was held in the Kumaon Hills near Ranikhet in Uttarakhand. Named Indra, it facilitated greater synergy between the forces and a clearer understanding of the doctrines
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India & the World
environmental benefit and energy independence that it brought. As much as 80 per cent of Frances electricity came from the nuclear source. Indias decision to expand its nuclear energy production from 4,000 to 62,000 megawatts in 20 years represented a change of attitude. With the completion of the nuclear power project at Jaitapur, to be built in collaboration with the French company Areva, the six Indo-French EPR plants would provide 10,000 megawatts, said Mr. Sarkozy.
India, France to enforce curbs on terror outfits

India and France decided to enhance their operational cooperation to expeditiously process extradition requests, curb money-laundering for terrorism and enforce the international sanctions regime against terrorist organisations. Both sides also reiterated the importance of adhering to the sanctions against the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, as established by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 and subsequent resolutions, and the need to preserve the regimes credibility. The two countries also decided to remain united in reforming the Security Council, countering the financing of terrorism and money-laundering, effectively combating climate change and utilising diplomatic tools to resolve the Iranian issue. The two countries also expressed concern at the situation in the Korean peninsula and urged North Korea to comply with international resolutions. Following Indias enactment of a civil nuclear liability law, both countries were ready to further exchange views on this issue to ensure an appropriate framework for the sound development of their cooperation.
India, France to sign pact on two nuclear reactors

The final negotiating obstacles having been crossed, India and France will sign a framework agreement for the construction of two 1,650-MWe French nuclear reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra. The agreement between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) and the French nuclear vendor, Areva, was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Russias concern over liability law may delay new Kudankulam pacts
Russian reservations about the implications of Indias nuclear liability law may be delaying the contracts for two nuclear power reactors to be built in Kudankulam, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of the State-owned nuclear company Rosatom, is building two 1,000 MW reactors in Kudankulam in a collaborations with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), and is in negotiations to build more. Last year, an intergovernmental agreement pledged that four new reactors would be built at Kudankulam. The first of the original reactors is undergoing final safety tests and is likely to start operations early next year after numerous delays to the original schedule. Construction work is mostly complete for the second reactor as well, which is likely to become cr it ica l wit hi n t wo year s, accordi ng to t he Atomstroyexport officials. Indias Civil Nuclear Liability Act, passed by Parliament earlier this year makes the supplier of a nuclear reactor liable in case of an accident. These stringent provisions have been opposed by the American companies, even while many Indian experts have argued against the Rs. 1,500 crore cap on financial compensation.
India, France ink two pacts on nuclear safety

Besides the five agreements in the nuclear field that were announced on December 6 by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) during the visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, two more agreements between India and France were signed on the same date in the area of nuclear safety. For some reason, these were not included in MEAs announcement. The first is an agreement between the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN). This is for exchange of technical information and cooperation in regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection. It was signed by AERB Chairman S. S. Bajaj, and ASN Chairman Andre Claude Lacoste. According to AERB Secretary R. Bhattacharya, the accord provides for exchange of information in the development of nuclear plant safety review process. It also provides for exchange of experts and technical and regulatory information relating to radiation protection and safety of nuclear facilities. This agreement renews and updates the existing arrangement, which is in force since 1999 and subsequently renewed in 2005.
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The second agreement is on technical cooperation between the AERB and the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN). Called the AERB-IRSN Framework Agreement for general cooperation in nuclear safety, it was signed by Mr. Bajaj and Jacqus Repussard, Director General of IRSN. The agreement covers areas such as exchange or secondment of staff, exchange of materials or software, joint studies and joint projects in the area of nuclear safety. IRSN is the technical support organisation for the ASN just as the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) is for the AERB. This agreement basically extends to the AERB the earlier scientific and technical cooperation that was in existence for over 10 years between the IRSN and the BARC.
once this comes through. This was a problem at the negotiations that had been complicated by higher than normal rates of unemployment in Europe following the global recession in 2008-09 and the collapse of economies of some countries in the EU. Officials for the 11th India-EU Summit disclosed that an agreement on temporary movement of natural persons would take place within the next few months. A huge problem that was worrying the Indian pharma industry was the seizure of generic drugs at European ports although they were being exported to third countries outside the EU. Official sources disclosed that this too has been resolved to the satisfaction of India. The negotiations were on track, the decks had been cleared and there was expectation that the Broadbased Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) would be signed by March-April 2011 to boost Indias trade with EU, its largest trading partner, to a hundred billion euros, officials said.
Brussels summit one more step in strategic ties with EU

The annual India-European Union (EU) summit that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attending in Brussels is significant with negotiations nearing completion that are expected to take India-EU trade to 100 billion. The summit will be the first post-ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by EU member countries. As the contours of the EU itself expand and change, the IndiaEU relationship has also broadened, elevated to strategic partnership since the first summit in 2000. Though V. Katju, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, was silent on the sticky points i n t h e on g oi n g Br oa d - ba s ed T r a d e a n d Investment Agreement (BTIA) negotiations, reports suggest the EU is dragging its feet on issues related to intellectual property rights, environment and pollution and labour laws, especially child labour issues.
Terrorism cannot be used to solve political problems, says Merkel

A brief but intensive dialogue on a whole range of subjects from reform of the United Nations and the security situation in the Asian sub-continent were discussed at a bilateral summit between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. There was every indication that Dr. Singhs Berlin stopover on the way back from the Brussels IndiaEuropean Union Summit was one more step forward in strengthening the India-Germany strategic partnership.
Russia a special partner: Manmohan

Belying predictions of diplomatic fatigue, the last visit to India by the head of a P-5 country in 2010 turned out to be one of the most significant, with 30 agreements and a meeting of minds on key political issues emerging from talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. After 90 minutes of restricted talks between the two leaders and 40 minutes among the delegations, Dr. Singh emerged to tell journalists that Indias relationship with Russia was special and privileged and would develop independent of its ties with other countries.
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India-EU pact on movement of persons likely

Hectic negotiations between India and the European Union in the last two weeks has resolved the logjam on several issues, including the bug-bear intellectual property rights issue with India saying there will be no compromise on our position that any agreement will have to be within our existing legal statutes. In simple terms, this means that professionals would be able to move more easily between India and the 27member countries of the European Union countries
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India & the World travel procedures for business people and visitors, a long-standing Indian grouse that had earlier led to an IT major CEO abandoning plans to invest in Russia. At the same time, both sides agreed to discourage unwanted or overstaying visitors and thereby avoid subsequent diplomatic wrinkles. Collaborate in the hydrocarbons sector The intention to collaborate in the hydrocarbons sector was given a concrete shape by an intergovernmental agreement that will evolve into an extensive road map largely modelled on the SinoRussia partnership in this sector. The Memorandum of Understanding between Sistema, a telecom-petro giant with rights over two lucrative hydrocarbon fields, and ONGC Videsh progressed to a framework agreement on cooperation. Three agreements in the space sector will give India access to the Russian satellite constellation, the Global Navigation Satellite System.
The highlight of the 30 agreements was the consolidation and extension of strategic cooperation in the civil nuclear, hydrocarbons and space sectors. Russia joined the U.S. and France in speaking of India and itself as states possessing nuclear weapons and promised to quarterback Indias bid for full membership at the Nuclear Suppliers Group and other multilateral export control clubs. Russia reiterated its support to India for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, but the formulation used was the same as at the previous two summit meetings. There was also public acknowledgement of Indias imminent membership of the Russia-China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Civil nuclear sector In the civil nuclear sector, a firm agreement on setting up two more reactors at Kudankulam, beyond the four already in the pipeline, was postponed pending the ongoing talks on the liability issue. The Russian side, which wants a firm assurance from India for as many as a dozen large units, essentially wants to wait and see whether New Delhi makes any concession on the liability front to the United States. Moscow is also looking closely at the kind of pricing structure that is emerging from French and American suppliers. Russian reactors are due to come up at Haripur in West Bengal, besides Kudankulam.
Partnership in the pharmaceuticals sector Th e t wo si des a lso ga ve a fir m sha pe to a partnership in the pharmaceuticals sector, in which India sees a $15-16 billion opportunity, with the joining of hands by the private sectors of both countries for joint ventures in Russia.
India, Russia sign fighter aircraft pact

The biggest defence programme in Indias history the contract for the preliminary design of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) was signed between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russias Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi. It will involve the production of 200-250 aircraft. The FGFA will have advanced features such as stealth, super-cruise, ultra-manoeuvrability, highly integrated avionics suite, enhanced situational awareness, internal carriage of weapons and network centric warfare capabilities. The aircraft would be called Perspective Multi-role Fighter (PMF). It draws upon the basic structural and system design of the Russian FGFA Technology Demonstrator with modifications to meet the Indian Air Forces specifications, which are much more stringent. Besides design and development, the project covers production and joint marketing of the aircraft to third countries. The programme options include the design
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Cooperation in nuclear energy at theglobal level Apart from these projects, India and Russia agreed to work together at the global level on nuclear energy. In the first initiative of its kind to be taken by either of them, the two countries agreed to consider cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy with third countries and said, as supplier states, [they] support multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle at the IAEA. Both sides also identified joint research and development in reactor technology as an area on which the two atomic energy establishments would hold detailed discussions.
Defence In defence, India and Russia marked the beginning of their first-ever collaboration in producing a nextgeneration fighter aircraft, with the inking of the preliminary design contract agreement.
Trade and economic ties With both sides focussing greatly on improving their trade and economic ties, Moscow agreed to smoothen
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and development of a twin-seater variant and the integration of an advanced engine with higher thrust at a later stage. The agreement is the first in a series of such contracts that will cover different stages of this programme.
The contract was signed by A. Isaykin, general director of Rosoboronexport and M. Pogosyan, general director RAC MiG & Sukhoi from the Russian side and HAL chairman Ashok Nayak, and N.C. Agarwal, Director (D&D), HAL from the Indian side.
India- Central Asia

India voices concern over Kyrgyz situation
India has expressed concern over the situation in Kyrgyz Republic, where its President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has gone into hiding and former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva named head of the interim government. India has been trying to improve ties with Kyrgyzstan with Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao recently visiting Bishkek to exchange views on the regional situation and identify new areas of cooperation. Short of natural resources including hydrocarbons and with the output from its gold mines showing a decline, Kyrgyzstan shot into prominence recently with the U.S. military base at Manas becoming one of the focal points for transporting American troops and equipment to Afghanistan. Russia also has a military base at Kant, a short distance away from Manas. Mr. Bakiyev came to power in 2005 in the Tulip Revolution and strengthened his control through elections last year in which he reportedly garnered nearly 90 per cent of the votes. The current turbulence triggered over high energy prices and plummeting living standards led to the killing of the Interior Minister besides at least 100 protesters. India has shown interest in the possibility of Turkmenistan exporting some of the gas to northern Iran. It could then be swapped with gas from Irans southern seaboard into an under-sea pipeline, obviating the need for a surface Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline. The SAGE (South Asia Gas Enterprise Pvt. Ltd.) project envisages a Middle-East natural gas gathering system connecting gas sources to the coast of the Arabian peninsula. From there, the SAGE family of pipelines plans to follow a route surveyed 15 years back and declared unviable as techniques of deepwater pipelaying and manufacturing had not matured. India feels it is essential to engage separately with Turkmenistan as it is the only Central Asian country which is not part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). New Delhi enjoys observer status at the SCO and is inclined to become a full member provided the six-nation grouping amends its membership rules at its summit in Tashkent. (Locate In Atlas)
India denied export of goods to Afghanistan through Wagah

In dia s lon g-stan ding deman d for all owi ng Afghanistan-bound Indian goods to transit through Pakistan through Wagah has been rejected once again. As per the contours of the understanding reached between Afghanistan and Pakistan for transit trade, Afghanistan can export into India via Wagah but cannot import through the same route. Afghanistan would have the opportunity to export to India. Reciprocally, Pakistan would be able to export its goods to Central Asia through Afghanistan.
Indian camp in Afghanistan attacked

Taliban militants launched a pre-dawn attack on an Indian road construction camp in eastern Afghanistan, burning vehicles and equipment and sending the crew fleeing, said authorities.
India, Turkmenistan explore energy cooperation

India and Turkmenistan discussed energy cooperation and signed several agreements signalling the desire of both countries to strengthen bilateral ties. In a sign of continuing interest in the TurkmenistanAfghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, New Delhi has offered to host a technical meeting of experts under the aegis of the Asian Development Bank.
India hails Kyrgyzstan polls

India has welcomed the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, the first-ever in a Central Asian country. India was delighted that Kyrgyzstan was strengthening its democratic parliamentary system to answer the needs of its secular and pluralist society. These values were dear to India and indeed to all liberal democratic societies in the world, said an official release.
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India & the World for a breakthrough during a proposed four nation summit at Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. The 1,640 km Asian Development Bank-backed pipeline will draw gas from Turkmenistans Daulatabad gas field. Once inside Afghanistan, it will run alongside the Herat-Kandahar Highway before heading towards Multan in Pakistan via Quetta. The pipeline will terminate in India at Fazilka in Punjab. (Locate In Atlas)
Nationalist party Ata-Zhurt won the maximum votes, closely followed by the Social Democrats. However, they are not in a position to form a government even if they join hands, thus leaving the field open for at least four other parties that will see their deputies enter Parliament.
TAPI gas pipeline project poised for breakthrough

The long-awaited Turkmenistan-AfghanistanPakistan- India (TAPI) gas pipeline project is heading
India- West Asia

Death sentence is subject to appeal: UAE
Amid concerns over capital punishment given to 17 Indians in Sharjah for allegedly killing a Pakistani, the UAE said the sentence is subject to appeal and annulment by the rule of law without any interference from the parties concerned cooperation in sectors such as information technology, oil and natural gas, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and agriculture to boost bilateral trade currently at about $420 million.
India Oman fund to be set up

State Bank of India and the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) of Oman signed an agreement to set up a joint investment fund with an initial corpus of $100 million for picking up equity in Indian projects. The agreement was inked by SBI Chairman O. P. Bhatt and SGRF Chief Executive Warith Al-Kharusi in the presence of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Omans Minister of National Economy Ahmed Macki. The fund can be expanded to have a corpus of up to $1.5 billion through future schemes, depending upon the experience of the initial fund. The purpose of the collaboration is to attract capital into India from that region. The management company shall be owned 50:50 by State Bank of India and SGRF, with equal profit sharing by both sides.
New Delhi supports Iran conference on disarmament

The conference on disarmament and non-proliferation which has begun in Tehran is generating several ideas on first steps to a possible road map to achieve complete and time bound elimination atomic weapon stockpiles across the globe. India, which had itself been on the front-end of efforts to eradicate atomic weapons, has welcomed Irans initiative to achieve disarmament. While Iran is looking at the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty in its amended form as the basis for eliminating atomic weapons, India, which has not signed the NPT, is not exactly on the same page in terms of modalities, analysts say. While the Article VI o f the NPT calls for disarmament, no time frames have been fixed within its framework to achieve this objective. Representatives from more than 60 countries, including Russia and China are participating in the Tehran conference. But many of the participants are in the listening mode waiting to hear out first what exactly do the Iranians have in mind, said a diplomat who did not wish to be named.
India, Iran discuss regional solution in Afghanistan

India and Iran rounded off extensive discussions on Afghanistan, which included an Indo-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.
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India, Syria to enhance cooperation

Seeking to further strengthen the bond between the two nations, India and Syria agreed to enhance
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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.
Iranian envoy summoned to protest Khameneis remark

India summoned the Acting Iranian Ambassador to protest Tehrans observations on Kashmir even as it abstained from voting on a U.N. resolution, which alleged human rights violations in Iran, for the first time. Our decision on [abstaining from] the vote [on Iran] was made after due deliberation, said a Ministry of External Affairs official. India issued a demarche to Iran, the third since June, after Iranian Supreme leader Ali Khamenei mentioned Kashmir in his message to Haj pilgrims. On all the three occasions, Iran called on the Muslim community to support the struggle in Kashmir and mentioned it with Gaza and Afghanistan. In the latest instance, Mr. Khamenei said: the major duties of the elite of the Islamic Ummah is to provide help to the Palestinian nation and the besieged people of Gaza, to sympathise and provide assistance to the nations of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Kashmir, to engage in struggle and resistance against the aggressions of the United States and the Zionist regime.
India and its Neighbouring Countries

India-Bangladesh Sunderbans Ecosystem Forum to be launched
India and Bangladesh will launch a forum for cooperation in the conservation of the Sunderbans, a region that is ecologically vulnerable and sensitive to climate change. The India-Bangladesh Sunderbans Ecosystem Forum will be launched in September this year, Mr. Ramesh said. The decision was taken at a meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Hasan Mahmud. Emphasising the need for international cooperation on environment issues, Mr. Ramesh said Climate Change is the theme for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit held at Thimphu. He also announced that the Union Cabinet had approved the Rs.1,156 crore Integrated Coastal Zone Management project. Of this, Rs.300 crore will be spent in West Bengal, most of it on the Sunderbans. The project, to be funded by the World Bank, will be executed over five years and includes prevention of erosion of the islands, building of storm shelters, promotion of eco-tourism,improving the livelihood of the inhabitants of the region and electrification of Sagar Island.
India, China sign pact on hotline

India and China signed an agreement to set up a hotline to open up direct communication between their Prime Ministers
India, China pledge education ties

1. India and China have pledged to substantially increase the exchange of students and teachers; at present a very small number compared to what both countries exchange with the United States. There are around 7,000 Indian students enrolled in Chinese universities, far below the 1,03,000 students who are in the U.S. Educational exchanges between China and the U.S. too far surpass those with India. There are an estimated 98,000 Chinese students in the U.S., and less than 3,000 in India. During his November visit to
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India & the World Luoyang, which falls in the province of Henan, and where the famous White Horse temple is located, is widely regarded as the cradle of Chinese civilisation. The idea of an Indian-style temple in China first came up when Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, on a tour of the country in 1993, visited the White Horse temple, and marvelled at the civilisational links between the ancient lands of India and China. A decade later, the idea assumed concrete shape when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee paid a visit to the same complex. The White Horse temple (Baima Si in Chinese), believed to be the first Buddhist temple in China, traces its antiquity to 68 AD. Legend has it that the Eastern Han Emperor, Mingdi, had a vision of a golden figure flying over his palace with the sun and moon behind its head. The emperors Ministers told him that the vision might have been the Buddha (then unknown to China). The Emperor despatched a delegation to India to acquire knowledge about Buddhism. After three years, the delegation returned with two eminent Indian Buddhist monks, She Moteng and Zhu Falan (known better as Kasyapamatanga and Dharmavanya). The monks brought with them a white horse carrying a bundle of Buddhist sutras and figures. Overwhelmed, the emperor ordered the construction of the White Horse temple, and with that Buddhism formally arrived in China, growing over the years to a point where it would leave its impact on religion as well as on Chinese morals, philosophy and ethics. According to an Indian External Affairs Ministry booklet, the temple, which was burned down during the cultural revolution in China, has seen many renovations, and was rebuilt to perfection during the 1973 visit of Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia. (Locate In Atlas)
Beijing, President Barack Obama pledged the U.S. would send as many as 1,00,000 students to China over the next four years.
China allays fears over Zangmu dam

China has assured India that the dam it is building at Zangmu will have no impact on the water downstream of the Brahmaputra river in India, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna informed Parliament. (Locate In Atlas)
Sri Lanka to give India Maha Bodhi tree sapling

To mark the 2,600th Buddha Jayanti, Sri Lanka will present India a sapling of the Maha Bodhi tree, under which Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment.
India preparing response on Kishanganga project

India is preparing its response to the note verbale sent by Pakistan on the 330 MW Kishanganga hydroelectric project on Kishanganga river, a tributary of Jhelum in Jammu and Kashmir. Islamabad has threatened to set up a court of arbitration to resolve the issue, even as India maintains that there is no violation of the Indus Waters Treaty and it is well within its rights to divert Kishanganga waters. So far India has said that the matter should be resolved bilaterally. Under the project, India proposed to divert Kishanganga waters to another tributary of Jhelum, namely Bonar Madmati Nallah, which falls in Wullar Lake and joins the Jhelum thereafter. Pakistan has objected to this saying that under the provisions of the treaty, India is under obligation to let flow all the waters of the western rivers and shall not permit any interference with these waters. It claims that Indias plan to divert waters cause obstruction to the flow of Kishanganga. (Locate In Atlas)
Indus Water talks begin

The India- Pakistan Permanent Indus Water Commission begin its four-day meeting under the shadow of Islamabads threat to set up a court of arbitration on the Kishanganga project on Jhelum river in Jammu and Kashmir. The Commission was set up under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. Having raised the pitch on water sharing issues with India in recent weeks, Pakistan is likely to raise objections to the Uri-II, the Chutak and the Nimoo Bazgo hydel projects in the Kashmir valley. Pakistan alleges that the projects are a violation of the water treaty between the two countries that governs their rights on six common rivers.
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Pratibha gifts Indian-style temple to the people of China

Amidst a splash of saffron and ochre and Buddhist spiritual chanting, President Pratibha Patil dedicated an Indian-style temple in the town of Luoyang to the friendship between the people of India and the people of China. Later she said it was an Indian gift to the people of China.
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The 240 MW Uri-II hydel project over Jhelum is in Baramullah, the 45 MW Nimoo Bazgo and the 44 MW Chutak hydel project are proposed for Laddakh. While the Chutak project would be located on the river Suru, a tributary of the Indus in Kargil district, the Nimoo Bazgo project is proposed to be near Alchi village on the river Indus in Leh district. (Locate In Atlas)
Dhaka to allow passage for Indian goods to Tripura

Bangladesh has signed an accord to finalise transhipment deal with India to allow Indian goods to be transported to its northeastern Tripura State. Bangladesh Shipping Secretary Abdul Mannan Hawladar confirmed the signing of the accord. I have just signed the agreement declaring Ashuganj as a new port of call, Through this accord, heavy Indian consignments for the Palatana power Project in Tripura will be transported through Bangladesh. Under this deal, in line with the decision reached during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas visit to India in January 2010, Bangladeshs Ashuganj port would be the second transhipment point and fifth port of call in Bangladesh. India has already declared Shilghat as the port of call. New Delhi had been seeking to let them use Ashuganj, 49 km off the Tripura border, as a transhipment point since 1980s. The project is expected to complete by 2013. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority officials said preparations were under way to transform Ashuganj into a modern port and renovate the 49 km- road from the port to the Tripura border, with New Delhi bearing the cost.
Pakistan withdraws objection to 2 power projects

In a significant development, Pakistan withdrew its objection to the construction of Uri-II and Chutak hydel power projects in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan had earlier raised objections over the 240 MW Uri-II project being constructed on the Jhelum river in the Kashmir valley and the 44 MW Chutak plant being built on Suru, a tributary of the Indus in Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmirs Ladakh province. Pakistan had claimed that the projects would deprive it of its share of water. The breakthrough came on the first day of three-day talks. The Indian delegation is led by Indus Water Commissioner G. Ranganathan while the Pakistani side is headed by his counterpart Syed Jamaat Ali Shah. This is the first time that Pakistan has accepted the designs of power projects at the level of the Permanent Indus Commission. Earlier, it took a ministerial meeting to make Pakistan agree to the Salal power project. Under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan has exclusive right over three of the common rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab - while India has exclusive right over Sutlej, Ravi and Beas. Earlier, Baglihar and Kishenganga power projects had been delayed for long because of Pakistani objections. On the 450-MW Baglihar project, Pakistan had even moved the World Bank, which has the role of neutral arbitrator, under the Indus Waters Treaty, in the disputes between the two countries. The project could go ahead only after the World Bank gave its clearance with suggestions for some minor changes in design of the dam. The Kishanganga project is still under dispute, with Pakistan refusing to give up its objections. India has been providing flood data to Islamabad since 1989 as a goodwill gesture. (Locate In Atlas)
India, Pakistan differ on Nimoo Bazgo hydel project

India and Pakistan have resolved their differences over three projects that were pending resolution for two years, but the 45 MW Nimoo Bazgo project in Leh remained unresolved with Pakistan hinting at further action if India was not able to respond to its concerns. (Locate In Atlas)
India wants China to open door for agroproducts

India pressed the Chinese government to remove longpending restrictions on the import of 17 varieties of agro-products, arguing that doing so would help address the fast-widening trade imbalance that has increasingly strained the trade relationship. Over the past decade, India has sought market access for 17 varieties of agro-products, but officials said China had only granted access for three of them grapes, bitter-gourd and more recently, mangoes. India is still pressing for access for seven varieties of fruit,
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India & the World
including water-melons and papayas, and seven kinds of vegetables, including brinjal and okra. Indian officials said there was considerable potential for the export of agro-products to China given the size of the market and the speed of its growth. India now exports $15-20 million of agro-products, accounting for less than 0.2 per cent of overall exports, mainly driven by iron ore. The trade deficit between the two countries grew to a record $ 16 billion in 2009.
India turns to China for grain storage expertise

With the National Food Security Bill bringing into sharp focus the requirement of scientific storage, India is looking at collaborating with China in building a modern and temperature-controlled facility. China has the capacity to store up to 200 million tonnes of wheat and paddy, while Indias capacity is 42 million tonnes with an unmet requirement for an additional 17 million tonnes. In it i a l ly a tea m of t ech n i cal exper t s a n d construction engineers from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and some state agencies would visit China to study modern storage construction and preservation methods.
Swiss, Slovak experts to represent India in Kishanganga dispute

India has decided to nominate a sitting judge of the International Court of Justice at Geneva and a Swiss international law expert to represent it in the Kishanganga project dispute with Pakistan. The names of Peter Tomka, a Slovak diplomat who is the Vice-President of the International Court of Justice, and Lucius Caflisch, a professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, were finalised . Pakistan has already named Bruno Simma, also of the International Court of Justice, and Jan Paulsson, Norwegian head of an international law firm, as its arbitrators in the Court of Arbitration that will be set up to resolve its differences with India under the bilateral Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. India is constructing the 330-MW hydroelectric project on the Kishanganga, a tributary of the Jhelum in Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi maintains that it is within its rights, under the treaty, to divert Kishanganga waters to the Bonar Madmati Nallah, another tributary of the Jhelum, which falls into the Wullar Lake before joining the Jhelum again. Pakistan has objected to this, saying Indias plan to divert waters causes obstruction to the flow of the Kishanganga. It has also raised objection to the depletion of dead storage in the run of the Kishanganga project. As far as India is concerned, the issue was settled by the neutral expert on the Baglihar project. Islamabad had invoked the provisions of the treaty to resolve design differences in the Baglihar project by approaching the neutral expert. Under the treaty, a request for arbitration must contain a statement explaining the dispute, the nature of relief sought and the names of the arbitrators appointed
India, Myanmar reach security accord

India and Myanmar agreed to enhance security cooperation to deny sanctuary to insurgent groups in each others territory. The two countries also signed five agreements in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Myanmars Senior General Than Shwe. Four agreements seek to build on the developmental assistance being already provided by India and the fifth pact pertains to mutual assistance on criminal matters. The visit helped finetune an alternative trade access route to the North-East being built by India through Myanmar, firm up Indian financing for a major connecting road and assistance to beef up the railway infrastructure and improve telecom links. In the area of energy, a budding area of cooperation, Myanmar welcomed the substantial additional investment for the development of two offshore blocks and construction of a natural gas pipeline. The flagship Indian private sector project by the Tatas to set up a heavy turbo truck plant at Magway came up for review and India flagged several pending proposals which Yangon assured it would actively facilitate. Specifically, Myanmar welcomed the interest of Indian mining companies in investment opportunities.. India also announced a grant of $10 million for agricultural machinery and Myanmar sought followup on technical assistance for their manufacturing. New Delhi also announced a project to set up rice silos to facilitate disaster relief operations particularly in the cyclone-prone delta areas4India renewed the agreement for providing satellite data to Myanmar.
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Shyam Saran being sent as special envoy to Nepal

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 years new deadline.
Rotary Goodwill meet may be held in March

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 officebearers, 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 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.
Pranab reviews growing India-Bangladesh ties

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 Hasinas visit to New Delhi in January. One of the main objectives of Mr. Mukharjees 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 Bangladeshs 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 SabroomRamgarh point, and strengthen other border infrastructure.
India to suspend defence exchanges with China

India has decided to suspend defence exchanges with China following Beijings refusal to allow the Armys 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.
India, Nepal, China to collaborate on ecorestoration: Jairam

Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has reiterated Indias commitment to deepening regional cooperation and institutionbuilding in the fields of environment, forestry and climate change. Mr. Ramesh was in Nepal to inaugurate a conference organised by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), which works on fragile mountain eco-systems and livelihoods of mountain people in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region.
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India & the World aspirations to play a greater role in the UN, reiterating its position of not directly supporting Indias candidature. Asked about U.S. support for Indias full membership of the 46-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Mr. Hong said Chinas position was that countries, under [the] precondition of respecting international obligations of non proliferation, have the right to make peaceful use of nuclear energy and conduct international cooperation. China now remains the only country among the five permanent members of the UNSC which has not directly voiced support for Indias bid. Since 2005, it has said it understood and supported Indias aspirations, but not specifically its bid, to have a greater voice in the UN and the UNSC. Notwithstanding Mr. Obamas endorsement, the reform process is likely to remain long drawn out the U.S. had much earlier voiced unambiguous support to Japans candidature. From 1995 to 2005, and from 2005 to 2010, for 15 years, all efforts to reform the UNSC have failed, Mr. Shen said. I dont think in the next 15 years, any efforts to reform the UNSC would succeed.
Mr. Ramesh said India was intensifying its relationship with the ICIMOD. Between 1983 and 2006, India gave $1 million to the regional organisation. In three years alone 2009, 10 and 11 India would contribute half-a-million dollars to the ICIMOD. The ICIMODs areas of operations include India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan. The ICIMOD has been facilitating the Mount Kailash Sacred Landscape Initiative, involving India, Nepal and China. These countries will collaborate on ecorestoration and bio-diversity management in their parts of the territory.
Indian enclaves in Bangladesh demand connecting corridors

Around 500 residents of several Indian enclaves on Bangladeshi soil gathered along the Indo-Bangladesh international border near Mathabhanga in West Bengals Cooch Behar district, demanding corridors connecting the enclaves with the mainland. Known as chhitmahals, there are officially 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 55 Bangladeshi enclaves on the Indian soil currently the largest group of enclaves in the world.
India, China to carry forward ties

India and China expressed their determination to carry their relations forward through dialogue, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao instructing their officials to work their way through all difficult issues. The two leaders met for 45 minutes on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Hanoi. Mr. Wen said he would visit India before year-end. He suggested that both sides reach consensus on some major aspects to lay the foundation for the visit.
India tells China: Kashmir is to us what Tibet, Taiwan are to you

Drawing a dramatic parallel between the territorial red lines of both countries, India told China that just as New Delhi had been sensitive to its concerns over the Tibet Autonomous Region and Taiwan, Beijing too should be mindful of Indian sensitivities. The comparison which is intended to drive home the depth of Indian concerns over recent Chinese attempts to question the countrys sovereignty in Kashmir was made by External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in his meeting with Chinas Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the RussiaIndia-China trilateral meeting.This is the first time India has drawn this parallel directly.
China for patient consultations on UNSC reforms

China favours democratic and patient consultations on the question of reforming the United Nations Security Council, the government said a day after United States President Barack Obama endorsed a permanent seat for India on an expanded UNSC. While China supported reasonable and necessary reforms which give priority to developing countries, the Foreign Ministry said it understood Indias
India for structured dialogue mechanism in Sri Lanka

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka, said India hoped for the creation of a structured dialogue mechanism to work out a political solution to the ethnic conflict in the island nation.
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Talking to journalists after an Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Commission meeting, which he presided over along with his Sri Lankan counterpart, G.L. Peiris, said the end of the armed conflict in May last provided a historic opportunity for addressing all outstanding issues and moving towards a political settlement in the spirit of understanding and mutual accommodation. It is for the first time that India has publicly articulated its desire for a planned mechanism to carry forward the dialogue in the quest for resolution of the ethnic conflict. The TPF is an umbrella outfit of Tamil groups other than the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The TNA, which won 14 seats in Parliament in the April general election, in recent weeks has veered round to the view that a political solution to the ethnic conflict has to be within a united Sri Lanka.
Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao but India and China which reiterated their desire to cooperate and set an ambitious trade target of $100 billion by 2015 have agreed on a mechanism to address the matter. They also agreed to address the pause in high-level defence exchanges suspended as a result of the Chinese policy of issuing distinctive visas to Indian citizens domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir by creating a basis for them to continue without constraints. Beyond the visa issue, however, the two countries made progress by agreeing to a strategic economic dialogue to enhance macro-economic policy coordination and address challenges in economic development and cooperation. They also opened new areas for cooperation such as maritime security. Despite the pause in defence exchanges at the senior level, India and China agreed to work together in tackling piracy in the Gulf of Aden, where both sides have deployed warships. They also agreed that freedom of navigation should be in line with international laws. Th er e was forwa rd movem ent on securi ty cooperation, trans-border rivers and in addressing the imbalance in trade. On the issue of dams on rivers, China changed its position slightly. Both sides agreed to further discuss Indias suggestion for increased cooperation on trans-border river issues over and above the expert level mechanism for the Brahmaputra and the Sutlej. According to Indian officials, the two sides deadlocked on persuading Pakistan to abide by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1267, which India interprets to mean that none under the terrorism scanner should be allowed to roam free. China has resisted any addition of terrorist names on the 1267 list in the past. India also drew attention to Chinese nuclear reactors being supplied to Pakistan, but Mr. Wen simply reiterated his countrys commitment to non-proliferation, officials said.
Steady progress in border talks: Menon

National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon said the fourteenth round of boundary negotiations between India and China had made steady progress, with both sides expressing willingness to arrive at a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution. On the border talks, Mr. Menon said negotiations were still in the second of three stages, focussing on arriving at a framework to settle the dispute in the western and eastern sections of the border. The first stage, which involved coming up with political parameters, concluded in 2005 with an agreement signed during Mr. Wens last visit to India. The third and final stage will involve the actual process of delineating the border on maps and on the ground.
Lets be sensitive to each others concerns : PM

The stapled visa issue could not be unstapled during the two rounds of talks Prime Minister
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India & the World
India- South East Asia

Ethnic Indian wins in Malaysia
An ethnic Indian won a prestigious parliamentary byelection, giving a boost to the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) that claims to speak for the 1.7 million community. MICs information chief and a public relations consultant P. Kamalanathan re-took the Hulu Selangor seat the party a constituent of the ruling alliance Barisan Nasional (BN) had lost by a narrow margin of 198 votes in 2008. Indians form seven per cent, followed by ethnic Chinese in Malaysias 28 million population. counterpart President Choumally Sayasone of the Lao PDR. The agreements committed to cover several areas. In the field of culture, a cultural exchange programme has been signed for 2011-2013, the centre piece of which is a project for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) assistance in the restoration of the 6th century temple complex of Vat Phou in the province of Champassak. This pre-Ankorian site, established by the Khmer rulers, was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2001. Work on the complex that was started by the ASI in 2009 will be resumed under the present agreement. At the talks, Ms. Patil informed her Laos counterpart that with the approval of the Nalanda University Bill by Parliament, India was looking forward to receiving students from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries including Laos. The new commitment for $ 72.55 million was made for a 230 KV Double Circuit Transmission Line from Nabong to Thabok with sub stations ($ 34.68 million), and the 15 MW Nam Boun 2 hydro power project ($ 37.86 million). In addition, Laos sought $30 million more credit for the development of irrigation schemes in four provinces. India has spent or committed a total credit line of $162 million to Laos. (Locate In Atlas)
India, Vietnam to firm up defence ties

India and Vietnam have agreed to strengthen their defence cooperation. The modalities of implementing the 2009 memorandum of understanding in this domain were discussed by Vietnams National Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh and Army Chief General V. K. Singh. Ambassador to Vietnam, Ranjit Rae, and defence officials were present at the talks in Hanoi. Vietnam, now chairing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), has invited India to the Asean+8 Defence Ministers meeting. The 10-member Asean will be joined by Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. The Asean, as the prime mover of this process, has also initiated efforts to convert such a grouping of countries into an expanded East Asia Summit. The Summit, an organisation as different from just a conference, does not include the U.S. and Russia at present. (Locate In Atlas)
President Pratibha visits Luang Prabang

The President returned to Vientiane after a two-day visit to Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is set in a peninsula that overlooks the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers, and was the capital of Lao until 1575. It is one of the spectacular locations in Laos that boasts of both historical significance and natural beauty. (Locate In Atlas)
Cambodia seeks continued assistance from India

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who called on President Pratibha Patil said Cambodia looked forward to continued assistance from India on providing lines of credit, particularly for agriculture that remains a priority area for his country. An agreement for a line of credit for $15 million from India to Cambodia for the completion of the Stung Tassal Water Development Project was signed. Mr. Hun Sen said his government would put forward four
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India commits wide-ranging assistance to Laos

India will provide the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic the first tranche worth $72.55 million for two power projects as part of a package of monetary and technical assistance in areas ranging from power and irrigation to culture. This was announced by President Pratibha Patil in Vientiane. In a delegation level talks with her
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proposals for projects to develop irrigation and water resources. He said cooperation in the area of oil and gas, mineral exploitation, agriculture and tourism must be expanded. To achieve this it was essential to have direct air links. The special regard Cambodia has for India was evident in the elaborate yet warm welcome extended by King Norodom Sihamoni to Ms. Patil. Ms. Patil paid a visit to the Independence monument built in 1958, and held separate meetings with President of the Cambodian Senate Chea Sim, President of the National Assembly Heng Samrin, and Mr. Hun Sen. An MoU between the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the National Audit Authority of India in the area of capacity building was signed between the two countries.
ship touched ports in Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. Upgrading its participation from being just a n obser ver, Mal a ysi a sen t a sh i p t o participate in the Indian Navy-hosted Milan exercise off the Anadamn and Nicobar Islands. The two sides agreed to explore the possibilities of joint collaboration in the defence sector on the basis of the experience gained by the Indian Air Forces training programme for Malaysian Sukhoi 30-MKM fighters. Malaysia said it looked forward to the participation of the Indian defence industry at the soon to be established Defence and Security Park.
India, Malaysia sign six pacts

India and Malaysia signed six pacts, with the accord for implementing the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) from July 1, 2011 being the centrepiece. The agreements were signed at a ceremony presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Malaysian counterpart Md. Najib. Comparing the CECA with the India-Asean Trade in Goods (TiG) agreement that was implemented from January 1, 2010, both the sides offer Asean plus market access in goods. In Trade in Services, both the sides agreed on providing access to each others services market across all modes and various sectors. India and Malaysia would liberalise their respective investment regimes to facilitate greater Foreign Direct Investment into each others territory. Both sides would also finalise two-three other areas of economic cooperation from among infrastructure development, creative industries, tourism, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), business facilitation, science and technology, and human resource development, said official sources The Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the traditional systems of medicine makes India the second country with which Malaysia has inked such a pact. Due to the large presence of people of Indian and Chinese origin, Malaysia has a wide canvas of traditional systems of medicine, including the Malay herbal medicine. India is the sixth largest source country for inbound tourism to Malaysia ( six lakhs in 2009) while Malaysia is the 10th largest (1.15 lakhs in 2008).
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Ties with Laos, Cambodia will expand: President

President Pratibha Patil said that the engagement between India, Camodia and Laos is set to substantially expand, and will be taken forward bilaterally and through the platform of ASEAN. Ms. Patil was speaking on her return to India after a 10-day visit to both countries, on which she was accompanied by a 45-member business delegation with representatives from the CII, ASSOCHAM and FICCI. (Locate In Atlas)
India-Malaysia ties on fast track

India and Malaysia decided on elements that would be given form and content in the coming months for providing a strategic orientation to their relationship. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Malaysian counterpart Md. Najib decided to explore the possibilities of collaboration in the defence sector, enhanced cooperation in infrastructure development, between Petronas of Malaysia and ONGC Videsh and forging of closer linkages in the financial sector to ensure a strategic partnership as soon as possible. The Prime Ministers noted that the main enabler of a closer bilateral relationship would be the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement whose text has been frozen. Dr. Singh said he and Mr. Najib agreed to complete the formalities by January 31. They expected it to come into force by the agreed date of July 1, 2011. The officials noted that recently three Indian Navy ships visited Malaysia, whereas only one
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India & the World well-attended in the 159-year history of the worlds fair. The event had received more than 73 million visitors, breaking the record set by Osaka, Japan, in 1970, which received 64 million visitors. Among the popular pavilions of the 190 countries that participated were Saudi Arabias - which was the most expensive after Chinas, and had the worlds largest IMAX screen - and the United Kingdoms, a giant porcupine-like structure with 60,000 rods containing seeds, which will be distributed across Chinas villages. These were among the 34 pavilions that were selected as the best at the Expo. Others on the list were Germany, Chile and Sweden. Indias $ 10 million pavilion did not make it to the list, though the pavilions organisers consoled themselves with a brief visit from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Separately, the two Prime Ministers announced the setting up of a Joint ICT Talent Development Consult at ive Comm itt ee to m ake specific recommendations to both the governments for IT skills training, talent development and greater engagement of the Indian IT companies in Malaysia. An agreement between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the UNIK of Malaysia on Research and Development Collaboration will witness the setting up of a Joint Innovation Accelerator Centre in Malaysia to carry out research in green technology, water treatment and medicinal and aromatic plants. The Shanghai Expo, the biggest worlds fair in history, closed its doors after breaking a number of records during its six month-long opening. The Expo, on which the Shanghai government spent an estimated $ 45 billion, dwarfing what Beijing spent on the Olympics, has been the most expensive and
Breaking records, Shanghai Expo closes doors

India- North East Asia

India, Japan to set up working group on nuclear cooperation
India has opened talks on civil nuclear energy with Japan and both sides have decided to set up a working group to examine the possibility of cooperation during an extended interaction between Japanese Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Masayuki Naoshima and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Japan is the most reluctant among countries with either uranium reserves or nuclear reactors to enter into cooperation with countries reluctant to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) Japan has expertise in advanced uranium mining techniques, which it now shares with Kazakhstan that has emerged as the worlds biggest supplier of uranium and which, like Japan, is reluctant to enter into nuclear cooperation until some of the hurdles are crossed. Indias refusal to sign the NPT might not be a major obstacle to civil nuclear cooperation with Japan but Tokyo expects New Delhi to take some concrete steps such as signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). More than signing the NPT, Japans cooperation will depend on how India plays a role in world politics on nuclear weapons and how it abides by t h e a ct i on a n d c om m i t m en t s m a d e i n September 2008 in a letter written to the Nuclear Suppliers Group by th en Forei gn Mini st er Pranab Mukherjee.
S.Korea to tap Indias space launch capabilities

South Korea agreed to explore possibilities of launching its satellites aboard Indias space launch vehicles, according to official sources in Seoul. The issue, however, acquires unusual importance in the context of Seouls recent failures to launch its satellites, with Russias collaboration, from an ROK space facility. Mr. Lee and Mr. Krishna agreed that there was a great deal of potential for civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries The issue was first discussed during Mr. Lees visit to India as its Republic Day guest earlier this year. On the recent sinking of the ROK frigate, Cheonan, which Seoul and Washington blamed on North Korea, Mr. Krishna now conveyed to Mr. Lee Indias appreciation of the mature and restrained way his country had responded, sources said.
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Mr. Krishna suggested that a bust of Rabindranath Tagore, who had described Korea as the Lamp of the East, be installed at a prominent place in Seoul. Warmly evincing interest, Mr. Lee said he would make a strong recommendation to the city authorities to identify a suitable location for installing the bust in 2011, Tagores 150th birth anniversary.
country that has not signed the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (NPT) and is also not in favour of inking several non-proliferation conventions.
India, Japan to have first military talks

India and Japan will have their first army-to-army talks aimed at reviewing the present status of engagements, military cooperation and military security issues. The dialogue comes at a time when Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Naik, began a three-day goodwill visit to Japan. Air Chief Naik will meet his counterpart, the Chief of Japan Self Defence Force, General Kenichiro Hokazona. Japan becomes the ninth country with which the Indian Army has bilateral dialogue. So far, it engages in talks with Australia, Bangladesh, France, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom. India and Japan last year agreed on a Defence Action Plan. It aims at holding regular meetings between the defence ministers, annual official-level defence policy dialogue, annual military-to-military talks, regular reciprocal visits of the service chiefs and ground-toground staff talks, Navy-to-Navy staff talks, and developing an annual calendar of defence cooperation and exchanges. In July this year, for the first time, India held talks in the 2+2 format (Foreign and Defence Secretaries from both sides) with Tokyo suggesting an increase in the levels of security dialogue. This enabled a detailed review of the security environment and positive discussions on all elements of the Action Plan. The two sides had also decided to step up maritime cooperation by expanding the joint exercises to include the navies from both countries and stepping up cooperation in anti-piracy operations off the Gulf of Aden.
India, Mongolia vow to enhance ties

India and Mongolia vowed to strengthen parliamentary and economic cooperation. At a meeting Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar had with Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaataryn Batbold in Ulaanbaatar, the latter noted that the bilateral ties went far beyond diplomatic relations, as they were rooted in history. He called for increasing trade and commerce, especially in mining, and also greater cooperation in information technology. Ms. Kumars visit would add a new dynamics to the bilateral visit, he added. Ms. Kumar, who headed an all-party parliamentary delegation to Mongolia, called on D. Demberel, Chairman of the State Great Hural, Mangolias Parliament. A protocol of cooperation was signed by the Secretaries-General of the Lok Sabha and the State Great Hural. The delegation visited the residence of Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongolian Empire. (Locate In Atlas)
India-Japan ties enter strategic sphere

While the United States is still considering high-tech trade with India, Japan has removed a number of Indian companies off its end user list to create the environment for closer ties in the strategic sphere. Japans removal of 11 Indian companies from the end user list and addition of four new ones comes as both sides began talks on closer military ties and held two rounds of discussions on civil nuclear energy cooperation. Japan has so far conducted dialogue in this format only with close allies the U.S. and Australia. Improving ties with the two Far Eastern neighbours South Korea and Japan is part of Indias revitalised Look East policy that involves greater security and economic partnerships with these two countries, besides China, Australia and the 10 Association of South East Nations. While India has moved closer to civil nuclear partnership with South Korea, it has also made progress in this respect with Japan, which was earlier reluctant to consider such as deal with a
India signs new social security agreement with Korea

A reciprocal social security agreement (SSA) and protocol that will benefit a huge number of Indians particularly those working in the fields of Information Technology, medicine and finance was signed in Seoul. Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Korean Minister for Trade Kim Jong-hoon signed the pact.
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India & the World some hitherto unexplored areas in defence, and transport and industrial corridors in south India. These will build on a recently finalised economic pact, more intimate security ties, two mega infrastructure projects in north-western India and ongoing talks on a nuclear agreement. They instructed officials to ensure the smooth implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and accelerate discussions on the reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), to which both countries are aspirants as permanent members. On civil nuclear cooperation, India and Japan will hold the third round of talks in November third week. While Japan is keen on some sort of Indian political commitment on moving closer to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty regime, India has pointed out that its civil nuclear agreement with Japan cannot be materially different from the agreements signed with other countries.
An official release said a number of Indians were working in Korea, most of them professionals and self-employed persons. There was huge potential for the employment of Indians in Korea owing to a large gap in market labour supply. A n S S A wi t h K or e a wou l d e n h a n c e t h e movement of professionals, and strengthen the t r a d e a n d i n ve s t m e n t , be t we e n t h e t wo countries. Negotiations between India and Korea were held in New Delhi from December 8-10, 2009.
Economic pact to be centrepiece of Manmohan Singhs Japan visit

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived as part of his tour of three East Asian countries. The centrepiece of his stay in Japan will be the signing of a document that concludes negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The other highlight will be the inking of a memorandum of understanding on easing the visa procedures. This will mark the economic alignment of the second and third largest economies of Asia. This is an important message it sends. That is why we say the conclusion of the EPA is the centrepiece of this visit, Indian officials said. More importantly, the CEPA will help India make inroads in to the areas of its strength: information technology and pharmaceuticals. It will ensure national treatment for Indian companies in registering drugs, making it easier for them to get over this barrier, a deterrent in most countries. For instance, Indian diplomats have for some time been trying without success to get Russia and Central Asian countries, both potentially lucrative markets, to ease registration norms.
India, Mongolia hold joint military exercises

The troops of India and Mongolia engaged in joint exercises, in counter-insurgency ending in Belgaum. Nearly 30 officers and personnel of the Mongolian armed forces participated in the workout called Nomadic Elephant along with 50 officers and personnel of the Indian Army in counter-terrorism environment. The current engagement tapered and ended around the time the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was in India and Pakistan. Defence cooperation and relations between the militaries of the two countries has seen a steady growth over the last decade with the first joint exercise in 2004. For the last few years, the joint drills are being held every year. In recent years, the exercises varied with the one in 2005 being held at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairnagte, Mizoram while another exercise held in Mongolia in September 2008 was on peacekeeping operations. (Locate In Atlas)
India, Japan to expand strategic relations

India and Japan decided to extend their cooperation to areas such as joint ventures in rare earth minerals,
India- Australia : No News

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India- Ocenic Countries

India to discuss security ties with Seychelles
India discuss greater security and economic cooperation with Seychelles during discussions with its President James Alex Michel. India has been implementing a more intimate security grid with island nations such as the Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles as they have been feeling vulnerable in the absence of maritime domain awareness and adequate firepower. During talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, th e Seychell es Pr esi den t discuss great er collaboration with the Indian Navy to overcome the threat of piracy which has badly impacted its economy. Seychelles recently repelled two pirate attacks and has suffered a 8 billion (over Rs. 40,000 crore) impact due to decline in tourism. Besides military hardware, India provides high-level expertise in the form of several specialists from the armed forces doing duty in Seychelles. (Locate In Atlas) contributions to regional security, she said in her lecture on India as a Consensual Stake Holder in the Indian Ocean: Policy Contours organised by the National Maritime Foundation. Outlining Indias vision, she emphasised that the country stood for harnessing the forces of geopolitics for new forms of cooperation rather than using them as an excuse for domination by a single country.
Major trade by sea: Ms. Rao said as an emerging global economic and trading power, India had a vital stake in maritime security, especially since global mercantile trade now constituted 41 per cent of the GDP. Of this, 77 per cent of the trade and over 90 per cent by volume was carried by sea. Now 70 per cent of crude and oil products are being carried through the Indian Ocean. Amid increasing voices from the West that India assume a greater role in the region, Ms. Rao said while the country was seen as a net security provider, it could not carry the burden of regional security on its shoulders alone. However, she said that considering its defence and security interests as also the role and responsibility expected of India by the international community, a credible naval presence with adequate assets would have to be developed. The era of gun boat diplomacy is long over. A robust Indian naval presence is seen as a necessary contribution to a cooperative regional security order, she said, adding that the cooperative burden sharing of naval forces to fight piracy off the Somalia coast, was a case in point. At the same time, she said while addressing the threats posed by non-State actors was important, States should also abide by the rules of the road requiring common vision of maritime security and freedom of navigation in accordance with universally agreed principles of international law.
India has a vital stake in Indian Ocean region: Nirupama

Underscoring the fact that as the main resident power India had a vital stake in the Indian Ocean region, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao suggested that all stakeholders, who have a legitimate presence should contribute to regional security. Ruling out the inevitability of conflict a theme often talked about in media, she said India viewed the emerging trends with realism building a sustainable regional security would require a cooperative effort among all regional countries on the one hand and all users of the Indian Ocean. As the main resident power in the Indian Ocean region, we have a vital stake in the evolution of a stable, open, inclusive and balanced security and cooperation architecture in the region. By definition this would need to be a consensus-based process, where all the stakeholders who have a legitimate presence in the region make their respective
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India & the World
India & Various Organisations

India keen on joining Shanghai grouping
After being unenthusiastic to the idea of joining the six-country Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in its first term of governance, the United Progressive Alliance government now in its second term is keen on joining the grouping The government had asked the missions in four central Asian countries, Russia and China to explore the nature of rule changes for joining the SCO that are under way. Indias inclination comes amid the SCOs plan to take into its fold more countries from the near neighbourhood, including Pakistan and possibly Iran. New Delhis earlier lack of enthusiasm for the SCO, it was officially explained, was due to the limited role of the observer countries. The organisation has addressed this problem by changing some of the norms to allow greater participation of observers at the Yekaterinburg summit. Founded in 1996 as Shanghai Five with Russia, China, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the organisation was renamed SCO five years later, with Uzbekistan coming on board. India, Iran. Pakistan and Mongolia are observers. We h ave cr eat ed insti tut ion s for region al cooperation, but we have not yet empowered them to be more proactive, he said in his opening statement at the 16th SAARC summit.
SAARC plans expert group on climate change

With the more vulnerable Bangladesh and Maldives seeking firmer commitments to combat climate change, a watered down declaration was issued at the end of the 16th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, which ended. Climate change was the theme of the conference, held for the first time in Bhutan with generous assistance from India. The eight-member SAARC decided to convene a meeting on the issue before the meeting of the Committee of Parties to be held in Mexico.
India favours reforming multilateral FIs

India called for wide-ranging reforms in the structure of multilateral financial institutions to step up capital flows for infrastructure investment to developing markets. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said during his intervention at the 14th G-15 Summit in Tehran The Group of 15 comprising 17 developing countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, aims to foster cooperation and provide input for other international groups. The occasion saw the cha irman ship of the grouping pass on to Sri Lanka, with its President Mahinda Rajapaksa calling for strong unity among its members which, if complimented by the rich diversity among the members, would help the grouping achieve objectives such as universal access to health care and education.
PM heads to Brazil for IBSA, BRIC summits

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flew out of Andrews Air Force base morning for Brasilia, where he attend back-to-back summits of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) and the Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRIC) groupings. The IBSA summit be held on April 15 while BRIC meet on April 16. Dr. Singh also meet Chinese president Hu Jintao on the sidelines. While the IBSA has been meeting at the summit level for the past few years, this is the second summit of the BRIC countries. Their first summit was held last in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 2009.
SAARC meet begins in Thimpu on intros pective note

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) leaders in introspecting on the progress made by the eight-member regional association in its 25 years of existence. It was formed in 1985.
India lobbying hard with nuclear partners on ENR issue

After the shock of LAquilla, where the G-8 in 2009 agreed to implement a ban on the sale of enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) equipment and technology to countries like India which do not accept comprehensive international safeguards on their nuclear programme, the Manmohan Singh
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government has been actively lobbying to protect its position on getting access to sensitive nuclear technologies with individual supplier nations. In its recent interactions with the Nuclear Suppliers Group troika, India suggested that an asterisk be added to the cartels draft new rules on ENR transfers exempting the country from the proposed requirement of membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It also raised the issue with Russia, France and the United States, countries with which it has signed nuclear cooperation agreements in the wake of the clean exemption granted to India by the NSG in September 2008. NSG rules prohibit the sale of nuclear equipment or material to non-NPT signatories. In 2008, the 46-nation group voted unanimously to relax that condition for India in exchange for a range of non-proliferation commitments. But draft rules framed in November 2008 will unilaterally remove ENR sales from the purview of that exemption. For the past two years, consensus eluded the NSG on the ENR issue because some members states notably Argentina, Brazil and South Africa objected to other elements of the new restrictions. These three countries do not support the U.S.-inspired proposal that adherence to the Additional Protocol a more intrusive form of international monitoring not mandated by the NPT be a precondition for ENR imports. But NSG diplomats say the U.S. has had some success in building a consensus over the past few months and that major elements of the ENR ban, including the requirement of NPT membership, could well be adopted during the cartels plenary in Christ Church (Newzealand). Among Indias nuclear partners, only France has given a commitment to provide India ENR equipment.
opportune in the context of the high importance attached in India for deeming the right to education as a universal right. The Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education has the thematic mandate to safeguard and promote the right to education worldwide.
G-8 renews ENR ban on India

The G-8 has renewed for another year its ban on the sale of enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technology and equipment to countries like India that have not signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). We reiterate our commitment as found in paragraph 8 of the LAquila Statement on Non-Proliferation, the leaders of the U.S, France, Germany, Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan and Russia said in their summit communiqu from Huntsville, Ontario, in Canada on June 26. Paragraph 8 of the LAquila statement issued at the G-8 summit last year in Italy had said the eight countries would implement as national policy for a year the clean text on ENR restrictions that had emerged within the Nuclear Suppliers Group. This text proposes to amend the NSGs guidelines to make the sale of sensitive nuclear technology more difficult. One of the conditions is NPT membership. At last weeks NSG plenary in New Zealand, the U.S. sought to have the text adopted but was unable to generate a consensus. The G-8 statement also said the leaders welcome and encourage the recent steps taken by the governments of Pakistan and India to advance their bilateral relationship, and urge all countries of the region to work together actively in the interests of regional peace and stability.
Indias flood relief through U.N.

New Delhi has accepted Islamabads 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.
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Right to education: Indian gets key U.N. post

International law expert Kishore Singh has been nominated as the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education.
His candidature was presented by the government as well as by two judges of the International Court of Justice at The Hague, and supported by the Genevabased Platform of NGOs on the right to education. The appointment of an Indian to such a prestigious and challenging position in the U.N. system is most
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India & the World the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) and the BASIC countries. The AOSIS has emerged as a key voice in the climate debate, given the particular susceptibility of small islands to the consequences of climate change and rising sea-levels. The West, in the past, used the interests of the AOSIS countries to pressure large developing nations like China and India to take on greater commitments. Representatives from Grenada, current chair of the AOSIS, attended a two-day meeting of the BASIC group, which concluded. Re-connecting with G77 To secure the support of the AOSIS and African countries, China has been promoting a BASIC-plus approach, to expand the influence of the BASIC group within the G77. This attempt to find common ground with other developing countries, which form the larger bloc of the Group of 77, was also reflected in the statement, where Ministers reiterated that the BASIC as part of the Group of 77 and China will continue to work and strengthen the unity of the Group, and play a constructive role in facilitating climate change negotiations.
India to participate in Asia-Europe dialogue

With the Commonwealth Games to open around the same time, Vice President Hamid Ansari represent India at the Eighth Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit beginning in Brussels. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had attended the previous ASEM summit in Beijing two years ago, which was the first for India. Beginning as a dialogue forum between the European Union\European Commission and the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), ASEM broadened into a stage for interaction between Europe and Asia by including six countries from the North East and South Asia, of which India is one. The rationale [for setting up ASEM] is to balance the relationship between the three engines of growth. The United States and Europe have strong transatlantic links while the U.S. talks to Asia through the Asia Pacific Economic Community. This was the missing linkThe main theme of the meeting was the international economic and financial crisis. It was also discuss climate change and ways to strengthen the multilateral trade system. The meeting was chaired by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy.
ASEM to discuss a slew of issues

The summit, taking place a month before the G-20 Summit begins in Seoul. India was admitted to ASEM at its previous summit, which was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The biennial summit got off the ground in 1996 with just the 10-nation ASEAN and the European Union, which was much smaller then. It has now grown into a larger body. On the Asian side, it consists of the ASEAN countries, the Republic of Korea, China, Japan, India, Pakistan and Mongolia. Australia, New Zealand and Russia will formally join the grouping.
India backs new Asean security initiative

India, affirmed strong commitment to the new initiative of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The initiative, with no formal name yet, is the creation of the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM+) forum that brings together all the 10 southeast Asian countries and their key dialogue partners Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. Defence Minister A.K. Antony, in Hanoi to attend the first-ever conference of this forum, expressed the view that the ADMM+ process could contribute to the evolution of a new security architecture in the region. (Locate In Atlas)
To counter West, China and India reach out to small island-States

The BASIC group of large developing nations India, China, Brazil and South Africa intensified their efforts to win the crucial support of small island States on the climate change debate ahead of the year-end U.N. summit at Cancun in Mexico. Their attempts, however, faced hurdles, with persistent differences on emission reduction targets between
India, Asia-Pacific partners to focus on regional security

Defence Ministers from India and several Asia-Pacific countries, including China and the United States, affirmed their collective commitment to enhance peace, security, and prosperity in the region.
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Eighteen countries have come together under the banner of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). The participants are all 10 members of the ASEAN and their key dialogue partners Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States. Meeting in Hanoi, for the first time ever under this new banner, the Ministers from 18 countries pledged to strengthen regional defence and security cooperation in areas of mutual interest. Towards this objective, these Asia-Pacific partners would focus on concrete and practical measures. The new process, aimed at developing robust and effective regional security architecture, would be fostered through greater dialogue and exchange among the ADMM-Plus defence establishments.
India on U.N. women panel

India has been elected to the board of a new U.N. agency to promote equality for women . U.N. Women is the amalgamation of different United Nations bodies focused on women. It was created this year to look exclusively at gender equality and empowerment of women. The 41-member executive board also includes the U.S. and Britain, which won seats in the donor nations category.
Security to top RIC agenda

Security in the Asia-Pacific region will dominate the agenda of the 10th Russia-India-China (RIC) triangle meeting at the level of Foreign Ministers, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. The focus of the meeting will be questions of the formation in the Asia-Pacific region of a new, improved security and cooperation architecture and the role of the RIC in the system of multilateral regional associations, said the Russian Foreign Ministrys chief spokesman Andrei Nesterenko ahead of the RIC meeting in Wuhan, China, on November 14-15. Moscows intention to discuss the Russian-Chinese security plan for Asia creates the main intrigue of the coming RIC meeting: will India join in? There is nothing in the proposal set forth in the joint statement the Presidents of Russia and China signed on September 27 that India could possibly find objectionable.
Difference of opinion at G-20 summit over what ails the global economy
As a further indication of the fact that the pre-Summit negotiations of the G-20 are not going very smoothly, India has said that there are no universally agreed upon diagnoses of what ails the global economy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conveyed this to British Prime Minister David Cameron, and President Philip Calderon of Mexico during his bilateral meetings with them. This indicates that it disagrees with the United States perception that only Chinas current account and capital account surpluses are to blame for the global economic predicament. Dr. Singh also met the Prime Minister of Ethiopia in a bilateral meeting. The American decision to pump in $600 billion over the next few months has left everyone jumpy as to the consequences for their economies. Brazil has already spoken out sharply against this. A Chinese official said on television that if America catches a cold it cant look for Chinese medicines. China has already taken pre-emptive action against capital surges by asking Chinese banks to deposit more money with the Central bank. Many G-20 members have already put sand in the machine so that destabilising dollar inflows do not cause problems for them.
With South Africa in, it will be BRICS

The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) grouping will become BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa. The third BRIC summit in China next year will see South African President Jacob Zuma present as an observer. Membership of the soon-to-be five nation grouping will then be frozen for some time. This means that aspirants for membership like Egypt and Indonesia will have to wait till the BRICS stabilises. India is comfortable with the planned inclusion of South Africa as both countries consult each other on a wide variety of international issues.
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India & the World principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities. The stage for South Africas inclusion will be set with the expected presence of its Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane at the next BRIC Foreign Ministers meeting that will be held early next year in China. Before that the issue will be discussed during a RIC (Russia-India-China) meeting scheduled in Russia, where Sergei Lavrov, S.M. Krishna and Yang Jiechi have confirmed their attendance. Though South Africas economy has faltered, its presence at a vital point on the worlds global commons makes its inclusion vital. Besides climate change and international economic crises, South Africa also has a common view on other pressing problems such as Iran. It agrees with other emerging economies for a diplomatic solution and does not believe the U.S. and the European Union strategy to keep on tightening the sanctions screw is an answer.
The G-4 countries (Japan-India-Germany-Brazil) regularly have consultations with South Africa on the expansion of the Security Council. By most calculations and any yardstick, South Africa has good credentials to represent Africa on the UNSC, the sources said. The BRICS will add more muscle to the original fournation team in pressing for reforms in multilateral financial institutions and G-20 meetings based on the principle of multi-polarity. This has led to the BRIC emerging as a symbol of gradual transfer of economic power from the West to emerging economies. On climate change, with the exception of Russia, the others form the BASIC that pushes the interests of developing countries and thwarts attempts by the West to impose its agenda. The emerging countries consistently push for a fair and effective solution to the climate change issue, while reflecting the charter of the U.N. Framework Convention, especially the
Miscellaneous
Somali pirates release Indian vessel
One of the eight Indian vessels hijacked by Somali pirates more than a week ago has been released. The 500-tonner was hijacked with 15 Indian crews on March 28 when it was on its way from Dubai to Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, with general cargo. representation of Gandhiji in its pens, the company informed the Supreme Court that it would not use the Mahatmas picture for commercial purposes. The petitioner alleged that the company was using the image of Gandhiji for commercial purposes, and pens were being sold at high prices. It wanted the Centre to restrain the company from using Gandhijis name for commercial purposes and from violating Indian laws.
India wants zero tolerance of nuclear traffickers

With the spectre of A.Q. Khan and his clandestine smuggling ring still haunting India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told world leaders that there should be zero tolerance for individuals and groups which engage in illegal trafficking in nuclear items. He was speaking at the Nuclear Security Summit convened by the United States to address international concerns that lax national attitudes towards the physical protection of nuclear material could allow terrorists to acquire nuclear weapons or dirty bombs. Forty-seven countries attended the two-day meet. in Washington. The next Nuclear Security Summit will be held in South Korea in 2012, they decided.
Call for Asia-Pacific nations to invest more in social sector

A United Nations report has called upon governments in the Asia-Pacific region to increase social spending to consolidate the regions stronger than anticipated economic rebound and to spur over the long term a fairer, more balanced, and sustained economic recovery. The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2010, an annual publication of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) released globally provides the governments of the region representing 62 per cent of the worlds population a roadmap towards a more inclusive and sustainable development path.
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Montblanc agrees not to use Gandhiji image

With the Centre rejecting Montblancs plea for permission to use the name and pictorial
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The report finds the outlook for 2010 has improved significantly, with the regions developing economies forecast to grow by 7 per cent, led by China (9.5) and India (8.3).
Anti-trafficking aid to India drops

The United States support to India and other countries for the purpose of combating the trafficking in persons (TIP) has dropped from its highs in 2004 and 2005, a recent report has revealed.
Indian soldier killed in Congo

An Indian trooper, along with a Congolese soldier and a civilian, was killed in an attack by militants in Kivu province of Congo. Hussein Lal and his platoon, deployed on the United Nations peacekeeping duty in the mineral-rich Kivu province, rushed to help the Congolese Armed Forces, which had come under attack by the rebels. The peacekeeping force, known by its acronym MONUC. (Locate In Atlas)
Manmohan welcomes new Oxford centre

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has welcomed the establishment of what is claimed to be Europes first major school of government at Oxford University, his alma mater. The Blavatnik School of Government, funded with a 75 million donation from Russian-American industrialist and philanthropist Leonard Blavatnik, would train outstanding graduates from across the world in skills and responsibilities of government, the university said. In a message, Dr. Singh said he was sure that it would attain renown as one of the premier centres of study in the field of governance.
OECD talks to focus on economic recovery

Economy and Trade Ministers from 40 countries, representing 80 per cent of the world economy, descended in Paris for the annual ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a rich mans club that brings together the worlds richest 30 nations.
TV host quits amid uproar over remark against Sheila

A controversial New Zea land T V host who mocked and mispronounced Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshits name, prompting India to lodge a diplomatic protest, resigned, acknowledging that he had crossed the line.
NSG discusses Pakistan deal, defers new ENR rules

Much to Indias relief, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) failed to adopt new guidelines that would have led to the denial of enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technology to countries like itself that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In a statement issued at the end of its two-day plenary meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand, the NSG only said, its members agreed to continue considering ways to further strengthen guidelines dealing with the transfer of ENR technologies.
Russia, India, China wont cross U.S. on AfPak

India, Russia and China are concerned about t h e d e t e r i or a t i n g s e c u r i t y s i t u a t i on i n Afghanistan and feel the Afghan army needs strengthening, but will keep their trilateral coop er a t i on on t h e i ss ue wi t h i n c ur r e n t mechanisms for now. During the meeting of foreign ministers of the three countries, in Wuhan a Russian proposal to start a separate trilateral dialogue on the situation in Afghanistan did not find favour with China, which felt the move might alienate Pakistan and even the United States. Nevertheless, a joint communiqu issued at the end of the meeting underlined for the first time the need for adequate development of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to enable Afghanistan to defend its sovereignty and independence. In order to give a higher profile to the RIC trilateral, Mr. Krishna proposed that three flagship initiatives be launched in each of the three countries. One of the
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Disarmament panel concerned at exemption for India

The International Commission on Nuclear NonProliferation and Disarmament (ICNND) emphasized its concerns about the terms of the exemption approved [in September 2008] by the Nuclear Suppliers Group for Indias nuclear programmes. The independent global panel set up by the governments of Australia and Japan reaffirmed a specific concern that exemption of India from the NSG guidelines did not require a strong new commitment [by New Delhi] to disarmament and non-proliferation objectives and measures.
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India & the World Frankfurt branch will transfer the money to NIOCs EIH Bank account. Petroleum Secretary S. Sundareshan said there had been no disruption in oil supplies since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the new payment guidelines. The RBI on December 23 had stated that oil and other import payments to Iran will have to be settled outside the existing Asian Clearing Union (ACU) mechanism, which involves the Central banks of India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Iran, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Under the ACU mechanism, imports by the nine nations are settled every two months with every member paying for imports after netting out its exports among the union. Till 2008, payments under the ACU mechanism was done in U.S. dollars, but after the United States imposed sanctions on Iran over its suspected nuclear programme, the currency was shifted to Euro.
projects is likely to link Bangalore with the new Russian innovation centre at Skolkovo. The Russian side is also keen to explore deeper energy links between the three powers. Functional cooperation at present is taking place in the areas of disaster management, health and medicine and agriculture. A trilateral business forum will be held in Russia in 2011.
Indian farmers give Harvard lecture

While high-level agricultural cooperation between India and the United States has focused on bringing advanced technologies to India, the flow of knowledge is sometimes reversed at the grassroots level and in academic circles. Two Indian farmers from Jalgaon district in Maharashtra travelled to Boston, where they told a rapt audience at Harvard Universitys prestigious Business School about how they had used drip irrigation to dramatically increase their farm yields.
India joins UNSC as non-permanent member

India has joined the United Nations Security Council as its non-permanent member for a two-year term after a gap of 19 years, hoping that the seat at the high table will not only cement its place as a key global player, but also pave the way for becoming a permanent member of the powerful wing of the world body. On January 1, India, along with Germany, Portugal, South Africa and Columbia, became one of the five non-permanent members of this 15-member body. Indias approach to key global issues would be keenly watched not only by the members of the United Nations especially the third world countries but also from the P5, in particular the U.S. which would like New Delhi to align itself with and support Washingtons move on burning issues like Iran.
OCI, PIO cards merged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the merging of the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and the People of Indian Origin (PIO) cards to facilitate visa-free travel to India, rights of residency and participation in business and educational activities in the country.The Prime Minister observed while inaugurating the Ninth Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas. The Prime Minister also announced the extension of the Indian Community Welfare Fund to all Indian Missions from the present 42. Dr. Singh said the government would soon give effect to a law that allowed Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to register themselves as voters On the welfare of workers emigrating from India, the Prime Minister pointed out that besides the signing of Social Security Agreements with 12 countries and finalisation of Labour Mobility Partnerships with two others, the government was negotiating a generic arrangement with the European Union. While welcoming the presence of New Zealand Governor General Anand Satyanand as the Chief Guest of this years PBD, the Prime Minister regretted the passing away of management guru and member of the Global Advisory Council of Overseas Indians Prof. C.K. Prahalad. With the North Eastern States of India being the partner states for the PBD, the Prime Minister
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India, Iran agree on formula

India and Iran agreed on a formula for making payments for oil through a Hamburg-based German bank. Officials in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry said Irans national oil company National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has a Euro account in EuropischIranische Handelsbank AG (EIH Bank) in Hamburg, which will process the payments made for Iranian crude by Indian companies. Oil companies such as Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, Indian Oil and Essar Oil will make payments to the State Bank of India, whose
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encouraged the diaspora to join hands with local and national efforts to accelerate the pace of development of this region.
Karzai: we will not make any move that is detrimental to Indias interest
With India raising concern over Pakistans increasing involvement in Afghanistans transition process, President Hamid Karzai assured the visiting External Affairs Minister, S.M. Krishna, that his government would not make any move that was detrimental to New Delhis interest.
India, which has pledged $1.3 billion to the reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, repeatedly expressed apprehensions over Pakistans involvement in the transition process and over giving the Taliban representation in the government. Apart from staff in missions, some 4,000 Indians are building roads, sanitation projects and power lines in this country. India is also building the new Afghan Parliament. Besides its Embassy in Kabul, India has Consulates in Jalalabad, Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat.
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INDIA AND W ORLD

Indian-American appointed federal judge in California

Canada denied visas to Brigadiers

Sibal pitches for U.S.-India University partnerships

Canadian court bars kirpan

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India, Canada sign civil nuclear deal

Ottawa could have averted Kanishka tragedy: probe panel

Reprocessing accord signed

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American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI).Both are Republicans.

U.S., India constructing paradigm beyond Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

India seeks a relationship of equals with U.S., says Menon

Two Indian American doctors win in U.S. polls

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Changes in U.S. export control laws reflect present reality: India

U.S., India sign MoU for global diseases detection

In a first, India, U.S. for dialogue of all nuclear weapon states

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India, U.S. sign pact on clean technologies

U.S.-India pact to better monsoon forecasts

A programme that enriches lives of Indian students in U.S.

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India & the World

Religious freedom not fully enforced in India: U.S. report

India- Central America

India- South America

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3 Indian soldiers killed in Congo

India offers $500 m credit line to Mozambique

Ansari to sign social security pact with Czech Republic

Non-alignment relevant in multipolar world: Ansari

Czech Republic to support Indias bid for United Nations seat

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India & the World

Cameron: we cant tolerate Pakistan exporting terror

Russia invites Indian investment

India-Russia nuclear talks hit liability snag

U.K. to review aid to India

Russian firm offers knowhow

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Sarkozy calls for permanent Security Council seat for India

India-Russia joint exercise concludes

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India & the World

India, France to enforce curbs on terror outfits

India, France to sign pact on two nuclear reactors

India, France ink two pacts on nuclear safety

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Brussels summit one more step in strategic ties with EU

Terrorism cannot be used to solve political problems, says Merkel

Russia a special partner: Manmohan

India-EU pact on movement of persons likely

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India, Russia sign fighter aircraft pact

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India- Central Asia

India denied export of goods to Afghanistan through Wagah

Indian camp in Afghanistan attacked

India, Turkmenistan explore energy cooperation

India hails Kyrgyzstan polls