1) India, China hold discussions on NSG issue in Beijing
- India and China on 31st October held discussions on Nuclear Suppliers Group, NSG issue in Beijing.
- The first such meeting was held in New Delhi on the 13th of in September, 2016. The talks were substantive and constructive. The two countries will continue engagement to discuss India`s membership in the elite group.
2) Indo-Nepal joint military exercise kicks off
- Seeking to boost their defence ties, India and Nepal on 31st October commenced their 10th joint military exercise which will be held over two weeks with emphasis on counter terrorism in mountainous terrain. Indo-Nepal Joint Military Exercise Surya Kiran commenced at Army Battle School, Saljhandi in Nepal.
- The Surya Kiran series of Exercises are being conducted annually, alternatively in Nepal and India. Notably in the series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries, Surya Kiran series with Nepal is the largest in terms of troop’s participation.
- Indian Army said in a statement that the aim of this exercise is to conduct battalion level joint training with emphasis on Counter Terrorism in mountainous terrain. Aspects of Disaster Management have also been included in the exercise. Joint Battalion Level Exercise will enhance defence co-operation and relations between the two nations.
3) President Mukherjee holds talks with Nepalese counterpart
- Indian President Pranab Mukherjee held talks with Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari at Shital Niwas in the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu on 2nd November. He discussed various bilateral, regional and international issues of significance between the two countries.
- President Mukherjee arrived for a three day visit in Kathmandu. This is the first visit by an Indian head of the state in 18 years to the neighbouring Himalayan country. The then President KR Narayanan was the last President to visit Nepal in May 1998 and before him, Giani Zail Singh had visited the country in 1986.
- Mr. Mukherjee’s visit is seen as a “goodwill friendship visit” on the invitation of Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari. A high-level delegation is accompanying the President.
- Besides, Mr. Mukherjee’s engagement in Nepal’s capital city Kathmandu, he will also visit Pokhara and Janakpur on 4th of this month in his visit to Himalayan nation.
- The visit reflects the priority that Government of India associates for strengthening its age-old unique partnership with Nepal and the shared historical and cultural linkages and wide-ranging people to people contacts.
4) India, Sweden agree to enhance collaboration in energy sector
- India and Sweden have agreed to enhance collaboration in energy sector with special focus on areas such as waste-to-energy, hydropower, smart metering and solar energy.
- On an official visit to Sweden, Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines Minister Piyush Goyal had a bilateral meeting with the Swedish Minister for Policy Coordination and Energy, Ibrahim Baylan.
- The Power Ministry said in a statement that both sides referred to the existing MoU on Renewable Energy Cooperation. It said, the ministerial delegation participated in three round tables on green financing and investment, smart grid and energy solutions, smart cities, electro mobility and waste to energy and energy efficient mining and mine automation and optimisation.
5) India, UNISDR sign "Statement of Cooperation" on Sendai Framework
- India and United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction signed a Statement of Cooperation during the second day of the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction 2016 in New Delhi on 4th November.
- The Statement underlined the guiding principles, objectives and areas of cooperation between India and UNISDR towards the effective implementation and monitoring of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction.
- India will partner with UNISDR to work towards strengthening the capacity of Asian countries in ensuring risk resilient development. It will also facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experiences, and collaborative efforts towards addressing critical regional challenges.
- The cooperation aims to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of the Sendai Framework through Training and capacity building for Asian countries.
6) India to acquire US-2i amphibious aircrafts
- India has revived the stalled project to acquire a dozen Japanese US-2i amphibious aircraft, worth around Rs 10,000 crore, ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Tokyo on November 11-12 to further cement the bilateral strategic partnership.
- The US-2i project, with six of the huge amphibious planes each for the Navy and Coast Guard, is also slated to be taken up by the defence acquisitions council (DAC) meeting to be chaired by defence minister Manohar Parrikar on 4th November.
- Powered by four big turbo-props, the US-2i is capable of short take-offs from land as well as water. While basically meant for search and rescue operations, the US-2i can also rapidly transport 30 combat-ready soldiers to "hot zones" in an emergency.
- Though the Navy has much more critical operational requirements ranging from submarines to multirole helicopters, the proposed US-2i deal is intended to send a strong signal to an increasingly belligerent China in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Both India and Japan are wary of the China`s aggressive territorial claims. India has till now ruled out joining the quadrilateral security dialogue proposed by the US, with Japan and Australia being the other members. But Japan since 2014 has become a regular participant of the annual Malabar naval exercise between India and the US, which has riled China.
- Negotiations for the US-2i aircraft deal, which will be the first-ever purchase of military equipment from Japan since it ended its five-decade old self-imposed embargo to export military hardware, have been underway since 2013 but were stalled on the high costs involved.
- Japan has now agreed to somewhat reduce the price, which was earlier pegged at $1.6 billion or Rs 10,720 crore for the 12 aircraft, to clinch the deal and expand its strategic partnership with India.
7) PM Laid Foundation Stone Of Greenfield Airport And Tuem Electronic City In Goa
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the coastal state of Goa on November 13, 2016 to lay foundation stone for two projects: Greenfield airport in North Goa and Tuem Electronic city. The function was held at Dr Shama Prasad Mukherjee stadium in Bambolim village.
- The first phase of the airport is expected to be commissioned in the financial year 2019-20.The Tuem Electronic City project is expected to generate 25,000 jobs for the youth in the state.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Pune on November 13, 2016 to inaugurate the International Conference and Exhibition on Sugarcane Value Chain – Vision 2025 Sugar organised by Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI) at Manjari.
8) 12-km-long elevated railway corridor to be set up in Guwahati under Smart City Project
- The Centre on November 10, 2016, announced the construction of a 12-km-long elevated railway corridor inside Guwahati, worth Rs 5,000 crore, as a part of the smart city project.
- The project covering the entire corridor between Kamakhya and New Guwahati will be elevated
- The Indian Railways will form a joint venture in the form of a special purpose vehicle with the state government to implement the project.
- There will be 7 platforms in the 12 km stretch and the terminals will be developed for commercial purposes too.
- The three stations in Kamakhya, Guwahati and New Guwahati will be connected to metro line, which is coming up in the city soon.
- There will be 4 elevated tracks with 12 level crossings and it will take just 15 minutes to cross the stretch.
9) IMT Friendship Motor Car Rally flagged off
- A Friendship Motor Car Rally between India, Myanmar and Thailand (IMT) was flagged off by the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Chemical Fertilizers Mansukh Lal Mandaviya from India Lawns in New Delhi on November 13, 2016.
- Friendship Motor Car Rally is scheduled to be held between Delhi to Bangkok from IMT Friendship Motor Car Rally flagged offNovember 13 to December 3, 2016 in 20 Indian made vehicles. About 80 participants from the 3 countries will participate in the rally covering a total distance of 5,722 km along the IMT Trilateral Highway.
- This Friendship Rally aims to improve the road connectivity in South East Asian region and to spread awareness among the stakeholders of India, Myanmar and Thailand about the Friendship Motor Vehicle Agreement.
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India have taken major steps towards negotiating a Trilateral Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) among the three nations to regulate free movement of passengers and cargo vehicles among these three countries.
10) GoM recommends heavy fine and ban on celebrities for misleading endorsement.
- A high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, recommended to impose heavy fine and ban on celebrities who endorse products making unrealistic and unreliable claims.
- The recommendation dropped Standing committee’s proposal of jail term to celebrities who were found guilty for misleading endorsement.
- As per the new approval first time accused celebrities will be fined Rs 10 lakh and banned for one year. Subsequent the offenders should be fined Rs 50 lakh and banned for up to 3
11) Indian Navy to select Candidates through JEE (Main) ranks
- Indian Navy is considering to select candidates into the 10+2 B Tech cadet scheme through JEE (Main) ranks, instead of class 12th
- Earlier, the candidates were selected on the basis of their PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Maths) percentage, scored in their class 12 board examination.
- The move can result to more candidates taking JEE (Mains) examination in 2017, in order to become eligible for the January 2018 courses offered by Indian Naval Academy (INA).
- All this has become necessary because the Navy needs a strong cadre of officers with advanced technical expertise to handle the sophisticated “platforms”