August 2011
The Union government of India has entered into an agreement with University of Melbourne to address the problem of mental health in the country and the treatment gap on it. A MoU was signed in Delhi between the Health and Family Welfare Ministry and University of Melbourne to this effect. The collaboration will lead to the development of community mental health models in India that can be scaled up to increase access to effective care for people with mental illness. The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria.
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on 27 August 2011 laid the foundation stone for a Rs. 172-crore integrated check-post (ICP) at the India-Bangladesh international border to boost bilateral ties. Also present on the occasion was Bangladeshi Home Minister, Shahra Khatun and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.The ICP project, which is part of the government of India`s initiative for better border management is to put in place systems which address both security concerns, as well as facilitate cross-border trade and commerce.13 other ICPs are to be set up on the borders between India and Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Myanmar as part of a plan with an initial outlay of Rs. 635 crore during the 11th Five Year Plan. Out of the 13 ICPs, seven will be set up on the India-Bangladesh border.
The Government of India signed an Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital (DTAA) with Government of Georgia. M.C.Joshi, Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on behalf of the Government of India and Zurab Katchkatchishvili, Ambassador of Georgia to India on behalf of the Government of Georgia, signed the Agreement. The DTAA provides that business profits will be taxable in the source state if the activities of an enterprise constitute a Permanent Establishment (PE) in the source state.
India- Japan CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) enters into force on 1 August 2011. This is India’s third Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (after Singapore and South Korea) and India’s first with a developed country. It covers more than 90% of trade, a vast gamut of services, investment, IPR, customs and other trade-related issues. Tariffs will be brought to zero in 10 years on 66.32% of tariff lines to give sufficient time to industry to adjust to the trade liberalization. Under the India-Japan CEPA, India will be benefited by Japanese investments, technology and excellent management practices that come with it. Japan can take advantage of India‘s huge and growing market and resources, especially its human resources. The current bilateral trade between India and Japan is a little over 12.6 billion US dollars and it is expected that it will touch 25 billion US dollars by 2014.