1) Nuclear plant agreement with NPCIL, L&T during PM visit to France

• The Areva-L&T pact was the highlight of the occasion following talks between Narendra Modi and Hollande at Paris on 10th April. The pact is part of Make in India initiative and this involves production of nuclear heavy forging in the country. This is critical for making of outer casket for nuclear reactors which Areva usually sources from Japan but is unable to do so for Indian market in the absence of Indo-Japan civil nuclear deal so far. 
• This was agreed upon following strong push from both Modi and Hollande for 9,900-MW nuclear power plant, five years after the civil nuclear deal was signed by Delhi and Paris 
• NPCIL and L&T in 2009 formed a joint venture company to produce special steels and ultra heavy forgings. The very heavy forging capacity in operation today is in Japan (Japan Steel Works), China (China First Heavy Industries, China Erzhong and SEC), France (Le Creusot), and Russia (OMZ Izhora). New capacity is planned in UK (Sheffield Forgemasters) and India (Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bharat Forge Ltd). 
• And now following the L&T and Areva pact a key component will be domestically produced and this will bring down cost of reactors and therefore per unit tariff of power produced. French government claims that the reactors (European Pressurised Reactors) are expensive because of enhanced safety measures. Addressing India`s concern, France also came down heavily on cross-border terror.
• Later Modi and French president Francois Hollande went on a boat ride on River Seine in what was dubbed as `Naav Pe Charcha` (discussions during boat ride). 
• They agreed on dismantling terrorist infrastructure, denying safe heavens to terrorist and bringing perpetrators and conspirators of terrorist attacks to justice. 

• The Prime minister also met CEOs of Defence companies. The focus is on pushing the Make in India initiative in both the defence and infrastructure sectors. France has emerged as a major source of FDI for India with over 700 big French companies already present in India. French investments have already exceeded around 10 billion dollars. 
• The 750,000 member MEDEF hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. MEDEF is a network of entrepreneurs in France which represents French private companies of all sizes and industries.

3) France to work with India on semi-high speed rail

• The two sides signed a railway protocol which seeks to establish cooperation between Indian and French Railways for semi-high speed rail and station renovation. 
• Under the protocol, Indian Railways and French National Railways (SNCF) will co-finance an execution study by SNCF for a semi-high speed project on upgradation of the Delhi-Chandigarh line to 200km per hour and re-development of Ambala and Ludhiana railway stations in Punjab. 
• The Shatabdi Express between Chandigarh and New Delhi is the fastest train on the route and currently runs at an average speed of 79.80 kmph. France also expressed interest in collaborating with India for development of smart cities from among the list of cities to be identified by the government of India 
• Airbus plans to increase its Indian outsourcing from $400 million to $2 billion in next five years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 11th April visited Airbus`s facility in Toulouse, in southern France.

5) Defence Min Parrikar holds talk with Japanese PM

• Parrikar, who is on a four-day visit to Japan, also held talks with his Japanese counterpart General Nakatani and both chaired the Defense Ministerial Meeting.
• Highlighting that Japan is the first country he is visiting since assumption of office, the Defense Minister said he would like to see a strong partnership with Japan in defense equipment and technology. Japanese PM Abe said he wants to build a strong relationship with India not only in economic field but also in defense and security field. He said that a strong India-Japan partnership is not only in the national interest of the two countries but is also important for peace and security in the region.

• The Foreign Secretary-level meeting reviewed the agreement signed between Nepal and India in August 2014 during the visit of Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi and during the visit of Minister for External Affairs SushmaSwaraj.

• He said the corporation, a world renowned government entity with more than 40 years of experience in management of water resources would both fund and implement the project with its technical experience up to the village level. Supply of water to individual households within the village would be the responsibility of the gram panchayats. 

1) AP delegation signs MoUs in China

• Five MoUs were signed between the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Chinese companies. The MoUs signed between the GoAP and their Chinese counter parts are mainly related to bringing direct investment to give a fillip to the solar and alternative energy sectors in the State. 
• One of the MoUs singed relates to facilitating direct investments in the fields of Thermo-Mechanical Treatment (TMT), Insurance, health care and tourism. 
• Another five MoUs signed between the private companies in Andhra Pradesh and China, under Business-to-Business (B2B) are related to manufacturing of toys in Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ), where the GMR and Hangzhou Juatong Inc would set up a unit to create an initial employment to about 1500 people with an export projection of $100 million of toys. 
• The same unit is expected to further expand after 18-months, with an export growth projection of $250 million per year, and to create employment to about 5000 people. 
• Four more MoUs under this category were signed between Brandix India Apparel City and their Chinese counterparts to bring in investments in the field of home textiles. 
• One more MoU has also been signed under this category in the solar energy sector. Apart from this, the Chief Minister had made a strong pitch before the Chinese investors explaining the opportunities to catch on in various sectors like communications, manufacturing, hardware, smart phones, research and development and the like. 
• As part of this, a MoU has been signed with Camel Group Co Ltd., and also, another with industry body, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). The CCPIT promotes China’s international trade.

3) India offers another USD 1 bn loan for development of Bangladesh

• The ministers also expressed commitment to make region HIV AIDS free by the year 2030. Other issues like prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and strengthening collaboration among the nations were also discussed during the meeting. 
• SAARC countries comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka account for nearly a quarter of the world population.

5) PM reaches Paris in first leg of his 3-nation visit

• Modi will talk with business leaders of select French companies in defence and infrastructure sectors. He will address the UNESCO and will meet the French President and senior political leaders. 
• Modi will visit some high-tech facilities including aviation major, Airbus and the French Space agency, CNES at the southern town of Toulouse. 
• He will then go to Neuve Chappelle at the northern city of Lille to pay homage to thousands of Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during the First World War. 

• Indian Naval Ship INS Sumitra evacuated 349 persons, including 46 Indians and 303 foreign nationals from Al Hudaydah port yesterday. Over 5600 persons have been evacuated during the operation. These include over 4640 Indian nationals and about 960 foreign nationals from 41 countries. 

1) PM Modi unveils bust of Gandhi

PM Narendra Modi on 12th April unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Hannover and said his teachings and principles were the appropriate answer to challenges like terrorism and global warming that the world faces.

The shadow of terror is bent upon eliminating humanity. In this situation the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi like non- violence and `Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam` (the world is one family) are appropriate answers to this challenge," Modi said in the city of Hannover, on the first day of his three-day visit to Germany.

2) PM Modi gifts `Tree of Life` painting to French President

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who winds up his first visit to France, gifted President Francois Hollande a painting titled `Tree of Life` which reflects the traditional societal respect for nature in India. The painting, pigments on silk, has been done by an artist, Bhaskar Mahapatra of Raghurajpur in Puri district of Odisha.

3) No retrospective taxation: PM

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought Canada`s cooperation and investment in every area of India`s national development priority- Energy and Infrastructure, Manufacturing and Skills, Smart Cities and agro-industry, and Research and Education. 
• The Prime Minister said, the road map to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement will be implemented by September 2015. 
• Liberal Visa policy for Canadians: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a liberalized visa policy for Canadian nationals visiting India. 
• The new visa policy will support greater engagement and people-to-people contacts between India and Canada. India will issue Electronic Visa Authorization for tourist visas for Canadian nationals. They will also now be eligible for 10-year visas. 
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gifted the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a miniature painting titled Guru Nanak Dev. Painted in the traditional Indian miniature style, this composition shows Guru Nanak Dev with his two disciples Bhai Mardana and Bhai Bala, sitting beside him.

5) India, Belarus to enhance bilateral ties

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi held detailed discussions with Stephan Harper on full spectrum of bilateral relations and exchanged perspectives on a range of regional and international issues of mutual interest.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart have agreed to pursue specific measures to diversify and deepen bilateral trade and investment cooperation to increase the two way flow of goods and services. 
• The two leaders recognized that early finalization of the Bilateral Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement is an important step in realizing the shared objective of enhanced trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.
• They reaffirmed the importance of intensifying and facilitating bilateral collaboration in the area of agriculture and agri-food, including continued collaboration in fertilisers, cold chain management, animal development, dryland farming, food processing technologies and agricultural sustainability.

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced resumption of supply of fuel to India and declared their common intent to tackle the challenge of global terror. 
2. The signing of agreements announced a new chapter in Indo-Canadian relationship as the two countries left behind the past and rose to the occasion and announced the nuclear deal. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada has what India Needs and announced his countries decision to resume supply to India. On his part, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the deal represents the confidence that the two countries share. 
3. Canada used to supply Uranium to India prior to 1970, but stopped it after pokhran tests. Now, with signing of the agreements, signals a new era in the bilateral relations between the two countries. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that this visit indicates the strong friendship between Canada and India. Harper spoke of the growing relationship between the two countries especially the enormous trade potential. 
4. Sand stone sculpture handed over: 800 year old Indian sandstone sculpture of woman holding a parrot will reach to India. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper handed over to his counterpart, Narendra Modi. The sculpture dates back to the 12th century. 
5. It was returned in accordance with the 1970 UNESCO Convention. The painting is by Jaipur-based artist, Virendra Bannu.
6. The three-foot high statue of ‘Parrot Lady’ turned up in Canada in 2011 in the possession of an individual who did not have proper documentation; it was seized under the Cultural Property Export and Import which controls antiquities and other cultural objects being imported from foreign states.

1) India, Japan ink action agenda to boost trade, investment

 3) US agrees to re-start talks on social security with India

• India wants the US to exempt Indian workers on H-1B visas from contributing to social security as they are not eligible for refunds. According to US laws, social security refunds can be claimed by foreign workers after 10 years of service, whereas H-1B visas are given only for six years. The main reason the US stopped discussing the pact with India years ago was its concern that India did not have social security cover for old age, death and disability for most of its workers, and its (US) law did not allow a pact with such countries.
• India’s argument is that it has a large number of social security schemes such as the Employees’ Provident Fund, the Rashtriya Swasthya BimaYojana, various old age pension schemes and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. 
• Moreover, the Central government is also moving towards universal social security through the Atal Pension Yojna’, announced in this year’s Budget.
• India has also been arguing that since it has concluded social security pacts with Canada, France and Germany, which also have similar pacts with the US, there is no reason why it cannot ink one with the US.

• Center director Gauri Krishnan said that museum has 443 artifacts, some of which has come from the South East Asian countries. This reflects strong links with South Asia, especially the centuries old Indian influence on trade and cultural exchanges dated back to the 7th Century.
• There would also be the Islamic Tiled Façade from Pakistan`s Multan which goes back to the 13th century Sultanate period. The center blends both traditional Indian as well as modern architectural elements. It took seven years to complete the center as first of its kind museum of Indian traditions and cultures.

5) India, Bangladesh finalize deal on coastal shipping to boost export, import

• During the talks, both the countries also agreed on extension of protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade with the provision of automatic renewal. This is in line with the proposed amendment to the Bangladesh-India Trade Agreement.

• The Asia Africa Summit ended on 23rd April with leaders of Asia and Africa endorsing documents aimed at strengthening multilateral relationships between the two regions. Among the leaders in attendance were Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Representatives from more than 80 nations attended the Summit that started on Wednesday in Jakarta.

• Modi met the top CEOs of German companies who shared their views on how to improve ease of doing business in India. The Prime Minister also unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hannover. India is the partner country in the largest industrial fair in the world. 14 states and 350 companies from India and 120 CEOs are participating in the 5-day fair.