1) Cabinet approves deal between India, Mauritius on cooperation in cooperatives

• Current Affirs The Cabinet has given its approval for signing of an Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and Mauritius on cooperation in cooperatives and related fields. The Agreement between the two countries will be for duration of five years after which it will be automatically extended for another five years.
• The Agreement provides for promoting cooperation through short and medium term programmes within the framework of the joint activities mentioned in the Agreement. A work plan will also be drawn up by mutual Agreement between the two parties to give effect to the objectives of this Agreement.
• The Cabinet also gave its nod to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), Abu Dhabi for mutual co-operation and technical assistance.
• The MoU will promote will help create conditions for development of securities markets in the two countries. It will also contribute towards strengthening the information sharing framework between the two regulators.
• The Union Cabinet was apprised of a General Framework Agreement, GFA on Renewable Energy Cooperation between India and United Arab Emirates, UAE. The GFA was signed, in New Delhi on 11th February this year during the state visit of Crown Prince of UAE.
• The objective of this GFA is to establish the basis for a framework through which extensive projects, investments, cooperation in research and development in renewable and clean energy, and knowledge sharing platforms could be enacted on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity between the Parties.

2) India, WHO sign treaty for Global promotion of Traditional Systems of Medicine

• Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and the World Health Organization have signed an historic Project Collaboration Agreement (PCA) for cooperation on promoting the quality, safety and effectiveness of service provision in traditional and complementary medicine.
• The PCA aims to support WHO in the development and implementation of the `WHO Traditional and Complementary Medicine Strategy: 2014-2023` and will contribute to the global promotion of traditional Indian Systems of Medicine.
• The PCA for the period 2016-2020 will deliver for the first time WHO benchmark document for training in Yoga, and WHO benchmarks for practice in Ayurveda, Unani and Panchakarma.
• These will contribute significantly to the strengthening of national capacities in ensuring the quality, safety and effectiveness of traditional medicine including in establishing regulatory frameworks for traditional medicine products and practice and promote their integration in national healthcare systems.
• Minister of State (Independent Charge) of AYUSH Mr. Shripad Yesso Naik recalled the history and rich heritage of Indian traditional medicines and its growing relevance in providing comprehensive health care.
• He also mentioned that the initiatives and activities undertaken by India within the country align with the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023. He added that India, sets a unique example for adopting a pluralistic health care delivery system that allows every recognized medical system to develop and be practiced with a view to provide integrated and holistic healthcare services.

3) India, New Zealand sign landmark Air Services Agreement

• Current Affirs India and New Zealand today signed a landmark Air Services Agreement paving the way for introduction of direct flights between the two countries. The agreement was signed by Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmer Welfare, Dr Sanjeev Baliyan on behalf of India and Transport Minister of New Zealand Simon Bridges in the presence of the President Mr Pranab Mukherjee and the New Zealand Prime Minister Mr John Key.
• Business, Education and Tourism have grown exponentially between India and New Zealand in the recent years. There are nearly 1,75,000 persons of Indian origin in New Zealand of which about 15,000 are Indian students. The two-way trade between the two countries has doubled in the last few years. The two-way tourist traffic has also witnessed sharp rise, partly due to the exotic and pristine locales of New Zealand shown in Indian movies.
• President Mukherjee said the agreement will lead to easier connectivity that has inhibited both business travel and people- to- people contact in the past. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key also held talks with Mr Mukherjee. According to Secretary East in the Ministry of External Affairs Preeti Saran, both sides agreed to expedite negotiations for an early conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement.
• President Mukherjee also addressed a large gathering of Business Leaders today. He said despite sluggishness in World Economy, India is progressing at a healthy 7.2% rate of growth and it will certainly be better in coming years.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1st May launched 11 solar-powered "e-boats" at the Assi Ghat in Varanasi. He said this step is in line with his government`s focus on making long-term interventions to empower the poor in their fight against poverty.
• The Prime Minister said his government has made schemes, which empower the poor to fight and defeat the poverty themselves. Reaching out to the backward fishermen and boatmen communities and addressing them as brothers, the Prime Minister said his government is for the poor.
• Earlier, the Prime Minister held a `chaupal` with the rickshaw pullers in his Parliamentary constituency and expressed his feelings before handing over e-rickshaws to them. He interacted with 16 select rickshaw pullers of the total 1000, who were giving e-rickshaws, replacing their old paddle rickshaws with e-rickshaws. 

1) India, Australia sign pact to boost horticulture research

• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a not-for-profit public sector enterprise, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Horticulture Innovation Australia to jointly fund and support research and development in horticulture.

2) India, U.S. hold first maritime security dialogue Current Affairs

• Towards deepening the evolving partnership in the maritime domain, India and the U.S. held the first round of discussions under the recently-constituted maritime security dialogue between officials of Defence and External Affairs ministries and their U.S. counterparts.
• Among the issues discussed were Asia-Pacific maritime challenges, naval cooperation, and multilateral engagement.
• The dialogue was one of the several new initiatives agreed between Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his U.S. counterpart Ashton Carter during the latter’s visit to India last month as part of the maritime security objectives under the India-US Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region.

3) Exploring opportunities

• They also agreed to launch a bilateral Maritime Security Dialogue, co-chaired by officials at the Joint Secretary/Assistant Secretary-level of the Indian Ministries of Defence and External Affairs and the U.S. Departments of Defence and State
• A head of the discussions that being the first dialogue both sides are looking to explore the scope of maritime cooperation under the framework of this maritime dialogue at the bilateral and multilateral level to be taken up.
• The other initiatives agreed include the conclusion of a “white shipping” technical arrangement to improve data sharing on commercial shipping traffic and Navy-to-Navy discussions on submarine safety and anti-submarine warfare.

4) India, Slovenia sign pact to amend tax treaty

• India and Slovenia have signed a protocol to amend the bilateral double taxation avoidance agreement, broadening the pact to include exchange of information to curb tax evasion. The two countries signed the protocol amending the existing convention and protocol for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income on May 17 in Ljubljana.

1) India, Iran sign 12 key agreements

• Current Affirs India and Iran on 23rd May signed 12 key agreements in various fields. The agreements included pacts on developing Chabahar port. Also, pacts in fields of science and technology, transportation, academic cooperation, culture, economy and trade were inked
• The agreements were signed after Delegation-level talks held between the two countries on a wide range of issues.
• Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Iran on a bi-lateral visit in 15 years
• Prime Minister Modi said that agreement to develop the Chabahar port and related infrastructure as well as availability of about 500 million dollars from India is a key milestone.
• India and Iran exchanged views on the emerging regional situation and global issues of common concern. He said that the agenda and scope of our partnership is truly substantial.

2) Agreements with Iran

• The agreement to develop Phase I of Chabahar port is seen as India`s counter to the development of the deep-sea port of Gwadar, in Balochistan in Pakistan, located just 72 km away.
• The development of Chabahar port will allow India to circumvent Pakistan and open up an alternative land-sea route for its trade with Afghanistan and beyond to Central Asia.
• India has already spent $100 million in building the 220-km Zaranj-Delaram highway in Afghanistan, also known as Route 606, which connects to Chabahar.
• India committed around $500 million for the important port in Iran`s southern coast, which will serve as a "point of connectivity" between India, Afghanistan, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries and East Europe.
• Terming terrorism as a "big problem running rife and rampant in the region", Rouhani said that both the nations have discussed the issue and agreed to share intelligence to combat the menace.
• The two countries discussed about political issues as well and how they can cooperate on intelligence sharing and how they can get closer to each other in the fight against terrorism and extremism and how they can contribute to peace and stability in the whole region
• As regards the economic cooperation, besides developing the Chabahar port, India and Iran also signed agreements in diverse fields like trade credit, culture, science and technology as well as railways.

• Indian President Pranab Mukherjee had meeting with the top Chinese leader including his counterpart Mr. Xi Jinping and the Prime Minister LI keqiang on bilateral, multilateral and global issues in Beijing on 26th May
• Leaders from the both countries discussed expansion of finance and trade, flagship programmes, border issues, terrorism and nuclear issues
• The two countries resolved to cooperate in UN masoor Azhar issue. On border disputes both sides acknowledged that as neighbours, it is natural to have some differences but must find convergences to move ahead.
• India and China on 26th May signed eleven MOUs on academic co-operation.
• From Indian side, they included Nalanda university, IIT Delhi, IIM Calcutta, Central University of Gujrat, Visvesvarya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur and IIT, Bhubaneshwar with Peking University, Chang`an University, East china university of Political science and Law, Beijing Foreign University, Jinan university from China side.
• The area covered under the agreement include Science, engineering, research, academic exchange, computer science and engineering, urban planning and climate change.

4) Cabinet clears India, Japan pact on thermal power

• The Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval to the MoU between India and Japan for promoting sustainable, stable and low-carbon    thermal power development in India. The Cabinet also granted ex-post facto approval to the cadre review of the Indian Postal Service.
• The cadre review will enable the Department of Posts to meet the functional requirements and strengthening the cadre structure both in the headquarters and in the field on the basis of functional requirement.It will lead to creation of new posts at DG, ADG, SAG, JAG and JTS levels by decreasing Senior Time Scale posts.

1) India-Russia agree to export BrahMos, world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile

• India and Russia have agreed ‘in principle’ to export the world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile, BrahMos, to UAE, Vietnam, South Africa and Chile.
• Several structural changes were made in the defence exports policy and these were yielding results. As far as the BrahMos missile is concerned, talks with countries like UAE, Chile, South Africa and Vietnam are in advanced stages.
• Since Russia is the partner country in the BrahMos joint venture with its consent discussions with several other countries, including Philippines, South Korea, Algeria, Greece, Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt, Singapore, Venezuela and Bulgaria have now been taken to the next level.
• While defence minister Manohar Parrikar will be visiting Vietnam soon, where the talks for closing deal with the ASEAN member country could be discussed, the source revealed that by the year end, the BrahMos Aerospace is expected to ink the deal with UAE by the year end as both India and Russia have good relations with the country and there is conflict of interest there, hence there will no problems in exporting the missile to that country.
• In the case of Vietnam, China has expressed its reservations against India’s policies to supply weapons. In the South China Sea, China and Vietnam are locked in a conflict over maritime boundaries.
• The Indo-Russian joint venture will soon be testing it cruise missiles on Russian Su-30 Flanker C multi-role fighter aircraft for which the ground tests are already done.
• BrahMos is a short-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between Russia’s NPO Mashinostroeyenia and the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India. They have formed BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited to make the missile. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
• The Indian government has been receiving proposals for BrahMos from countries as diverse as Vietnam to Chile. The missile system has caught the attention of a number of countries in the Latin America such BRICS member South Africa, and other countries in that region including Venezuela, Chile, as it has been developed at a low budget of $300 million.

2) India, Morocco ink MoUs on cultural cooperation, training of professionals

• India and Morocco on 31st May signed Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of cultural exchange and training of professionals. The MoUs were signed during delegation-level talks in the presence of Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane at Dar al-Kakhzen, the official residence of the King of Morocco in Rabat. Three MoUs in various fields were also finalised.
• In a joint statement after the talks, the Vice President said, India sees Morocco as a trusted partner in a number of fields. He said, during talks with the Moroccan Prime Minister, they reviewed all aspects of their bilateral co-operation and emphasised the need to identify new areas of collaboration.
• The Vice President said, wide ranging discussions on global and regional developments were also held during the talks. Mr Ansari appreciated Morocco’s support for India’s candidature to the expanded United Nations Security Council. The Vice President also invited Mr Benkirane to pay a visit to India to which the Moroccan Prime Minister said, he will visit in the coming months.
• Mr Ansari also held one-to-one talks with the Moroccan Prime Mininster in which the two leaders discussed a range of issues, including terrorism. Indian Ambassador to Morocco

• The Cabinet has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between India and Qatar for cooperation in skill development and recognition of qualifications. It will facilitate workforce mobility, skill development and placement of youth in overseas jobs in Qatar.
• The Cabinet also gave its nod to signing of MoU between the two countries for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism. It will create favourable conditions for long-term co-operation in the field of tourism for the mutual benefits.
• It also approved signing and ratification of agreement between India and Qatar on co-operation and mutual assistance in customs matters.

4) India, Iran, Afghanistan ink historic trilateral transit pact

• India, Iran and Afghanistan have inked a historic trilateral transit agreement in the Iranian capital Tehran on 23rd May. The pact was signed by representatives of the three countries in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran and the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after their formal talks in the Saadabad Palace.
• The trilateral agreement would facilitate hassles-free transport of goods between India and Afghanistan via the Chabahar port that is strategically located in the South East of Iran.
• The trilateral pact is set to get the port project more viable and also give a fillip to economic activities in the region. India and Iran have termed the Chabahar project as the symbol of renewed friendship between the traditional allies.
• The Indian Prime Minister said decisions taken by Iran and India will also help in generating employment for the youth. He hoped that agreement will bring India, Iran and Afghanistan close and facilitate greater connectivity between the three countries. He said there is a need to expand cooperation between the three countries in several areas including IT and Education.