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Bilateral Current Affairs March 4th Week 2016

1) Sushma raises Pathankot attack with Sartaj Aziz; Pak probe team to arrive in India

 
  • India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister Mr. Sartaj Aziz in Pokhara, Nepal on 17th March. The meeting was held on the sidelines of SAARC Foreign Ministers` meet. Mr. Aziz extended Pakistan Government`s invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend SAARC summit to be held in Islamabad during the meeting.
  • According to Ms. Swaraj the meeting took place in a congenial atmosphere. She said that the terror attack on Pathankot airbase was raised during the meeting. Pakistan Investigation Team will reach India on 27th March.
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2) India, Bangladesh sign 2nd line of credit worth USD 2 bn for undertaking development projects

  • Current Affirs India and Bangladesh have signed second line of credit worth two billion US dollars for undertaking various development projects. According to External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup the credit line agreement was signed between the two countries in Dhaka on 9th of this month.
  • Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised the assistance during his Bangladesh visit last year. Mr Swarup said the signing of this agreement paves the way for initiation of projects in various sectors. He informed that apart from infrastructural projects, there is a special focus on social sector cooperation pertaining to health and education.
  • Other initiatives with Bangladesh on which decisions were taken during the Prime Minister`s visit are operationalising supply of 100 megawatt power from India to the eastern side of Bangladesh, and MoU signed between Numaligarh Refinery Ltd and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation for construction of a pipeline to supply diesel to Bangladesh.
 
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3) India, US agree to improve quality of AYUSH products

 
  • Current Affairs India and the US have agreed on a joint collaboration in standardisation and improving the quality of AYUSH products. At a two-day workshop on traditional medicine, the highlight of the discussions was the role of AYUSH in prevention, cure and management of cancer. An official release said, the workshop was organised under the auspices of the first US-India Health Dialogue held in September last year in Washington.
  • The strength of AYUSH in management of various disease conditions was showcased at the workshop. The release said, a MoU is expected to be signed between Ministry of AYUSH and US Health and Human Services Departments in course of time. 

Bilateral Current Affairs March 3rd Week 2016

1) Tax pact with Indonesia in force, will help fight black money

  • Nearly four years after a deal, India has implemented the new double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) with Indonesia.
  • With the Centre having notified all provisions of the pact a few days ago, the new agreement will take effect in respect of incomes derived on or after April 1, 2017. The earlier DTAA with Indonesia, signed in August 1987, will cease to have effect.
  • Some of the significant aspects of the new pact include the introduction of a ‘limitation of benefit’ (LOB) clause and provision for exchange of banking information for tax administration purposes. These measures will support India’s fight against black money.
  • Currently, India’s tax treaties with more than 35 countries provide for an LOB clause. Thus, taxpayers would be assessed under domestic tax laws, Saiya said. India has entered into over 80 DTAAs with different countries.
  • A classic example of ‘treaty shopping’ would be the routing of investments through Mauritius, which until recently accounted for a lion’s share of investment flows into India. In the absence of an LOB clause in the India-Mauritius DTAA, investors leveraged the benefits of capital gains taxation under this treaty.

 

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2) LOB vs GAAR

 

  • GAAR is subjective and much wider in application and would require approval of the higher authorities before being invoked. However, the LOB clause is more specific, direct and can be applied in a scenario where the entity claiming benefit does not meet the prescribed criterion. There are apprehensions that a unilaterally notified GAAR should not override provisions of a tax treaty.
  • However, the recently notified India-Indonesia tax treaty provides that anti-abuse provisions under the domestic tax law (such as GAAR, in India’s case) can be applied irrespective of the provisions of the tax treaty.
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3) India-Bangladesh drill

  • Current Affirs In an attempt to bring in more synergy in coordinated border management, border-guarding forces of Bangladesh and India conducted their first-ever joint exercise in the riverine borders of the Sundarbans.
  • The exercise between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) commenced with troopers, including dog and bomb squads, from both the forces carrying out joint searches of cargo vessels on the Ichamati River.
  • The second day of the drill called ‘Sundarbans Maithri’ on 13th March was supervised by Inspector General, South Bengal frontier, Sandeep Salunkhe, Colonel Khandekar Farid Hassan, Region Commander BGB onboard the floating border outpost (BOP) Kamakhya.
  • Two floating BOPs of BSF — Kamakhya and Durga —along with BGB Ship Shahjalal were deployed in the waters of the Ichamati along the international border that serves as the international border between the two countries.
  • The officials said the joint exercise would be extended on land as well to make it part of a coordinated border management plan.

Bilateral Current Affairs March 2nd Week 2016

1) India, France sign MoU for 6 Jaitapur nuclear reactors

 
 
  • India and France have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for construction of six nuclear reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra, two months after the two countries decided to conclude the techno-commercial negotiations for the project by the year end.
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  • The pact was inked on 22nd March at the end of the two-day visit of a high-level delegation of Electricite de France (EDF) — French public utility — to Mumbai for holding discussions with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) on the construction of the plants
  • French Ambassador to India Francois Richier, who was present on the occasion, reiterated his country’s commitment to working seamlessly with India through a collaborative approach to enable both sides to contribute collectively to the development of nuclear energy in India in the most economical manner.
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2) India-UAE agreement for $75 billion investment in NIIF gets clearance

  • Current Affirs The Union Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to mobilise up to $75 billion long-term investment in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).
  • The MoU will help establish a transparent and high-level framework and collaboration platform under which both countries intend to explore ways to facilitate and expand the participation of UAE`s investment institutions in appropriate infrastructure projects and institutions in India including NIIF
  • The MoU was signed in February during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to UAE. A joint working group comprising of the concerned representatives of both parties would take forward cooperation under this MoU and to discuss and agree the terms, principles and criteria jointly
  • Meanwhile, the Cabinet also gave its approval for the procurement of launch services and realisation of ground segment for GSAT-11 spacecraft at a cost of Rs.1,117 crore.
  • GSAT-11 is a communication satellite with 32 high-power spot beams for providing high bandwidth VSAT communication is currently under development at DOS/ISRO facilities. It will be ready for launch by the end of 2016.

 

Bilateral Current Affairs March 1st Week 2016

 1) India firmly rejects Pak video allegations

 

  • Current Affirs India has categorically rejected the allegations of Pakistan that former Indian Naval officer, who is presently in the Pakistani custody was involved in subversive activities in that country.
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  • According to the Ministry of external affairs, the enquiries conducted by India reveal that the individual was apparently being harassed while operating a legitimate business from Iran. India said that now his presence in Pakistan raises questions, including the possibility of his abduction from Iran.
  • It said, this will only become clear if India is given consular access to former Indian Naval officer and therefore New Delhi urges Islamabad to respond immediately about the request. The MEA response came in the wake of a video released by Pakistani authorities of a former Indian Naval officer. The video has this individual making statements which have no basis in fact.

 

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2) India-US to sign MoU for building LIGO project

  • India will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with United States, on 30th March for building a state-of-the-art Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) project in the country.
  • The MoU will be signed between the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the US and India`s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and Technology (DST). DAE Secretary Sekhar Basu will sign the agreement in the US on 30th March.
  • The MoU also states of forming a Joint Oversight Group (JOG) with the scientists from NSF, DAE and DST for better coordination of the project.
  • A meeting to decide the site for setting up the laboratory in India will take place by April 10. The machines that gave scientists their first-ever glimpse at gravitational waves are the most advanced detectors ever built for sensing tiny vibrations in the universe.