1. India, China reviews situation along LAC during 24th WMCC meeting
Tags: International Relations Defence
The 24th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held on 31 May.
The Indian delegation was led by the Additional Secretary, (East Asia), Ministry of External Affairs and the Chinese delegation was led by the Director General, Department of Borders and Oceans, Ministry of External Affairs.
Both sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of Indo-China border areas.
Since the last meeting of the WMCC in November 2021, both sides have held the 14th and 15th meeting of Senior Commanders in January and March 2022 respectively.
Both sides exchanged views on the current situation along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.
They agreed to continue discussions through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the remaining issues along the LAC.
They agreed to hold the 16th Round of Senior Commanders' Meeting to achieve the objective of complete elimination of all friction points along the LAC in the Western Sector.
About WMCC
It was established in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the management of India-China border areas.
The aim was to exchange views on strengthening communication and cooperation between border security personnel from both sides.
It is headed by joint secretary-level officials from both the countries.
The mechanism was first suggested by Wen Jiabao in 2010.
2. India-Pakistan 118th bilateral meeting on Indus Water Treaty
Tags: International Relations
A five-member delegation from Pakistan reached India via the Wagah border to attend the 118th bilateral meeting on the Indus Waters Treaty, in New Delhi on May 30.
India is building 10 hydroelectric plant projects to reduce excess water in Pakistan.
Both the countries will discuss the issue of advance flood information and the annual report of the Permanent Commission for Indus Waters (PCIW).
The 1,000 MW Pakal Dul, 48 MW lower Kalnai and 624 MW Kiru hydroelectric projects on west-flowing rivers being built by India under the Indus Water Treaty will also be discussed during the meeting.
What is the Indus Water Treaty?
It is a water-sharing treaty between India and Pakistan.
It was signed by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani President Ayub Khan in 1960.
As per the treaty all the waters of three rivers- Ravi,Sutlej and Beas ( Eastern Rivers) were allocated to India for exclusive use.
Whereas, the waters of the western rivers – Indus, Jhelum and Chenab – were allocated to Pakistan except for specified domestic, non-consumable and agricultural uses allowed for India.
India has been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through Run of the River (ROR) projects on the western rivers.
About Indus River System
The Indus River System is one of the largest river basins in the world.
It includes five rivers namely Indus River, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.
The basin is mainly shared by India and Pakistan, with China and Afghanistan sharing a small portion of it.
Indus River
It flows in a north-west direction from its source (Glaciers of Kailash Range – in Tibet near Lake Manasarovar) till the Nanga Parbat Range.
length - about 2,900 km.
Jhelum River
Originates - in spring at Verinag in the south-eastern part of the Kashmir Valley.
Chenab River
Originates - from near the BaraLacha Pass in the Lahaul-Spiti part of the Zaskar Range
Ravi River
Origin - in Kullu hills near the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh.
Beas River
Originates - near Rohtang Pass, at a height of 4,062 m above sea level, on the southern end of the Pir Panjal Range
Satluj River
Originates - from the Manasarovar-Rakas Lakes in western Tibet.
3. Indian Navy – Bangladesh Navy Bilateral EX Bongosagar Commences
Tags: International Relations Defence
The third edition of the Indian Navy (IN) - Bangladesh Navy (BN) bilateral exercise 'Bongosagar' began on 24 May 22 at Port Mongla, Bangladesh.
The harbor phase of the exercise is scheduled from 24-25 May followed by a sea phase in the North Bay of Bengal from 26-27 May.
Indian Navy ships Kora, an indigenously built Guided Missile Corvette and Sumedha, an indigenously built offshore patrol vessel, are participating in the exercise.
The Bangladesh Navy is represented by BNS Abu Ubaidah and Ali Haider, both guided missile frigates.
The harbour phase of the exercise
This includes professional and social interactions and friendly sportings, besides strategic level planning discussions on the conduct of exercises at sea.
The sea phase of the exercise
It would facilitate ships from both the navies to participate in intensive surface warfare drills, weapon firing drills, seamanship evolutions and coordinated air operations in a tactical scenario.
About Bongosagar bilateral exercise
Its first edition was held in 2019.
Its aim is to develop interoperability and joint operational skills through the conduct of a wide spectrum of maritime exercises and operations.
4. The fourth edition of the Jointly Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) between the navies of India and Bangladesh
Tags: International Relations International News
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The fourth edition of the Jointly Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) between the navies of India and Bangladesh was conducted in the North Bay of Bengal from 22-23 May.
The previous CORPAT between the two countries was held in October 2020.
In this exercise, indigenous warships INS Kora and INS Sumedha of the Indian Navy along with Bangladesh Navy warships BNS Ali Haider and BNS Abu Ubaidah and maritime patrol aircraft of both the navies participated in joint patrolling.
Maritime patrol aircraft of both the navies also carried out joint patrols along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) during the CORPAT.
COUNTRY | MILITARY EXERCISES |
FRANCE | Shakti Exercise, Varuna Military Exercise |
SRI LANKA | SLINEX, Mitra shakti |
SINGAPORE | Simbex, 'Bold Kurukshetra Exercise' |
About Bangladesh
Capital- Dhaka
President- Abdul Hameed
Prime Minister- Sheikh Hasina
Currency - taka
Bangladesh observes 26 March as its Independence Day every year.
5. India and US sign Investment Incentive Agreement in Tokyo
Tags: International Relations International News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden on May 24 signed an Investment Incentive Agreement in Tokyo.
It is expected that the signing of this agreement will increase the investment support provided by the Development Finance Corporation in India which will help in the development of the country.
Various proposals worth $4 billion are being considered by the corporation to provide investment support in India.
The corporation has provided investment support in areas such as COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing, health care financing, renewable energy, financial inclusion and infrastructure.
The corporation or its predecessor agencies have been active in India since 1974 and have provided investment assistance of $5.8 billion to till date.
This incentive agreement will replace the earlier agreement signed between India and the US in 1997.
6. India joins Biden’s new trade initiative for Indo-Pacific
Tags: International Relations International News
US President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) along with 12 initial partners in Tokyo on May 23.
The initial partner countries are India, Australia, Japan, Brunei, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
These 13 countries together represent 40% of the world's GDP.
About IPEF initiative
It is expected to focus on four main pillars including trade, supply chain resilience, clean energy and decarbonisation, and taxes and anti-corruption measures.
The group includes seven of the 10 members of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and all four Quad countries and New Zealand.
India will work closely with other IPEF countries to build an inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
The main roles of the IPEF in the Indo-Pacific will be to set and adhere to standards for the digital economy and cross-border data flows and data localization.
About Indo-Pacific
It covers half of the world's population and more than 60 percent of the global GDP.
It is a geopolitical region that spans two regions of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
Extending from the west coast of the United States of America to the west coast of India, the Indo-Pacific is a regional structure of 24 countries.
It includes the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, western and central Pacific Ocean.
7. Indian Embassy in Ukraine to resume its operation in Kyiv from May 17
Tags: International Relations
India announced on 13 May that its embassy in Ukraine would resume its operations from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv from 17 May.
The embassy was temporarily operating from Warsaw in Poland since mid-March.
Several Western countries have also decided to resume the operation of the embassy from Kyiv.
India had decided to temporarily relocate the embassy to Poland in view of the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the war-torn country.
The Russian military was on offensive around Kyiv.
India has moved the embassy after repatriating over 20,000 of its Indian nationals from across Ukraine as part of its mission 'Operation Ganga' launched on February 26 in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
About embassy
An embassy is the base for a country’s diplomatic mission abroad – meaning all of the political, cultural and social relationships between the states.
There is only one embassy for one country in another, this is where the country's ambassador works.
One of the roles of embassies and consulates is to provide assistance to their national citizens abroad.
A consulate is where consular services are performed.
Embassies generally have a consular section.
8. Ministry of Skill Development signs MoU with ISRO to start Training Program
Tags: International Relations
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch its training program aimed at augmenting the technical workforce in the Department of Space, ISRO.
The MoU was signed by Shri Rajesh Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Shri S Somnath, Chairman, ISRO.
The objective of this initiative is to establish a formal framework for short-term courses to provide training for skill development and capacity building of ISRO technical professionals in the space sector in the country as per the requirements of the industry.
The training will take place at MSDE's National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) across India.
About Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) -
Established - 15 August 1969
Headquarters- Bangalore, Karnataka
Motto- Space Technology in the Service of Mankind
Director- S Somnath
9. India, Oman to hold meeting to boost economic ties
Tags: International Relations
The commerce and industry ministers of India and Oman will meet on May 11 to discuss ways to further boost economic ties between the two countries.
The 48-member delegation will include senior officials and business representatives from health, pharmaceuticals, mining, tourism, energy, shipping, telecommunications and real estate.
During the visit, senior officials from both sides will participate in the 10th session of the India-Oman Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) to be held on May 11.
The meeting will be co-chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his Omani counterpart.
The India-Oman Joint Business Council (JBC) meeting will be organised jointly by FICCI and Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry on May 12.
Bilateral trade between India and Oman
Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown by 82 percent to $9.94 billion in 2021-22.
Major items of Indian exports to Oman - mineral fuels, textiles, machinery, electrical items, chemicals, iron and steel, tea, coffee, spices, rice, meat products and seafood.
Major import items from Oman to India - urea, LNG, polypropylene, lubricating oil, dates and chromite ore.
Various Indian financial institutions and PSUs have a presence in Oman.
Military exercises
Army exercise between both countries : Al Najah
Air Force exercise between both countries : Eastern Bridge
Naval Exercise between both countries : Naseem Al Bahr
About Oman
It is a country in Western Asia.
It is located on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and extends to the mouth of the Persian Gulf.
Oman shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
It shares maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan.
Capital - Muscat
currency - omani rial
president - Haitham bin Tariq Al Said
10. France pulls out from India's P-75I Project
Tags: National International Relations Defence
Ahead of Modi's scheduled visit to France, French defence major Naval Group has announced that it is unable to participate in the P-75 India (P-75I) project, which seeks to build six conventional submarines in India for the Indian Navy.
Why did France pull out?
The French firm pulled out of the project as it could not fulfil the conditions of the Request for Proposal (RFI) placed by the Indian Navy.
Request for Proposal (RFP) requires that the fuel cell be AIP Sea Proven, which is difficult for India as the French Navy does not use such a propulsion system.
AIP refers to Air-Independent Propulsion.
AIP technology allows a conventional submarine to remain submerged for much longer than ordinary diesel-electric submarines.
India wants AIP technology as none of its existing ships have it while Pakistan and China both have AIP-equipped submarines.
What is Project 75?
In June 1999, the Cabinet Committee on Security had approved a plan for the Indian Navy to indigenously build submarines by 2030.
Under the first phase of the P-75 in 2005, India and France signed a $3.75 billion contract to build six Scorpene-class submarines.
The executing company on the Indian side was Mazagon Docks Limited, and on the French side was DCNS, now called Naval Group.
The first submarine under the project was commissioned in December 2017.
Thereafter, another five were built and on 20 April, INS Vagsheer was launched which will be commissioned by 2023.
What is P-75I?
The Project 75I-class submarine is a follow-up to the Project 75 Kalvari-class submarine for the Indian Navy.
In the late 1990s, at the time of the Kargil War, a three-decade plan for indigenous construction of submarines took shape.
This is known as Project 75 and Project 75I, two separate series of submarine building lines in collaboration with foreign entities.
Under this project, the Indian Navy intends to acquire six diesel-electric submarines, which will also include advanced air-independent propulsion systems.
