1. India, Cambodia sign 4 MOUs in the areas of culture, wildlife & health
Tags: International Relations International News
On November 12 India and Cambodia signed 4 MoUs in areas of health, technology, biodiversity conservation and preservation of ancient buildings.
Important facts
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar holds a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on the sidelines of the ongoing ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on November 12.
The two had extensive discussions on bilateral relations including human resources, mining and development projects.
Cambodia also stressed on enhancing cooperation on mine clearance to help Cambodia reach the goal of "a mine-free Cambodia by 2025".
Four memorandum of understanding (MoU)
MoU between the Institute of Technology of Cambodia and the Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur for digitalisation of Cambodian heritage sites.
MoU regarding reintroduction of tigers in Cambodia between the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, India and Ministry of Environment, Cambodia for Cooperation in Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Wildlife Management.
MoU between the Ministry of Health and the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on cooperation in the fields of health and medicine.
MoU on Financing Agreement on the Preservation of Wat Raja Bo Pagoda Paintings in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
2. Year 2022 declared as ASEAN-India Friendship year
Tags: International News
The year 2022 has been declared as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year, as ASEAN and India celebrate 30 years of partnership.
Important facts
A series of events have been planned to celebrate the occasion throughout the year.
An Indian media delegation is visiting Singapore and Cambodia as part of the ASEAN-India Media Exchange Program from November 8 to 13.
In the first leg of the visit, the delegation visited the Singapore-India Chambers of Commerce and Industries (SICCI).
The delegation exchanged views on India-Singapore relations with a special focus on business-friendly policies and business expectations.
Evolution of India -ASEAN relationship
India was initially made a sectoral partner by ASEAN in 1992. With the increasing depth in the relationships the status was changed to a Dialogue Partner in 1996.
In 2022 the relationship was further upgraded to Summit level
And finally in 2012 it was elevated to Strategic partnership.
Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN)
It was set up in 1967 as a group of South-East Asian nations.
At present there are 10 members in the group.
They are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The headquarters of ASEAN: Jakarta, Indonesia.
3. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar to lead India at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in Cambodia
Tags: Summits Person in news
According to the Ministry of External Affairs press release issued on 7 November 2022 the Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar will visit Cambodia from the 11t-13th of November 2022 to attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit and the 17th East Asia Summit. The Vice President will be accompanied by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.
During his three day official visit, the Vice President will attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in Phnom Penh on 12th November 2022.
He will also participate in the 17th East Asia Summit on 13th November 2022.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations and is being celebrated as the ASEAN-India Friendship Year.
He will also have bilateral engagements with the Cambodian leadership and leaders from other countries.
India -ASEAN meeting
As per the Look East foreign policy of the Narasimha Rao government in 90s, the government of India focussed on increasing trade and investment with East Asia with special focus on ASEAN.
Evolution of India -ASEAN relationship
India was initially made a sectoral partner by ASEAN in 1992. With the increasing depth in the relationships the status was changed to a Dialogue Partner in 1996.
In 2022 the relationship was further upgraded to Summit level
And finally in 2012 it was elevated to Strategic partnership.
Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN)
It was set up in 1967 as a group of South-East Asian nations.
At present there are 10 members in the group. They are
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The headquarters of ASEAN: Jakarta, Indonesia.
East Asia Summit
The East Asia Summit is a regional forum set up by ASEAN (Association of SouthEast Asian Nations) with Regional powers of the Asia-Pacific region including United States and Russia to further cooperation on strategic and economic cooperation in the region.
The EAS has 18 member countries. It includes all the 10 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the US.
Whichever ASEAN country is the chairman of ASEAN hosts the EAS related meeting in its country. Currently Cambodia is the chairman of ASEAN.
4. 1st ASEAN-India Start-up Festival 2022 held in Indonesia
Tags: place in news Summits
Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, inaugurated the 1st ASEAN-India Start-up Festival (AISF) on 27th October 2022 in Bogor, Indonesia.
The four-day event is being hosted in conjunction with the Indonesia Research and Innovation Expo (INA-RIE) from the 27th until the 30th October 2022 at the Innovation Convention Centre, Cibinong Bogor, Indonesia. The AISF is part of a series of events to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the ASEAN-India diplomatic relationship.
The festival is part of the over-all ASEAN-India Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation program between the ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation (COSTI) and the Department of Science and Technology (Govt of India) and is supported under the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund (AISTDF) of Govt of India which is jointly contributed by Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The festival commemorates and strengthens cooperation and collaboration in science, technology, and innovation between the ASEAN countries and India.
ASEAN (Association of SouthEast Asian Nation) is a regional organization which was set up in 1967. It is an association of 10 countries of Southeast Asia namely; Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar.
Headquarters of ASEAN: Jakarta, Indonesia.
5. Netherlands replaces China as the third largest export destination in the first 5 month of the 2022-23
Tags: Economy/Finance
Netherlands has emerged as the third largest export destination for India in the first five months (April-August) of the current fiscal year of 2022-23. The Netherlands has emerged as India’s third-largest export destination, ahead of China and Bangladesh. It has moved up two spots in the list of India’s top ten export destinations since 2021-22, due to a 106% increase in export from India until August this fiscal from a year before to $7.5 billion.
US and UAE top two export destinations
Meanwhile, the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continue to be the largest and second-largest export destinations, respectively, for India. The exports to the US climbed 18.3% until August to $35.2 billion, while those to the UAE shot up 27.3% to $13.8 billion.
Reason for drop in export to Bangladesh and China
Bangladesh which is facing a severe foreign exchange (forex) shortage restricted imports to essential products so as to conserve its forex.
China is still battling the covid pandemic and many cities have been in lockdown affecting its economic activity. This has led to a sharp drop in demand from China.
India’s exports to China contracted sharply by 35.6% until August this fiscal to $6.8 billion, while those to Bangladesh rose just 8.7% to $5.8 billion. In contrast, India’s merchandise exports to all destinations grew 19.5% in the first five months of this fiscal to $196.5 billion.
Boost in export to other countries led by Petroleum Products
India’s exports to the Netherlands were driven mostly by a 238% jump in export of oil products until August this fiscal year to $3.67 billion. Export of chemicals ($513 million) and pharmaceuticals ($219 million) also increased during the period.
Meanwhile, exports to Indonesia jumped 43% to $4.8 billion. The supplies to this Asean country were dominated by petroleum products, which jumped 144% in the year up to August this fiscal to $1.8 billion. The other key products were cereals, sugar and chemicals.
Brazil, which occupied the 21st spot in 2021-22, is now India’s 8th biggest export market. The export to Brazil increased by 70.9% in the first five months of this fiscal year to $4.7 billion. The exports were driven by a 299% jump in supplies of petroleum products to $2.3 billion, followed by those of chemicals ($684 million) and automobiles, auto parts and allied products ($233 million).
Rank in 2022-23 (April-August) | Country | Rank in 2021-22 |
1 | United States | 1 |
2 | United Arab Emirates | 2 |
3 | Netherlands | 5 |
4 | China | 3 |
5 | Bangladesh | 4 |
6 | Singapore | 6 |
7 | Indonesia | 14 |
8 | Brazil | 21 |
9 | United Kingdom | 8 |
10 | Saudi Arabia | 12 |
6. Narendra Singh Tomar presides over the 7th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agro-Forestry
Tags: Person in news International News
The 7th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting (AIMMAF) on Agriculture and Forestry was held virtually on 26 October 2022. The meeting was co-chaired by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar.
Agriculture Ministers of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam also participated in the meeting.
In the meeting, the progress in implementation of various programs and activities under the Medium Term Action Plan of ASEAN-India Cooperation (Year 2021-2025) was reviewed. The meeting also welcomed the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations.
Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN)
It is considered to be one of the most successful regional groups in the world.
It was set up in 1967 as a group of South-East Asian nations.
At present there are 10 members in the group. They are:
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The headquarters of ASEAN: Jakarta, Indonesia.
7. India participated in the 6th East Asia Education Ministers' Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam
Tags: Summits International News
India participated at the 6th East Asia Summit Education Minister’s Meeting held on 14 October, 2022 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Important facts
Ms. Neeta Prasad, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Education addressed the gathering through virtually.
She informed about the key initiatives of National Education Policy 2020 and India’s collaborative efforts in education and research with partner countries.
Ms. Neeta Prasad said that the National Education Policy - 2020 is a holistic, flexible and multi-disciplinary vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for education.
She said that this policy is based on the fundamental pillars of equity, quality, affordability and accountability.
She informed that the National Education Policy-2020 focuses on internationalisation of education and building cooperation with other countries.
About East Asia Summit (EAS)
It was initiated in 2005 with the convening of the 1st East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
At the time of its establishment, 16 countries had participated in the East Asia Summit.
The United States and the Russian Federation attended the East Asia Summit in Bali, Indonesia on 19 November 2011.
It refers to the meeting of the Heads of State/Government of the countries participating in the EAS which is held annually.
It has identified six priority areas of cooperation which include environment and energy, education, finance, global health issues and pandemic diseases, natural disaster management and ASEAN connectivity.
8. Ananth Narayan Gopalakrishnan assumes charge as whole-time member at SEBI
Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news
Former banker Ananth Narayan Gopalakrishnan took charge as the fourth whole time member (WTM) in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 10 October.
Important facts
Narayan, who was a member of various advisory committees of SEBI and RBI, has been appointed for the initial three years.
Prior to taking over, Narayan was Associate Professor at the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research.
He has over two and a half decades of experience in banking and financial markets, during which he held the position of Regional Head of Financial Markets for ASEAN and South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank.
He has expertise in foreign exchange, interest rates, derivatives and debt capital markets.
Narayan has also worked with Deutsche Bank and Citibank.
Narayan has been given the Department of Market Intermediaries Regulation and Supervision (MIRSD), Department of Alternative Investment Funds and Foreign Portfolio Investors (AFD), Department of Integrated Monitoring (ISD), Department of Economic and Policy Analysis (DEPA) and Department of Information Technology (ITD) in SEBI.
Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson - Madhabi Puri Buch
9. First India-Australia-Indonesia foreign minister’s trilateral meeting held in New York
Tags: place in news Summits Person in news International News
External Affairs Minister S.Jaishanker held the first trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of India, Indonesia and Australia in New York on 23 September 2022.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- In a tweet the minister said that he discussed the maritime issue, blue water economy with the Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi and the Australian foreign minister Penny Wong and emphasized the centrality of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region.
- World leaders are in New York to participate in the High Level Week at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
10. Union Finance Minister Sitharaman launches e-learning platform ‘Bharat Vidya’
Tags: place in news State News
The Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman launched Bharat Vidya.in, an online learning platform for Oriental and South Asian studies, in Pune, on 21 September 2022.
Bharat Vidya has been developed by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune.
It is a first-of-its-kind online platform, which will offer both free and paid courses covering various aspects of Indology pertaining to art, architecture, philosophy, language and science.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute :
- The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune was set up on 6 July 1917 to commemorate the work of Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar. Bhandarkar was a pioneer of scientific orientology in India.
- Orientology is the study of the ancient indigenous lore and wisdom of the East or the ‘Orient’.
- The institute has one of the largest collections of rare books and manuscripts spanning over 1, 25,000 books and over 28,000 manuscripts in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Indian regional languages, Classical, Asean and European languages.
