ABOUT INDIA

• 
  
• Australia to collaborate with
•  Indian researchersThe Australian government, through
•  the Australia-India Strategic 
• Research Fund (AISRF), would 
• collaborate with Indian researches
•  in the field of agriculture, mining, energy, 
• health etc. The Australian government 
• has earmarked $84 million to be spent 
• over three years in creating infrastructure,
•  awarding fellowship and scholarship to
•  promote research between the two countries.
  
  During his visit to Australia, Indian 
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi identified
•  sectors like agriculture, mining, energy, 
• health etc for research, so Australia has 
• decided to enhance cooperation between 
• the two countries in these areas.
  
  The AISRF is Australia's largest fund 
• 8dedicated to bilateral research with any
• 8 country and one of India's largest sources
•  of support for international science. 
• The AISRF helps Australian researchers
•  from public and private sectors to
•  participate with Indian scientists in 
• leading-edge scientific research projects 
• and workshops. Taking a step forward in
•  this direction, the minister on Saturday 
• officially opened new facilities at the 
• Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
•  (IITB)-Monash Research Academy.
  
  The collaboration between the IITB 
• and Monash University will see students 
• receive a joint PhD from both institutions,
•  with the added benefit of exposing a large 
• cohort of young researchers to cutting-edge
•  international research. 
• 
  The Australia-Asia Building Regional 
• Intercultural Dialogue and Growing 
• Engagement, or BRIDGE, connects 
• Australian teachers, students, and 
• school communities with their peers in
•  Asia so they can exchange knowledge.
• IndianOil inks MoU to build 
• Rs. 275 cr pipeline to Nepal Indian Oil Corporation 
• has signed an agreement with Nepal 
• Oil Corporation to build a Rs. 275-crore 
• petroleum product pipeline from Raxaul 
• in Bihar to Amlekhgunj in Nepal.
  
  Subsequent to signing of a MoU between
•  the Government of India and
•  the Government of Nepal on August 24, 2015, 
• Indian Oil and Nepal Oil signed a MoU on 
• August 25 in Kathmandu for construction 
• of Raxaul-Amlekhgunj petroleum product
•  pipeline with a 1.3-million tonne per annum 
• capacity
  
  Construction of the pipeline and 
• maintenance work at the Amlekhgunj 
• petroleum depot of Nepal Oil will cost
•  Rs. 275 crore. Indian Oil said that the
•  completion period is 30 months after 
• the receipt of the statutory clearances. 
• The 41-km pipeline will primarily run 
• through Nepal and initially supply petrol, 
• diesel and kerosene.
  
  Indian Oil said that the pipeline will “ensure
•  long-term supply of petroleum products to  
• Nepal as well as stability of supplies fro
•  India to Nepal, which will benefit both the
•  countries.
• 
  
• India acquires Ambedkar’s
•  London houseEnding months of uncertainty,
•  India on 27th August sealed 
• the deal to acquire the ownership
•  of a three-storey bungalow here,
•  where Dr. B.R. Ambedkar lived
•  as a student in the 1920s, and 
• will be converted into 
• an international memorial.
  
  Maharashtra’s Minister for social
•  justice and special assistance 
• Raj Kumar Badole exchanged
•  contracts with regard to the
•  2,050 sq ft house at 10 King 
• Henry’s Road, in northwest London, 
• said Santosh Dass, president of 
• the Federation of Ambedkarite 
• and Buddhist Organisations UK.
• PM Modi visits Sheikh Zayed 
• Grand mosque in UAEPrime
•  Minister Narendra Modi on 16th August
•  began his two-day trip to the UAE by
•  visiting the historic Sheikh Zayed 
• Grand mosque, the world's third largest
  
  After his arrival, PM Modi, on first public
•  engagement in Abu Dhabi, visited the
•  Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a key 
• place of worship in the UAE and known 
• as a masterpiece of Islamic architecture.
  
  The mosque is third largest in the world 
• after the ones in Mecca and Madina 
• in Saudi Arabia. It is named after
•  the founder and first President of 
• the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin 
• Sultan Al Nahyan.
  
  The mosque can accommodate 
• around 40,000 people. The mosque 
• was constructed from 1996 to 2007.
• India-US joint military training 
• exercise in SeptIndia-US Combined Military Training
•  Exercise YUDH ABHYAS 2015, 
• will be held from 9th of next 
• September at Joint Base Lewis 
• McChord in the USA. This will be 
• the 11th such event in the Yudh 
• Abhyas series, which started in 
• 2004 under US Army Pacific
•  partnership program. It said,
• the exercise will strengthen and 
• broaden interoperability and 
• cooperation between both the 
• Armies and cooperation between 
• the two armies.
• Indian govt donates 40 ambulances, 
• eight buses to NepalGovernment of India has gifted
•  40 ambulances and eight buses
•  to various hospitals, non-profit 
• charitable organization and 
• educational institutions in Nepal.
•  Gifting of ambulances and buses
•  is a part of the larger India-Nepal 
• Development partnership with an 
• overall outlay of over 75 billion 
• Nepali rupee.
  PM Modi announces MADAD and
•  e-migrant portal for UAE expats
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra 
• Modi has announced a new 
• scheme as part of various measures
•  for the welfare of Indian Diaspora. 
• Addressing a large gathering of 
• Indian expats in International 
• Cricket Stadium at Dubai on 
• 17th August he said, a welfare 
• fund for Diaspora is to be set up 
• for their benefit, to help them legally 
• so that they can deal with problems.
  
  He said, Indian mission in UAE has 
• set up an e-migrant portal to help
•  Indian migrant workers and 
• an online platform 'MADAD' to 
• assist them. The Prime Minister 
• said he has instructed the Indian 
• embassy in UAE to solve the 
• technical problems faced by the 
• e-migrant portal in one month's time. 
• Mr. Modi also assured to look into
•  other problems like school admissions.
• 
  
• Russia backs India’s bid for
•  a permanent UNSC seatAfter the United States, Russia
•  too has clarified that it is open 
• to supporting India’s bid for a 
• permanent seat in the United Nations 
• Security Council (UNSC).
  
  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey 
• Lavrov said that while Moscow 
• supports the candidature of India 
• and Brazil for permanent membership 
• in the U.N. Security Council, it also 
• feels that the presence of an African 
• country in this structure is also necessary.
  
  Russia’s explanation comes days 
• after it was made known that along 
• with the U.S. and China, Moscow 
• was opposed to negotiations to
•  reform the U.N. body, which would 
• have paved the way for India’s 
• inclusion in the group with the P-5.
• 
  
• 
  
• PM Modi appeals Pacific island 
• nations to support India for 
• permanent UNSC seatPrime Minister Narendra Modi has
•  appealed the Pacific island nations
•  to extend support to India for a 
• permanent membership of the
•  UN Security Council. In his opening 
• remarks in the 2nd India -Pacific 
• Islands Cooperation, FIPIC Summit 
• in Jaipur on 21st August, 
• the Prime Minister said that 
• the member countries must together
•  press for reform in the UN Security
•  Council to ensure its relevance and 
• effectiveness in the 21st century.
  
  Terming climate change as 
• an existential threat to the Pacific
•  islands, Narendra Modi sought
•  a concrete and effective outcome
•  on climate change at COP 21 in 
• Paris later this year. He stressed 
• that we should work together for
•  a separate goal on climate change 
• in the Sustainable Development Goals,
•  and in a manner that addresses 
• the interests of developing countries.
  
  Other important points
  • Modi said that India’s grant-in-aid to 
  • these countries has been enhanced
  •  from 125,000 to 200,000 US dollars.
  • He also announced the establishment 
  • of the FIPIC Trade Office in the 
  • Federation of Indian Chambers 
  • of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.
  • The PM exhorted these island nations
  •  to become partners of India in various
  •  fields beyond fisheries, and to work 
  • together for a separate goal on climate 
  • change.
  • All the above-mentioned dignitaries 
  • expressed strong support for UN reforms 
  • and India's candidature for the permanent 
  • membership of a reformed UN Security Council.
• 
  
• Cabinet approves MoU between India, 
• Nepal for construction of petroleum pipelineUnion 
• Cabinet on 12th August approved 
• the Memorandum of Understanding 
• U^between India and Nepal for 
• construction of petroleum products 
• pipeline from Raxaul in India to 
• Amlekhgunj in Nepal. The MoU
•  will promote bilateral cooperation 
• in the oil and gas sector and 
• secure long term supply of petroleum
•  products to Nepal. It will also help
•  to preserve the environment along 
• the route and decongest the 
• international border at Raxaul. 
• 
  On behalf of Indian Government, 
• the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has
•  been entrusted with the job of
•  construction of the pipeline and
•  re-engineering of the Amlekhgunj 
• Depot and allied facilities. 
• In the first phase, a petroleum 
• products pipeline from Raxaul 
• to Amlekhgunj will be constructed 
• by IOC at a cost of 200 crore rupees. 
• 
  This MoU was signed at Ulaanbaatar during 
• the visit of the Prime Minister to Mongolia on
•  17th May this year. The Cabinet also gave
•  ex-post-facto approval to a MoU between 
• India and France to establish basis for
•  cooperative institutional relationship to 
• encourage and promote technical bilateral 
• cooperation on new and renewable energy
•  issues. The MoU was signed in Paris, 
• during the visit of the Prime Minister to
•  France on 10th April this year.
• India to set up skill development 
• centre for Agriculture in Sri LankaIndia
• India, Slovak ink MoU on technical 
• cooperation in railway sectorIndia and Slovak have signed an
•  Memorandum of Understanding 
• (MoU) on technical cooperation in 
• railway sector. Railway Ministry said 
• the MoU was signed in New Delhi for 
• cooperation in the management of station
•  development and workshop modernisation.
  
  Under the agreement the two countries 
• will cooperate in the modernisation of 
• signaling, telecom, information and 
• communication technologies, 
• especially for passenger. 
• 
  
• India, Mozambique agree to deepen
•  cooperation in energy sectorIndia
•  and Mozambique on 5th August agreed to 
• deepen cooperation in New and Renewable
•  Energy. The two sides signed an MoU on
•  expanding cooperation in energy sector.
  
  The visiting President of Mozambique, 
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi said new
•  and renewable energy is an important 
• area for sustainable development. 
• He said Africa and the Indian Ocean are 
• among the highest priorities for India's 
• foreign policy and Mozambique is crucial
•  for both.
  
  The Prime Minister said Mozambique
•  can be a large and a proximate source 
• of natural gas, coal and other minerals 
• to meet India's energy security. Both
•  leaders discussed ways to intensify
•  cooperation in maritime security and 
• ocean economy as they have large 
• coastlines and are linked by the Indian 
• Ocean.
  
  Calling the discussions fruitful and positive, 
• Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi said
•  it was decided to enhance cooperation in
•  a number of areas including oil and gas
•  and that Indian companies will be welcomed
•  for more investment in his country.
  
  A high-level delegation, including the 
• Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Minerals and 
• Energy, Agriculture, Transportation and
•  Communications and Interior are 
• accompanying the visiting President
•  besides senior officials and a business
•  delegation.
  India to boycott 61st Commonwealth 
• Parliamentary Conference India on 7 August 2015 decided to 
• boycott the 61st Commonwealth 
• Parliamentary Conference which is 
• slated to be held in Islamabad, 
• Pakistan from 30 September to 
• 8 October 2015.
  
  The unanimous decision to boycott
•  the meeting was taken after the 
• conclusion of the meeting of 
• the Speakers of all State Legislative 
• Assemblies that was called in New Delhi. 
• 
  The meeting was called to discuss
•  the Pakistan's deliberate decision to not invite the Speaker of
•  Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Kavinder Gupta.
  
  India protested the unilateral decision 
• of Pakistan saying that by not inviting 
• J&K speaker, it is violating the 
• Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
•  (CPA) constitution and was against the
•  guiding principles of the Commonwealth 
• of promotion of international understanding,
•  world peace and democratic governance.
• India affirms commitment to
•  ASEAN engagementIndia affirmed its commitment
•  to provide momentum to its
•  engagement with the "close-knit"
•  ASEAN community, as the 10-member
•  economic bloc agreed on a new action
•  plan in areas like IT and healthcare.
  
  Minister of State for External Affairs
•  V K Singh told the ASEAN-India ministerial
•  meeting in Kuala Lumpur that this year
•  had a special significance for ASEAN-India
•  strategic partnership.
  
  The meeting agreed on the new programme
•  of action for the period 2016-2020 listing 
• events and programmes to be held during
•  that period mainly in the development side
•  in areas like IT, healthcare with focus on
•  malaria and diabetes, English language
•  training centers by India.
  
  The ministers also discussed Prime Minister 
• Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to Malaysia
•  and Singapore with the respective
•  foreign ministers. 
• The current five-year plan (2010-2015) 
• to implement ASEAN-India partnership
•  for peace, progress and shared prosperity, 
• would expire at the end of this year.
• India and Myanmar inked agreement
•  to set up CESDT in Myanmar
• India and Myanmar on 6 August 2015
•  inked an agreement to set up Centre
•  of Excellence in Software Development
•  and Training (CESDT) in Myanmar.
  
  The project to be set up with the
•  financial support through ASEAN-India
•  Cooperation fund will be implemented
•  by C-DAC. The project envisages
•  setting up of a state of the art
•  Information and Communication 
• Technology Centre, imparting
•  intensive teachers training,
•  extending support for ICT curriculum
•  development, and will be accredited
•  as an authorized Centre of C-DAC.
  
  The agreement was signed in 
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during 
• the visit of Minister of State for
•  External Affairs of India Gen 
• (Retd) VK Singh. Singh was in
•  Malaysia to attend the
•  ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meet.