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Showing posts from May, 2015

Text of PM’s statement at India-Republic of Korea CEOs Forum

  President of the Republic of Korea, PARK Geun-hye, prominent CEOs of the two countries, other representatives of Business and Industry, ladies and Gentlemen! I am extremely happy to be here with you this morning. I also thank you for being with us. I hope the interactions among the CEOs of the two sides would have been very fruitful. Friends! India and Korea have had cordial relations from the ancient past. The relationship between the two countries goes back to the first century, when an Indian Princess travelled from the kingdom of Ayodhya in North India to Korea by a boat. She married the Korean King Suro and she became the first queen of the South Korean kingdom. Several Koreans trace their lineage to her We are also bound by the Buddhist traditions. A famous Korean visitor to India was Hyecho, a Buddhist monk who visited India in the eighth century to know the language and culture of the land of Buddha. He wrote the "account of travel to the five Indian ki
President of India calls upon authorities to make available infrastructure for internet and ICT-enabled services across country The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated 24 Hot Spots with 30 Wi-Fi access points in the President’s Estate  (May 22, 2015) by which the Estate became 100 % Wi-Fi. Speaking on the occasion, the President said India is at the 89th position in Network Readiness Index. Countries like Singapore, Finland and Sweden are leaders in this index. He called upon concerned authorities to ensure availability of infrastructure for Internet and ICT-enabled services across the country and use it in a systematic manner. He said Wi-Fi services could be rolled out in public places across the country, both in urban and rural India. The President said India, with 244 million, ranks third after China and USA in terms of number of internet users. However, the penetration of internet use as a percentage of the population is only twenty, indicating n

INS Saryu Participating in Asean Regional Forum (ARF) Disaster Relief Exercise (Direx-15)

INS Saryu Participating in Asean Regional Forum (ARF) Disaster Relief Exercise (Direx-15) INS Saryu, an indigenously built NOPV based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, shall be participating in a week long ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Disaster Relief Exercise (DiREx) 2015. The aim of ARF DiREx-15 is to exercise information sharing and networking among national agencies of this region towards providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) during natural calamities like Earthquakes, Tsunami, etc as well as Search and Rescue (SAR) for ships and aircraft lost at sea. Disaster management continues to be a vital area for cooperation in the region. A consensus has thus emerged on the need to better mitigate, manage and respond to natural and man-made disasters due to the constant dialogue within ARF. This exercise, being conducted in Penang, Northern Malaysia from 24 to 28 May 2015 would have participation from China, Malaysia, Thailand and India. Co-hosted by

SIMBEX- 2015

Indo Singapore Bilateral Exercise SIMBEX Commences Today   1.         The Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, VSM, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, is on an operational deployment to South Indian Ocean and South China Sea. As a part of this deployment, INS Satpura, indigenously built guided missile stealth frigate, commanded by Captain Hari Krishnan and INS Kamorta, the latest and indigenous Anti Submarine Warfare Corvette, commanded by Commander Manoj Kumar Jha had arrived at Singapore on 18 May 2015. These ships participated in IMDEX-15 and are now conducting bilateral naval exercise SIMBEX-15 with Singapore Navy from 23-26 May 2015.   2.         Operational interaction between IN and RSN commenced with ASW training exercises in 1994, which has grown steadily over the past 20 years. The operational interaction was formalised as an annual bilateral exercise ‘SIMBEX’ in 1999. Since its inception, SIMB

Astra missile

Astra missile successfully test-fired from Sukhoi-30 MKI: http://m.thehindu.com/news/national/astra-missile-fired-successfully-from-su30mki-fighter-jet-in-two-trials/article7227389.ece

India China Relations

Caution and optimism: http://m.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/caution-and-optimism/article7216727.ece

Network of Indian and Russian Universities launched at the Moscow State University in the presence of President Mukherjee

  The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee visited Moscow State University yesterday (May 8, 2015) and witnessed the launch of a Network of Indian and Russian Institutions of higher education. An agreement between the Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India and Russian Science Foundation as well as several agreements between Indian and Russian university were also signed on the occasion. Speaking at the event, the President said India and Russia have a long history of educational cooperation. In the late 1950s, the Soviet Union supported the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in its formative years. Tens of thousands of Indian students studied in Russia in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Though the numbers have dropped somewhat in recent years, even now, over four thousand Indian students study at Russian universities. Some of our institutions have active programmes of cooperation - exchange of students, researchers and faculty members, and sharing of res

Highest Civilian award of Japan to Indian Scientist

Highest Civilian Award of Japan, that is conferred on academicians, politicians and military officers- the “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star”, will be conferred on Professor C.N.R. Rao for his 'contribution to promoting academic interchange and mutual understanding in science and technology between Japan and India'. He had been bestowed with about 70 honorary doctorates and had received the highest civilian award of India, Bharat Ratna. Professor C.N.R. Rao is a National Research Professor, Linus Pauling Research Professor and Honorary President of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru , an autonomous institution supported by the Ministry of Science & technology, Government of India. Professor Rao had made substantial contributions to the development of Science in India and the Third World.

Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014

                         The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Second Amendment) Bill, 2014 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 19, 2014 by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley. The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to introduce the goods and services tax (GST).  Consequently, the GST subsumes various central indirect taxes including the Central Excise Duty, Countervailing Duty, Service Tax, etc.  It also subsumes state value added tax, octroi and entry tax, luxury tax, etc. Concurrent powers for GST: The Bill inserts a new Article in the Constitution to give the central and state governments the concurrent power to make laws on the taxation of goods and services. Integrated GST (IGST): However, only the centre may levy and collect GST on supplies in the course of inter-state trade or commerce.  The tax collected would be divided between the centre and the states in a manner to be provided by Parliament, by law, on the recommendations of the GST Council.