America Court Summons to Parkash Singh Badal
No mobile connection for more than 3 months to any foreign tourist: Government
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was served summons by a US court last month in a case of alleged custodial torture and extra judicial killings of Sikhs, has sought dismissal of the motion against him or additional time of 90 days to defend the charges.The US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin had issued Summons against Badal on August 8 when he was in Wisconsin on a private visit to attend a marriage ceremony.
To check misuse of SIM cards, the government has asked Telecom Service Providers not to provide mobile connection for more than three months to any foreign tourist visiting India.According to the fresh guidelines, which have come into effect recently, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has told the service providers that the proof for issuance of a mobile connection to any foreigner would be the passport having a valid visa.
India, Pakistan to ink 3 pacts to boost economic activity
Hoping that the forthcoming visit of External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna would lead to a liberal visa regime agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, on 04th September 2012, said India and Pakistan would soon ink three agreements in the areas of customs co-operation, mutual recognition of standards and redressal of trade issues to give a fillip to economic activity.
India, China to resume joint military exercises
India and China announced on 04th September 2012 they would resume joint military exercises after a four-year gap, a move designed to build trust in the often prickly relationship between the world’s two most populous nations.
Five Indian firms in Forbes list of world’s most innovative companies
Five Indian companies including Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever and Infosys are ranked on Forbes magazine’s list of “The World’s Most Innovative Companies” topped by four US companies.Larsen & Toubro got the ninth rank,Hindustan Unilever got the 12th rank, Infosys got 19th rank,Tata Consultancy Services got 29th rank and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries got 38th rank.Four US companies- Cloud computing king Salesforce.com, drug major Alexion Pharmaceuticals, internet retail giant Amazon.com and open source software leader Red Hat took the top four places.
India, Pakistan ink visa agreement
Pakistan and India have announced on 8th September 2012 that they will ease tough visa restrictions, an important step forward in improving relations between the nuclear armed neighbours.
ECIL to supply converters to international science centre
Public sector electronic manufacturing firm, Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), has been selected to supply power converters to the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), an international science centre at Darmstadt near Frankfurt in Germany.ECIL signed a bilateral contract for supply of convertors with Bose Institute, designated nodal agency to coordinate between various departments involved in the project.Accordingly, ECIL would be involved in design, development, manufacturing and supply of around 500 ultra stable power converters that cost around 7.5 million Euros (about Rs. 50 crore) of the total Indian contribution of around 36 million Euros.
Onno Ruhl appointed World Bank country director for India
The World Bank has appointed Onno Ruhl as the country director for India. He will replace Roberto Zagha, who retires in October. Ruhl, a Dutch national, was previously the director for operation services and quality in the South Asia region of the World Bank, the multi-lateral funding agency.
Saudi Arabia, India hold talks on defence ties
The first meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia joint committee on defence cooperation was held on 10th September 2012 at New Delhi and both sides discussed proposals for exchange of high-level visits, training and functional exchanges in various areas.
India pledges $10-million for Palestine
The Prime Minister Manmohan 11th September 2012 announced to an assistance of $10 million to Palestine’s budget for this year to help address its financial requirements.Prime Minister made this announcement after signing three bilateral pacts – the areas of information and communication technology, vocational training and education with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is at present in New Delhi for his three-day long state visit.
India, Pakistan trade bodies sign Memorandum of Understanding(MoU)
The Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry(IWCCI)and the Punjab, Haryana and Delhi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) on 12th September 2012 signed an MoU to promote trade and investment and improve linkages between business communities of the two countries.
Highest under-5 deaths in India
In the Child Mortality Estimates Report 2012 published by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), India was placed at the top position in the chart of 10 countries that topped on the chart. The other countries with their names on the chart are Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Delhi, Mumbai among least expensive cities around world
A report released Friday by the Swiss bank UBS, covering 72 cities in 58 countries Capital Delhi and financial hub Mumbai are the least expensive cities and Tokyo is the most expensive city for food in the world.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation won work in Jakarta Metro Rail Project
Delhi Metro has bagged the work of Management Consulting Services for building the Phase- I of Jakarta Mass Rapid System in Indonesia.This is the first time that Delhi Metro has got a project outside the country since its inception in 1997.
Afghanistan, US, India hold first trilateral meeting
India, Afghanistan and the US held their first trilateral meeting in New York on 25th September 2012.The major point of discussion was on the situation in Afghanistan along with the issue of terrorism.
India ranks lower than China in global food security index
India has been ranked 66, much lower than neighbouring China, in the 2012 Global Food Security Index released by the American chemical company DuPont on 26th September 2012.India is ranked 66 , China (ranked 39) , Sri Lanka (ranked 62),Pakistan (ranked 75) and Bangladesh ( ranked 81) in the list of 105 countries.