News articles and essays on the Indian diplomacy at work around the world.
India and Oman have agreed to expedite their internal procedures for signing and ratification of a protocol to amend the bilateral double taxation agreement and conclusion of an investment treaty, an official statement said on Monday. India has also invited Omani Sovereign Wealth Funds and private businesses to invest here.
From names of directors and their nationalities to a graph depicting the ownership structure, the Centre wants Chinese and Pakistan-based companies to bare it all to be eligible to bid for government and PSU contracts. Besides, details of all entities with over 10% shareholding has to be disclosed.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals with even minuscule Chinese holding will need government approval, with the Centre abandoning its earlier plan to set a floor for “significant beneficial ownership”.
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday said that the number of “bad air days” in India has reduced from 250 in 2016 to 180 in 2019, adding that the country’s green cover has increased by 15,000 sq km in the last five years.
India and Chile on Friday agreed to add new momentum in their cooperation in a wide-range of areas including trade, defence, energy, agriculture, mining and science and technology. A comprehensive review of the bilateral cooperation was carried out at a virtual meeting of the India-Chile Joint Commission which was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chilean counterpart Allamand Zavala.
Union Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari has said that Maharashtra’s ‘Buldhana Pattern’ of water conservation’ has won national recognition and the NITI Aayog is in the process of formulating National Policy on water conversation based on it.
Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla is expected to visit the Maldives in November as part of an outreach to India’s key neighbours, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity on Friday.
In tandem with its Look East policy, India on Friday formally rolled out a research fellowship programme and welcomed students from 10 Asean countries to pursue doctoral studies at the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
The signing of MISTA, which will make information and importantly, intelligence sharing much easier, could be the centrepiece of the meeting this year. This would be particularly so, as the name suggests, with naval intelligence. India, at least, is ready to sign the agreement: a decision has already been taken by the government.
As a further support and incentive for the farmers using the services of Kisan Rail, Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Food Processing Industries have decided that the 50% subsidy on transportation of notified fruits and vegetables (under ‘Operation Greens – TOP to Total’ scheme of MoFPI) shall be granted directly to Kisan Rail – for which MoFPI will provide necessary funds to Ministry of Railways.
