[CA] India - Nepal border turmoil

Amidst the border dispute with India, Nepal’s cabinet has accepted a new political map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura under its territory. India and Nepal are at a dispute after the Indian side released its new political map on Nov 02, 2019 which covers above three areas in Indian territory.

Both India and Nepal consider Kalapani as their integral part. India calls it part of Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand while Nepal is part of Dharchula district.

The Sugauli Treaty of 1816 was signed between Nepal and the British East India Company in 1816 after the Anglo-Nepal War. It depicts the Kali (Mahakali) river as the western border of India and Nepal. On the basis of this, Nepal claims to be under the jurisdiction of Lipulekh and other three regions. However, the situation regarding the border between the two countries is unclear. Both countries have their own maps showing the disputed area under their jurisdiction. It is to be noted that India and Nepal share 1,800 kilometers (1,118-mile) of open border.

[CA/GK] NAM

Non-Aligned Movement is an idea that emerged in 1950. NAM is the second-largest platform globally in terms of country membership after the UN. It currently has more than 120 members.

·       During 1950s, the world was emerging out of the long, dark period of colonialism.

·       Newly independent nations dreamed they could make their way in this new world without hewing to either of the big powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, eschewing the icy hostilities of the Cold War and bask in the warmth of Third World (as it was then known) cooperation.

·       The co-founders were India’s Jawaharlal Nehru, Indonesia’s Sukarno, Egypt’s Gemal Abdel Nasser, Yugoslavia’s Josep Broz Tito, and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah were all figures of international consequence, and their collective charisma attracted lesser lights from around the world.

·       The Asian-African Conference of 1955 held in Bandung was the catalyst for the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement.

·       The actual formation took place in Belgrade, where the Non-Aligned Movement was formally established by the leaders of 25 developing countries in 1961.

[CA] "Order of the Rising Sun" given to an Indian Doctor

Thangjam Dhabali Singh, Manipuri allopathic doctor, was conferred with “Order of Rising Sun- Gold and Silver Rays” by the Japan government for promoting a better understanding of Japan in India and deepening ties between 2 countries.

Thangjam Dhabali Singh is the founder and the former president of the Manipur Tourism Forum (MTF). Singh organised the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Imphal of the Second World War and several Japanese citizens, including officials from the Embassy of Japan in India had participated in the event.

The “Order of the Rising Sun” is conferred on persons with achievements in international relations, promotion of Japanese culture, environmental preservation, welfare or achievements in their fields. The Order of the Rising Sun is generally the highest conferred order following the Order of the Chrysanthemum which is reserved for Head of State and Royalty and the Order of the Paulownia Flowers mostly given to politicians.

[CA] Operation Sanjeevani

An Indian Air Force (IAF) C-130J transport aircraft recently delivered 6.2 tonne of essential medicines and hospital consumables to Maldives under Operation Sanjeevani.

Among other things, these medicines include influenza vaccines, anti-viral drugs such as lopinavir and ritonavir — which have been used to treat patients with COVID-19 in other countries.

[CA] India - China: 70 years of diplomatic relations

India and China postponed all the events planned to celebrate the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the leaders exchanged congratulatory messages.

India was the first non-communist country in Asia to establish diplomatic relations with People’s Republic of China. Today the countries have strong trade relations despite of small irritants like border issues. In 2019, India-China trade reached 90.1 billion USD. In November 2019, as a part of commemorating 70 years of diplomatic ties, the countries agreed to finalise 70 activities.

Informal Summits between India & China
#	Year	Venue
01	2018	Wuhan, China
02	2019	Mamallapuram (Chennai), India
03	2020	<In China>

[CA] Hand-in-Hand 2019

The 8th India-China joint training exercise 'HAND-IN-HAND 2019' with the theme counter terrorism under United Nations mandate is scheduled to be conduct at Umroi, Meghalaya from Dec 07 – 20, 2019. The Chinese contingent from the Tibet Military command comprising of 130 personal and the Indian Contingent of similar strength will participate in the 14 day long training exercise. The exercise is planned at the company level with respective Battalion Headquarters controlling the training.

[CA] Exercise Mitra Shakti -VII: 2019

The seventh edition of Exercise MITRA SHAKTI- 2019 aimed at enhancing interoperability and operational efficiency amongst the armies of both India and Sri Lanka when deployed as part of United Nations peace keeping forces commenced on 01 December at Aundh Military Station, Pune.

The objective of the exercise is to build and promote positive relations between armies of India and Sri Lanka through focus on sub unit level training on counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations in urban and rural environment under United Nations mandate. The joint training exercise also signifies the strength of India-Sri Lanka relations in the field of military cooperation and engagement, which is vital for refining the interoperability and operational preparedness.

The joint exercise is designed for incorporating the current dynamics of United Nations peace keeping operations through practical and comprehensive discussions and tactical exercises. The primary focus of the joint training exercise will remain on field craft, battle drills and procedures as also the ability to operate jointly with seamless interoperability.

As member nations of the United Nations, the participating contingents will gain immensely through joint operability and enhanced military and diplomatic association.

[CA] Ex. TIGER TRIUMPH

In consonance with the growing partnership between India and the US, the maiden India US joint Tri services Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise named ‘TIGER TRIUMPH’ is scheduled on the Eastern seaboard from Nov 13 – 21, 2019.

The Harbour Phase is scheduled at Visakhapatnam from Nov 13 – 16, 2019. The Opening Ceremony along with a Joint Flag Parade and Media Interaction will be held onboard INS Jalashwa on Nov 14, 2019.

[CA] India opts out of RCEP

In the recently held Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit in Thailand, India decided not to finalize the RCEP trade deal.

India has expressed its concerns over lowering and elimination of tariffs on products from other countries, as it would negatively affect the domestic agricultural and industrial sector.

<<<<Countries in RCEP>>>>

Why India didn’t sign?

Ø Domestic industry and dairy farmers had strong reservations about the trade pact.

Ø India’s trade deficit with the RCEP nations is $105 billion, of which China alone accounts for $54 billion.

Ø The worry is also over Chinese manufactured goods and dairy products from New Zealand flooding Indian markets, hurting domestic interests.

Ø The trade agreement was also seen as being detrimental to the government’s Make in India initiative.

Ø India was looking for specific rules of origin to ensure the trade pact wasn’t abused by non-partner countries and an auto-trigger mechanism to protect it from a surge in imports.

Ø Ecommerce and trade remedies were among other key areas of concern that failed to find satisfactory redressal.

Ø India was also worried about keeping 2014 as the base year for tariff reductions.

[CA] 16th India - ASEAN Summit

Prime Minister, Mr.  Narendra Modi attended the 16th ASEAN-India Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. Prime Minister said that India wants to strengthen cooperation in the areas of maritime security and blue economy. He also welcomed the recent decision to review India ASEAN FTA saying it will improve economic partnership between the two countries.

 Prime Minister highlighted that last year’s Commemorative Summit and Singapore Informal Summit’s Decisions implementation has brought India and ASEAN closer.

Prime Minister also said that, India is willing to increase cooperation and partnership in areas mutually beneficial to India and ASEAN and expressed readiness to improve partnership and capacity building in the areas of agriculture, research, engineering, science and ICT.

[CA] SCOJTEX-2019

Union Minister of Home Affairs Mr. Amit Shah inaugurated the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search & Rescue (SCOJtEx-2019) on Nov 04, 2019 in New Delhi. 

[CA] UAE’s top honour for Modi

UAE President, Mr. Khalifa bin Zayen Al Nahyan has awarded Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi the country’s highest civilian award, “the Order of Zayed”.  Previous recipients of the Order of Zayed include Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin, Chinese President, Mr. Xi Jinping, British Queen Elizabeth II and former Pakistan Prime Minister Mr. Musharraf.

[CA] Chinook Helicopters

On March 25, 2019, the IAF formally inducted the CH 47 F(I)- Chinook heavy lift helicopters into its inventory at Air Force Station Chandigarh.

IAF had signed a contract with M/s Boeing Ltd in September 2015 for 15 Chinook helicopters. The first batch of four helicopters has been delivered on schedule and the last batch is to be delivered by March next year. These helicopters will be deployed in the Northern and Eastern regions of India.

The addition of heavy-lift CH 47 F(I) helicopter is a significant step towards modernisation of Indian Air Force’s helicopter fleet. The helicopter has been customized to suit IAF’s future requirements and capability roadmap. The helicopter has a fully integrated digital cockpit management system, advanced cargo handling capabilities and electronic warfare suite that complement the aircraft’s performance. The helicopter is capable of airlifting diverse military and non military loads into remote locations.

[CA] LIMA - 2019

Indian Navy’s frontline ASW corvette, INS Kadmatt was arrived at Langkawi, Malaysia.  The ship is scheduled to participate in the 15th edition of Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition, LIMA-19 during the visit.

The ship would be participating in numerous activities planned as part of LIMA 19 during the seven days at Langkawi, including the International Fleet Review (IFR) by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, maritime and air demonstration, Sea Exercises with 29 other participating navies, cultural exchange programmes, cross visits to ships, sporting events. Numerous seminars and interactions are also planned on the side lines of the main event.

 INS Kadmatt (P 29) is an indigenous stealth anti-submarine warfare corvette and was commissioned into the Indian Navy in January 2016. The ship is fitted with state of the art weapons, sensors and machinery and is also designed to embark the Seaking anti-submarine helicopter.

[CA] India building port in Indonesia

India is developing its maiden deep-sea port in Indonesia's Sabang close to Andaman and Nicobar Islands making its entry in the Southeast Asian amid China’s slew of connectivity plans for ASEAN under BRI.

The Sabang port is being developed in partnership with neighbour and strategic partner Indonesia. An Indian Coast Guard ship Vijit, is currently on a visit to Sabang, Indonesia, from March 17-20. The deep sea portwill give India wide access to Southeast Asia as a counter-balancing force. The port will be a key element in India's Indo-Pacific strategy.

[CA] IAFTX - 2019

     Indian Africa Field Training Exercise (IAFTX)-2019 is scheduled to be conducted at Aundh Military Station and College of Military Engineering, Pune from March 18 – 27, 2019.

The joint training exercise is being conducted with more than a dozen African countries & India. It aims at synergysing humanitarian mine action and joint peace operations.