21 Aug 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting
2. Exercise Malabar
3. MeitY-NSF Research Collaboration
4. G20 Pandemic Fund
5. Stockholm Water Week 2023
6. CSIR Prima ET11

1. ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting

Syllabus: GS-2, IR

Prelims: ASEAN

Mains: India – ASEAN Relations

Context:

India participated in the 20th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting.

Details:

• The 20th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ meeting was held in Semarang, Indonesia.
• The Economic Ministers or their representatives from all the 10 ASEAN countries viz. Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the meeting. 
• The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste also joined the Meeting as an observer.
• The Ministers reviewed the bilateral trade and investment relations between India and ASEAN and underscored their commitment to strengthen and enhance the economic partnership between India and ASEAN to ensure that the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership delivers meaningful benefits for both sides, particularly in the post-pandemic era. 
• The Ministers also interacted with the ASEAN-India Business Council (AIBC).
• The main agenda of this year’s meeting was the timely review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) which was signed in 2009.
• India and ASEAN registered a bilateral trade of USD 131.5 billion in 2022-23. The trade with ASEAN accounted for 11.3% of India’s global trade in 2022-23.

ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA):

• AITIGA is a trade deal between the ten member states of ASEAN and India.
• ASEAN and India signed the Agreement at the 7th ASEAN Economic Ministers-India Consultations in Bangkok, Thailand in 2009. The Agreement, which came into effect in 2010, is sometimes referred to as the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement.
• The Agreement has led to steadily increasing trade between ASEAN and India since its signing.
• The Agreement originated out of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between India and ASEAN created in 2003. 
• It covers trade in physical goods and products and not services trade.
  • ASEAN and India signed a separate ASEAN-India Trade in Services Agreement in 2014. 
  • Along with the ASEAN-India Investment Agreement, the three agreements collectively form the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area.
• Under the Agreement, ASEAN and India have committed to progressively eliminating duties on 76.4 percent of goods and to liberalize tariffs on over 90 percent of goods.

2. Exercise Malabar

Syllabus: GS-3, Defence & Security; GS-2, IR

Prelims: Ex Malabar 2023

Context:

27th edition of Exercise Malabar concluded.

Know more about Ex Malabar in the linked article.

3. MeitY-NSF Research Collaboration

Syllabus: GS-2, IR

Prelims: MeitY-NSF Research Collaboration

Mains: India – US Relations

Context:

India and the USA announced the 1st Joint Call for proposals under the MeitY-NSF research collaboration.

Background:

• MeitY-NSF signed an Implementation Arrangement (IA) on Research Collaboration in May 2023. 
• This MeitY – NSF collaborative research opportunity focuses specifically upon discoveries and innovations in areas of mutual interest as highlighted in the Joint Statement made by the Government of India and the United States of America during Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in June 2023.

Details:

• In the 1st Joint Call, proposals in the areas of semiconductor research, next-generation communication technologies/networks/systems, cyber-security, sustainability and green technologies and Intelligent Transportation Systems will be considered. 
• The proposal submission will start from 21 Aug 2023 and the last date of proposal submission is 5 Jan 2024. 
• Technology development may be in terms of the development of prototypes, pilot scale demonstrations, field deployment and acceleration of technology transfer through this joint initiative.

4. G20 Pandemic Fund

Syllabus: GS-2, IR

Prelims: G20 Pandemic Fund

Context:

The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying will receive a 25 million USD grant under the G20 Pandemic Fund.

Details:

• The G20 Pandemic Fund has approved the $25 million proposal submitted by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Government of India on “Animal Health Security Strengthening in India for Pandemic Preparedness and Response”. 
• The major interventions under the proposal are strengthening and integrating disease surveillance and early warning system, upgrading, and expanding the laboratory network, improving the inter-operable data systems and building capacity for data analytics for risk analysis and risk communication, strengthening health security for transboundary animal diseases and India’s role in regional cooperation through cross border collaboration.

G20 Pandemic Fund:

• Established under Indonesia’s G20 Presidency, the Pandemic Fund finances critical investments to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities at national, regional, and global levels, focusing on low- and middle-income countries.

5. Stockholm Water Week 2023

Syllabus: GS-3, Environment and Ecology

Prelims: Stockholm Water Week 2023

Context:

World Water Week is held in Stockholm, Sweden on 20 –24 August 2023.

World Water Week:

• World Water Week is the leading conference on global water issues, held every year since 1991. 
• A non-profit event, co-created with leading organizations, World Water Week attracts a diverse mix of participants from many professional backgrounds and every corner of the world. 
• The theme for World Water Week 2023 is “Seeds of Change: Innovative Solutions for a Water-Wise World”.

6. CSIR Prima ET11

Syllabus: GS-3, Science & Technology

Prelims: CSIR Prima ET11

Context:

CSIR Prima ET11, the first indigenous e-Tractor, launched.

About CSIR Prima ET11:

• The e-tractor has been developed by the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI).

About Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute:

• The Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute at Durgapur, West Bengal was established in February 1958 with the specific task of development of mechanical engineering technology.
• It is the apex R&D institute for mechanical engineering under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
• Its mandate is to serve the industry and develop mechanical engineering technology so that India’s dependence on foreign collaboration is substantially reduced in strategic and economic sectors. 
• It engages in research and develops cost-effective and value-added technologies in mechanical engineering and allied domains.

Read the previous PIB articles here.