02 May 2024 PIB
Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. India - Indonesia Defence Cooperation 2. Election Commission of India 3. India and New Zealand
1. India – Indonesia Defence Cooperation
Syllabus: GS-3, Security & Defence
Prelims: Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting between India and Indonesia
Mains: India – Indonesia relations
Context:
The Defence Secretary of India and the Secretary General of MoD, Indonesia will co-chair the seventh Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting in New Delhi.
Details:
- During the meeting, both sides will exchange views on regional and global issues of shared interest.
- The India-Indonesia friendship, which was elevated to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2018, has widened the scope of bilateral relations to allow for new collaboration in the defence industry, science and technology, etc. Defence relations form a significant pillar of this growing partnership.
- Defence engagements between the two nations have diversified to include wide-ranging contacts between the services, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity building and training programmes, cooperation in UN Peacekeeping, ship visits and bilateral exercises.Â
- The defence cooperation agreement signed in 2001 between India and Indonesia stipulated the establishment of the JDCC to explore and identify potential areas of cooperation, and matters of common interest, and initiate, coordinate, monitor and control the approved cooperative activities.
2. Election Commission of India
Syllabus: GS-2, Polity
Prelims: Election Commission of India
Mains: Electoral reforms in India
Context:
ECI has directed all political parties to cease enrolling/registering voters for post-election beneficiary-oriented schemes under the guise of surveys.
Details:
- The Election Commission of India has taken a serious view of activities by political parties and candidates seeking details of voters under the guise of various surveys for their proposed beneficiary schemes, as a corrupt practice of bribery under Section 123(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
- The Commission has issued an advisory to all national and state political parties to immediately cease and desist from any activities that involve registering individuals for post-election beneficiary-oriented schemes through any advertisements/surveys/Apps.Â
- The ECI said that this act by political parties may create an impression of the requirement of a one-to-one transactional relationship between the elector and the proposed benefit and has the potential to generate quid-pro-quo arrangements for voting in a particular way thereby leading to inducement.
3. India and New Zealand
Syllabus: GS-2, International Relations
Mains: India – New Zealand relations
Context:
11th India – New Zealand Joint Trade Committee (JTC) Meeting held in New Zealand.
Details:
- A delegation led by the Commerce Secretary held many constructive and outcome-oriented meetings in New Zealand from 26-27 April 2024 to work on ways to deepen the existing bilateral relations.Â
- These meetings were held with the Minister for Trade of New Zealand.
- Both sides acknowledged the existing huge potential in both economies and mutual trade complementarities, there is a substantial potential to increase trade and people-to-people contacts.
- The meetings reviewed progress on market access issues, and economic cooperation projects and explored opportunities for new initiatives.Â
- Both sides discussed establishing robust bilateral economic dialogue architecture and creating working groups in sectors like Agriculture; Food Processing, Storage & Transportation; Forestry and Pharmaceuticals to facilitate ongoing collaboration on key trade and economic issues. Â
- Discussions also included cooperation in the horticulture sector, including cooperation in the kiwi fruit sector (quality & productivity, proper storage in pack houses and their suitable transportation) as well as the dairy sector.Â
- Once working groups are established, India and New Zealand will review the progress made by those working groups and the recommendations thereof at regular intervals.
- Other topics of discussion included market access, non-tariff barriers (NTBs), sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures on products like grapes, okra and mangoes, Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) in Organic products, simplified homologation including through mutual recognition of comparable domestic standards for vehicles, etc.
Read more on India – New Zealand relations in the linked article.
Read previous PIB articles here.
| Related Links | |||
| Earth Day | Scheduled Tribes | ||
| World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) | Narcotics Control Bureau | ||
| PM SVANidhi | GIFT City | ||
Comments