India World Forum

India Japan relations have undergone a significant and qualitative shift in recent years, propelled by the successful regular summit level exchanges. From Japan, the then Prime Ministers Koizumi, Abe and Hatoyama visited India in April 2005, August 2007 and December 2009 respectively. From India , Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Japan in December 2006, October 2008 and again in October 2010. India Japan Cordial Relations The establishment of the Strategic and Global Partnership between India & Japan in December 2006 elevated relations to a new level. This Partnership is based on five pillars of cooperation viz., India Japan Political Relations , India Japan Defence and Security Cooperation ; Comprehensive Economic Partnership; Science and Technology Initiative; People-to-People exchanges and cooperation in Regional/Multilateral fora. During the visit of PM Abe to India in August 2007, a Roadmap for New Dimensions to the Strategic and Global Partnership ...

I think that there is a growing perception that this government is in siege, that we have not been able to deliver on our agenda. An atmosphere has been created in the country - and this I say with all humility – the role of the media today in many cases has become that of the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge. Now that way no Parliamentary democracy can function and I would like to tell you that if you are taking governmental decisions, particularly big macro decisions, we don't know all the facts and yet we have to take decisions. When I was a student at Cambridge, Sir Paul Chambers, who was then the Chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries, came and addressed us on who is a good manager, who will be considered by industry as a good manager. He told our student group that, in an uncertain world in which we live in, if 5 out of 10 decisions that I take ex-ante turn out to be correct ex-post that would be considered as a job well done. If out of 10 decisions that I take, 7...

Germany is the most populous country in Europe and contributes to 23 % of the EU budget. It is India’s biggest trading partner in Europe and the 5th biggest trading partner in the world. Germany is also India’s second largest technology partner. India was amongst the first countries to recognize Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) after the Second World War. In 2011, we are celebrating 60 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and the FRG. Our relationship, based on common values of democracy, peace and rule of law, intensified after the German Re-unification in 1990. There has been a rapid growth in trade and economics with bilateral trade reaching Euro 15.44 billion in 2010. The two countries also work together in various international forums including the UN, G-4 and G-20. In 2011-12, India and Germany are both non-permanent members in the UNSC, which provides a new area for cooperation. India Germany bilateral visits Bilateral exchanges, including at the...

Rajiv Gandhi Advocates Training Scheme was inaugurated in the National Law University Delhi today. Minister of Law & Justice Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, Chief Minister of Delhi Smt. Sheila Dikshit and the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court and Chancellor of National Law University Delhi Mr. Justice Dipak Misra were present on the occasion. Presiding over the function, the Minister of Law & Justice said “Globalization of law includes global connections, global interdependence, global information, global finance, global governance and global rights. Legal profession in the 21st Century must focus on the rapid changes in legal education and the legal profession that are taking place throughout the world, the phenomenon that is often referred to as the globalization of legal profession.” The primary purpose behind the development of the lawyers’ training program is to standardize the training of future generations of lawyers in the globalization era. Achieving this goal is...

India and China have had ancient civilizational contact. In recent times, the process of development and diversification of bilateral relations has gathered pace. The focus is on enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation while simultaneously addressing differences. India China Political Relations The People’s Republic of China (PRC) was established on October 1, 1949, and India was the second non-communist country to recognize it. Within a few months, on April 1, 1950, India and China established diplomatic relations. The two countries also jointly expounded the Panchsheel (Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence) in 1954. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai visited India in June 1954 and Prime Minister Nehru visited China in October 1954. The circumstances leading to the attack by China in 1962 led to a serious setback in bilateral relations. India and China restored ambassadorial relations in August 1976. Higher political level contacts were revived by the visit of the then External Af...

India France Relations have traditionally been Cordial and close. With the establishment of the strategic partnership in 1998, there has been significant progress in all areas of bilateral cooperation through regular high-level exchanges at the Head of State/Head of Government levels and growing commercial exchanges including in strategic areas such as defence, nuclear energy and space. France was the first country with which India entered into an agreement on nuclear energy following the waiver given by International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group enabling India to resume full civil nuclear cooperation with the international community. Today India France relations are growing fast in important areas for the future, with wide-ranging cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields and on defence, space, science and technology, and education. India France Relations French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to India, 25-26 January, 2008 : Sarkozy pa...

Every Year 26th of June is observed as an “International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking ”. Say No to Drugs  The Government recognizes Drug abuse as a psycho-socio-medical problem, which can be best handled by adoption of a family/community-based approach by active involvement of NGOs/Community BasedOrganisations (CBOs) and has been taking several initiatives to help say no to drugs. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, as the nodal ministry for drug demand reduction, coordinates and monitors all aspects of drug abuse prevention which include assessment of the extent of the problem, preventive action, treatment and rehabilitation of addicts, dissemination of information and public education. The Ministry provides community-based services for the identification, treatment and rehabilitation of addicts through voluntary organizations. Indian Government's  strategy for demand reduction is three pronged: a)Awareness Generation and educatin...

Indian Government signed a Protocol, amending DTAA ( Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement ) with Singapore government for effective exchange of information in tax matters. The Protocol was signed by Shri Prakash Chandra, Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on behalf of the Indian Government and Ms. Karen Anne Tan Ping Ming, High Commissioner of Singapore to India , on behalf of the Republic of Singapore. The negotiations for entering into an amending Protocol was completed in one round at Singapore . Both Singapore and India have adopted internationally agreed standard for exchange of information in tax matters to locate black money. This standard includes the principles incorporated in the new paragraphs 4 and 5 of OECD Model Article on ‘Exchange of Information’ and requires exchange of information on request in all tax matters for the administration and enforcement of domestic tax law without regard to a domestic tax interest requirement or bank secrecy for tax pur...

Under the resumed dialogue process, the Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India met in Islamabad, on 23-24 June 2011 for bilateral talks on Peace and Security including CBMs, Jammu and Kashmir and promotion of friendly exchanges. Three sessions of talks were held. 2. The talks were held in a frank and cordial atmosphere. Both sides reiterated their intention to carry forward the dialogue process in a constructive and purposeful manner. 3. The issues of Peace and Security, including CBMs, were discussed in a comprehensive manner. Both sides emphasized the importance of constructive dialogue to promote mutual understanding. 4. They noted the ongoing implementation of various Nuclear and Conventional CBMs. They also decided to convene separate Expert level meetings on Nuclear and Conventional CBMs to discuss implementation and strengthening of existing arrangements and to consider additional measures, which are mutually acceptable, to build trust and confidence and promote peace a...