Vice-President Unveiled Gandhi’s Statue in Mongolian Monastery
• Vice-President Hamid Ansari unveiled a stone statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Pethub Monastery in the Mongolian capital on July 15, 2016 which is seen as symbol of India-Mongolia cultural and spiritual ties.
• Pethub Monastery, seen as symbol of India-Mongolia cultural and spiritual ties, was inaugurated in August, 1999 by Indian Vice-President Krishan Kant. Rinpoche named his monastery as ‘Pethub’, which in Tibetan means a model or exemplary.
Yaws, Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Eliminated from India
• The World Health Organisation (WHO) presented certificates | declaring elimination of yaws and maternal and neonatal tetanus to India and hailed its public health achievements as examples to other countries on July 14, 2016.
• India’s focused approach on making maternal and newborn care accessible to all and addressing health pare equity more generally has made these remarkable successes possible.
• India is the first country under the 2012 WHO Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) roadmap to eliminate yaws, a disease known to affect the most underserved population.
India and ADB Signed Loan Agreement
• India and the ADB signed a $ 100 million loan agreement on July 13, 2016 for strengthening irrigation, drainage and water management in the Vennar sub-basin of the Cauvery delta in Tamil Nadu.
• The financing will be used to strengthen embankments of six major irrigation water channels in the Vennar system and rehabilitate 13 irrigation pumping schemes.
• The loan will support Tamil Nadu’s water resources professionals to manage resources better, and with greater involvement of the stakeholders they service.
• The loan, which has a 25-year term, will be managed by the Water Resources Department of Tamil Nadu for implementing the project, which is expected to be completed by December, 2020.
Bangladesh and India Signed Agreement for Joint Coal Fired Power Plant
• Bangladesh and India signed a landmark deal for the construction of a 1320 MW coal fired power plant, the biggest project under bilateral cooperation on July 13, 2016.
• Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Private Limited (BIFPCL), the joint venture enterprise inked the deal with BHEL, would construct the super thermal plant at Bangladesh’s South-Western Rampal near the Sundarbans.
Five Agreements Signed with Tanzania
• Visa waiver for diplomatic or official passport holders was among the five agreements signed between India and Tanzania to accelerate ties on July 10, 2016.
• The other agreements include Line of Credit (LoC) of $ 92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibar’s water supply system. Water Resource Management and Development, Establishment of vocational training centre at Zanzibar.
• It was the agreement between National Small Industries Corporation of India and Small Industries of Development Organisation Tanzania.
See Also – India and World Current Affairs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Kenya
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kenya on July 9, 2016. According to the agreements between two countries, India would help set-up a pharmaceutical company in Kenya to manufacture drugs.
• Energy security is another area where India will look to Africa with Mozambique being the third biggest supplier of natural gas after Qatar and Australia and Tanzania emerging as a gas giant with a series of finds since 2011.
• Maritime cooperation is another area which w’as a common theme with all the four countries. India is concentrating on building cancer hospitals and contributing medical equipment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Mozambique
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited to Mozambique (South Africa) on July 8, 2016.
• The agreements signed with Mozambique for import of pulses have given a significant boost to India’s food security as well as to the welfare of African farmers.
• India signed a long-term agreement, lasting up to 10 years, with Mozambique for import of pulses. The people of Mozambique don’t consume dal that much, so in India they have found a readymade market.
