13 DECEMBER 2015

Ø  Charting a new course, India and Japan on Saturday announced a series of military and strategic agreements and understandings. Unveiling the new bilateral military cooperation, visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, “We have created a new chapter in India-Japan relationship with important defensive initiatives.” The high point of the new strategic and military realignment is Japan’s formal entry into the India-U.S. Malabar bilateral maritime exercises, turning it into a trilateral initiative aimed at ensuring peace, security and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region. Announcing the landmark naval trilateral, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said: “Japan used to be an irregular participant in the Malabar naval arrangement. From now Japan will be a formal partner of the Malabar exercise.” it is expected that Japan will soon take up production of US-2 amphibious aircraft, 15 of which are reportedly to be purchased by India. Another tweet by Mr. Modi had announced that a convention centre would be built in Varanasi with Japanese assistance. Mr. Modi then hosted Mr. Abe to a cultural programme at the Taj Hotel where a pure vegetarian Banarasi banquet was served. The visit comes in the backdrop of the Partner City Agreement between Kyoto and Varanasi signed by the two leaders during Mr. Modi’s trip to Japan last August. An 11-member Steering Committee was also formed to assist in the modernization of Varanasi, though upgradation of water management and sewage facilities, waste management and urban transportation, using Japan’s expertise and technologies.

Ø  In the second supplementary demand for Rs.56,256.32 crore for 2015-16 tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday, the Narendra Modi government sought to enhance its social and rural sector allocations. It sought Rs. 106 crore for the Department of AIDS Control, Rs. 3,000 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Rs. 2,500 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana. The additional allocation for the PMGSY includes Rs. 300 crore for the rural infrastructure scheme in the North-eastern States. The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) will get Rs. 3,193 crore. The government has sought Rs. 5,736 crore for defence pensions, Rs. 2,169 crore for Swachh Bharat and Rs. 200 crore for the maintenance of the Prime Minister’s aircraft, including the outgoes on clearing pending bills, and the expenditure on account of foreign trips of Cabinet Ministers. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Safdarjung Hospital, both in the capital, will get Rs.150 crore and Rs. 100 crore respectively and Rs. 135 crore will go towards financial assistance to the States for establishing medical colleges attached to the district/referral hospitals. The net cash outgoes will aggregate to Rs.18,195.4 crore as the rest will be matched by savings and enhanced recoveries.