Mauritius investors to be taxed from Apr 2017

 The government has gained the right to tax capital gains arising in Mauritius from sale of shares acquired on or after April 1, 2017, in Indian companies.

•  India and Mauritius signed a protocol for amendment of a three-decade-old double taxation avoidance agreement. 
• The agreement was signed in Port Louis.

Union Cabinet approves India-UAE currency swap agreement

The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Central Bank of United Arab Emirates (UAE) on co-operation concerning currency swap agreement.

•  Decision in this regard was taken at the Union Cabinet Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. 
• The Agreement was signed in February, 2016 during the official state visit of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India.

About the Agreement :

• The MoU commits that RBI and Central Bank of UAE will consider signing a bilateral Currency Swap Agreement on mutually agreed terms and conditions.
•  The agreement will be signed after undertaking technical deliberations, subject to the concurrence of respective Governments. 
• The MoU will help to further strengthen the close economic cooperation and relationship between India and UAE. 
• The swap agreement is also expected to facilitate invoicing of bilateral trade in local currencies. 

India, Papua New Guinea sign four agreements

 India and Papua New Guinea have signed four Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in various sectors to boost bilateral cooperation.

•  The MoUs were signed in the presence of the visiting President Pranab Mukherjee and the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’ Neil in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. 
• MoU regarding $100 Million Credit Line: India will provide a Line of Credit of 100 million dollars for specific projects in Transport and infrastructure sectors. 
• MoU in the field of Health Care and Medical Science MoU in the field of Agriculture MoU in the field of IT

Papua New Guinea  :

• Capital- Port Moresby
• Currency-  Papua New Guinean kina (PGK)

Heart of Asia conference begins today in New Delhi

The Heart of Asia (HoA) conference has begun in New Delhi with the objective of bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan and speeding up its reconstruction with a focus on enhancing investment and connectivity to the country.

• The conference is with the objective of bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan and speeding up its reconstruction with a focus on enhancing investment and connectivity to the country.
• The key elements of HoA process have been to devise a sustained, incremental approach to implementation of the confidence building measures (CBM) in Afghanistan and the officials are set to deliberate on them during the conference.

Heart of Asia conference :

• HoA conference is a part of the Istanbul Process established 2011 which provides a platform to discuss an agenda of regional cooperation with Afghanistan at its centre. 

India, France launch $1 Trillion Potential Solar Programme under ISA

 

India and France have launched a programme with $1 trillion Potential Solar Programme under the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

• It is a solar finance programme that aims at helping developing countries to fully harness their solar resources for a clean energy future.
•  It was announced by Minister of State for Power Piyush Goyal and French Environment Minister Segolene Royal at the ministerial side event on ISA at the United Nations.

 International Solar Alliance (ISA) :

Purpose - Bring together a group of nations to endorse clean energy, sustainable environment, public transport and climate

Headquarters- New Delhi, India

Announced at Paris Climate Summit

Region served- countries between the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn

India ratifies Trade Facilitation Agreement

   

India has ratified the new Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

• India’s WTO ambassador Anjali Prasad handed over her country’s instrument of acceptance to Director-General Roberto Azevêdo on 22 april.
• “India is one of the most dynamic economies in the world today and has become a top recipient of foreign investment. Ratifying the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement will help India further boost economic growth by reducing trade costs and supporting its integration into the global economy.”

What is Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)?

• The Trade Facilitation Agreement is the first multilateral trade agreement to be concluded since the WTO was established 20 years ago. 
• Once it enters into force, the Agreement is expected to reduce total trade costs by more than  14 per cent for low-income countries and more than 13 per cent for upper middle-income countries by streamlining the flo w of trade acr oss borders .