(Current Affairs For SSC Exams) India & The World | February 2015

February-2015

India & The World

India is world’s second most trusting nation: Survey

Moving up the ranks, India has emerged as the second most trusted country in the world in terms of faith reposed on its institutions even as globally trust levels have fallen, says a survey.
As the world’s rich and powerful gather in the Swiss resort of Davos, a study by public relations firm Edelman has found that general level of trust in institutions among college-educated people around the globe are at levels not seen since 2009 in many of the markets it surveyed.
Trust in institutions in India has improved sharply in 2015 with the country moving up three notches to the second place among 27 nations.
While the number of “truster” countries are at an all-time low of six in 2015 including UAE, India, China and Netherlands, the number of “distruster” countries has grown significantly to 13 including Japan, Russia, Hong Kong, South Africa and Italy.
Brazil, Malaysia, France and the US are among the 8 “neutral” nations as per the trust index, the survey said.
India, which last year saw the BJP-led NDA government storming to power at the Centre, stands tall.
According to the report, an “alarming evaporation of trust” has happened across all institutions, reaching the lows of the Great Recession in 2009.
Trust in government, business, media and NGOs in the general population is below 50 per cent in two-thirds of countries, including the U.S., U.K. and Germany, it said.
From fifth most trusted in 2014, India has now become the second-most trusted in 2015 with a score of 79 per cent in the barometer. The study has put India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image on the first page.

Vision statement on Asia-Pacific, Indian Ocean

After meeting for close to five hours, including an extended lunch, tea on the Hyderabad House lawns, and delegation level talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama issued three separate documents: a declaration of friendship with a commitment to regular summits, a joint statement called “Shared Effort, Progress for all”, and a joint strategic vision statement for the Asia-Pacific and the Indian ocean region.
The last document could raise eyebrows in China, when External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj visits Beijing next week, as it elaborates on the clauses in their previous joint statement for the disputed maritime region, and says, “We affirm the importance of safeguarding maritime security and ensuring freedom of navigation and over flight throughout the region, especially in the South China Sea.”
Conspicuous by its absence was mention of “cross-border” terrorism or India’s issues with Pakistan, although the two sides repeated their September commitment to “disrupt” terror groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e- Mohammad, D Company and the Haqqani Network.
Germany eager to join ‘Make in India’ initiative
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble expressed interest in working with India in the manufacturing sector, especially in the auto and solar energy industries, at a meeting with business lobby Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) .The German minister is scheduled to hold talks with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley .
Dr. Schäuble’s positive note on German manufacturing industry’s readiness to participate in the ‘Make in India’ policy comes close on the heels of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s voicing of the Obama administration’s worries over the initiative.
Mr. Modi is scheduled to jointly inaugurate the Hannover trade fair along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his visit to Germany in April 2015.
Obama, Modi at India US CEO Forum The India-US CEO Forum began with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama present along with top business honchos of both countries.

India Inc is led by Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry

The other CEOs who are expected to be present are Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director (CMD), Reliance Industries Ltd; Gautam Adani, chairman, Adani Group; Sunil Bhari Mittal, chairman and group CEO, Bharti Entreprises; Sashi Ruia, chairman, Essar Group; Hari S Bhartia, co-chairman and MD, Jubilant Life Sciences; and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD, Biocon.
Among others are Anand Mahindra, CMD, Mahindra and Mahindra; Deepak Parekh, chairman, HDFC; Chanda Kochar, CEO and MD, ICICI Bank; Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairman, State Bank of India; Vishal Sikka, CEO & MD, Infosys; B Prasada Rao, CMD, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited; Sudhir Mehta, chairman emeritus, Torrent Pharmaceuticals; Preetha Reddy, executive chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Entreprises; Anurag Kumar, director, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; and D.K. Saraff, CMD, ONGC.
Honeywell International Chairman and CEO Dave Cote was likely to lead the US CEOs team, which was to have Indra Nooyi, chairperson and CEO, PepsiCo, and Ajay Banga, CEO, Mastercard, among others. US-India Business Council (USIBC) acting president Diane Farrell told IANS: “The Forum will be focusing on two-way trade. Ease of doing business is something that will be focused. That will attract more US business to India. “Market access issue of both the countries will be discussed. US companies recognises the importance of both these programmes of Digital India and Make in India. The US companies will look at the consistency and predictability of Indian market.”

PIA closure will snap vital link between India, Pakistan

Official Pakistani sources said they were worried that the Enforcement Directorate notice to the Pakistan International Airlines on its offices in Delhi, had political overtones.
The move, they feared, would “cut off a vital link between both countries.” PIA runs the only flights between India and Pakistan, with two flights a week on the Delhi-Lahore sector and once a week on the Mumbai-Karachi sector.
Pakistani officials insisted that the PIA service to India which started in 1976, would not be cancelled, despite all the problems. However, one official said there were apprehensions that the action came after Foreign Secretary talks were cancelled last July, and indicated other actions could follow “causing a further rift in ties.”