Dear Aspirants,
This Spotlight is a part of our Mission Nikaalo Prelims-2023.
You can check the broad timetable of Nikaalo Prelims here
Session Details
YouTube LIVE with Parth sir – 7 PM – Prelims Spotlight Session
Evening 04 PM – Daily Mini Tests
Join our Official telegram channel for Study material and Daily Sessions Here
18th Apr 2023
Bilateral Relations
- Technology Innovation Hubs (TIH)
Joint India-US research projects will be implemented through TIH.
About TIH
• It comes under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber- Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) and is aimed at providing requisite infrastructure (testbeds and data sets), enabling collaboration (e.g. on AI and wireless) and encouraging exchange
programmes.
NM-ICPS was launched in 2018 for 5 year period to enable academia-industrygovernment collaboration and provide technical support for CPS implementations.
Activities under NM-ICPS are: Technology Development; Human Resources and Skill development; Entrepreneurship; Innovations and International Collaborations. - Non-nuclear aggression agreement
• The Non-nuclear aggression agreement is a bilateral and nuclear weapons control treaty between the two South Asian states, India and Pakistan, on the reduction (or limitation) of
nuclear arms and pledged not to attack or assist foreign powers to attack on each’s nuclear installations and facilities.
• The treaty barred its signatories to carry out a surprise attack (or to assist foreign power to attack) on each other’s nuclear installations and facilities.
• The treaty provides a confidence-building security measure environment and refrained each party from “undertaking, encouraging, or participating in directly or indirectly, any action
aimed at causing destruction or damage to any nuclear installation or facility in each country”.
• Starting in January 1992, India and Pakistan have annually exchanged lists of their respective military and civilian nuclear-related facilities. - Foundational agreements between India and US
The United States signs “foundational agreements” with its defence partners. These are “routine” agreements and include:
General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA):
● (a military information agreement) was the first of the foundational agreements to be signed in 2002
● It essentially guaranteed that the two countries would protect any classified information or technology that they shared
● It was aimed at promoting interoperability and laid the foundation for future US arms sales to the country.
LEMOA (logistics exchange agreement):
● It was signed in 2016
● It provides the framework for sharing military
logistics, for example for refueling and replenishment of
stores for ships or aircraft transiting through an Indian/US facility
COMCASA (communications security agreement):
● It was signed in 2018
● This enables the US to supply India with its
proprietary encrypted communications equipment and
systems, allowing secure peacetime and wartime
communications between high-level military leaders on both sides.
Basic Exchange Cooperation Agreement (BECA) signed in 2020:
● BECA will help India get real-time access to American geospatial intelligence that will enhance the accuracy of automated systems and weapons like missiles and armed drones.
● Through the sharing of information on maps and satellite images, it will help India access topographical and aeronautical data, and advanced products that will aid in navigation and targeting. - Supporting Entrepreneurs in Transformation and Upskilling (SETU)
Supporting Entrepreneurs in Transformation and Upskilling (SETU) will connect start-ups in India with USbased investors, mentors and leaders.
• SETU is designed to break the geographical barriers between mentors based in US that are willing to invest in entrepreneurship and sunrise startups in India.
• The interaction will be supported through the mentorship portal under the Startup India initiative MAARG, or the Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth program, which is a single-stop solution finder for startups in India.
• The core functions of MAARG are to improve ease of access, use Artificial Intelligence for Matchmaking, schedule meetings virtually, host masterclasses, provide a custom dashboard
for relevant information, analytics, features, etc., host cohort-based programs that will allow startup ecosystem enablers to be become a part of the program and enable outcome driven
activities. - International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)
INSTC is a 7,200-km multi-modal transport corridor that combines road, rail and maritime routes connecting Russia and India via Central Asia and Iran. The corridor is expected to consolidate the emerging Eurasian Free Trade Area.
• Legal Framework: The legal framework for the INSTC is provided by a trilateral agreement signed by India, Iran and Russia at the Euro-Asian Conference on Transport in 2000.
Significance of INSTC:
• Reduce freight costs by 30% and the journey time by 40% in comparison with the conventional deep-sea route via the Suez Canal
• Complement East-West axis: INSTC can shape a north-south transport corridor that can complement the east-west axis of the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
• Bypass Pakistan to access Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond
• Departure from non-alignment to multi-alignment: E.g., India’s working under QUAD, SCO and INSTC.
• ‘Chabahar Day’ is observed to promote Chabahar – Ministry of Port, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) in association with India Ports Global observed ‘Chabahar Day’ to mark the Chabahar – Link to INSTC – Connecting Central Asian Markets. - Mahakali Treaty
Mahakali Treaty is an agreement between the Government of Nepal and the Government of India regarding the development of watershed of Mahakali River. The treaty recognizes the Mahakali River as a boundary river between the two countries. - Kushiyara river treaty between India and Bangladesh
● A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on sharing of the waters of the Kushiyara river(distributary of the Barak river)which flows through Assam, and then on to
Bangladesh.
What is the Kushiyara agreement?
● Under the agreement, Bangladesh will be able to withdraw 153 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water from the Kushiyara which will solve the water crisis for farmers of Sylhet.
● The water of Kushiyara will be channelled through the Rahimpur Canal project in Sylhet.
● Rahimpur canal is the only supplier of water from the Kushiyara to the region. - Indus Water Treaty
India and Pakistan signed the treaty in 1960 after nine years of negotiations, with the Washington-based World Bank being a signatory.
The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers.
Under the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), all the waters of the eastern rivers—Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi—is allocated to India for
unrestricted use.
The waters of western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab have been assigned largely to Pakistan.
Permanent Indus Commission:
● The Permanent Indus Commission is a bilateral commission of officials from India and
Pakistan, created to implement and manage goals of the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960.
● The Commission according to the treaty must meet regularly at least once a year, alternately
in India and Pakistan.
The functions of the Commission are:
● to study and report to the two Governments on any problem relating to the development on
the waters of the rivers.
● to solve disputes arising over water sharing.
● to arrange technical visits to projects’ sites and critical river head works.
● to undertake, once in every five years, a general tour of inspection of the Rivers for
ascertaining the facts.
● to take necessary steps for the implementation of the provisions of the treaty.
