Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the various agreements between India - Japan) = Mains ( GS II bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister of India is on a bilateral visit to Japan from 2 to 3 September 2019.
• The two Ministers held the annual Defence Ministerial Meeting on 2 September 2019 in Tokyo.
• In this context, the Ministers affirmed their intention to hold the first Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue (2+2) ahead of the Japan-India Annual Summit this year for advancing cooperation towards peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region.

Know! the other co operations between the two nations

• The Ministers welcomed that negotiations on the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) have shown progress since the announcement of the commencement of negotiations in the Summit Meeting last year.
• The Ministers welcomed the steady progress in bilateral cooperation in the area of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) based on the Implementing Arrangement for Deeper Cooperation between the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the Indian Navy signed last year.
• The Ministers welcomed that the first bilateral exercise between the JGSDF and the Indian Army in the area of counter-terrorism "Dharma Guardian" was held in the autumn of 2018.
• The Ministers welcomed that the Japan-India-U.S. trilateral maritime exercise "MALABAR 2019" will be held from late September to early October this year.
• The Ministers also welcomed that the second Japan-India-U.S. trilateral mine-countermeasures exercise (MINEX) was held in July this year, and expressed their resolve to continue the trilateral exercise in the same framework from next year onwards.
• The Ministers recognised the conduct of Japan-India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) in 2018 and shared the view to conduct the exercise on a regular basis.
• The Ministers welcomed that ‘SHINYUU MAITRI 18', the first bilateral exercise between the air components, was held in December 2018, and the coordination for the second round of the exercise has been smoothly proceeding.
• The Ministers also welcomed the first participation of the JASDF in the India-U.S. bilateral exercise "Cope India" as observers in December.

India, Russia sign 15 agreements

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about India - Russia relations ) + Mains ( GS II international relations)
What's the NEWS

• India and Russia signed 15 agreements taking bilateral cooperation to a new high at the 20th annual summit.

Russia backed India on article 370

• India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality.
• Russia has backed India's move on Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the changes in the status are within the framework of the Indian Constitution.

Know! more about the agreements

• The two leaders held the delegation-level talks at the India-Russia 20th Annual Summit after a two-hour tete-a-tete on board a ship, aimed at strengthening the special and privileged relationship between the two sides.
• The agreements were exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin after the restricted and delegation-level talks.
• The agreements include four in the area of oil and gas, LNG and coking coal, five in trade and investments, two in infrastructure and one each in defence and audio visual production.
• The MoU on defence is about the production of spare parts for Russian origin arms under Make-in-India program through joint ventures.
• The MoUs in infrastructure relate to the establishment of maritime links between Vladivostok and Chennai to improve connectivity.
• Other MoUs relate to the exploration of cooking coal in the Arctic region, sourcing LNG from Russia. An agreement has also been exchanged for combating customs violations during 2019-22.
• An agreement between Invest India and the Russian Direct Investment Fund has been signed for Investment Collaboration.
• The Russian President invited the Prime Minister to attend the 75th Victory Day to celebrate the victory of the USSR in the second world war, to be held in Moscow in May next year.

Eastern Economic Forum (EEF)

• Mr. Modi, who arrived in Russia on a two-day visit, during which he will also attend the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit to the Russian Far East region.
• Eastern Economic Forum is an international forum held each year in Vladivostok, Russia, for the purpose of encouraging foreign investment in the Russian Far East.
• Eastern Economic Forum is an international forum held each year since 2015 in September, at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia, for the purpose of encouraging foreign investment in the Russian Far East. The Russian president and the Japanese premier have attended this forum since its beginning.
• Far East Economic Forum is sponsored by the organizing committee appointed by Roscongress, an association of the Russian Government, which also sponsors other international forums, such as St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
• The Eastern Economic Forum 2019 will take place on 4-6 September in Vladivostok on the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) campus.
• The Eastern Economic Forum was established by decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in 2015 to support the economic development of Russia's Far East and to expand international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
• A lot has been accomplished during the last 5 years: over 40 legislative initiatives that sustain investment activity and improve the social sphere have been passed; 20 advanced special economic zones and 5 free ports have been put in place.
• 17 different countries invest in the Far East: China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, to name a few. Since 2014, nearly 32% of all direct foreign investment came

Maritime route between Chennai and Vladivostok

• Prime Minister Modi said a proposal had been made to have a full-fledged maritime route between Chennai and Vladivostok. A Memorandum of Intent was signed in this regard.
• Due to the increasing localisation of nuclear plants being formed with the cooperation of Russia in India, we are also developing a true partnership in this field.

Russia to train Indian astronauts

• Russia, he said, would help train Indian astronauts for the manned space mission - the Gaganyaan project.
• The two sides signed 15 agreements/MoUs in areas such as defence, air, and maritime connectivity, energy, natural gas, petroleum and trade.

Other highlights

• The bilateral trade between the two nations grew by almost 17 per cent and mounted to USD 11 billion. There is every condition that it will grow further up.
• It was the common goal of the two sides to reach an agreement to establish a free trade area between India and the Eurasian economic union.
• The flagship joint project was the cooperation in the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. "The first two units are already operational. The work for the third and fourth unit are going as per schedule.
• Both countries are successfully implementing the bilateral programme on military and technical cooperation up to 2020 and are working to update it to extend to another 10 years.

Internal Security
Declaration of certain individuals as terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about UAPA and its new provisions) + Mains ( GS III internal security)
What's the NEWS

• Invoking the recent amendments in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Central Government has decided to declare the following individuals as terrorists and add their names to Schedule 4 of the Act:

1. Maulana Masood Azhar : chief, founder and key leader of Jaish-e-Mohammad
2. Hafiz Muhammad: chief, founder and key leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba/Jamat-ud-Dawa
3. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi: chief operation commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba and one of its founder members
4. Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar: runs an international underworld crime syndicate and is involved in perpetrating acts of terror
5. All of the above are involved in terrorist attacks in India, and have been designated as global terrorists under United Nations.
6. Earlier when terrorist organizations were banned, the individuals associated with it simply changed names and continued to carry out terrorist activities.

Know! about The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and the 2019 amendments

• Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, allowing the Centre and States to designate individuals as terrorists and seize their property.
• Through this new amendment the government can designate individuals as terrorists if the person commits or participates in acts of terrorism, prepares for terrorism, promotes terrorism or is otherwise involved in terrorism.
• This has been done as it is seen that when a terrorist organization is banned, its members form a new organization to spread terrorism.
• The bill also empowers the Director-General, National Investigation Agency (NIA) to grant approval of seizure or attachment of property when the case is being investigated by the agency.
• Under the existing Act, the investigating officer is required to obtain the prior approval of the Director General of Police (DGP) to seize properties that bear any connection to terrorism.
• It has been seen that many times a terror accused own properties in different states. In such cases, seeking approval of DGPs of different states becomes very difficult, and the delay caused by the same may enable the accused to transfer properties.
• It empowers the officers of the NIA - of the rank of Inspector or above, to investigate cases.
• The existing Act provides for investigation of cases to be conducted by officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of Police or above.
• No changes being made in arrest or bail provisions. Also, the provision that the burden of proof is on the investigating agency and not on the accused, has not been changed.
• The International Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (2005) has also been added in the Second Schedule through the Amendment.

Prelims Factoids
Vaishno Devi Shrine tops list of 'Swachh Iconic Places'

What's the NEWS

• Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Jammu and Kashmir has been adjudged as the Best Swachh Iconic place in the country in the 'Swachh Iconic Places' list released by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

Know! more about it

• The Shrine has been adjudged on the basis of the overall improvement in sanitation. Several initiatives were taken in the last few years to ensure the cleanliness of the entire Shrine area.
• The initiatives of water kiosks, reverse vending machines, equid dung management centre, installation of kill waste machine, collection, transportation, and disposal of waste along with regular mopping up of waste though a workforce of 1300 sanitation workers (Shrine cadre and outsourced) have enabled the shrine to achieve the top rank.
• The Shrine was in direct competition with dozen other iconic places including Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Maharashtra), Taj Mahal (Uttar Pradesh), Tirupati Temple (Andhra Pradesh) Golden Temple (Punjab) Manikarnika Ghat (Varanasi), Ajmer Sharif Dargah (Rajasthan) among others.
• The President will confer the prestigious award to the Shrine during the Swachh Mahotsav to be organized by the Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation on the 6th September.
  
  

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