General Awareness : India & The World - February, 2014

(General Awareness For Bank's Exams) India & the world
February - 2014

First Indian-American Surgeon General of the US

An influential group of Indian-American doctors has campaigned at the Capitol Hill for Dr Vivek Murthy, who has been nominated by President Barack Obama for the post of Surgeon General of the United States.
On the eve of his confirmation, a delegation of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) met eminent Senators to lobby for the quick confirmation of 36-year-old Murthy. If he’s confirmed, Dr Murthy would not only be the first-ever Indian-American to occupy this post, but also the youngest ever Surgeon General of the US.
If confirmed, Murthy will also become the 19th surgeon general for an office that was established in 1871 in the US. As the Surgeon General, Murthy will be the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the US and the operational head of the 6500-strong US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, one of the seven uniformed services of the United States that includes the army, navy, air force and marines. India-China border issue India and China held two crucial meetings on the border issue recently.
The fifth meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs reviewed recent developments, especially in the Western Sector (the Ladakh region).
Implementation of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement, additional confidence-building measures and further steps for maintaining peace and tranquillity were also discussed, said a release from the Ministry of External Affairs.
Unlike the Working Mechanism, aimed at resolving day-to-day patrolling issues, the Special Representatives talks, pitched on a higher level, are meant to settle the entire boundary issue through consultations.
The Indian delegation is led by National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and the Chinese team by State Councillor Yang Jiechi at the two-day meeting.

Trial of the two Italian marines in India

Italy has petitioned the U.N. over the trial of its two marines in India under a strict anti-piracy law for the killing of two Indian fishermen, and said it would exercise “all options” to bring back the naval personnel.
Italy has “initiated contact” with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights over “the lack of charges” and the “restriction of freedom” placed on the marines since 2012.
Meanwhile, according to diplomatic sources , Rome might freeze a number of treaties being negotiated with India.
Indian authorities have given their nod to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the matter, to prosecute the marines under the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Maritime Navigation And Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act (SUA). The SUA carries death penalty.
India removed the possibility of a death penalty but insisted that the marines would still be prosecuted under the anti-piracy law. Now, they face up to 10 years in jail.
Rome wants the marines to be tried in Italy, claiming the incident took place in international waters. However, New Delhi says it has the right to try the Italians as the victims were Indians on board an Indian fishing boat.

India and the piracy contact group

India, which has the largest number of pirates in its custody, is a very important member of the piracy contact group.
U.S. Coordinator for Counter Piracy and Maritime Security Donna Hopkins said “India is a very important member of the Contact Group and, in fact, chaired a plenary” and has more pirates under its custody than any other country.
Ms. Hopkins said at present about 1,430 Somali pirates -- either suspected and being tried or convicted and in prison in 21 countries. Somalia, after India, has the largest number of pirates under its custody.
There has been a remarkable drop in piracy and it was primarily due to two things: proactive counter-piracy operations by the many national navies and missions that are preventing and disrupting pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia and in the eastern Indian Ocean, and better self-protection by commercial ships, including the use of embarked armed security teams.

India-Saudi Arabia energy consultations

India and Saudi Arabia resolved to provide more diversity to their economic and political ties, after signing a breakthrough MoU on defence cooperation.
Saudi Arabia, India’s largest supplier of crude oil, reiterated its commitment to implement all issues mentioned in the Delhi (2006) and Riyadh (2010) declarations, especially on moving to a deeper partnership in the hydrocarbons arena including investments and joint ventures, bilaterally and in third countries as well.
The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the area of radio and television, as also in fields of media coverage and training, besides agreeing to activate the agreement signed between Saudi Press Agency (SPA) and the Press Trust of India (PTI).