By: D.K Chaudhary
1. Two Plus Two Dialogue Between India and US To Be Held In New Delhi
i. US State Department has announced that the inaugural ‘two-plus-two dialogue’ between India and the United States will be held in New Delhi in September 2018. Recently, the US had postponed the dialogue due to ‘unavoidable reasons’.
ii. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis will travel to India for the dialogue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
- Donald Trump is the 45th President of the USA.
- Washington DC is the capital city of the USA.
2. India, Ghana Ink 2 MoUs
i. India and Ghana signed two agreements in an effort to enhance the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
ii. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar announced that two MOUs on Cultural Exchange Programme and on cooperation between Bureau of Indian Standards and Ghana Standards Authority were signed.
- Ghana Capital: Accra, Currency: Ghanaian cedi.
3. Infosys Foundation, Bangalore Metro Sign MoU for Constructing Station
i. Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of IT major, Infosys, signed an MoU with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for the construction of a station at Konappana Agrahara in Electronics City.
ii. The station is under the second phase of Bangalore Metro’s expansion plans and the Foundation has committed to maintaining it for the next 30 years.
4. AIIA & IIT Delhi Sign MoU To Give Scientific Validation To Ayurveda
i. An agreement was signed between IIT Delhi and the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) under which projects would be launched that would aim to give “scientific validation” to the ancient medical science and integrate it with technology.
ii. The projects would be funded by the Ayush Ministry. Under the MoU, the faculties of IIT Delhi and AIIA will work together in the projects to look at ways to integrate technology with Ayurveda.
- Shripad Yesso Naik is the Ayush Minister.
5. India and Japan Hold 4th Round of Maritime Affairs Dialogue
i. India and Japan held the fourth round of Maritime Affairs Dialogue in New Delhi. During the dialogue, key issues related to the Indo-Pacific region and maritime security were discussed.
ii. The Indian delegation at the dialogue was led by Pankaj Sharma, Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) in the External Affairs Ministry, while the Japanese side was led by Ambassador Kansuke Nagaoka, Policy Planning and International Security Policy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Japan Capital- Tokyo, Currency- Japanese yen, Prime Minister- Shinzo Abe.
- Japan is the third largest economy in the world.
