Responding to New Delhi's concerns, Bangladesh on Monday gave a commitment of not allowing its territory to be used for anti-India activities, as the two countries discussed a proposal for setting up a regional task force to tackle the menace. Reaching out to the new government in Dhaka, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee held talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and Home Minister Sahara Katun and conveyed concerns.
In an apparent reference to Pakistan, India on Monday said hurdles in the global war against terror are created by "unwillingness" or lack of "sincerity" on part of countries and any "architecture or framework" does not "stand in the way" of fighting the menace.
India and Bangladesh on Monday signed two agreements to further cement their trade and investment ties as External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee hailed the recent upward swing in bilateral relations.
This mission, tentatively scheduled for 2013, will be the precursor to Indian Space Research Organisation's maiden human spaceflight planned to be launched in 2015. India and Russia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Activities in the Field of Human Spaceflight Programme during the recent visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Recognising the "serious threat" posed by terrorism to the peace and stability of South Asia, the 15th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Summit on Sunday in a declaration supported "strongest possible cooperation" against the menace and signed a key agreement in this regard.
Buoyed by the International Atomic Energy Agency's approval of the India-specific safeguards pact, the US on Sunday vowed to push through expeditiously the Nuclear Suppliers Group process but said New Delhi would have to answer a lot of questions to secure a waiver from the 45-nation bloc when it meets later this month.
India has received a positive response from the Non-Aligned Movement countries, which are members of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group on the Indo-US nuclear deal after it briefed them on the safeguards agreement, which the global nuclear watchdog will consider on Friday.
India has said any unilateral armed action against Iran is totally 'unacceptable and undesirable' and should be disapproved of by the international community. "In respect of Iran, I entirely agree with the Egyptian Foreign Minister that there should be no armed engagement. In fact we are against any coercive engagement," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said after holding talks with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit in Cairo on Thursday night.
Projecting a whopping Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) economic engagement with Bhutan in areas like telecom, infrastructure and education, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday unveiled a mega plan for cooperation in the power sector.
"I have come with a message that India stands ready to join hands with the people and the government of Bhutan to strengthen our relationship to do our bid for accelerated development of Bhutan," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters after he arrived on a two-day visit to the country. Dr Singh, who became the first international leader to visit Bhutan after it entered the club of democratic nations in March, received a warm reception at Paro International Airport.
The organisation has now turned to universities to tap talent at an early stage and wants the students to commit at least three years for research with defence laboratories.
In the year gone by, Indian Space Research Organisation achieved self-reliance in launch vehicle technology with the successful ground testing of the Cryogenic Upper Stage, a key component in putting heavier payloads in orbit.
The Netherlands, a key member of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, has said that the export of nuclear goods for peaceful purposes to India was in conformity with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The country has also expressed its readiness to consider any proposal in this regard. However, Netherlands said that it was awaiting the finalisation of the agreement between India and the IAEA and it will formulate its final position after careful analysis of the pact.
India will develop its own version of the Global Positioning System by launching seven satellites in 6 years. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, to be functional by 2012, will be used for surveillance, telecommunications, transport etc.
The ISRO will launch its ambitious and maiden mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-I, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on April 9, 2008. "We are looking for a launch on April 9," Mylswamy Annadurai, head of Chandrayaan-I said.
The X Prize Foundation and Google Inc have announced a robotic race to the moon. The rules of the game are that participants must land a rover on the lunar surface, run it for at least 500 metres and send video images and data back to earth.
Lauding India's track record on non-proliferation, Japan said it has been a "good boy" despite remaining outside Non Proliferation Treaty regime, but New Delhi should shoulder the responsibility to strengthen the NPT regime.
Palaeobotanists scouring the icy heights of Jammu and Kashmir came across a set of plant fossils near Tsokar in the Eastern Ladakh region a proof of the existence of a coastal environment in the region.
"We have to be constantly alert, otherwise there is danger lurking at the sea coasts," he told a press conference after the maiden Fleet Review of Coast Guard ships.
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