Current Affairs July 18, 2011

July 18, 2011

14th yearly Meet of Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering

14th yearly Meet of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering begins in Kochi, Kerala on July 18, 2011
350 delegates from 40 member countries and international organizations participating in the five-day meet
India is currently the Co-Chair of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering, along with Australia

Joint Working Group of India and Pakistan meets in New Delhi

India Pakistan Joint Working Group meeting in New Delhi
The meeting between officials of the External Affairs and Home Ministries and Pakistan foreign ministry is the first engagement after the Mumbai triple blasts on July 13, 2011
Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar to visit India later in July 2011 for talks with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna
The Foreign Ministers’ meeting will be preceded by introductory talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir on the July 25, 2011
Agenda of the Meeting:
Discussions being held as a part of Confidence Building Measure (CBM) on Cross -Line of Control- LoC
To recommend measures for strengthening and streamlining the existing cross-LOC trade and travel arrangements and propose modalities for introducing additional Cross-LoC CBMs

“Ulchi Freedom Guardian”

“Ulchi Freedom Guardian”– 10-day drill between USA and South Korea from August 16, 2011
South Korea and the U.S. Combined Forces Command to hold a key yearly military exercise from August 16, 2011
10-day drill, called Ulchi Freedom Guardian, is a computer-assisted simulation exercise intended to develop the ability to defend South Korea
North Korea has been informed about the exercise and has been assured that the drills are defense-oriented only

Indian Army’s 2^nd OTA (essentially for SSC) begins functioning at Gaya

An Officers Training Academy (OTA) of the Indian Army began functioning Gaya, Bihar
With the establishment of the OTA, the Indian Army will be able to overcome the acute shortage of officers
As per the General Officer Commanding in Chief of Army Training Command, Lt. General K. Surendra Nath at present, the Army needs around 14,000 more Officers
The Officers Training Academy (OTA) has started training for 130 officers
In the next two years, the Academy would become fully operational and engage the full strength of over 750 Short Service Commission (SSC) officers

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi elected GST panel head

Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister and State Finance Minister Sushil Kumar Modi unanimously elected as the new chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Goods and Services Tax, GST
Mr.Modi was elected in the State Finance Ministers’ meeting chaired by the Union Finance Minister Mr.Pranab Mukherjee
Mr. Modi replaces Mr. Asim Dasgupta, who had served the post over a decade since formation of the body
The Empowered Committee to out a detailed programme later
The Committee had earlier overseen the implementation of Value Added Tax system across the states.

Tourism in India grows by over 24% in 2010

24%+ growth registered by the Tourism Sector in India
10.7% growth in Domestic Tourist visits
Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are among the top ten States where maximum number of foreign tourist visited

WHO, UNICEF caution Pakistan to stamp out polio by 2012 or face action

UNICEF and WHO (World Health Organization) cautioned Pakistan to eradicate polio by 2012 or face action
In a memo, WHO and UNICEF, censured Pakistan for not uprooting the threat of polio
The two World bodies also conveyed their reservations on the way the anti-polio drives are carried in Pakistan
If the situation demands, WHO could penalize Pakistan by enforcing various limitations, which could even include ban of Pakistan nationals from entry into the foreign countries