SC commutes Devinderpal Singh Bhullar's death sentence to life imprisonment

The Supreme Court on Monday commuted 1993 Delhi blast convict Devinderpal Singh Bhullar's death sentence to life imprisonment. 

Bhullar was convicted for his involvement in 1993 Delhi bomb blast case and his wife Navneet Kaur had sought commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment on grounds of delay in deciding his mercy petition and also on grounds he is suffering from mental illness. 

On March 27, the central government had told the apex court that there was delay in the deciding death row convict Devinderpal Singh Bhullar's mercy petition and the court could decide on his wife's plea for commutation of death sentence into life imprisonment. 

A bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Justice RM Lodha, Justice HL Dattu and Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya was told that the court, by its January 21 verdict, had already decided that inordinate and unexplained delay in deciding the mercy petition by the President is a ground for commuting death sentence into life imprisonment. 

Appreciating the position articulated by the Centre, the SC said that it was a fair stand and reserved its order which was pronounced today. 

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Upper Division Grade Limited Departmental Competitive Examination, 2013 Held on 30.11.2013

Upper Division Grade Limited Departmental Competitive  Examination, 2013 Held on 30.11.2013

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Terror attack in J&K; 1 killed, 3 injured

Three terrorists in Army fatigues opened fire at a vehicle in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district on 28th March, killing one person and injuring three others.
The injured have been shifted to Government Medical College Hospital,  adding a high alert has been sounded by the security agencies. 

Security has been stepped up at Army camps and important places in Kathua, Samba and Jammu districts. 

This is the second major terror attack in Kathua district. On September 26, 2013, three heavily-armed terrorists had attacked a police station and an Army camp in the border districts of Kathua and Samba, killing ten people, including four policemen and a Army officer. 

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Sunil Gavaskar will be interim BCCI President

The Supreme Court on 28th March allowed Chennai Superkings and Rajasthan Royals to play in IPL Season 7. The apex court also asked BCCI chief N Srinivasan not to discharge functions till the final orders of the court.

Former India cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar has been asked to act as chief of the board for all matters relating to the IPL. The BCCI vice-president will function in place of Srinivasan for all other matters of the Board.

Some Judgment of Honorable Supreme Court:

• Gavaskar to be compensated for the job of interim president by BCCI. Sunil Gavaskar to replace N Srinivasan, to discharge function as BCCI president only for IPL 7. For non-IPL BCCI affairs, Shivlal Yadav will take charge. SC asks Gavaskar to get out of contractual obligations with BCCI for commentary.
• IPL matches of season 7 to go on as per schedule. The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Chennai Superkings and Rajasthan Royals to play in IPL Season 7, ending speculation that they will not be allowed to play this time.
• Except players and commentators, no other employee of India Cements or its subsidiary or associate companies will participate in any duties.
• SC asks Gavaskar whether IPL COO Sundar Raman need to be replaced.
• SC refuses to pass any order for allowing N Srinivasan to participate in activities of ICC.

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WHO: Air pollution killed 7 million people in 2012

Air pollution killed an estimated 7 million people around the world in 2012, making it the biggest environmental health risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) said
The situation was worst in developing and emerging countries in Southern Asia, South-East Asia and East Asia, where a total of 3.3 million deaths were linked to indoor air pollution and 2.6 million to outdoor pollution

Use of wood, coal or dung for cooking is the biggest indoor polluter.

In Europe’s industrialised countries, 279,000 deaths could be traced to air pollution.

The WHO said bad air quality outside was a result of unsustainable policies in the transport, energy and waste sectors, as well as in industry.

Cleaning up the air would reduce risks, especially for vulnerable children and the elderly, the UN health body said.

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Sochi G8 summit cancelled over Ukraine crisis

The US and top economic powers have cancelled an upcoming G8 summit to build pressure on Russia against its military action in Ukraine.

After the talks on the Ukraine crisis in The Hague, it was announced on Monday that the G8 summit scheduled in Sochi in June would be replaced by a G7 meeting in Brussels, without Russian involvement.

The decision was taken by leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the US, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission following their meeting in The Hague on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit.

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SC asked Srinivasan to step down from BCCI President for fair probe in IPL fixing

Supreme Court has asked to BCCI President N. Srinivasan for step down from post if fair probe has to carried into IPL Spot fixing and betting scandal.
After going through the contents of a report filed in a sealed cover by apex court-appointed probe panel into the scandal, a bench headed by Justice A K Patnaik said there are "very very serious" allegations made in the report and unless the BCCI president steps down, no fair probe can be conducted. 
During the hearing, BCCI pleaded before the court not to disclose the contents and names of players mentioned in the report. 

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Noted author and journalist Khushwant Singh dies at 99

Noted author and journalist Khushwant Singh breathed his last in the national capital on Thursday. Singh was suffering from some breathing problem before he passed away. The writer of several books and recipient of Padma Vibhushan, Singh was not keeping well of late.

His last book The Good, The Bad and The Ridiculous was also released by his son Rahul Singh. Other works of the writer include Train to Pakistan, The History of Sikhs, Black Jasmine, Tradition of Punjab and many others.

Singh will be cremated in Lodhi Auditorium, Delhi at 4 pm on Thursday. 

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India, China hold third round of strategic economic dialogue

India and China held their third round of the strategic economic dialogue in Beijing on 18th March focusing on collaboration in a number of areas, including railways and information technology. 

The Indian side at the talks is headed by deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia while Xu Shaoshi, chairman of the National Reforms Development Commission (NDRC) led the Chinese delegation. 

Ahead of the talks, five working groups covering different areas finalised the details for the high-level economic and trade dialogue between the two countries. 

Besides attending the SED, Ahluwalia would call on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on 19th March. 

The working groups covered areas like infrastructure, mainly the railways and operationalise the agreement for service centres to be set up in India for Chinese power equipment, environment and resources protection, water management and policy coordination, collaboration on planning and urbanisation, cooperation in high technology including the IT sector. 

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Russian President Vladimir Putin signs decree recognizing Crimea as sovereign state

The United States and European Union imposed personal sanctions on 17th March on Russian and Crimean officials involved in the seizure of Crimea from Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the region as a sovereign state.
The moves heightened the most serious East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War, following a disputed referendum in the Black Sea peninsula on Sunday in which Crimea's leaders declared a Soviet-style, 97-per cent vote to secede from Ukraine.
Putin will on 18th March address a special joint session of Russia's State Duma, or parliament, which could take a decision on annexation of the majority ethnic-Russian region.

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Crimea votes to join Russia

The final results of the referendum in Crimea show that 97 per cent of voters have supported leaving Ukraine to join Russia, the head of the referendum election commission said on Monday.

Mikhail Malyshev told a televised news conference that the final tally from Sunday’s vote was 96.8 percent in favour of splitting from Ukraine. He also said that the commission has not registered a single complaint about the vote.

The referendum was widely condemned by Western leaders who were planning to discuss economic sanctions to punish Russia on Monday.

Ukraine’s new government in Kiev called the referendum a “circus” directed at gunpoint by Moscow.

The Crimean peninsula has been seized for two weeks now by troops under apparent Russian command.

Russia raised the stakes on Saturday when its forces, backed by helicopter gunships and armoured vehicles, took control of the Ukrainian village of Strilkove and a key natural gas distribution plant nearby — the first Russian military move into Ukraine beyond the Crimean peninsula of 2 million people.

The Russian forces later withdrew from the village but kept control of the gas plant. On Sunday, Ukrainian soldiers were digging trenches and erecting barricades between the village and the gas plant.

The Crimean parliament planned to meet on Monday to formally ask Moscow to be annexed, and Crimean lawmakers were to fly to Moscow later in the day for talks, Crimea’s Prime Minister said on Twitter.

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SSC Junior Engineer 2013 Final Result Declared

Staff Selection Commission has declared  Junior Engineers(Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Quantity Surveying and Contract) Examination, 2013 result which was conducted on 09.06.2013 on all India basis. A total of 2,822 candidates were called for interview on the basis of performance on Paper-II.  On the basis of Written Examination and Interview, 1,220 candidates (844 Civil, 376 Electrical/Mechanical) are recommended for appointment to the post of Junior Engineer(Civil / Electrical and Mechanical) subject to thorough verification of their eligibility conditions in all respects and correctness of the information furnished by them in their applications. All appeared candidates in interview can check their result

Click here for Result (Civil)
Click here for Result (Electrical & Mechanical)
Click here for Result (Write-up)

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SSC CHSLE 2013 Result Declared

Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has declared result of Combined Higher Secondary Level Examination-2013 which was conducted on 20th, 27th October and 10th November at various centers across India. Qualified candidates in Written Examination will be be called for Typing Test which will start from 1st April. All appeared Candidates can check their result on official website which of link is given below:

Click here for Result DEO 
Click here for Result LDC
Click here for Write-up

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Genghis Khan's Secret Weapon Was Rain

In the rings of ancient and gnarled trees, a team of scientists has found evidence of a period of consistent warmth and wetness in Mongolia between the years 1211 and 1225 -- the exact time that Genghis Khan first rose to power. 

Coincidence? They think not.

This unusual stretch of mild temperatures and unprecedented rain in an area traditionally known for its cold and arid climate would have increased the productivity of grasslands in the Mongolian steppe, the researchers say. The abundant grass would in turn increase the number of grazing animals that could live off it.

Members of Khan's army reportedly had five horses apiece, which allowed them to swiftly conquer an enormous area that stretched from eastern Asia to eastern Europe, as well as parts of northern India and the Mideast. They also traveled with a herd of livestock that provided them with food. 

"I think of it as nature set the table, and Genghis Khan came to eat," said Amy Hessl, a tree-ring scientist at West Virginia University, in a video describing the research. "He didn't have to come eat, and he didn't have to eat the way he did, but the table was set and it was a matter of whether or not the culture and the people capitalized on that."

Her colleague Neil Pederson of Columbia University's Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory put it this way: "Grass was the power of the day."

The story of the unusual wet period in Mongolian history was written in scores of ancient Siberian pine trees that Pederson and Hessl first sampled on a whim during a research trip in 2010. The trees were growing on a nearly soil-less lava field in central Mongolia, dotted with horse skeletons. The researchers said that because the trees are severely water stressed, they are especially sensitive to changes in the weather. 

On that first trip, the two scientists took core samples from about a dozen trees. When they got them back to the lab, they discovered that some of those samples dated back more than 1,000 years. They also found evidence of a climate narrative that they couldn't ignore. For a small stretch of time, some of the rings were visibly thicker.

"I was just excited that we had wood from the time of Chinggis Khan," said Pederson, using an Asian name for the ruler. "And it was really the trees saying 'look how wide our rings are right here.'"

Pederson and Hessl returned to the site two years later to sample more trees. Those samples confirmed the initial findings: The expansion of the Mongolian empire coincided with what the trees recorded as a warmer and wetter climate than usual.

In interviews, both Pederson and Hessl said there was still more work to be done to definitively link the trees' narrative with human events. They are working with experts from disciplines including ecology, biology, and history to find more evidence of how the fortuitous change in climate may have contributed to the making of the largest empire in history. 

"There are still a lot of unknowns out there," said Pederson. "The climate information in the trees is just one little piece of the puzzle."

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Civil Services (Main) Examination 2013, Written Result

On the basis of the results of the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2013 held by the Union Public Service Commission in December, 2013, the candidates with the under mentioned Roll Numbers have qualified for Personality Test for selection to the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service and other Central Services (Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’).
  Personality Test of these candidates is likely to commence from 7th April, 2014. Personality Tests will be held in the Office of the Union Public Service Commission at Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110069. The date and time of Personality Test is being intimated to the qualified candidates individually. The date and time of Personality Test of candidates being called for Personality Test will be displayed on the Commission’s Website.

Click here for Result

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Chandi Prasad Bhatt won Gandhi Peace Prize for 2013

The Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2013 has been awarded to eminent Gandhian and environmentalist, Shri Chandi Prasad Bhatt on 28th February. The jury for the prize met under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 18th February 2014 and decided upon his name. 
The Government of India launched the International Gandhi Peace Prize in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mohandas Gandhi. This is an annual award given to individuals and institutions for their contributions towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods. The award carries Rs. 10 million in cash, convertible in any currency in the world, a plaque and a citation. It is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, creed or sex.The other members of the jury were Justice P Sathasivam, leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj, Rajya Sabha MP Karan Singh, and ex-governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi. 

Chandi Prasad Bhatt, born in 1934 , is a noted Gandhian environmentalist and social activist. He was one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement for which he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982. He is also a recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 2005. One of India's first modern environmentalists, today he is known for his work on subaltern social ecology. 

Gandhi Peace Prize Recipient List :

Year	Recipient	Birth / death	Country	Description
1995	Julius Nyerere	1922–1999	Tanzania	First President of Tanzania
1996	A. T. Ariyaratne	b. 1931	Sri Lanka	Founder of Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement
1997	Gerhard Fischer	1921–2006	Germany	German diplomat, recognised for his work against leprosy and polio
1998	Ramakrishna Mission	est. 1897	India	Founded by Swami Vivekananda for promoting social welfare, tolerance, and non-violence among disadvantaged groups
1999	Baba Amte	1914–2008	India	Social worker, known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of poor people suffering from leprosy
2000	Nelson Mandela	b. 1918-2013	South Africa	Former President of South Africa
2000	Grameen Bank	est. 1983	Bangladesh	Founded by Muhammad Yunus
2001	John Hume	b. 1937	Northern Ireland	Northern Irish Politician
2002	Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan	est. 1938	India	Educational trust that emphasises Indian culture
2003	Václav Havel	1936–2011	Czech Republic	Last President of Czechoslovakia and first President of the Czech Republic
2004	Coretta Scott King	1927–2006	United States	Activist and civil rights leader. Wife of Martin Luther King.
2005	Desmond Tutu	b. 1931	South Africa	South African cleric and activist
2013	Chandi Prasad Bhatt	b. 1934	India	Environmentalist, social activist and pioneer of the Chipko movement

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Vietnam cannot find object from missing Malaysian jet

Vietnamese searchers on ships worked throughout the night but could not find a rectangle object spotted on Sunday afternoon that was thought to be one of the doors of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet that went missing more than two days ago.

Doan Huu Gia, the chief of Vietnam’s search and rescue coordination centre, said on Monday that four planes and seven ships from Vietnam were searching for the object but nothing had been found.

The Boeing 777 went missing early Saturday morning on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

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SC directs cases against MPs, MLAs to be completed in one year

The Supreme Court on Monday has set a deadline of one year for lower courts to complete the trial in cases involving MPs and MLAs.

The Supreme Court further added that the trial judge will have to explain to the Chief Justice of High Court if he fails to complete trial within a year of framing of charges.

The apex court stated that the trial in cases involving MPs and MLAs are to be conducted on day-to-day basis.

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Combined Recruitment for Assistant Grade III in FCI, 2013 - Declaration of final result

Staff Selection Commission conducted examination for recruitment for Assistant Grade III in General, Depot, Technical and Account Cadres in FCI, 2013 on 10th & 11th November, 2012 at
various centres all over the country. The result of written examination held on above mentioned dates were declared on 20.12.2012. The written examination of candidates declared qualified for Paper-II and Paper-III for the post of Assistant Grade III was held on 7.04.2013 and its result was declared on 05.09.2013. Candidates can check their result by clicking at below :


Click here for Result (Technical)
Click here for result (General, Account, Depot)
Click here for Write-up

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16th Lok Sabha elections to start on April 7

Elections for 16th Lok Sabha will be held from April 7 to May 12, announced Chief election Commissioner on Wednesday.

Nation will go to polls on April 7, 9, 10, 12, 17, 24, 30, May 7 and May 12.

Announcing the election schedule, Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath said, this should not be viewed as phases. “They are poll days,” he said.

Special camps will be organised at all polling stations on March 9 for voters to verify, add or modify their details in the electoral list.

Election Commission has decided to distribute photo election slips with polling station details at his/her doorstep, within 3-7 days from the date of the poll.

With the election schedule announced on Wednesday, Model Code of Conduct for elections comes into force with immediate effect.

State-wise polling days:

Andhra Pradesh: April 30, May 7

Arunachal Pradesh: April 9

Assam: April 7, 12, 24

Bihar: April 10, 17, 24, 30, May 7 and 12

Chhattisgarh: April 10, 17, 24

Goa: April 17

Gujarat: - April 30

Haryana: April 10

Himachal Pradesh: May 7

Jammu and Kashmir: April 10, 17, 24, 30, May 7

Jharkhand - April 10, 17, 24

Karnataka: April 17

Kerala: April 10

Madhya Pradesh: April 10, 17, 24

Maharashtra: April 10, 17, 24

Manipur: April 9, 17

Meghalaya: April 9

Mizoram: April 9

Nagaland: April 9

Odisha: April 10, 17

Punjab: April 30

Rajasthan: April 17, 24

Sikkim: April 12

Tamil Nadu: April 24

Tripura: April 7, 12

Uttar Pradesh: April 10, 17, 24, 30, May 7, 12

Uttarakhand: May 7

West Bengal: April 17, 24, 30, May 7, 12

Andaman and Nicobar Islands: April 10

Chandigarh: April 10

Dadra and Nagar Haveli: April 30

Daman and Diu: April 30

Lakshadweep: April 10

NCT/Delhi: April 10

Puducherry: April 24

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Sheila Dikshit appointed Kerala Governor

Sheila Dikshit, a former three-term Chief Minister of Delhi, was on late Tuesday night appointed Governor of Kerala within three months of her defeat in the recent Assembly polls.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said that 75-year-old Dikshit succeeds Nikhil Kumar, a former Delhi Police Commissioner, who resigned yesterday.

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Telangana to come into existence on June 2

Telangana will come into existence in June. The Union government has decided on June 2 as the “appointed day” for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

According to sources in the Union Home Ministry, the government has notified the Act to pave the way for the creation of the 29th State of the Union after President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent last week to the bill for carving out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.

However, elaborate preparatory works relating to personnel, finance and distribution of assets and liabilities remain to be done. The process involves mind-boggling paper work that could be a logistical nightmare. It took three months for the government to create Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in November 2000.

Dwelling on the road ahead, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh — who was a key member of the Group of Ministers which crafted the Bill — told journalists here last week that the government had set up two committees in the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) to work on the nitty-gritty of allocating officers and staff from the Central and State pools.

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Interest rates of small savings schemes raised

The Union government has raised the interest rates on select fixed deposit schemes offered by post offices.

Interest rates on time deposits of various maturities have been raised by 10 to 20 basis points.

The rate hike comes just ahead of the Lok Sabha poll announcement by the Election Commission. The rate hike will come into effect from April 1, 2014.

The interest rates on the five-year senior citizens savings scheme, the five-year monthly income scheme, five-year and 10-year National Savings Certificates and Public Provident Funds have been kept unchanged.

A communiqué from the Ministry of Finance has stated that necessary notifications will be issued separately in due course.

The rate hike decision is in line with the recommendations of the Shyamala Gopinath Committee for Comprehensive Review of National Savings Fund (NSSF).

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China to boost defence budget by 12.2 per cent

The Chinese government announced a big bump in spending on the armed forces on Wednesday, saying it will increase its defence budget by 12.2 per cent this year to $132 billion, as the country opened its ceremonial legislature.

The figure for defence spending, included in a budget report released ahead of the National People’s Congress, rose 10 per cent last year to 720 billion yuan, the most for any nation apart from the U.S.

China and its neighbours have been in disputes over the control of islands and sea lanes in surrounding oceans. There has been a sharp escalation of tensions with Japan in the past 18 months over control of a string of tiny uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.

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The 3rd BIMSTEC Summit: A summary

The 3rd BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit has come to an end in the city of 'Nay Pyi Taw' (Myanmar) with many promising declarations. The seven member organization rolled out an extensive roadmap for collaboration in improving connectivity and enhancing cooperation in areas like trade, energy, environment, terrorism and organized crimes. 

About

• Its an international organisation comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal as member countries. 
• These 7 countries together account for over 20 per cent of the world population (1.5 billion) coupled with a GDP of more than USD 2.5 trillion.
• It aims to facilitate cooperation in multiple sectors including trade, investment and energy.
• The grouping is said to be a byproduct of Look East Policy of India and Look West Policy of Thailand.
• Previous Summit: New Delhi (India) in 2008
• Next Summit: Kathmandu (Nepal)
• Current Chairman: Myanmar, since November 2009
• Established in June 1997

The challenges Summit identifies and resolves to jointly work to overcome 

• Terrorism and the global threat it poses to peace, stability and economic progress
• Climate change in general and the ensuing natural disasters in particular
• Energy and Food security
• Connectivity, Trade and investment

Achievements

• A Memorandum of Association was signed to set up BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat in Dhaka. That will facilitate the implementation of declared projects.
• Another MoA to set up a BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate in India to promote cooperation in dealing with challenges posed by climate change.
• Memorandum of Understanding for establishment of a BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Commission and BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory.

Resolutions

• To enhance cooperation in environmental protection and sustainable development
• To enhance cooperation in the field of agriculture, including crops, livestock and horticulture besides fisheries.
• To finalize an agreement on trade in goods by 2014 with intent to promote regional commerce
• To conclude the Agreement on Services and Investments
• To work on agreements on dispute settlement and cooperation in customs matters under the Free Trade Area framework.
• To devise a framework for establishment of the BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility.
• To increase cooperation in expanding the skill and technology base of member countries.

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