After Reliance, TCS becomes second Indian firm to cross Rs 9 lakh crore market valuation

 

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) becomes the second leading Indian firm to achieve a market valuation of INR 9 trillion, after Reliance Industries. The market valuation of the company reached INR 9 trillion in in early trade helped by a rally in its share price.

The stock of the software services firms also reached its record high on the BSE — gained 2.91% to INR 2,442.80, while on the NSE, it achieved its lifetime high — jumped 2.76% to INR 2,439.80.

The company’s market valuation increased to INR 9,14,606.25 crore on the BSE in early trade, due to surge in its share price. In terms of market capitalisation, it is the second most-valuable domestic firm.

Reliance Industries Limited is the first Indian firm to have crossed the market valuation mark of INR 9 trillion.

In October last year, the country’s most valued firm achieved this milestone. Currently, its market valuation stands at INR 15,78,732.92 crore — the highest of any listed company in the country.

Dues of MSMEs: Ministry of MSME takes the efforts even deeper to realise these payments

 In another major step towards payment of MSME dues by different sectors, Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has now impressed upon the private sector enterprises of the country to take measures for release of payment of MSME dues on priority.

During the announcement of AatmNirbhar Package, it was desired that the MSME receivables and dues should be paid in 45 days. Accordingly, Ministry of MSME took up the matter aggressively with Central Ministries, their Departments and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). In addition to writing and following up with them, Ministry has also devised an online system for reporting. Hundreds of CPSEs have been reporting on this system about the monthly dues and payments since last four months. Around Rs. 10000 crores have been reported to have been paid by the Ministries and CPSEs. Similarly, Ministry has also taken up the issue with States and motivated them to monitor and see that such payments are made expeditiously.

Taking the efforts now further deeper, Ministry has directly taken up the issue with top 500 corporates groups of the country.  Ministry has written e-letters to the owners, CMDs or top executives of these five hundred corporates. While conveying its support and solidarity in these difficult times, Ministry has strongly taken up the issue of pending payments of MSMEs. It has said that many of the MSMEs are doing business with big corporate groups. However, the payments are not coming from buyers and users of their goods and services. Ministry has added that Direct and indirect dependence of households, professionals and workers on MSME sector is all-pervasive. While thanking those who made payments in recent months, Ministry has said that a lot remains to be done. To tackle the situation, Ministry has given three specific suggestions to the corporate world.

• Ministry has said that these payments are very important for MSME operations and sustenance of jobs and other economic activities at the grass-root level. This will ultimately benefit the entire economy including the corporate world. Ministry has therefore requested the corporates to examine whether any such payments are pending and to release the same at the earliest.

• Towards another solution of the issue of cash flows of MSMEs, it has been emphasised that it was made mandatory by the Ministry of MSME in 2018, for all CPSEs and corporate entities with more than Rs. 500 Crore turnovers to on-board on the TReDS platforms. However, many corporates are yet to join it or transact thereon. They have been requested to onboard their companies on the TReDS and start transacting.

• Ministry has also reminded the corporates that it has been made mandatory for the corporate entities to file half-yearly returns with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on their dues to MSMEs. Corporates have been requested to file returns if not doing so already.

While appealing to the Corporate India for their good gesture towards smaller units, Ministry of MSME has also reminded them of the legal provisions under the MSME Development Act, 2006 which mandate that the payment of MSME receivables are made within 45 days. Ministry has also said that this would be a great contribution for the economy of the Nation. Ministry also feels that these payments will bring smile on millions of faces whose only source of livelihood is the enterprises in the MSME sector.

Ministry of MSME has also indicated that going further, it will be taking up the matter with other corporates through social media outreach also.

Government to infuse Rs 20,000 crore in India's state-run banks

 In April, the government had assured state banks that it is ready to provide capital support as the pandemic may lead to a surge in bad loans as economic growth slows and provided Rs 3.5 lakh crore since the last five years to rescue its banks.

The government sought Parliament's approval for infusing Rs 20,000 crore in public sector banks in the current financial year to meet regulatory requirements and is a part of the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2020-21 moved by Finance Minister in the Lok Sabha.

In all, the government has sought Parliament's nod for additional spending of Rs 2.35 lakh crore, which includes a cash outgo of Rs 1.66 lakh crore, primarily to meet expenses for combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

In all, the government has sought the nod from Parliament for additional expenditure of Rs 2.35 lakh crore, which includes a cash outgoing of Rs 1.66 lakh crore, mainly to cover expenditure to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic

In order to meet the expenditure on recapitalization of public sector banks through issue of Government Securities, the government has requested the authorization of Rs 20,000 crore by the Parliament, as per

infusion into the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to boost credit for a strong impetus to the economy.

The government proposed to infuse Rs 70,000 crore capital into the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in 2019-20 to raise credit for a significant stimulus to the economy.

In the last financial year, Punjab National Bank got Rs 16,091 crore, Union Bank of India received Rs 11,768 crore while Canara Bank and Indian Bank got Rs 6,571 crore and Rs 2,534 crore, respectively.
Allahabad Bank received Rs 2,153 crore, United Bank of India got 1,666 crore and Andhra Bank received Rs 200 crore. These three lenders have been merged with various PSBs.

Besides, Bank of Baroda got a capital infusion of Rs 7,000 crore, Indian Overseas Bank received Rs 4,360 crore and UCO Bank got Rs 2,142 crore. Punjab & Sind Bank received Rs 787 crore and Central Bank of India got Rs 3,353 crore. In addition, LIC-controlled IDBI Bank received additional capital of Rs 4,557 crore through the supplementary demands for grants.

The government also sought Rs 1,232 crore as a subsidy to India's Small Industries Development Bank (SIDBI) at a 2 per cent interest on prompt repayment of Shishu loans provided under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).

In addition, Sitharaman has sought Parliament 's approval of Rs 4,000 crore to meet additional expenditure on qualifying MSME borrowers against grants-in-aid general to National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) for the Emergency Credit Line (GECL) guarantee facility. 

PM dedicates to the nation three key projects related to the Petroleum sector in Bihar

 

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation three key projects related to the Petroleum sector in Bihar today via video conferencing. The projects include the Durgapur-Banka section of the Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur Pipeline Augmentation Project and two LPG Bottling Plants. They have been commissioned by IndianOil and HPCL, PSUs under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said the special package announced for Bihar a few years ago, focused much on the state's infrastructure. He said the special package given for Bihar had 10 big projects related to petroleum and gas worth Rs 21 thousand crore. Among these today it is the seventh project which is being dedicated to the people of Bihar. He also listed the other six projects which had been completed in Bihar earlier. He expressed happiness that he is inaugurating the Durgapur-Banka section (about 200 km) of an important gas pipeline project for which he laid the foundation stone about one and a half years ago. He lauded the hard work of the engineers and laborers and active support of the state government for completing this project on time, in spite of the challenging terrain. He lauded the Chief Minister of Bihar for playing a big role in making Bihar come out of the work culture in which one generation used to start the work and the other generation completed it. He said this new work culture needs to be strengthened and it can take Bihar and East India on the development path.

The Prime Minister quoted from the scriptures  meaning strength is the source of freedom and power of labour is the basis of development of any nation. He said there is neither a shortage of power of labour in eastern India, including Bihar, nor this place lacked natural resources and despite this, Bihar and East India remained behind in terms of development for decades and suffered endless delays due to political, economic reasons and other priorities. He said since road connectivity, rail connectivity, air connectivity, internet connectivity was not a priority earlier, gas-based industry and petro-connectivity could not be imagined in Bihar. He said development of gas-based industries was a major challenge in Bihar due to it being a landlocked state and thus lacking resources related to petroleum and gas which are otherwise available in the states adjacent to the sea.

The Prime Minister said Gas-based industry and petro-connectivity have a direct impact on people's lives, on their standard of living and also create millions of new employment opportunities. He said today, when CNG & PNG are reaching many cities in Bihar and Eastern India, people here should get these facilities easily. He said the Bhagiratha effort to connect eastern India with Paradip on the eastern seaboard and Kandla on the western seaboard began under the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Yojana and seven states will be connected through this pipeline, which is about 3000 km long, of which Bihar also has an prominent role. The line from Paradip - Haldia will now be further extended to Patna, Muzaffarpur and the pipeline coming from Kandla which has reached Gorakhpur will also be connected to it. He said when the entire project is ready, it will become one of the longest pipeline projects in the world.

The Prime Minister said due to these gas pipelines, big bottling plants are being installed in Bihar. Of which two new Bottling Plants have been launched today in Banka and Champaran. Both these plants have a capacity to fill more than 125 million cylinders every year. These plants will meet the LPG requirements of Godda, Deoghar, Dumka, Sahibganj, Pakur districts and some areas of Uttar Pradesh in Jharkhand. He said Bihar is creating thousands of new jobs from the laying of this gas pipeline to the new industries based on the energy from the pipeline.

The Prime Minister said the fertilizer factory of Barauni, which was closed in the past, will also start working soon after the construction of this gas pipeline. He said today eight crore poor families of the country have gas connections because of the Ujjwala scheme. This has changed the lives of the poor during the period of corona as it was necessary for them to stay at home and they need not go out to collect wood or other fuel.

The Prime Minister said in this period of Corona, millions of cylinders have been provided free of cost to the beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme which has benefited millions of poor families. He lauded the efforts of the petroleum and gas departments and companies, as well as the millions of delivery partners, as they did not let people run out of gas, even during the time of Corona, despite the dangers of infection. He said there was a time when LPG gas connections in Bihar were a sign of affluent people. People had to make recommendations for each gas connection. But now this has changed in Bihar due to the Ujjwala scheme, about 1.25 crore poor families of Bihar have been given free gas connection. The gas connection at home has changed the lives of crores of poor in Bihar.

The Prime Minister praised the youth of Bihar and said Bihar is the powerhouse of the country's talent. He said the strength of Bihar and the imprint of Bihar's labor will be seen in the development of every state. He said in the last 15 years, Bihar has also shown with a right government, right decisions and a clear policy, development happens and reaches everyone. There was a thinking, education was not necessary as the youth of Bihar have to work in the fields. Due to this thinking, not much work was done to open large educational institutions in Bihar. The result was that the youth of Bihar were forced to go out to study, to work. Working in the field, farming is very hard work and pride, but do not give other opportunities to the youth, nor make such arrangements, it was not right.

The Prime Minister said today big centers of education are opening in Bihar. Now the number of agricultural colleges, medical colleges, engineering colleges is increasing. Now IIT, IIM and IIIT in the state are helping to make the dreams of the youth of Bihar soar. He lauded the efforts of the Chief Minister of Bihar in tripling the number of polytechnic institutions and opening of two large universities, one IIT, one IIM, one NIFT and one National Law Institute in Bihar.

The Prime Minister said Start-up India, Mudra Yojana and many such schemes have provided the necessary amount of self-employment to the youth of Bihar. He said today the availability of electricity in cities and villages of Bihar is more than ever. The modern infrastructure is being built in the power, petroleum and gas sectors, the reforms are being brought in, are making the lives of people easier as well as giving impetus to industries and the economy. He said in this period of Corona, once again the petroleum-related infrastructure works like refinery projects, projects related to Exploration or Production, pipelines, City Gas Distribution projects, many such projects have gained momentum. He said there are more than 8 thousand projects, on which 6 lakh crore rupees will be spent in the coming days.

The Prime Minister said migrant labourers have returned back and new employment opportunities have also been created. Even during such a huge global epidemic, the country has not stopped especially Bihar has not stopped. He added the National Infrastructure Pipeline Project worth more than Rs 100 lakh crore is also going to help in increasing economic activity. He urged everyone to keep working fast to make Bihar, Eastern India an important center of development.

DTH revenues may touch Rs 22,000 crore in FY21: Crisil

 Direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting, which accounts for 37% of total television subscribers in India, is set to notch up a revenue growth of 400-600 basis points (bps) to touch ₹22,000 crore (USD 3 Bn) this fiscal, according to a report by global analytics company Crisil. With people spending more time at home than earlier, TV households will continue to grow as well. Over the past decade, TV penetration in India improved 1,000 bps, but was still 69% in fiscal 2020, indicating potential for further increase.

The industry’s credit outlook is also positive as cash accruals improve despite sizeable capital expenditure. The forecast is based on an analysis of Crisil-rated DTH companies, which account for over 95% of the industry’s revenue. DTH is expanding its share of the total TV pie as cable TV loses viewers. It was 34% in FY19 and 37% in FY20.

“Last year, the DTH sector saw a healthy revenue growth of 1,400 bps (900 bps rise in subscriber base and 500 bps in average revenue per user). This fiscal, the subscriber base is seen increasing another 600-700 bps to 68 million, which will lift revenue growth up 400-600 bps," Sachin Gupta, senior director, Crisil Ratings, said in a statement.

Last year, the DTH subscriber base had increased as cable TV subscribers shifted after implementation of the Trai’s new tariff order, according to the report. While cable TV operators were grappling with integration and roll-out challenges, DTH peers transitioned smoothly as they already had better systems. Besides, pricing parity required as per new regulations meant a 30-35% increase in cable TV tariffs, which eroded the price advantage cable TV enjoyed over DTH. The trend is expected to continue this fiscal, too, aided by the pandemic.

Besides, gradual resumption of the airing of new TV serial episodes and major sporting events such as Indian Premier League being telecast during the festival season, should keep viewers hooked. Though the buzz around over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms has been getting louder, in the medium-term, the segment does not pose much of a challenge to TV, the report says, given that in India, TV subscription costs less than half of OTT services. Besides, India lags other countries in terms of high-speed infrastructure, which is needed for a good OTT viewing experience. India’s wireline broadband penetration (as a percentage of total household) is currently less than 8% compared with over 80% in the developed countries.

“The increasing popularity and rapid proliferation of OTT platforms is a cause for concern for TV segment," Nitesh Jain, director, Crisil Ratings said in a statement. He added that TV will continue to hold sway over the medium term for three reasons: conducive demographics, low penetration, and, most importantly, low cost.

“OTT will become a material threat only when its cost becomes equal to, or cheaper than, TV subscription, and internet connectivity improves to ensure consistently comparable quality of viewing experience," Jain said.

Hardeep S Puri launches Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF 2.0) and Streets for People Challenge

 

Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (I/C) has launched the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0, along with the ‘Streets for People Challenge’ in a virtual event organized by the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), here today. The objective of CSCAF is to provide a clear roadmap for cities towards combating Climate Change while planning and implementing their actions, including investments. In the last decade, an increasing frequency of cyclones, floods, heat waves, water scarcity and drought-like conditions have had adverse impacts on many of our cities. Such extreme events and risks cause loss of life as well as impact the economic growth. In this context, CSCAF initiative intends to inculcate a climate-sensitive approach to urban planning and development in India. Sh Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MOHUA, senior officials of MOHUA and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Principal Secretaries (Urban Development) of State Government and UTs, State Mission Directors of Smart Cities Mission, Municipal Commissioners/CEOs of Smart Cities, representatives of partner agencies / Bilateral / Multilateral Institutions and other key stakeholders attended the function.

​This assessment framework was developed after review of existing frameworks and assessment approaches adopted throughout the world followed by series of extensive consultative process with more than 26 organizations and 60 experts from different thematic areas. The framework has 28 indicators across five categories namely, (i) Energy and Green Buildings, (ii) Urban Planning, Green Cover & Biodiversity, (iii) Mobility and Air Quality, (iv) Water Management and (v) Waste Management. The Climate Centre for Cities under National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) is supporting MoHUA in implementation of CSCAF.

​As the lockdowns lift, cities face many challenges in providing safe, affordable, and equitable modes of transport that enable social distancing. Limited public transport options, narrow, crowded sidewalks particularly in marketplaces and deterioration of mental health, are key issues that must be addressed on priority. Pedestrianisation of streets for walking and creating public spaces is a crucial step towards mitigating these issues. Cities around the world, such as Bogota, Berlin, and Milan have responded by transforming streets for walking and cycling, to ensure safe mobility during COVID-19.

​The Streets for People Challenge is the response to the need for making our cities more walkable and pedestrian friendly. The Challenge builds on the advisory issued by MoHUA for the holistic planning for pedestrian-friendly market spaces, earlier this year. The Challenge will support cities across the country to develop a unified vision of streets for people in consultation with stakeholders and citizens. Adopting a participatory approach, cities will be guided to launch their own design competitions to gather innovative ideas from professionals for quick, innovative, and low-cost tactical solutions.

It aims to inspire cities to create walking-friendly and vibrant streets through quick, innovative, and low-cost measures. All cities participating in the challenge shall be encouraged to use the ‘test-learn-scale’ approach to initiate both, flagship and neighbourhood walking interventions. The interventions can include inter alia creating pedestrian-friendly streets in high footfall areas, re-imagining under-flyover spaces, re-vitalizing dead neighbourhood spaces, and creating walking links through parks and institutional areas. Fit India Mission, under Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, along with the India program of the Institute for Transport Development and Policy (ITDP) have partnered with the Smart Cities Mission to support the challenge.

Govt plans to construct over 50,000 km of roads

 

While addressing a meeting of major investor groups in New Delhi, Secretary - Road Transport and Highways Giridhar Aramane said the ministry is planning for construction of over 50,000 kilometres of highways, a majority of those will be 4 and 6 lanes wide.

Mr Giridhar Aramane called upon the investors to consider that InvIT has scope for broad basing the investor groups and said that it is an attractive vehicle for mobilising funds for road development and assured the investors that the asset base of InvIT will be selected carefully to yield attractive returns and mitigate inherent risks.

The secretary also assured that efforts will be made to facilitate realisation of value for investment, the statement said.

Mr Aramane added that the functioning of the investment manager will be democratised by bringing investing partners into board of directors to manage the company in a professional manner.

 

The project managers will be selected on professional and efficiency basis.

InvITs are instruments on the pattern of mutual funds and are designed to pool small sums of money from several investors to invest in assets that give cash flow over a period of time.

The Union Cabinet has already approved setting up of InvIT.  In addition, the statement also said that this will enable National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to monetise completed national highways that have a toll collection track record of at least one year and NHAI reserves the right to levy toll on the identified highway.

Government has embarked on a transformational programme of implementing National Infrastructure Pipeline to realise the potential of Indian Economy. Expansion of roads will give a boost to the economy by reducing logistic costs, connect, hinter-land to hubs, and cater to rapid growth in vehicle ownership, it added.

Declaration of Results of Ranking of States: 2019, on support to Start-up Ecosystems

 The Results of the second edition of Ranking of States on Support to Start-up Ecosystems were released by Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways Shri Piyush Goyal today, through a virtual felicitation ceremony in the presence of Minister of State for Commerce & Industry & Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation, Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Shri Som Parkash.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) conducted the second edition of the States’ Start-up Ranking Exercise, with the key objective to foster competitiveness and propel States and Union Territories to work proactively towards uplifting the start-up ecosystem.It has been implemented as a capacity development exercise to encourage mutual learning among all states and to provide support in policy formulation and implementation.

The States’ Start-up Ranking Framework 2019 has 7 broad reform area, consisting of 30 action points ranging from Institutional Support, Easing Compliances, Relaxation in Public Procurement norms, Incubation support, Seed Funding Support, Venture Funding Support, and Awareness & Outreach. To establish uniformity and ensure standardization in the ranking process, States and UTs have been divided into two groups. While UTs except Delhi and all States in North East India except Assam are placed in Category ‘Y’. All other States and UT of Delhi are in Category ‘X’.

A total of 22 States and 3 Union Territories participated in the exercise. Evaluation Committees comprising independent experts carried out a detailed assessment of responses across various parameters. Many parameters involved getting feedback from beneficiaries which was gathered through more than 60,000 calls made in 11 different languages to empathetically connect with beneficiaries to ascertain the real situation at the implementation levels.

For the purposes of Ranking, States are classified into 5 Categories: Best Performers, Top Performers, Leaders, Aspiring Leaders and Emerging Start-up Ecosystems. Within each category, entities are placed alphabetically. States are also recognised as Leaders in 7 reform areas of support to start-ups. Results are attached at Annexure.

The felicitation ceremony was accompanied by the release of a National Report which highlights the vision, trajectory, methodology and the future roadmap of the States Ranking Exercise. A State Specific Report for each of the 25 participating entities has also been released, containing a comprehensive analysis of respective ecosystem, which highlights strengths and priority areas for future.

A ‘Compendium of Good Practices’ adopted by various States in supporting start-ups has also been released. It identifies 166 good practices, which may be directly used by States to identify and implement newer initiatives.

The National Report and Specific Reports for all participating States and Union Territories launched during the session can be downloaded from the Start-up India Portal.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Piyush Goyal said that Start-ups have Out-of-the-box thinking, and are solution oriented, who look at new and new ideas. He said that the Prime Minister has been fully appreciative and supportive of promoting entrepreneurs who are important from the point of job creation, expanding economic activity and for the prosperity of people.

The Minister said that centre and states, coming together in the spirit of cooperation, collaboration and competition to promote start-ups, is really an important development. Describing the start-ups as the storehouse of talent, knowledge and ideas, Shri Goyal said that the ranking will not help the states and UTs, but also the entrepreneurs, and will help in expansion of the start-ups and launching of new ventures. He also highlighted the fact that women entrepreneurs are actively into the start-ups, and this breaking of stereotyping is an encouraging sign.

Shri Goyal expressed happiness on the fact that like the centre’s fund of funds for start-ups, states are also working on the similar lines. He called upon the High net worth individuals, venture capitalists and other funds to also come forward for financing the start-up ventures. The Minister recommended that start-ups should come up with imaginative, relevant and innovative products, undertake reengineering and reform of processes, and orient their ideas to be people centric. He said that Covid pandemic should not be seen as a problem or challenge but as an opportunity to reimagine and reinvigorate India. During COVID period, our Start-ups have come up with brilliant ideas & solutions to the many problems that the country & the world face.

Shri H.S. Puri said that societies that have developed across the globe, have developed ecosystems for encouraging entrepreneurships, and collaborative solution development. He said that strong ecosystem for start-up is necessary for the country to reach the levels of $5tn economy by 2024. He expressed happiness that the mindset of our people is changing from the job seekers to job providers.

Shri Som Parkash said that the ranking will encourage our young entrepreneurs who have skills and ideas to start their businesses. He said that the country has become 3rd largest ecosystem in the world.

Secretary, DPIIT Dr Guruprasad Mahapatra said that the start-up ecosystem in the country has led to creation of over 4 lakh jobs. He said that the ranking is an example of cooperative federalism, which will help in capacity building in the states

Mutual cooperation during pandemic strengthened India-Singapore ties: Prez

 President Ram Nath Kovind quoted that the cooperation between India and Singapore during COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened the existing friendship and trust. He also thanked Singapore for the strong support to India at multi-lateral forums including the UN Security Council.

Mr. Kovind accepted the letter of credence during the virtual event from Mr. Simon Wong Wie Kuen, the high commissioner of Singapore to India.

The President of India congratulated the Singapore government on the successful conduct of general elections recently and noted that the bilateral relations between India and Singapore have deepened.

India and Japan sign agreement on Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services between Forces of both countries

 India and Japan signed an Agreement between the two countries concerning Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services between the Armed Forces of India and The Self-Defense Forces of Japan. The agreement was signed here yesterday by Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar and Ambassador of Japan Mr Suzuki Satoshi.

This agreement establishes the enabling framework for closer cooperation between the Armed Forces of India and Japan in reciprocal provision of supplies and services while engaged in bilateral training activities, United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Humanitarian International Relief and other mutually agreed activities.

The agreement will also enhance the interoperability between the Armed Force of India and Japan thereby further increasing the bilateral defence engagements under the Special Strategic & Global Partnership between the two countries.