Skip to main content

India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan agree to discuss rail agreement

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) have agreed to hold talks on the possibility of “BBIN Rail Agreement” drawing on the draft Saarc Regional Rail Agreement template.

India was the first to take the BBIN initiative and start discussions on sub-regional theme like water resources and connectivity.

Joint Working Groups decided:

  • To constitute an Experts Group for exchanging best practices in water resources management and on specifics of the identified projects, power trade, inter grid connectivity, flood forecasting and other areas of possible cooperation.

  • To commence discussion on the possibility of having a BBIN Rail Agreement drawing on the draft SAARC Regional Rail Agreement template.(The BBIN railway service agreement would be framed in accordance with the draft proposal of the SAARC Railway Service Agreement)

  • Land ports and land customs stations crucial for sub regional trade and transit would be given priority attention by all four countries. 

  • Specific hydropower projects under BBIN framework that could be concretised on equitable basis .

Joint Working Groups recent development:

In June 2014, BBIN had signed the Motor Vehicle Agreement for free movement of goods and passengers among the four countries. 


Under the deal, a tourist from any of the four countries can travel in his/her own car without restrictions.

What is BBIN?

The Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) Initiative is a sub regional coordinative architecture of countries in South Asia.

It operates through Joint Working Groups (JWG) comprising official representation from each member state to formulate, implement and review quadrilateral agreements.

Areas of cooperation include water resources management, connectivity of power grids, multi-modal transport, freight and trade infrastructure.

The priority for member states had been identified as “connectivity”, embodied by seamless electrical grids, shared access to road, rail, air and port infrastructure, and ease of travel.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Budget basics: A glossary of terms used in Budget

Disinvestment Receipts The term refers to the money raised by the Government through disinvestment, or the sale of its equity stake in companies it owns. Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act The Act is an attempt to make the Government adhere to a phased plan to reduce fiscal deficit, which denotes an excess of expenditure over revenue. Dividend Distribution Tax This is a tax levied on companies that pay out dividends to its shareholders, i.e. share a portion of earnings with them. Venture Capital Funds These are funds that invest in startups, a financially riskier proposition than investing in established companies. Securities Transaction Tax It is a tax on all transactions done over the stock exchanges involving securities such as shares, derivatives, and equity-linked mutual funds. Wholesale Price Index (WPI) It is a measure of inflation, or price change, arrived at after regularly measuring the prices of a slew of wholesale goods. Consumer Price...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian Missile Systems and other developments 2015-16

#1. Defence Capability Enhancements   India’s biggest ship, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, finally arrives source: NDTV.com INS Vikramaditya is a Kiev class aircraft carrier  which was commissioned by Russian Navy in 1987 under the name Baku. It was later renamed as Admiral Gorshkov and last sailed in 1995 in Russia, before being offered to India. India agreed to buy it in 2004 for $974 million. The cost kept shooting up as Russia delayed the delivery by over five years. INS Kolkata – Biggest warship ever to be built in India till date source: NDTV.com INS Kolkata is the lead ship of the Kolkata-class stealth guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. She was constructed at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL),  and was handed over to the navy on 10 July 2014.  A bit of an old news but mightier still! INS Kolkata, under the Project 15 Alpha, belongs to the destroyer class and is the first of three ships currently under construction Being wholly constructed...
Post a Comment
Read more

Inland Waterways in India

Here are some key points you need to know: The bill seeks to add 106 inland waterways to the existing six National Waterways on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture and comments of several state governments The bill will also look after the renovation and maintenance of the existing waterways Out of the 106 new waterways, 18 have already been identified. These include five waterways each from Karnataka and Meghalaya, three each from Maharashtra and Kerala, one each from Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan The bill also aims to help the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to develop the feasible stretches for Shipping and Navigation. Let us look at the six existing National Waterways in India: National Waterway 1 (NW1) The National Waterway No. 1 uses a 1,620-kilometre stretch of the Ganges River. It was declared a national waterway in the year 1986 and runs from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal....
Post a Comment
Read more