National & International Events - Current Affairs for March, 2016

Approval has been given for entering into the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for setting up of South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) in India by the IMF. It also authorised the Finance Minister to approve related decisions in respect of India’s contribution for setting up of the centre, including Letter of Understanding for financial contribution by India, site of the SARTTAC, representative of India on the Steering Committee on SARTTAC. The SARTTAC will be a collaborative partnership between the IMF, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka and development partners for supporting the capacity development needs of the members. Additional member countries could join SARTTAC at a later stage. SARTTAC will also selectively cater to the capacity building needs at the State level, especially in India.

Bay of Bengal Initiative on Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) convention called Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters has been approved by the Union Cabinet. MHA is designated as the Central Authority under Article 15 of the Convention. BIMSTEC comprises the following nations: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.