The eleventh session of the China-India joint-group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science & Technology was held in New Delhi.

The session was co-chaired by Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Suresh Prabhu and China’s Minister of Commerce Mr. Zhong Shan.

India has become the 3rd largest electricity producer in the world as its electricity production grew 34% over seven years to 2017.

Electricity production stood at 1,003.525 Billion Unit between April 2017-January 2018, according to a February 2018 report by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), a trust established by the commerce ministry.

The top 3 Producers of Electricity in the world are:
1. China
2. The USA
3. India.

The Singapore Changi Airport has been named the world’s best airport for the sixth consecutive year by consultancy firm Skytrax.

The Incheon International Airport in South Korea and Haneda Airport in Japan were placed second and third respectively.

The Mumbai airport has been ranked 63^rd, the airports in Bangalore and Delhi are at 64^th and 66^th place respectively.

India has been ranked at 78^th among 114 countries on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) energy transition index.

The index listed countries based on their ability to balance energy security, environmental sustainability and affordability.

The overall list was topped by Sweden, followed by Norway at the 2^nd position and Switzerland at the 3^rd rank.

Arms import by India increased by 24% between 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 period as per data on international arms transfers released by International Peace Research Institute.

India is followed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, China, Austrailia, Algeria, Iraq, Pakistan and Indonesia as the world top importers.

The largest arms suppliers to India are Russia (62%), US (15%) and Israel (11%).

The first-ever multi-nation naval exercise at sea, MILES-18, began at the Andaman sea.

11 naval ships of 8 countries and nine Indian ships are participating in the three-day exercise.

Apart from enhancing inter-operability, the exercise aims to hone search and rescue procedures, maritime interdiction operations, core operational skills and exercise a variety of maritime security scenarios.

An event named ‘Vision for Future’ was held in New Delhi to commemorate 70 years of the Indo-Russia ties.

The event sought to expose the youth to the dynamic opportunities of cooperation between the two countries.

The program inaugurated at the Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra was organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (Eurasia Division) and the International Federation of Indo-Russian Youth Clubs.

Myanmar has indefinitely deferred signing agreement with India to streamline the free movement of people within 16 km along the open border between two countries.

It has cited domestic compulsions and has asked for more time for the agreement to be sealed.

Background India and Myanmar share 1,643 km unfenced border along four states viz. Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km) and Mizoram (510 km) and permit free movement regime.

Out of 133 countries, India is ranked fourth on a global index for its military strength, only the United States, Russia and China are ranked above India on the list, according to the latest report of the Global Firepower index 2017.

Neighbouring Pakistan is ranked 13^th.

India maintained its position above France in the top five military powers in the world.

The Indian Army is equipped with 4,426 combat tanks, 6,704 armoured fighting vehicles, and 7,414 towed artillery guns, as per the list.

Top 5 countries in the list are-
1. The USA,
2. Russia,
3. China,
4. India,
5. France.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang also vowed to expand bilateral cooperation in several key sectors, including defence, oil and gas, and agriculture.

The three pacts signed after the talks between the two leaders would provide for cooperation in areas of nuclear energy, trade and agriculture.