In Brief

India, Bangladesh sign historic territory swap deal

- by India Writes Network

In a historic step that brought to a closure the decades-old territorial dispute, India and Bangladesh signed a path-breaking agreement June 6 that formalized the 40-year-old Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, enabling the two countries to exchange land enclaves in each other’s territory.

The historic agreement was signed by the foreign secretaries of India and Bangladesh in the presence of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina Wajed.

Marking a transformational moment in relations between the two neighbours, the Indian parliament had unanimously approved a Constitution Amendment Bill to give full effect to the Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 with Bangladesh and the related 2011 Protocol.

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$2 billion boost for India-Bangladesh ties

- by India Writes Network

DHAKA: Taking developmental cooperation with Bangladesh to new heights and projecting New Delhi as a partner in the success of Dhaka, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a new line of credit of $2 billion for Bangladesh, the largest single LOC for any country committed by India.

The $2 billion LOC has raised the bar for India’s engagement with Bangladesh and is set to bring the two neighbours in a web of trade, connectivity and shared prosperity. The previous Manmohan Singh government had announced $1 billion Line of Credit during Sheikh Hasina’s visit to New Delhi in 2010.

“Our development partnership is scaling new heights. The quick implementation of the line of credit of $800 million and full disbursement of $200 million in grant is a tribute to our cooperation,” said Mr Modi at a joint media interaction with Sheikh Hasina.

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Maggi noodles ‘safe’ for consumption, but removed from market

- by India Writes Network

Though Nestle made a presentation to India’s Health Ministry on June 4th defending its star product- the Maggi instant noodles- saying that the samples detected with excess lead were past the expiry date, the food giant has decided to withdraw the product from sales in India. The company said the nation-wide uproar over the product has “created an environment of confusion” for consumers. Since consumers’ trust was a key priority, the company had taken a decision to withdraw the product from the market.

A Nestle spokesperson said, “Unfortunately, recent developments and unfounded concerns about the product have led to an environment of confusion for the consumer, to such an extent that we have decided to withdraw the product off the shelves, despite the product being safe”.

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