Recent 6 months news in Agreements

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications has signed a strategic 5-year agreement with the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) to establish an “End-to-End Optical Network Test Bed” at the C-DOT campus in New Delhi.

India and Singapore have reinforced their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) during the fourth India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) held in Singapore.

It is to be noted that the roundtable also witnessed the exchange of two MoUs and one Letter of Intent (LoI) to strengthen bilateral ties.

Tata Capital Ltd (TCL) has signed an MoU with Japan-based Resona Bank, the core banking subsidiary of Resona Holdings, to assist Japanese companies in exploring and accessing financial solutions and business opportunities in India.

The Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), a laboratory of the DRDO in Visakhapatnam has signed two Licensing Agreements for Transfer of Technology (LAToT) to strengthen indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities.

Under the first agreement, the Submarine Fired Decoy (SFD) ‘Mohini’ technology will be transferred to Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL).

The second agreement covers the technology for the fabrication, installation, and commissioning of the LM2500 Gas Turbine to the Hyderabad-based Vertex Engineering Systems Pvt Ltd.

Jindal Steel Ltd (JSL) has signed an MoU with the IIT Hyderabad to establish a first-of-its-kind Jindal Steel Centre of Excellence (CoE) at the IIT campus.

The CoE will focus on the research and development of high-strength, value-added, and value-engineered steel products and solutions.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has signed an MoU with the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) and the Ethiraj College for Women in Chennai to promote the self-reliance and inclusion of refugees in India.

The Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) has signed an MoU with the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (PHARMEXCIL) to balance the promotion of Indian pharmaceutical exports with effective regulatory oversight.

It is to be noted that PHARMEXCIL was established by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to support the development and export of the Indian pharmaceutical industry.

The Indian Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has approved an agreement for the development of the first indigenous and fully commercial Earth Observation (EO) constellation of India under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The agreement is signed with a private consortium, Allied Orbits Pvt Ltd, which is led by PixxelSpace India Pvt Ltd and includes Dhruva Space Pvt Ltd, PierSight Space Pvt Ltd, and Satsure Analytics India Pvt Ltd.

The consortium will be responsible for the design, construction, ownership, and operation of the 12-satellite constellation. It is to be noted that the consortium will invest over ₹1,200 crore for the project, which is expected to be developed and operationalized by 2029.

India has signed a Government-to-Government (G2G) agreement with Mauritius for cooperation in the oil and gas sector. The agreement aims to ensure a reliable and consistent supply of petroleum products (including petrol, diesel, and jet fuel) to the latter.

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has partnered with Cultus Education and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to launch a nationwide cloud and AI skilling initiative.

The program aims to provide foundational AI and cloud literacy to 1.5 lakh learners using the digital training content of AWS.

Tata Power Company Ltdhas signed a Master Research Agreement (MRA) with the IIT Bombay to accelerate the development, scaling, and commercialisation of next-generation energy technologies and clean energy solutions.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has signed an MoU with the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) to facilitate equity financing for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through capital markets.

The Government of India has signed a $230 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the “Chennai Climate-Resilient Water Security and Sewerage Project”.

The initiative aims to modernize water supply and sanitation infrastructure in Chennai to strengthen the resilience of the city against climate change. The project also seeks to improve public health and quality of life by establishing a more efficient and financially sustainable urban water system.

India has signed an MoU with Brazil to enhance bilateral cooperation in the fields of Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

The agreement was signed by Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and the counterpart Frederico de Filho on the sidelines of the BRICS ICT Track Meeting held in Pune, Maharashtra.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has signed MoUs with PhonePe and Shell India Pvt Ltd to bolster the support infrastructure for DPIIT-recognised startups and to accelerate innovation across strategic sectors of the Indian economy.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi held bilateral discussions to strengthen the defence relations between India and Japan. Both nations signed a Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA) on Maritime Security Cooperation to enhance strategic engagement in the maritime domain.

India and Nepal have signed MoUs for the implementation of 8 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal.

The projects, focusing on the sectors of education, health, and agriculture, will be supported through grant assistance worth NPR 803 million from the Government of India.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has signed an MoU with PhonePe to leverage insights from the enterprise data intelligence platform of the latter, PhonePe PulsePro, to support the PM GatiShakti mission.

Under the partnership, the metrics of the platform will be integrated into the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan portal, which is managed in collaboration with the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N).

JSW Neo Energy Ltd (JSWNEL), a subsidiary of JSW Energy, has signed an agreement with the Druk Green Power Corporation Ltd (DGPC) of Bhutan to jointly develop the 920 Megawatt (MW) Punatsangchhu-III Hydroelectric Project.

The project is located on the Punatsangchhu River in the Wangdue Phodrang District of Bhutan.

The development will be executed through a Joint Venture (JV) company on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis.

Under the agreement, DGPC will hold a 51% stake in the JV, while JSWNEL will hold the remaining 49% stake.

The Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) under the Ministry of AYUSH has renewed its MoU with the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) to strengthen the scientific standardisation of medicinal plants under the ‘One Herb, One Standard’ initiative.

The MoU, originally signed in 2022, has been extended for 3 years to establish uniform quality standards for medicinal plants.