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INDIA-AMERICA 01: Fiscal Cliff- USA 02: Government Shutdown In USA 3. The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act / Obamacare 04: Prism, Gchq And Edward Snowden Snowden 13: Outer Space Treaty Or Prevention Of An Arms Race In Outer Space 06: Usa: Need For Gun Control 07: Tea Party Movement 01: Fiscal Cliff- USA Fiscal cliff term refers to the approval by US president for more than $500 billion in tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect after 1st January 2013. Two measures: 1> Tax increase or removing tax cuts and 2> Spending Cuts. Thus it is, controlling Federal deficit from both sides; revenue and expenditure. It would reduce disposable income of people as well as reduce research and development. The impact on developing economies including India would be in terms of reduced export and increased FDI. 02: Government Shutdown In USA The US government began shutting its non-essential services, Workers were on unpaid leave. Without a budget deal approved by both parts of Congress, there's no legal agreement to pay non-essential staff. US budget year ends in September. Under the US constitution, the president cannot unilaterally bring in legislation related to budget. Republicans continue to include cuts and delays to Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act in the budget legislation they sent up to the Senate. The House of Representatives is controlled by the Republican Party, whose Tea Party movement remain deeply opposed to Obamacare. Essential services, such as social security, military and Medicare payments, continue. In total, the US government has partially shut down on 17 occasions before today. The shutdown situation is a product of the US democratic system. The president is both head of state and head of the federal government, without a guaranteed majority in either of the legislative bodies where new laws are debated and voted upon. 3. The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act (PPACA)/ Obamacare In USA one visit to the emergency room costs $1,265 on average In the situation of cancer, it would cost $7,000, or even as high as $30,000. Health care costs are the top cause of bankruptcy USA.
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08: India Us Bilateral Issues 09: Fourth Strategic Dialogue In Delhi 10: India, Japan And USA 11: India South America 12: India Argentina 14: The Civil Liability For Nuclear Damage Act 15: Indian Ocean Rim Association

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The ACA aims to increase the quality and affordability of health insurance, lower the uninsured rate by expanding public and private insurance coverage, and reduce the costs of healthcare for individuals and the government. It has a number of mechanisms like: o Parents can add their adult children (up to age 26) to their plans. o If anyone gets sick, the insurance company can't drop them from the plan or limit how much insurance your family uses. o If any children are chronically ill, a new insurance company can't deny coverage. o Most families will find that wellness or pregnancy exams are now free. In other words, they no longer have to make co-payments. o Insurance companies can't raise premium payments without getting the OK from the state government. o must spend at least 80% of premiums on providing actual medical services. If they spent it on advertising or executive salaries, they have to pay the excess back to policy-holders. Small companies will have to pay Medicaid, People will visit hospital once they have the disease without waiting for money arrangement thus it would reduce chances of alleviating a disease and reduce burden on society and government both. 04: Prism, GCHQ And Edward Snowden Snowden Write an essay on cyber security, FISA, GCHQ, The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is a British intelligence agency responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance to the British government and armed forces. National Security Agencys PRISM program established to acquire data from tech giants including Apple, Google is a small part of a massive intelligence program . NSA uses court orders authorized by Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to collect specific data from tech companies The NSA copies Internet traffic as it enters and leaves the United States. The revelation that the NSA may have been listening to phone calls made by the leaders of America's allies, most notably those of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. It is a violation of 4th Amendment of US Constitution: which protects against unreasonable searches. Edward Snowden, an American computer specialist and former CIA employee and NSA contractor who disclosed classified details of several top secret United States, Israeli, and British government mass surveillance programs to the press. 13: Outer Space Treaty Or Prevention Of An Arms Race In Outer Space
It ncludes the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies It bars States Parties to the Treaty from placing WMD including nuclear weapons in space. It exclusively limits the use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes. The treaty explicitly forbids any government from claiming a celestial resource such as the Moon or a planet, claiming that they are the Common heritage of mankind States shall be responsible for national space activities whether carried out by governmental or non-governmental entities.

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05: Thoughts On Spying America seems to have been caught at two types of spying in Europe. o It has tapped the phones of top 35 world leaders. o It is having amounts of information about European citizens communications. It has been undertaken by European spies on non-Europeans and then passed to the NSA. This was to protect the West from Islamist terror, which the Americans are often bestplaced to investigate. Spying on allies is not inherently wrong. Germany and France have broad overlapping national interests with Americabut they occasionally clash. Before the war in Iraq Jacques Chirac, then Frances president, and Gerhard Schrder, Mrs Merkels predecessor, sought to frustrate Americas attempts to win over the UN Security Council. Europeans spy on Americans, too, as Madeleine Albright found when she was secretary of state. The row may get in the way of international agreements, such as a transatlantic free-trade deal. It could lead to the fragmentation of the internet, enabling more government control by countries such as China and Russia. America should make it clear that it takes abuse of intelligence-gathering seriously. For its own sake, the NSA needs a new start, under new leaders and with proper oversight. But for the sake of the Americans whom the NSA must protect, neither Congress nor the White House should succumb to a dangerous mood of retribution. Foreign politicians may know that their own security (notably in counter-terrorism) often benefits from American help. But they do not like the terms on which it comes. They want tighter controls on the NSAs work and more insight into the results. 2011 McKinsey study found that the Internet contributed to 21 percent of the GDP growth in mature economies over the prior five-year period. Increasingly, the NSA story has been linked with Big Data and to the extent this development makes netizens more reluctant to engage in online activity, that is a concern that needs to be addressed. Cyber security is another important threat, as consumers are increasingly being impacted by having their social media and email accounts hacked or having their records accessed through data breaches. At the same time cyber attacks are reaching critical infrastructure in both the public and private sectors, raising fears of a Cyber 9/11. Internet in promoting freedom across the world, partly by serving as an essential tool for transparency in government. Which is why the solution to the current controversy over the Snowden leaks is not to retreat back to the prior "cone of silence," but rather to have an open debate over what level of surveillance is permissible and the process for doing so because that is what free societies do. Let us find a consensus that sets an example for the rest of the world.
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06: USA: Need For Gun Control People kill people, but guns make it easy On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty children and six adult staff members in a mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the village of Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut. Before driving to the school, Lanza shot and killed his mother Nancy at their Newtown home. The Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting was a mass shooting that took place on August 5, 2012. Wade Michael Page fatally shot six people and wounded four others at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. There is a need for: o The renewal of a ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004. o Universal background checks on gun buyers, closing a wide loophole that allows private sales without verifying the criminal or mental-health histories of buyers When Australia outlawed many guns after a mass shooting in 1996, Australian robbery and break-in rates have fallen since 1996 (Australian gun-murder rates fell sharply too, with no offsetting rise in other homicides). The self-interest of politicians represents the gun lobbys true source of power. 07: Tea Party Movement There is no single Tea Party. The term is an umbrella descriptor that includes a wide array of people from those on the fringe of the political mainstream to independents, religious conservatives, and other groups. There is no central leadership in this party movement. It is grassroot in nature. The Tea Party is essentially a populist movement urging political change for the benefit of the people. The focus is on fiscal conservatism. Tea Party movement demands : adherence to the Constitution, individual freedom and smaller government as well as lower taxes. Major Tea Party Movements o 2009 : against the TARP bailout bill (Troubled Assets Relief Program) o 2010 : against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(Obamacare) 08: India USABilateral Issues In 2005, to press for international acceptance of India's civil nuclear programme, ending a ban on foreign assistance imposed because of India's refusal to sign the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty, was meant to usher in a new era of co-operation and trust between India and USA.
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The near-collapse in its relations with Pakistan gives India an even greater significance in America's hopes for stability in Afghanistan when most NATO troops leave in 2014. The two sides agreed to work on a bilateral investment treaty to unlock the huge potential for co-operation. The friendship has, it is widely noted, reached a plateau. The talk of G-2 (USA-China) stokes India with feelings of inferiority. It may share values with America; China shares power. Third, India is worried about American policies threatening two of its most successful industries: o Its software engineers need visas if they are to work in America, but the number of visas is limited, harming Indias IT firms. o The generic-medicine industry is under attack from American firms guarding their intellectual property. Extended supplier Responsibility in nuclear liability law where the supplier would be liable to pay damage caused if it happens because of faulty machinery. The allegations of funding protests against Russia build Nuclear Power Plant. The defence contract for medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) was awarded to Frances Dassault Aviation for their Rafael fightjet. Heavy taxation on American firms that are outsourcing work to India. NATO led coalition forces are leaving Afghanistan by 2014, and India fears that Afghanistan will again become a Talibanized client of Pakistan. US spy agencies knew about 26/11 attack in advance through David Hedley but did not warn India. India has not stopped importing crude-oil from USA's arch-enemy Iran. 09: Fourth Strategic Dialogue In Delhi Proposed high visa fees for software professionals : o New immigration law of America proposes high visa fees for software professionals. o India is concerned as it may hit Indian IT Industry and professionals. o India takes it more as non-tariff barrier than an immigration issue and therefore wants to discuss at Joint Trade Forum. Bilateral investment Treaty between India and US was being discussed. o It involves whether to give "sovereign guarantee" on US investments or not. o India insists that its judiciary has the last word on commercial disputes and that its sovereign guarantees are not invoked in such cases. Increasing FDI limit in defence and insurance sectors of India. India is reluctant.

The Joint Statement

Both countries committed to invest in stable Afghanistan and stressed India's position that reconciliation process should be "Afghan owned and Afghan led".
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Agreed for timeline based approach on 123 agreement or Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement U.S. expressed support for India's efforts to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group (Already discussed in previous class). Resolving soon the issue of Setting of the Nuclear Parks by US companies in India o Proposed : Westinghouse- 6 reactors in Gujarat and GE -6 reactors in Andhra Pradesh US assurance to expedite import of shale gas to India to help meet its burgeoning fuel demand. 10: India, Japan And USA India, Japan and US have held their fourth Tri-lateral dialogue in Washington. The discussions focused on the prospect of greater Indo-Pacific commercial connectivity and regional and maritime security, and cooperation in multilateral fora to help advance shared values and interests. The talks hold strategic significance as it is seen by many, including China, as the alliance towards Containment of China Policy. 11: India South America It comprises of thirteen sovereign states : Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname , Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela and two non-sovereign areas : French Guiana (an overseas region of France) and Falkland Islands Territory( a British Overseas Territory). Due to presence of South American Common Market (MERCOSUR) and free trade agreements between South American countries, Indian exporters are at a disadvantage. Government of India is negotiating with Colombia and Venezuela for Preferential Trading Arrangements (PTA). The institutional cooperation agreements with Mercosur and Andean Community are on the anvil. Main imports from South America consists of vegetable oil (mainly), iron and copper minerals, wood equipments & leather products. Main exports to South America consists of motorcycles and threewheelers, iron and steel products, chemicals, machinery and instruments, etc. Through ITEC program, India is providing training to various countries administrators. ONGC Videsh, TCS, Mahindra Satyam, Reliance, have invested in South America. 12: India Argentina Argentina has started a special programme named Regional Action Plan to promote Indias commercial and economic interests in Argentina especially with spe cial focus on its Provinces to
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o identify areas of imports and exports o bring investment in mining, energy and infrastructure in provinces with assured returns o identify sectors for manufacturing or joint ventures for export to Argentina and Latin American countries o export technical collaboration and o organize visits of the Governors of States with commercial delegations to India. 14: The Civil Liability For Nuclear Damage Act Passed by Parliament in August 2010 limits the liability of the operator in case of a nuclear incident. It secures the operator the right to recourse ( Section-17A) under certain circumstances. The Act also provides a mechanism to compensate victims of nuclear damage. The Supreme Court of India has recently admitted a Public Interest Litigation which challenges the constitutional validity of the cap on the operators liability under the Act which is 1500 crore. The right to recourse can be exercised either during the initial license period under the Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules, 2004, or the product liability period, whichever is longer. The initial license period is not defined. India is not deviating from the international practice. India is not acting contrary to the international mainstream. It is only protecting the interests of the operator i.e Government of India, or a government company. Korea has a similar provision. 15: Indian Ocean Rim Association Earlier known as Indian Ocean Rim- Association of Regional Cooperation. 13 members Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Association works on 6 priorities set in Gurgaon Communique: Maritime Safety and Security; Trade and Investment Facilitation; Fisheries Management; Disaster Risk Management; Academic and Science and Technology Cooperation; and Tourism and Cultural Exchanges. The Indian Ocean covers about 20 per cent of water on t he worlds surface. The Indian Ocean Rim countries have a population of approximately 2.6 billion (39% of All) It accounts for 50 per cent of the worlds container traffic and Indian Ocean ports handle about 30 per cent of global trade. ~66 per cent of the worlds seaborne trade in oil transits through it. ~55 per cent of known oil reserves around 40 per cent of gas reserves, are in the Indian Ocean region. As global economic power shifts to the east, maintaining prosperity and stability across the diverse Indian Ocean region has become imperative. Thus IOR-A is important.