22-Mar-2023: Indian and Belgian astronomers highlight success of collaboration in space sciences
Experts from India and Belgium and also from United States, Canada, Poland, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya highlighted the advantages of scientific collaborations in stimulating activities in space sciences at the international workshop of the Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy and astrophysics (BINA) organised by The Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India.
"Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and Department of Science and Technology (DST) work together on exciting projects like cyber security, bioscience, marine science, black hole, climate change and many more and this workshop will emphasize the scientific potential of Indo-Belgian cooperation," said Mr. Didier Vanderhasselt, Belgium Ambassador to India, at the inaugural session of BINA Workshop at the Bhimtal Campus of the Graphic Era Hill University (GEHU) during 22-24 March, 2023.
Shri S K Varshney, Head International Cooperation, DST stressed that for research, networking is key. "Networking is the 1st step for collaboration to address common challenges from different prospective," he added.
”We need to attract more younger minds through various institutes,” said Prof. Dipankar Banerjee, Director, ARIES as he gave an outline about Indian and Belgium Solar Space Mission and Aditya L-1- India's first space mission to study the sun.
Dr. Peter De Cat of the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB; Belgian PI of BINA) elaborated on the genesis of BINA workshop and its activities while Dr. Santosh Joshi, ARIES, Indian PI of BINA, gave an overview of the scientific programs and networking activities of the 3rd BINA workshop.
The workshop is being hosted at GEHU as part of the MoU between ARIES and GEHU, Bhimtal Campus. Expressing their pleasure on this occasion, Prof. Narpinder Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, which is among the top 100 universities in the country, and Prof. J. Kumar, Pro-Chancellor, Graphic Era Hill University discussed with the Belgium Ambassador further avenues of collaboration with top Belgian institutes.
BINA is a network that fosters collaborations in space research between Belgian and Indian institutes. The initiative for this bilateral collaboration was taken in 2014 by Dr. Santosh Joshi of ARIES (Indian PI of BINA) and Dr. Peter De Cat of the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB; Belgian PI of BINA). The outcome for this project can be found in the Devasthal Observatory of ARIES, Nainital, Uttarakhand, which hosts two Indo-Belgian telescopes: the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) and the recently inaugurated 4-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT).
The BINA collaboration has strengthened the Indo-Belgian observational facilities in India, namely the 3.6-m DOT and 4-m ILMT, the largest-sized optical telescopes in India. The output of this collaboration has been commendable in terms of both scientific publications and manpower training for the next generation.
Since 2014, the International Division, Department of Science & Technology (DST; Govt. of India) and the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO, Govt. of Belgium) are continuously supporting BINA by providing funding for work visits (in both directions) and organisation of workshops. So far, two BINA workshops have taken place. The first workshop ‘Instrumentation and Science with the 3.6-m DOT and 4.0-m ILMT telescopes’ was hosted by ARIES in 2016 in Nainital. The second workshop ‘BINA as an expanding international collaboration’ was hosted by the ROB in 2018 in Belgium and the first results obtained with the observations from DOT were presented.
22-Mar-2023: Indian and Belgian astronomers highlight success of collaboration in space sciences
Experts from India and Belgium and also from United States, Canada, Poland, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya highlighted the advantages of scientific collaborations in stimulating activities in space sciences at the international workshop of the Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy and astrophysics (BINA) organised by The Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India.
"Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and Department of Science and Technology (DST) work together on exciting projects like cyber security, bioscience, marine science, black hole, climate change and many more and this workshop will emphasize the scientific potential of Indo-Belgian cooperation," said Mr. Didier Vanderhasselt, Belgium Ambassador to India, at the inaugural session of BINA Workshop at the Bhimtal Campus of the Graphic Era Hill University (GEHU) during 22-24 March, 2023.
Shri S K Varshney, Head International Cooperation, DST stressed that for research, networking is key. "Networking is the 1st step for collaboration to address common challenges from different prospective," he added.
”We need to attract more younger minds through various institutes,” said Prof. Dipankar Banerjee, Director, ARIES as he gave an outline about Indian and Belgium Solar Space Mission and Aditya L-1- India's first space mission to study the sun.
Dr. Peter De Cat of the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB; Belgian PI of BINA) elaborated on the genesis of BINA workshop and its activities while Dr. Santosh Joshi, ARIES, Indian PI of BINA, gave an overview of the scientific programs and networking activities of the 3rd BINA workshop.
The workshop is being hosted at GEHU as part of the MoU between ARIES and GEHU, Bhimtal Campus. Expressing their pleasure on this occasion, Prof. Narpinder Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, which is among the top 100 universities in the country, and Prof. J. Kumar, Pro-Chancellor, Graphic Era Hill University discussed with the Belgium Ambassador further avenues of collaboration with top Belgian institutes.
BINA is a network that fosters collaborations in space research between Belgian and Indian institutes. The initiative for this bilateral collaboration was taken in 2014 by Dr. Santosh Joshi of ARIES (Indian PI of BINA) and Dr. Peter De Cat of the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB; Belgian PI of BINA). The outcome for this project can be found in the Devasthal Observatory of ARIES, Nainital, Uttarakhand, which hosts two Indo-Belgian telescopes: the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) and the recently inaugurated 4-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT).
The BINA collaboration has strengthened the Indo-Belgian observational facilities in India, namely the 3.6-m DOT and 4-m ILMT, the largest-sized optical telescopes in India. The output of this collaboration has been commendable in terms of both scientific publications and manpower training for the next generation.
Since 2014, the International Division, Department of Science & Technology (DST; Govt. of India) and the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO, Govt. of Belgium) are continuously supporting BINA by providing funding for work visits (in both directions) and organisation of workshops. So far, two BINA workshops have taken place. The first workshop ‘Instrumentation and Science with the 3.6-m DOT and 4.0-m ILMT telescopes’ was hosted by ARIES in 2016 in Nainital. The second workshop ‘BINA as an expanding international collaboration’ was hosted by the ROB in 2018 in Belgium and the first results obtained with the observations from DOT were presented.
21-Mar-2020: Cabinet approves signing and ratifying of the Extradition Treaty between India and Belgium
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing and ratifying of the Extradition Treaty between the Republic of India and the Kingdom of Belgium.
Salient Features
The following are the salient features of the Treaty:-
- Obligation to Extradite: Each Party agrees to extradite to the other any person found in its territory, who is accused or convicted of an extraditable offence in the territory of the other Party.
- Extraditable Offences: An extraditable offence means an offence punishable under the laws of both the Parties with imprisonment for a period of one year or more severe punishment. Where extradition is sought in respect of a convicted person, the duration of the sentence remaining to be served must be at least six months at the time of making the request. Offences relating to taxation, or revenue or is one of a fiscal character also fall within the scope of this Treaty.
- Mandatory grounds for Refusal: Under the Treaty, extradition shall be refused if:
- the offence involved is a political offence. However, the Treaty specifies certain offences, which will not be considered as political offences.
- the offence for which extradition is requested is a military offence
- the request for prosecution has been made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing the person on account of his race, sex, religion, nationality or political opinion.
- the prosecution of enforcement of sentence has become time barred.
- Extradition of Nationals: Extradition of nationals is discretionary. The nationality will be determined at the time the offence was committed.
Important Features
The Treaty inter-alia also contains provisions on:
- Assurance in case of Capital punishment (Article 3 (7))
- Central Authorities (Article 6)
- Surrender (Article 11)
- Handing over of Property (Article 18)
- Transit (Article 19)
- Protection of Personal Data (Article 21)
- Expenses incurred in extradition (Article 22)
- Consultations (Article 24)
- Mutual legal assistance relating to extradition (Article 25)
- Entry into Force Amendment and Termination of the Treaty (Article 26)
Benefits: The Treaty would provide a legal framework for seeking extradition of terrorists, economic offenders, and other criminals from and to Belgium. After ratification, the Treaty will enter into force from the date of exchange of instruments of ratification between India and Belgium.
Background: The new Extradition Treaty will replace the pre-Independence Extradition Treaty between Great Britain and Belgium of 1901 that was made applicable to India through the exchange of Letters in 1958 and is currently in force between the Republic of India and the Kingdom of Belgium. Due to the present procedural requirements and the fact that only limited number of offences are listed under the pre-Independence Treaty, the same has become obsolete in today’s context.
9-Mar-2017: India and Belgium sign Protocol amending the India-Belgium Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement
India and Belgium have signed a Protocol amending the existing Agreement and Protocol between the two countries for Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income today in New Delhi.
The Protocol will broaden the scope of the existing framework of exchange of tax related information. This in turn will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance between the two countries and will also enable mutual assistance in collection of taxes.
Fighting the menace of Black Money stashed in offshore accounts has been a key priority area for the Government. To further this goal, India has either signed or amended international agreements, declarations or conventions for the Avoidance of Double Taxation & Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and for the Exchange of Information with Switzerland, Mauritius, Cyprus, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, Singapore and Austria during the financial year 2016-17.
