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Annual Reports Prior to 1999

Annual Report 1977-78

Contents
CHAPTERS Introduction PAGES
I. India's Neighbours 1
II. South-East Asia 8
III. East Asia 10
IV. West Asia and North Africa 12
V. Africa (South of the Sahara) 14
VI. Europe 17
VII. The Americas 23
VIII. United Nations and International Conferences 27
IX. Technical and Economic Cooperation 35
X. External Publicity 43
XI. Cultural Relations 46
XII. Protocol 50
XIII. Passport, Visa and Consular Services 51
XIV. Administration and Organisation 54
XV. Hindi in official work 56
 APPENDICES 
 
NUMBER                                                   Page 
 
I. Major International Conferences/Meetings/Seminars 
   etc. organised by Inter-Governmental Organisations at 
   which Government of India was represented in 1977-78   59 
 
II. Major International Conferences/Meetings/Seminars 
    organised by Non-Governmental  Organisations, at 
    which India was represented with Government assistance 
    in 1977-78                                           69 
 
III. Miscellaneous  International  Conferences etc. in 
     1977-78 at which Government of India was represented 
     or at which India was represented with Government of 
     India's assistance.                                  71 
 
IV.  International Organisations of which India became a 
     Member or ceased to be a Member  during the year 
     1977-78                                             74 
 
V.   Treaties/Conventions/Agreements concluded or renewed 
     by India with other countries in 1977               75 
 
VI.  Number of seats allotted to various countries in Engin- 
     eering and Medical Colleges                          86 
 
VII. Statement of number of applications received and pass- 
     ports issued in 1977                                 88 
 
VIII.Total sanctioned strength of Central Passport and 
     Emigration Organisation                              90 
 
IX.  Statement showing the total number of employees (both 
     permanent and temporary) in the Ministry under various 
     groups and the representations of Scheduled Castes and 
     Scheduled Tribes therein (Position as on 31-12-1977) 91 
 
X.   Statement showing the number of appointments 
     (both by direct recruitment and by promotion) made to 
     various groups of posts and reserved vacancies filled by 
     Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes during 1977     92 
 
XI.  Revenue expenditure of the Ministry during the financial 
     year 1977-78                                       93 
 
XII. Expenditure on Headquarters and Missions/Posts abroad 
     during 1977-78                                      94 
 
XIII.List of Indian Missions/Posts opened in the year 1977-78
                                                         96 
 
Introduction
Jan 01, 1977

INTRODUCTION

The year under review was by any criterion a historic land- mark in the progress of India since independence. The smooth transfer of authority from the political party in power to the Opposition, through a peaceful democratic revolution, elicited the admiration of freedom-loving people everywhere. It was an unequivocal demonstration of the maturity and wisdom of the Indian electorate. The ordinary Indian voter showed a capacity for discrimination between competing political and economic con- cepts and policies; he also reaffirmed in unmistakable fashion the commitment of the Indian people to democratic ideals. While burning domestic controversies dominated the election, it was noticed, both within India and abroad, that foreign policy had not been a matter of controversy in the campaign. This was possible because, during the years immediately before indepen- dence and subsequently when India played a dominant role in the political process of decolonisation, a consensus on foreign policy had developed within the country cutting across party lines. Against this background, it was only natural that on frequent occasions, during the months after the formation of the new go- vernment, the basic continuity of India's foreign policy was re-asserted in no uncertain terms.

This did not, however, mean that this major political trans- formation did not have any influence on the content and style of foreign policy. It was, for instance, recognised that there was need and scope to pay greater attention to relations with immediate neighbours in order to realise the aim of easing ten- sions and reaching agreements and generally creating a climate of confidence so essential for greater concentration on the develop- mental priorities. India can play an effective and useful role in the world community only if it has peaceful, friendly and productive relations with the neighbouring countries. Purpose- ful efforts were put under way on neighbourhood diplomacy and this, in turn, greatly facilitated the pursuit of preserving and invigorating beneficial relations with rest of the world. By fol- lowing a policy of genuine non-alignment in unequivocal terms. India has commanded respect for expressing its independence of judgement in effect pursuing policies in the best interest of the country and extending support to the cause of international peace and cooperation. It should be a matter of satisfaction that the

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stress on genuine non-alignment and the decision to pursue the policy with vigour has been understood and appreciated in it, proper perspective by different sections of the, world Community-

Apart from the several fresh initiatives taken to foster a cli- mate of peace and cooperation in the region, an attempt was made to establish a meaningful relationship with the two Super powers and friendly relations with all countries based on beneficial coo- peration. The resurgence of democratic vigour was recognised as an example of India's faith in and practice of respect for human rights. If anything, this enabled India to maintain and even im- prove its support for democratic rights, especially in the struggle against the white-dominated minority regimes in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Attention was focussed on economic dimensions of world problems, both at the United Nations and in dialogue between the developed and the developing countries. Stressing the indivisibility of peace and prosperity, India called upon all nations to share their resources and technology and, through an equitable and just international order, work for the creation of a better and stable world.

The year witnessed significant internal political changes in a number of countries but there was no marked change in the inter- national situation. Relations between the United States and the Soviet Union showed a mutual recognition of the logic of detente, rather than confrontation but the pace of progress was halting and not free of suspicion. The Belgrade Conference re- viewing the work of the Helsinki Agreement demonstrated their desire to continue to strive for strengthening the climate of se- curity and cooperation in Europe but also the slow progress in advancing it. The same spirit was reflected in their continued negotiations in a new SALT treaty and their mutual discussions regarding the problem relating to the Indian Ocean area. Their agreement to accept the co-chairmanship of the Geneva Confe- rence indicated their common interest in resolving the West Asia problem but differences developed in their approach on whether separate bilateral attempts could reach that goal.

The spirit of detente, however, did not extend to all parts of the world. Certain areas of tension and conflict remained en- couraging external intervention, promoting international rivalry and thus posing a threat to peace and security. In South East Asia, border conflict between Cambodia and Vietnam threatened to upset the newly-found stability and normalcy in that area follow- ing the liberation of the states of Indo-China. In West Asia, direct talks between President Sadat and the Prime Minister of

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Israel failed to overcome hurdles in the way of a lasting solution of the Arab-Israel problem. The integrity of Cyprus still re- mained a matter of concern, the Greek and Turkish Cypriots hav- ing failed to resolve their differences. In Africa, relations between Ethiopia and Somalia erupted into an open conflict which threatens peace and security in the Horn of Africa and carries danger of jeopardising international peace. In Southern Africa, the denial of freedom and equal rights to the majority of the people by the white-dominated governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa created an explosive situation. In the economic sphere, the energy crisis, inflation, the monetary instability, the divisive effects of trade barriers and protectionism continued to dominate international economic problems. The dialogue bet- ween the developed and the developing countries did not yield the results which had been hoped from the Conference on Inter- national Economic Cooperation (CIEC).

India, in pursuit of the belief that detente should extend to all parts of the world, considered the development of relations with its neighbours, based on trust and cooperation, as fundamental to the promotion of peace and security on the sub-continent. Its policies in this direction acquired a new vitality and dynamism. The visits of the Minister of External Affairs to Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Pakistan aimed at establishing high-level contacts to promote understanding, find a solution to unresolved problems and strengthen economic cooperation. A meaningful and constructive approach was given to relations with Bangladesh by reaching an agreement on sharing of the Ganga waters in a spirit of shared sacrifice and mutual accommodation. The visit of the Minister of External Affairs to Nepal followed by that of the Prime Minister developed mutual trust and goodwill by India's agreeing to the request of Nepal to replace the earlier Treaty of Trade and Transit by two separate treaties. The initial- ling of the Treaties of Trade and Transit and the agreement for cooperation to control unauthorised trade in early March marks a historic step in the evolution of the relationship, so that with mutual respect, trust and sensitivity to each other's aspirations, independent policy, beneficial cooperation and confidence can grow to the advantage of each and reinforce their traditional interdependence. The visit to Bhutan resulted in greater under- standing which provided a basis for further cooperation. During the visit of the Minister of External Affairs to Burma in August 1977, the willingness of the two sides to hold negotiations for demarcating the maritime boundaries in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Martaban reflected a constructive approach to resolve

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problems through bilateral discussions. The assurance given by Burma to expedite the process of granting Burmese citizenship to persons of Indian origin augured well for the future of the Indo-Burmese relations. The visit to Afghanistan underlined the close ties with that country and the common desire to intensify cooperation among non-aligned states. The cultural agreement signed with Sri Lanka in November and the credit extended to that country in January 1978 showed India's desire to work for greater understanding and cooperation with that country. As regards Pakistan, the, Minister of External Affairs, during his goodwill visit in February 1978, assured that country not only that India adhered to the policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, but it cherished the hope of good neighbourly relations, so that both countries may prosper econo- mically in mutual confidence. The visit helped in both countries understanding each other's points of view and discussions held opened up greater prospects of increase in trade and cultural ex- changes between the two countries.

With China, its northern neighbour, notwithstanding the un- resolved boundary question, India continued to work for step-by- step improvement in bilateral relations between the two countries. The initiative taken to resume severed trade links, the conclusion of agreements between the two sides at the Canton Fair and the exchange of goodwill visits at the unofficial level reflected India's positive approach in that direction.

Besides developing closer relations with its neighbours, India worked for greater cooperation and friendly ties with the countries of South East Asia and West Asia. The policy of non-alignment shared by India with most countries of these regions provided a sound basis for promoting such relations. At the conference of Indian envoys in South and South East Asia, held at New Delhi in August 1977, concrete steps to invigorate closer economic, political and cultural ties with the countries in the region were identified. The establishment of joint ventures in Malaysia and Indonesia and a more active programme of economic cooperation demonstrated India's intention to share and be a partner in the development of the region. Relations with Vietnam developed rapidly during the year culminating in the visit of the Vietnamese Prime Mniister at the end of February 1978. India considers it a privilege to respond to the utmost of its capacity in joining in with gigantic task facing that country to rehabilitate its devastated economy and looks forward to the establishment of even closer cooperative relations with Vietnam. India welcomed ASEAN as an organisation for promoting regional cooperation. The

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participation in a regional Commonwealth Conference held in Australia in February 1978, the first of its kind within the Com- monwealth, reflected India's belief that regional members of the Commonwealth, through mutual discussions, could help to pro- mote functional cooperation without in any way disturbing the existing network of well-established institutions. It also provided an opportunity to India to offer its cooperation with the South Pacific countries which have indeed very special problems of development. While relations with Japan have always been cor- dial, India would like to forge closer links with this great Asian country, which has emerged as the third leading economic power in the world. Particular significance was, therefore, attached to in the world. Particular significance was, therefore, attached to 1977.

In West Asia, India noted the initiative taken by President Sadat of holding direct talks with the Prime Minister of Israel and kept close watch over developments in the region. India would welcome a peaceful solution and favoured an early conven- ing of the Geneva Peace Conference. It, however, believed that any just and lasting settlement could only be reached on the basis of the withdrawal of Israel from the Arab territories under its illegal occupation and restoration of legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. At the same time, it maintained that boun- daries between states should be settled through negotiations and not by force and all states in the region, including Israel, should have the right to exist in peace within secure boundaries. With the other individual states of West Asia, India followed a dynamic policy of increasing contacts to find avenues for greater coopera- tion on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. The visit of the Minister of Works, Housing & Supply as Special Envoy of the- Prime Minister to United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrein, Egypt and Algeria and that of the Minister of Industry to Libya, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria and Iraq in October marked India's desire to ex- pand cultural and economic relations with these countries. A protocol was signed with Libya in October providing for coopera- tion in industrial field. A loan of Rs. 45 crores was received from Kuwait Fund for the Kalanadi hydroelectric project. The meetings of the Indo-Iranian Joint Commission in September and Indo-Iraq Joint Commission in November resulted in agreements for cooperation with these countries in various developmental activities. During the visit of the Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt in January 1978, India agreed to extend scientific, technical and industrial cooperation to that country for some of its deve- lopmental projects. The visit of the Shahenshah of Iran in

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February 1978 was of far-reaching significance. It symbolised the steady improvement in India's relations with Iran and led to major fresh commitments in our economic cooperation and proof of the concrete confidence in relations which can be of benefit in the search for stability and progress of the region to which both countries belong. Through a technical and economic agreement signed with Yemen, India agreed to participate in the develop- ment plans of that country.

The developments in Africa received India's close attention. There was great concern about the conflict in the Horn of Africa. India made known its concern and urged that the fighting between Somalia and Ethiopia should cease and while respecting establish- ed frontiers, a solution should be found under UN, OAU or any other mutually acceptable auspices. In Southern Africa the racist policy of white-dominated minority regimes and opposi- tion to such policies by the black majority created dangers of war and conflict. Wedded to the policy of anti-colonialism and anti- racialism, India wanted full international pressure to be brought on these white-dominated regimes through sanctions and other means to change their oppressive policies. Favouring a solution to the problem through peaceful means, India welcomed the posi- tive elements in the proposals put forward by Britain and the United States for majority rule and independence of Zimbabwe. If the white regimes did not change their policies, India believed that the black majority had no option but to resort to an armed struggle. In that context, India urged unity amongst the libera- tion movement and that minority rule must be replaced, and through a basis of adult suffrage, independent Zimbabwe should come into being after a limited transition. It denounced the illegal occupation of Namibia by South Africa and expressed its support for the SWAPO in its struggle for realising the indepen- dence of Namibia.

At the same India, India continued to strengthen bilateral re- lations with the independent countries of Africa. The Indo- Tanzanian Commission, which met in July/August 1977, agreed to strengthen cooperation in industry, agriculture and many other fields. The need for further development of trade with Zambia received emphasis during the visit of the Zambian Minister of Commerce to India in October. Various industrial projects, on which India and Uganda could cooperate, were identified during the visit to India by the Uganda Minister for Power and Industry in November 1977. India welcomed the relaxation of tension in Europe and growing cooperation between countries of Western and Eastern

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Europe and maintained relations with them on the basis of equa- lity and beneficial cooperation. Fruitful economic relations were established with a number of countries of Western Europe. India and the Federal Republic of Germany identified projects for industrial collaboration and joint ventures in third countries. The European Economic Community continued to be India's largest trading partner and one of the main sources of developmental assistance. India, however, wanted the Community to take a more cooperative and accommodating attitude in matters of trade with the developing countries. This was impressed on the British Prime Minister and the President and Foreign Minister of Ireland during their visit to India. They appreciated India's point of view. The Danish Minister of Economic Cooperation, during her visit, assured that Denmark would take a liberal attitude to- wards developing countries. It was India's hope that the EEC would adopt a less protectionist and more forward-looking approach in its trade relations with the developing countries. The visit of the British Prime Minister in January 1978 resulted in injecting greater understanding and cordiality in Indo-British relations. It underlined the common ideals and aspirations shar- ed by both countries. The visit opened up prospects of increased trade and greater economic and technical collaboration. The Irish President's visit resulted in the reiteration of the ties of friendship and consideration of greater cooperation with that country in different fields.

With the socialist countries of Eastern Europe, India, through high-level exchanges, worked to promote cultural contacts and economic cooperation in various fields. The visit of the Minister of Education to Poland and the German Democratic Republic and the visit of a Czechoslovak cultural delegation to India indicated efforts towards promotion of greater culture relations. The meetings of the Indo-Polish Joint Commission and Indo-German Democratic Republic Joint Commission and the visits of trade delegations from Poland and Bulgaria marked the trend towards developing greater trade and economic cooperation with the coun- tries of of Eastern Europe. Particularly close relations were maintained with Yugoslavia which equally subscribed to the policy of non-alignment in its foreign relations. Discussions held during the visit of the Minister of External Affairs to Yugo- slavia in September 1977 highlighted the common approach of the two countries towards international problems and their desire for greater economic, scientific and cultural cooperation.

A genuinely non-aligned country opposed to the concepts of blocs in international relations, India did not believe that friendly

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relations with any one country should come in the way of its developing such relations with any third country. The visit of the Prime Minister to the Soviet Union highlighted the fact that different social and economic systems did not constitute a hurdle to developing good relations. Friendly ties with the Soviet Union had stood the test of time and were based on national in- terests and enlightened common purpose. The Soviet Union re- cognised that India's policy of non-alignment could make a great contribution towards the common struggle against imperialism, colonialism and racialism. India believed that cooperation with the Soviet Union on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, non- interference in each other's internal affairs with the right of each other to choose their own political and social systems and the renunciation of the use of force, would strengthen the cause of peace and stability in Asia and the world. Growing trade and economic cooperation in various fields reflected the close ties between the two countries.

A meaningful dialogue was opened to promote understanding with the United States, the second largest democracy in the world, whose outlook on world affairs could not be ignored in the inter- est of world peace and stability. Mutual exchanges between the Prime Minister of India and the President of the United States marked a good beginning for developing greater understanding. The visit of President Carter to India in January 1978 gave a meaningful direction to relations with that country. As in the case of the Soviet Union, India, during this visit, reaffirmed the right of each people to determine its own form of government and its own political, social and economic policies. Though the views of India and the United States did not coincide on all issues, the two countries shared the common goal of working towards demo- cracy, human development, social justice and peace. This was spelt out in the Delhi Declaration issued at the conclusion of the- visit. The Declaration was seen as not merely an affirmation of cherished common values by two friendly nations but also as a restatement of the fundamental principles which should govern the conduct of relations between nations in an increasingly com- plex international environment which can remain valid through time. India hoped that, through the three sub-commissions,-- economic and commercial, education and culture, science and technology-, the two countries would be able to further bilateral cooperation for their mutual benefit.

Friendship with all countries did not preclude India from tak- ing an independent stand on issues it considered vital for peace and security. India was critical of the large amounts spent on

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stock-piling of arms, their development and sale, and felt that even a small percentage of expenditure met on them. if diverted towards economic progress and welfare, would greatly contribute towards human progress and development. Advocating complete and universal disarmament, India openly announced its decision of not carrying out any nuclear tests or developing nuclear wea- pons. It refused to yield to outside pressure to sign the non- proliferation treaty. The Treaty was regarded discriminatory as the nuclear powers themselves were not prepared to accept the conditions they wanted to lay down for the non-nuclear powers. India stood for the utilisation of nuclear energy on the basis of sovereignty, equality and non-discrimination and the acceptance by all powers, including the major powers, of the need for ulti- mate elimination of all nuclear weapons. While welcoming the Soviet-US talks on the Indian Ocean, India wanted the elimina- tion of all bases from the area and hoped that the major powers would cooperate with the littoral states to make the Indian Ocean an area of peace free from great power rivalry.

India recognised that friendly relations with other countries should focus attention on global interdependence and the need for a new international economic order that would remove eco- nomic disparity among nations and bring them together to work for the welfare of all humanity constituting as one world. The growth and prosperity of the developed world was closely linked with the growth and development in the developing countries and it was necessary for the developed countries to understand the social and economic problems confronting the developing countries and to narrow the gap between them and the deve- loping countries. Both at the Conference on International Eco- nomic Cooperation held in Paris in May-June and at the forum of the United Nations, India emphasised the need for sharing of technological development and resources by nations in order to bring about an equitable and just international economic order. Conscious of the half-hearted support by the developed count- ries towards, this end, India impressed upon the non-aligned nations within the Group of 77 to strengthen their unity and work for the realisation of this objective. It believed that collective self-reliance through cooperation by the non-aligned nations would focus greater attention on the question of deve- lopment and need for international cooperation and thus help towards ultimate realisation of a just and equitable economic order. It was not only political equality but also economic equality, that would help in bringing about a "warm living peace" among nations free from exploitation, mutual fear and suspicion.

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India's Neighbours
CHAPTER I

INDIAS NEIGHBOURS

India gave top priority to improving its relations with its immediate neighbours among its foreign policy objective. These relations, developed on the basis of equality, goodwill and mu- tual trust, helped towards creating a climate of normalisation and friendship, thus promoting the cause of peace in the region.

The Minister of External Affairs, during his visit to Afgha- nistan from 3 to Sep 06, 1977, reassured Afghan leaders of India's desire to maintain the traditionally close ties of friend- ship between India and Afghanistan and to further enhance them to their mutual benefit. The visit provided an opportu- nity for establishment of personal rapport with Afghan leaders and for exchange of views on bilateral, regional and internatio- nal problems. Both countries reaffirmed their adherence to non-alignment and their belief in the principles of co-existence as fundamental to conduct of relations. Discussions held during the visit of President Daoud to India in March 1978 showed the close identity of views of the two countries on major inter- national problems. There was satisfaction at technical and economic cooperation between the two countries and it was agreed to strengthen and widen further areas of bilateral co- operation.

A significant event in the field of cultural cooperation was completion of the restoration work, by the Archaelogical Sur- vey of India in September 1977, on the two colossal world famous statues of the Buddha at Bamiyan. The Minister of External Affairs participated in the ceremony held at Bamiyan to mark the occasion. An Indian trade delegation visited Kabul in September-October 1977 and succeeded in resolving some operational trade problems following a review of the trade agreement of September 1975. Relations between India and Bangladesh took a turn for the better following bold decisions taken by the new Government, particularly in regard to Farakka and to border incidents. India lost no time to declare its policy of strict non-interference in the internal affairs of Bangladesh and of its regard for its

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sovereignty and independence. While not refusing political asylum on humanitarian grounds to Bangladeshi nationals who had come over to India, after 15 August 1975, India made it clear that these political refugees would not be allowed to use the Indian soil for carrying out propaganda or other activities directed against their Government. As a result, a number of Bangladeshi political refugees returned to their country and Bangladesh stopped making allegations against India regarding border incidents.

After the understanding reached in the Ministerial level talks in April 1977 on the Farakka question, three rounds of official level talks were held between the delegations of India and Bangladesh from 7 to 11 May in New Delhi, from 28 July to 6 August in Dacca and from 20 to 29 September in New Delhi. At the end of the third round of these talks an agree- ment was reached on the Sharing of the Ganga Waters at Farakka and on Augmenting its Flows and signed in Dacca on 5 November 1977. This agreement, valid for an initial period of five years, provided for an arrangement of sharing of the Ganga waters at Farakka between the two countries and pro- cedures for finding a speedy solution to the long-term problem of augmenting the flow of the Ganga. The signing of this Agreement resolved an issue which had defied solution for more than a quarter of a century. The Agreement should pave the way for wider cooperation between the two countries for har- nessing their water resources to the benefit of their peoples. The Joint Committee, set up under the provisions of the Agree- ment to supervise the implementation of the arrangement for sharing, held two meetings in December 1977 and agreed upon the procedures for observing the flows to be released at Farakka. The arrangement for sharing came into effect from 1 January 1978.

The Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission held its first meeting, after the signing of the Agreement and after its status was elevated to the Ministerial level, from 21 to 24 Janu- ary 1978. The most important item on the agenda of the Joint Rivers Commission was the mandate given to it, under Article IX of the Agreement, to prepare a study of the best means of augmenting the flow of the Ganga. It was agreed in the meet- ing that the two Governments would submit their proposals by mid-March 1978, that a study group would be set up for each proposal and that a work schedule for each study group would be prepared and agreed upon so that the study could be com- pleted and the recommendations of the Joint Rivers Commission

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formulated within the time-limit of three years stipulated in the Agreement. In addition, the Joint Rivers Commission took first step towards reviving its other functions under its Statute and work on which had started till it came to a standstill after June 1975.

The Directors General of the Border Forces of the two countries met twice, first in April 1977 and more recently from 25 to 27 January 1978, and made considerable headway towards the realisation of the common objective of the two countries of maintaining a border of peace and stability.

Personal contacts between the Prime Minister of India and President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh were a major factor in removing misunderstanding between the two countries and res- toring mutual trust. These contacts began with their meetings at the time of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference in London and were continued thereafter. At the invitation of the Government of India, President Ziaur Rahman paid a State visit to India, on 19-20 December 1977. During the visit, a wide range of bilateral, regional and inter- national issues of mutual interest were discussed between the Prime Minister of India and the President of the Bangladesh and between the delegation of the two countries. The visit of the President of Bangladesh further contributed to the building of mutual confidence and the consolidation of friendly relations between the two countries.

In the economic field, supply of commodities under the un- utilised portion of Government-to-Government credits and grants extended earlier to Bangladesh was continued and the total amount of utilisation during the first nine months of the year was approximately Rs. 1.07 crores. As in the previous year, India offered 100 scholarships to Bangladesh nationals in various disciplines under its Technical Assistance Programme. India also tried to meet shortages of essential commodities in Bangla- desh in spite of the fact that there was an acute shortage of these commodities in India itself.

Exchange of visits at the highest level helped to promote close and friendly relations between India and Bhutan. The King of Bhutan visited Delhi in April 1977 and the Minister of External Affairs accompanied by the Foreign Secretary visited Bhutan in November 1977. Discussions held during these visits contributed to the building up of a spirit of mutual trust and confidence, thus consolidating the freindship between the two countries.

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India continued to be a partner in the economic development efforts, of Bhutan and provided financial and other assistance in this connection. India undertook to contribute approximately Rs. 70 crores for the Fourth Five Year Plan of Bhutan and during 1977-78 provided Rs. 13.50 crores for this purpose. A budget provision of Rs. 8.50 crores was also made for the year 1977-78 towards the construction of a hydel project at Chukha. India also undertook to construct a cement plant at Penden and a provision of Rs. 3.50 crores was made for this purpose in the current financial year. India was implementing a compre- hensive area development scheme in the town of Gaylegphug in sourthern Bhutan. It also agreed to assist Bhutan in joint investigation of water resources of various rivers.

India gave assistance to Bhusan to build an infrastructure for increasing its foreign trade and expanding its export. Assist- ance was also given in the form of experts and specialists in various fields including forestry, industries, mineral and geologi- cal exploration, telecommunications, road construction and sur- vey work.

Many Bhutanese students were granted scholarships for higher studies at various institutes in India.

The Minister of External Affairs, in pursuance of India's policy to promote greater goodwill and cooperation with its neighbours, visited Burma in August 1977. In the discussions held during the visit, both countries agreed that, in the spirit of friendship and good neighbourliness, they should explore avenues of further cooperation in economic, technical and cul- tural fields. It was decided to resume negotiations on demar- cating the maritime boundary as the establishment of 200 mile economic zone by both India and Burma had resulted in the over-lapping of the zone in the Andaman sea and the gulf of Martaban. The assurance given by the Burmese that they would expedite the grant of Burmese citizenship to persons of Indian origin indicated the spirit of understanding and cooperation existing in the friendly relations between India and Burma.

The visit of the Maldives Minister of Education to India in May 1977 reflected the friendly contacts being maintained between India and the Maldives. The, Government of Maldives and the Indian Airlines signed an agreement for the establish- ment of Maldives International Airways to provide air service on Mate-Colombo sector.

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India's efforts to establish a mutually cooperative and mean- ingful relationship with Nepal was a part of its conserted effort to-establish close- ties with its immediate neighbours. The visit of the King of Nepal to India in April 1977 followed by the visit of India's Minister of External Affairs to Nepal in July 1977 and of the Prime Minister of India in December 1977, helped towards building such a relationship in a spirit of mutual trust and confidence. India assured Nepal that it did not seek to interfere in its domestic affairs and was generally interested in developing mutually cooperative ties. Regarding new arrangements for Indo-Nepalese trade, the Prime Minister expressed India's willingness to have two separate treaties on trade and transit and this was welcomed by Nepal. It was, however, also agreed that both countries would cooperate in taking measures to check unauthorised trade across their open border as such trade could cause harm to the economy of either country. Further discussions on these matters were held during the visit of a Nepalese delegation to India in January 1978 and of an Indian delegation to Nepal in February-March 1978. A broad understanding reached resulted in the initialling of separate treaties on trade and transit and an agreement to check unauthorised trade. This reflected the growing trust, under- standing and mutual cooperation in Indo-Nepalese relations.

The Prime Minister during his visit also discussed the enor- mous potential of rivers in the two countries which could be harnessed for their mutual benefit. An agreement was reached on specific measures to set in motion the process of expeditious study and execution of four projects on the rivers Karnali, Mahakali, Rapti and Trisuli.

India continued to extend financial and technical assistance for development programmes in Nepal. An amount of Rs. 9.09 crores was provided during the current year for meeting expenditure on schemes in hand. The major project for which assistance was to be given was the 250-Km long Central Sector of the Mahendra Rai Marg expected to be completed by 1980- 81 at an estimated cost of Rs. 40 crores. India agreed to carry out the Devighat Hydro-Electric Project on a turkey basis and undertake a detailed ground survey of the Dolalghat- Dhankuta road. Agreements were also reached during the year for continuance of the scheme for the development of village, cottage and small scale industries in Nepal. Letters were also exchanged concerning Indian assistance of Rs. 12 lakhs towards construction of a Sports Complex at Pokhra, and extension of the agreement relating to supply of Iodised Salt to Nepal. The 638-meter bridge on river Kamla built with Indian assistance at

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a cost of Rs. 4.03 crores was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Nepal in November 1977.

India, in pursuance of its policy of developing friendly rela- tions with neighbouring countries, worked for normalisation of relations with Pakistan while adhering scrupulously to the princi- ple of non-interference in its internal affairs. The developments in Pakistan, though watched with interest, were considered as an internal affair of Pakistan and India reiterated its policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.

The visit of the Minister of External Affairs to Pakistan in February 1978 marked the culmination of this policy. This was the first visit by an Indian Minister of External Affairs to Pakistan in 12 years. The Minister, during the visit, assured Pakistan that India remained committed to the Simla Agreement and did not seek or claim a leadership much less hegemonistic role in the region. Further, India was willing to accelerate the pace of normalisation but the pace would only be as fast as the country concerned jointly determined it. Pakistan expressed appreciation of India's policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and of its attitude towards its smaller neighbours. Discussions held during the visit included ex- change of ideas on bilateral matters such as trade, visa procedures and cultural exchanges and multilateral matters including cooperation in preparation for the United Nations General Assembly special session on disarmament. Kashmir wag also discussed and both sides put forward their respective points of view. Pakistan expressed readiness to resume talks on Salal Project from where they were left off in October 1976. As a result of discussions it was decided that trade talks due in January would be held early. Discussions on the Salal Project would be resumed and journalists would be allowed to be posted in the capital of either country.

The situation on the border throughout the year remained normal, both before and after the army took over in Pakistan in July 1977. Travel by road, rail and air between the two countries was not affected. An agreement was signed on 31 August 1977 in New Delhi regarding visa facilities for air- lines personnel and another agreement on telecommunications in Islamabad on 31 October 1977. As a consequence of the second agreement, a satellite link went into operation on 1 De- cember 1977. In order to facilitate further the movement of goods by rail, delegations from both sides held talks in Islamabad from 26 to 29 December 1977 to review the rail agreement of 1976.

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Trade between India and Pakistan increased during the year. A large variety of goods including timber, cement and steel were exported from India to Pakistan. A delegation from the Indian Oil Corporation visited Islamabad in October and signed contracts for the import of furnace oil and naphtha worth S 14 million, from Pakistan.

A new feature during the year was the beginnings in cultu- ral exchanges between the two countries. Delegations from each country participated in the celebrations commemorating the birth centenary of poet and philosopher Allama Mohammad Iqbal in India and Pakistan. Some Pakistani singers visited India and received enthusiastic response from the Indian public. The decision to hold hockey matches between the teams of the two countries in February 1978, was widely welcomed.

India believes that further contacts between the peoples of the two countries can lead to the building of trust and under- standing. To this end, India looks forward to both countries agreeing to the progressive liberalisation of travel arrangements for their nationals.

Conscious of the humanitarian aspect involved, India offer- ed to release unilaterally 433 Pakistani detenus in India and Pakistan offered to release 268 Indians held in Pakistan. There were two exchanges during the year involving 291 persons. The cases of those remaining are being verified by either side.

Friendly ties between India and Sri Lanka were marked by close cooperation in cultural and economic fields. A cultural agreement was signed between the two countries and India ex- tended to Sri Lanka a credit of Rs. 70 million for the purchase of intermediate goods and essential articles of mass consump- tion. There was concern in India at the anti-Tamil disturbanc- es in some parts of Sri Lanka in August 1977 which involved some Indian nationals and some persons of Indian origin who were to be repatriated to India. The effective steps taken by Sri Lanka to restore normalcy and bring about confidence with- in the Tamil community were noted with satisfaction. India donated a sum of Rs. 8 lakhs to Sri Lanka as contribution towards relief and rehabilitation to those affected by the distur- bances.

The Minister of Home Affairs visited Sri Lanka from 3 to 6 February 1978 to represent Government of India at the installation ceremony of Mr. J. R. Jayewardene as the first executive President of Sri Lanka under the country's amended Constitution. Sep 06, 1977

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South-East Asia
Jan 01, 1977

CHAPTER II

SOUTH-EAST ASIA

A Conference of the Heads of Missions in South and South East Asia, held in New Delhi in August 1977, underlined the importance India attached to developing friendly and cooperative relations with all countries of South-East Asia. The sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the countries of the South- East Asia and stability in the region is of vital importance to India. India noted a general desire in the region to settle its problems without outside influence and pressure and to work towards meeting the aspirations and rising expectations of the people for a better life by promoting economic development through national and regional cooperation. India welcomed the evolution of the ASEAN into an effective instrument of coopera- tion among its members. Having friendly relations both with the ASEAN countries and Indo-China States, India viewed with favour the progressive development of relations between them. So far as the development of the region was concerned, India expressed its willingness to share its resources, limited as they were, with the countries of South-East Asia to contribute towards their development. Opposed to any foreign military presence in the region India reiterated its support for the concept of South- East Asia as a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality. It was hoped that sub-regional cooperation would develop into regional consciousness and in due course contribute to the crystalisation of an Asian approach on international questions of common concern.

There was increasing cooperation between India and various countries of the region in economic and commercial fields. India wanted this cooperation to grow as it was in the interest of deve- loping nations to have such cooperation for mutual bent-fit.

India and Thailand signed a cultural agreement in April 1977. An understanding was also reached with Thailand on the delimi- tation of the maritime boundary in the Andamans Sea.

India supported and welcomed the admission of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the United Nations. The visit of the Foreign Minister and Deputy Foreign Minister of Vietnam and an economic delegation and the visit of an Indian delegation led

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by the Minister of State for External Affairs to that country in February 1978, indicated a mutual desire to consolidate friend- ship and promote cooperation. This was further highlighted during the visit of the Prime Minister of Vietnam to India towards the end of February 1978. His discussions with the Prime Minister of India on regional and international problems reflected the common belief of both countries that relations with neigh- bouring countries should be settled through negotiations free from foreign interference in a spirit of equality and mutual respect. The two Prime Ministers reaffirmed their desire that India and Vietnam would closely cooperate with each other and with other non-Aligned countries in dealing with international questions at various international fora. The visit helped towards strengthen- ing friendship and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation between India and Vietnam.

India and Indonesia exchanged instruments of ratification relating to the agreement on extension of the continental shelf boundary between the two countries.

Relations with Australia and New Zealand which had conti- nued to be friendly received fillip following the visit of the Prime Minister to Australia to attend the Regional Commonwealth Conference. Bilateral discussions with the Australian Prime Minister helped to promote mutual understanding, thus paving the way for closer links towards furthering regional cooperation. The outbreak of Anand Marg activities in Australia against Indian diplomats created concern but it was satisfying that Australia took prompt measure towards controlling their activi- ties and providing security for the Indian diplomatic officers in that country. Jan 01, 1977

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East Asia
CHAPTER III

EAST ASIA

Progress was maintained towards normalisation of relation's with China. The resumption of direct trade after nearly 15 years promoted banking facilities and movement of cargo ships between the two countries. Representatives of Indian public sector organisations participated in the bi-annual Canton. Trade Fair and two-way trade transactions amounting to approximately Rs. 3 crores were made at the Fair. There were also exchanges in a variety of fields such as agriculture, mining, forestry, medi- cine, public health and sports. A Chinese trade delegations visited India in February 1978. These demonstrated the readi- ness of the two countries to profit from each other's experience in various fields of developmental activities. An unofficial Chinese goodwill delegation led by Mr. Wang Pin-nan, President of the Chinese Peoples' Association for Friendship with Foreign Countris, visited India in March 1978 at the invitation of the All India Dr. Kotnis Memorial Committe whose delegation had earlier visited China in 1976. Mr. Wang extended an invitation from the Foreign Minister of China to the Minister of External Affairs to visit that country. Shri Vajpayee accepted the invita- tion in principle and the visit could take place at an appropriate time after careful and adequate preparations.

Notwithstanding the fact that the border question with China remains unresolved, India believes in seeking step-by-step norma- lisation of relations with China on the basis of the five principles of co-existence. It was India's hope that through the pursuit of such a policy, an atmosphere would be created which might help towards solving unresolved problems between the two coun- tries through bilateral negotiations.

The visit of the Foreign Minister of Japan Mr. I Hatoyama to India, in July 1977, gave a new significance to relations with that country. It was the first Japanese high-level visit to India in the last seven years. Discussions revealed a great understand- ing and appreciation by both countries of each other's foreign policy. Both sides recognised that evolving Indo-Japanese friend- ship and cooperation were important for the stability and prog- ress of the Asian continent as a whole. A decision was taken

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to exchange delegations with a view to identify areas of further industrial collaboration. Japan expressed its readiness to make available experts to advise in schemes of rural development. The decision to elevate the annual bilateral consultations between India and Japan to the level of Foreign Ministers reflected the import- ance attached by both countries to exchange of views on inter- national problems at the highest level.

India is to receive from Japan during 1977-78 a sum equival- ent to Rs. 66 crores as commodity loan and Rs. 33 crores as project aid.

The first meeting of the Joint Business Council of India and the Republic of Korea was held in Seoul in June 1977. Both sides expressed satisfaction at its deliberations and hoped it would result in promoting commercial relations between India and the Republic of Korea.

The agreement on cultural cooperation between India and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea came into effect from Nov 11, 1977, with the exchange of notes of ratification.

Discussions held during the visit of the Foreign Minister of Mongolia to India in February 1978, reflected friendly ties based on a common approach towards world problems. A trade and cultural agreement was signed between India and Mongolia. Nov 11, 1977

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West Asia and North Africa
Jan 01, 1981

CHAPTER IV

WEST ASIA AND NORTH AFRICA

India's policy towards West Asia and North Africa showed a new earnestness and further strengthening bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, commercial and cultural fields with the countries of the region. The Minister of External Affairs lost no time in allaying the misapprehensions among Arab coun- tries about India's support to the Arab cause. In his public statement of @19770324 ai, , he"we acknowledge Israel's right to exist as a sovereign state just as the Soviet Union does. But it will have to vacate the Arab territory it unilaterally occupi- es. We will not support forcible occupation of land by any one in the same manner as we ourselves will not tolerate aggres- sion on our borders". The Prime Minister also expressed a sympathetic attitude to the chief demand of the Arab nations, namely, the Israel should withdraw from occupied Arab territory and recognise that the Palestinians must be provided with a home- land to which they could return. India condemned Israel's attempts to alter the demographic nature of the occupied terri- tories through new settlements. With regard to the proposals about West Asian Peace Conference, to be held in Geneva, it was India's view that P.L.O.'s participation was necessary for such a conference to be meaningful and effective. India has been watching developments taking place in West Asia since the visit of President Anwar Sadat to Israel which has resulted in a tre- mendous change in the West Asian scene.

India's close relations with Iran were marked by high-level contacts, exchange of views on matters of common interest and economic cooperation. This desire to maintain a continuing dialogue were reflected in the discussions held by the Prime Minister and the Minister of External Affairs during their brief halt at Tehran on 7 June 1977. During the visit of Shahanshah and the Shahabano of Iran to India in February 1978, discus- sions were held on international issues and bilateral cooperation. There was close similarity of views on major international issues such as disarmament, the West Asian problem, the maintenance of the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace and support for the people of South Africa in their struggle against recialism, colonialism

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and exploitation. Both countries shared the belief that the im- paratives of history and geography, sharing of common tradition and culture, made it necessary that the governments of the region should cooperate in order to bring greater prosperity to their peoples. It was realised that continuous contacts and exchange of visits at different levels should be maintained as these help towards strengthening relations. Keeping in view a long history of close cultural inter-action, it was decided to establish two Chairs, one at Tehran and the other at Delhi to promote research in the history of Indo-Iranian relations.

To promote bilateral relations with countries of the West Asian region and to explain the policies of the new Indian Government, two Cabinet Ministers visited these countries as Special Emissaries of the Prime Minister. The Minister for Works and Housing, Supply and Rehabilitation, Shri Sikander Bakht, paid a goowill visit to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and Algeria. Likewise, the Minister for Industries, Shri George Fernandes, paid a good- will visit to Libya, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria and Iraq. The Minis- ters took the opportunity to emphasise the fact that there was no change in the policy of the Government of India towards the Palestinian question.

Countries in the WANA region gained singular importance so far as India's exports were concerned. India was able to diversify its exports from traditional items like tea, spices, sugar, etc. to sophisticated industrial equipment and machinery, engi- neering products and electrical appliances. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Egypt showed a substantial increase in their intake of Indian products. From a total of 1779.8 million rupees worth of exports during 1973-74, India's exports to the WANA region countries went up to 7036.2 million rupees in 1976-77. ai, , he

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Africa South of the Sahara
Jan 01, 1977

CHAPTER V

AFRICA SOUTH OF THE SAHARA

India shared with African countries south of the Sahara their concern at the developments in Southern Africa which posed a threat to international peace and security. It was equally appre- hensive of the conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. This conflict, it was felt, would encourage super power rivalry and activity in the region and divert world atten- tion from the problems of colonialism and recialism in Southern Africa. With individual African countries which, like India, were developing countries, efforts continued towards closer tech- nical and economic cooperation for mutual benefit and for helping them in the task of development.

India was greatly disturbed at the repressive measures taken by South Africa in pursuit of its policy of apartheid. It strongly condemned the arrests, trials and deaths in detention of freedom fighters and the banning of anti-apartheid newspapers and orga- nisations in the country. The policy of Bantustans adopted by, South Africa, in order to segregate its black population into inde- pendent African units, was denounced as continuation of its apartheid policy. India refused to recognise such States. The boycott of South Africa in all fields, including sports, was main- tained as a protest against the policy of apartheid. In the United Nations, condemning South Africa's racist policies, India called for a mandatory embargo on supply of arms and related equip- ment to that country.

Developments in Zimbabwe were the focus of international attention during the year. A major initiative in this direction was the Anglo-United States proposals which called for the acceptance of the principle of 'one man one vote" and a time- bound programme for the independence of Zimbabwe. India welcomed the positive elements in the Anglo-US proposals. At the same time, it maintained close touch with the front-line States and the nationalist leaders of Zimbabwe. It was made clear that the Anglo-US proposals could succeed only if the Ian Smith regime in Zimbabwe was removed and due place was given-to

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the African nationalist forces in the transitional arrangements proceeding the grant of independence. India not only continued to support the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe and Namibia and South Africa but also increased its material contribution to those engaged in the struggle or affected by developments in Southern Africa. In response to an appeal from the United Nations, contributions of Rs. 10 lakhs and Rs. 5 lakhs, to special funds of Lesotho and Botswana respectively, were announced. These were to be made in the shape of Indian goods and services to enable these two countries to overcome the adverse effects on their economy resulting from the actions of minority regimes in Southern Africa. India also contributed towards the Emergency Humanitarian Assistance Programme concerning South African refugee students and gifted medicines and blankets to Botswana and Zambia for the use of South African refugees living in these countries. India expressed sympathy for Mozambique, that had suffered heavily as a result of Rhodesian incursions, and pledged to offer assistance once the United Nations report on the extent of damage was available.

India wanted the conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa to be resolved peacefully. It supported the stand taken by the Organisation of African Unity on the terri- torial integrity of African States within their existing inherited frontiers. The continuation of the conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia, it was felt, would weaken the unity of Africa and the solidarity of the non-alignment movement which was subscribed to by both these countries.

Close friendship and cooperation was maintained with the countries of East Africa. Discussions during the visit of the Vice-President of Tanzania to India in April 1977 reflected similarity of views on major international problems. Satisfac- tion was expressed at the progress of friendly relations and bila- teral cooperation and it was hoped that these would be further strengthened. At the second meeting of the Indo-Tanzanian Joint Commission, held in Dar-es-Salaam in July-August 1977. mutual cooperation between India and Tanzania were agreed to in a number of fields. The Minister of External Affairs, who attended the meeting of the Commission, also met, on his way. at Nairobi, Kenya's Minister of Foreign Affairs and discussed with him matters of bilateral and international interest. The visit of the Prime Minister of Mauritius to India in November 1977 reflected ties between India and Mauritius based on strong historical and cultural traditions. Discussion on international

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issues and matters of bilateral interest showed great understand- ing and similarity of views regarding them. India and Mauritius agreed to further expand areas of cooperation in various fields. Discussions held during the visit of the Minister of External Affairs to Mauritius in March 1978 led to decisions to strengthen existing cultural, technical and economic relations. India and Mauritius decided to adopt a common approach on aft issues before the United Nations and work for making the Indian Ocean a zone of peace. Jan 01, 1977

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Western Europe
CHAPTER VI

WESTERN EUROPE

The change of Government in India, in March 1977, in a peaceful manner through democratic elections was generally welcomed by all countries of Western Europe as re-affirmation by India of its faith in democratic values and human rights. During the year, there were many occasions for exchange of views and joint work on specific proposals with different countries of Western Europe. India also began joint collaboration with some western firms in third countries' projects. Western Europe accounts for almost a quarter of India's foreign trade and the major part of international development assistance both in the financial and technological fields.

The EEC, India's largest trading partner, unilaterally impos- ed restriction in July 1977 on textile imports from India and eight other countries. This had serious adverse effect on the working of the textile industry in India, particularly the handloom sector. Negotiations were taken up to try and arrive at a settlement which would include preferential arrangements for India. The Minister of Commerce Shri Mohan Dharia visited France in September 1977 to discuss the unilateral restrictions placed by the EEC with the French Prime Minister and the Commerce Minister. This resulted in the release of some consignments which had been held up by France. In December 1977, as part of the EEC's programme for non-associated developing countries, a financial convention, signed between India and the European Commission. granted, India, $13.4 million as aid for grain and fertiliser storage projects.

On his way back to India, after the Commonwealth Confe- rence in June 1977, the Prime Minister stopped at Paris and dis- cussed matters of mutual interest with the French President Mr. Giscard d'Estaing and the French Prime minister. An Indo- French space agreement was signed in Paris in June 1977. France extended economic aid to India, to the extent of 340 million French francs in 1977-78 which helped to meet the foreign ex- change requirements for many projects including the Khetri Cop- per Project, the Haldia Oil Refinery and the Talcher and Rama- gundam fertiliser projects.

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India remained the largest single recipient of aid given by the Federal Republic of Germany to developing countries. This assistance on IDA terms came to Rs. 135.72 crores during 1977- 78. The visit to India in April 1977 by the Foreign Minister of Federal Republic of Germany reflected the close contacts main- tained with that country. The Federal Republic of Germany's Parliamentary Secretary of State in the Ministry of Science and Technology visited India in November 1977 and reviewed the progress achieved regarding cooperation in science and techno- logy, under the 1974 Agreement with that country. The sixth round of Indo-FRG Bilateral Consultations was held at Bonn in September 1977.

The visit of the British Prime Minister Mr. James Callaghan, from 6 to Jan 11, 1978, and the discussions held during the visit reflected a warmth and understanding in Indo-British rela- tions. The visit served to underline the common ideals and as- pirations shared by India and the United Kingdom, their realisa- tion of interdependence of nations and their acceptance of the need to share responsibility for contributing to the creation of a better world. Five agreements covering British aid to India of Rs. 228 crores for 1977-78 were signed in the same month. Out of this 110.8 crores was maintenance aid, the rest being for major projects, import of capital investment goods, the coal and power sectors and debt refinancing. The entire amount was in grant form, the practice governing British aid since 1975. The Indo- British bilateral talks were held in May 1977 in London when the Indo-British Joint Committee on Trade and Economic Coopera- tion also met.

The first ever official visit to India by an Irish Head of State was made in January 1978 when President Hillery of Ireland visited India. He was accompanied by the Irish Foreign Minis- ter. The discussions held during the visit held out prospects for further economic and cultural cooperation between India and Ireland.

India continued to have close economic ties with the Nordic countries. In May 1977 an Indo-Swedish Agreement complete- ly remitted debt repayment of about Rs. 2.8 crores by India. Swedish aid to India for 1977-78 came to Rs. 48 crores as a grant and further Rs. 27 crores for purchase of Swedish equip- ment as well as for technical assistance. The Swedish Minister for Economic Cooperation Mr. Ola Ullsten visited India in November 1977 and wide-ranging discussions were held on Indo- Swedish economic and other relations. Norway extended assis-

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tance equivalent to 70 million Kroners on a grant basis for 1977- 78. This was mainly in the field of fertilizer, paper, fisheries, forestry and family welfare. Indo-Norwegian cooperation was particularly successful in the field of fisheries in which Norway has extensive expertise.

Denmark extended a loan of Rs. 12.5 crores on soft terms to India for the import of equipment in the fields of petro-chemi- cals, fisheries, fertilisers, food processing and electronics. it also gave nearly five times this amount for technical assistance over the period 1976-81. The Danish Minister of State without portfolio visited India in January 1978 and discussed Indo-Danish economic cooperation and general international economic issues.

THE SOVIET UNION AND EASTERN EUROPE

India continued to attach importance to developing relations with the socialist countries of Eastern Europe. This reflected India's belief that states with diverse economic and social systems can cooperate successfully to their mutual advantage when such relations are based on the recognition of principles of peaceful co- existence.

The visit of the Soviet Foreign Minister Mr. Gromyko in April 1977 reflected friendly contacts and bilateral cooperation with the Soviet Union. During the visit, three agreements were signed re- lating to economic and technical cooperation, trade and establish- ment of a telecommunication link. Later in the year, in October 1977, the Prime Minister, accompanied by the Minister of Exter- nal Affairs, paid an official visit to the Soviet Union. Indo-Soviet relations and major international problems were discussed during the visit. The two sides noted that Indo-Soviet friendship was not subject to transient considerations and was an important factor for peace and stability in Asia and the world. It was considered im- portant not only to maintain but further strengthen this friendship. Satisfaction was expressed at the progress of work being done under the Indo-Soviet Joint Commission on economic, scientific and technical cooperation. The raising of the level of the co- chairmanship of the Indo-Soviet Joint Commission with the Indian side nominating the Minister of External Affairs, Shri A. B. Vajpayee, and the Soviet side nominating Deputy Prime Minister Arkhipov to be the two co-chairmen had indicated the import- ance attached by both countries to the work of this Commission. It was further agreed that a long-term programme of mutually- beneficial economic co-operation in various sectors of Indian eco- nomy and bilateral trade exchanges should be worked out for 1978.

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Teams of experts of the Indian and Soviet organisations were to be formed to study and define prospects of collaboration in various fields. Some Soviet delegates have already visited India to study prospects of cooperation in production of alumina and in science and technology. A distinctive feature of Indo-Soviet economic re- lations has been the Soviet Union's willingness to assist India in key sectors of the economy to enable it to realise, self-sufficiency. These include steel, heavy machine building, power generation, drugs and pharmaceuticals.

An agreement was signed in September 1977 enabling India to return the Soviet wheat loan of 1973 in kind. Earlier, the Soviet Union had accepted India's proposal to pay back the loan through export of goods and till March 1977 payments equivalent to Rs. 41 crores had been made. Under the present agreement, the balance quantity of approximately 1.5 million tonnes of wheat would be shipped some time between October 1977 to, October 1978.

The Soviet Union offered to supply 1 million tonnes of crude oil in 1977 and 1.5 million tonnes every year from 1977 to 1980. The supply would be made under the Indo-Soviet Rupee, Payment Arrangement against a basket of commodities.

An Indian festival of Art and Culture was held in several Re- publics of the Soviet Union to mark the 30th anniversary of India's independence. A similar cultural festival from Soviet Union was independence. A similar cultural festival from Soviet Union was held in several cities of India to mark the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution.

Besides the Soviet Union, India maintained high-level contacts and close economic ties with a number of other countries of Eas- tern Europe including Yugoslavia. Cultural contacts were pro- moted through exchange of visits such as the visit of India's Minis- ter of Education, Social Welfare & Culture, Dr. P. C. Chunder to the German Democratic Republic and the visit of the Minister of State for Culture of the German Democratic Republic and the President of the Indo-GDR Friendship Society to India in Septem- ber 1977.

The visit of Mr. Rudolf Saiger, member of the Council of ministers of the German Democratic Republic, and Secretary of State for Broadcasting in that country, in January 1978 resulted in an agreement providing for a regular exchange of radio and television programmes on various aspects of developments between India and German Democratic Republic.

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The Indian Minister of Education, Social Welfare and Culture also visited Poland. An agreement for cooperation in peaceful uses of Atomic Energy was signed with Poland in September 1977.

The Secretary of State and Chairman of the State Committee for Information of Hungary visited India in October-November 1977. He discussed prospects for Indo-Hungarian cooperation in the field of information. During the visit of the Foreign Secretary to Hungary in June 1977, stress was laid on the strengthening of bilateral relations. Hungary expressed appreciation at India's continuing the basic tenets of its foreign policy.

The visit of the Deputy Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia to India in December 1977, as Head of a Cultural Delegation, pro- vided an opportunity for exploring possibilities of expanding co- operation with Czechoslovakia in the fields of radio, T.V. and films.

Annual trade protocols signed with the German Democratic Republic, Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia envisaged in- creased bilateral trade with these countries. A trade and pay- ments agreement signed with Hungary in December 1977 provid- ed for switching over to trade in freely convertible currency with, that country from 1 January 1978. A similar agreement provid- ing for switchover of trade in convertible currency from 1 January 1981 was signed with Poland.

The common commitment of both India and Yugoslavia to the policy of non-alignment served as a bond of friendship between the two countries. This was reflected in the discussions held dur- ing the visit of the Minister of External Affairs to that country in November 1977. These revealed an identity of views on various subjects including the North-South dialogue, developments in the Indian Ocean, Africa, disarmament, the Belgrade Conference and the policy of non-alignment. Both India and Yugoslavia hoped for the success of the Belgrade Conference reviewing the Helsinki Agreement regarding security and cooperation in Europe. Be- sides, these, discussions were also held on bilateral and mutually- beneficial cooperation between the two countries in various fields. The need to ensure the success of the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on disarmament to be held in 1978 and the im- portance of the establishment of a new international economic order with more equitable relations between the developed and the developing countries again received emphasis during the visit of the Vice-President of Yugoslavia, Mr. Steven Doronjski, to India in January-February 1978.

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The Indo-Yugoslav Business Council, constituted last year, held its first Joint meeting in December 1977 to consider projects for economic cooperation. The President of the Federal Com- mitteee for Industries and Energies for Yugoslavia, during his visit in the same month, discussed economic and industrial cooperation. Jan 11, 1978

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The Americas
CHAPTER VII

THE AMERICAS

The United States

The general elections of March 1977, which symbolised the faith of the people of India in democratic institutions, were widely acclaimed by the Press as well as official circles in the United States. The United States Congress passed a resolution welcom- ing the re-establishment of democracy in India.

There was keen desire on both sides to develop closer contacts and this was reflected in the exchange of letters between President Carter and the Prime Minister of India and between the United States Secretary of State and the Minister of External Affairs as well as in the high-level visits exchanged between the two coun- tries. The Minister of External Affairs as well as the Minister of State for External Affairs visited Washington when they were in New York for attending the General Assembly session of the United Nations and held discussions. President Carter's Special Envoy visited India followed by Deputy Secretary of State. The culmination of this process was the visit of President and Mrs. Carter to India from 1 to Jan 03, 1978. The President, who, had wide-ranging discussions during the visit, also announced that he had authorised the release of another consignment of en- riched uranium for the Tarapur Atomic Power Plant. The Delhi Declaration issued at the conclusion of the visit affirmed the two countries' respect for fundamental freedoms and adherence to the democratic system while acknowledging the right of each nation to choose its own political, social and economic policies. The two countries, further committed themselves to resolve disputes with others amicably, to work towards arresting the danger of proliferation of nuclear weapons and for their reduction and even- tual elimination.

Indo-US bilateral relations continued to grow by way of trade, cultural exchanges and cooperation in science and techno- logy. The United States continued to be India's largest trading partner accounting for 10.7 per cent of India's exports valued at Rs. 549.58 crores. and 21.5 per cent of imports valued at Rs. 1055.53 crores during 1976-77. The trend for 1977-78 in- dicated that India might well end the financial year with more or

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less balanced trade with the United States. The Unitd States also nitiated discussions with India for the resumption of bilateral de- velopment assistance.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 3 January 1978 providing for the Indian Earth Station at Hyderabad to re- ceive directly from the American Landsat satellite data relating to various natural resources.

The third Indo-US Joint Commission meeting was held in Delhi on 3 January 1978, under the co-chairmanship of Minister of External Affairs and the U.S. Secretary of State. It approved the reports on the working of the three Sub-Commissions on edu- cation and culture, science and technology, economic and corn- mercial matters. Under the aegis of the Sub-Commission on edu- cation and culture, four joint seminars were implemented, nine fellows and visitors from each side, exchanged and a festival of Indian films held in the United States in September 1977. An in- crease in the number of fellows/visitorships to 15 per year was agreed from 1978 and a programme was approved for short-term exchanges of artistes, writers, mass media experts, lawyers and architects Under the aegis of the, Sub-Commission on science and technology, it was agreed that cooperative research would be undertaken in certain priority areas like agriculture and water re- sources, energy and environment and natural resources, health, metallurgy, electronics, information sciences and institutional ex- changes. Since June 1977 exchanges of scientists and meetings have either taken place or are proposed in the fields of jet pro- pulsion, solar energy, coal conversion, environmental protection, ocean sciences, wild life and habitat, leprosy and malaria control programmes. research and development systems and remote sensing.

CANADA

The general elections held in March 1977 were observed with keen interest in Canada. Canadian official circles, as well as the Canadian Press, welcomed the election results as reaffirming the democratic traditions in the country.

High-level contacts were maintained between the leaders of the two countries. During the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in London in June 1977, the Prime Minister of India and the Prime Minister of Canada, had wide-ranging discussions

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covering bilateral and international issues. A Parliamentary de- legation led by Shri Hegde, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, parti- cipated in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference held in Ottawa in September 1977. A Canadian delegation, led by the Minister of Industry and Tourism of the Province of Ontario, visited India in October 1977.

Canada continued to render development assistance to India in the field of agriculture, food and fertilizers.

South and Central America

India's relations with the countries of South and Central America and the Caribbean, in spite of the vast geographical distance separating India from them, were marked by greater con- tacts in order to promote understanding and increased coopera- tion.

The Minister of Communications visited Surinam in August 1977 for the formal handing over ceremony of two telephone exchanges constructed by the Indian Telephone Industries in Surinam.

The Minister of State for External Affairs visited Trinidad and Tobago from 8 to 9 November and Guyana from 10 to 11 November 1977. The visit revealed the potential for further developing relations with these countries in trade and commerce, science and technology as well as cultural field.

India participated in the 10th International Pacific Trade Fair in Lima in November 1977. Thirty Indian companies parti- cipated in the Fair. The exhibits included printing machinery, engineering items, bicycles and other industrial products. During the 12-day duration of the Fair, about 3 lakhs of people visited the Indian pavilion. An Indian trade delegation visited Lima from August 1 to 11, 1977, and met prominent businessmen and Government officials. The mission explored possibilities of sell- ing products such as machine tools, bicycles parts, electronic equipment, wire ropes, etc.

A three-member Cuban delegation led by Dr. Pelegrin Torras, Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba, visited India in September 1977 and had discussions on matters of mutual interest such as non-alignment and bilateral issues covering commercial, cultural, scientific and technical fields.

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The Chilean Ministers of Finance and Planning Mr. Sergio de Castro and Mr. Robert Kelly visited India in October 1977 when letters of ratification of a trade agreement signed between India and Chile in 1972 were exchanged.

Mrs. Carmen Romano Lopez Portillo, wife of the Mexican President, visited India as the guest of the Government from 19 to 22 October 1977. The visit of the Maxican First Lady paved the way for greater cultural exchanges between India and Mexico. Jan 03, 1978

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United Nations and International Conferences
CHAPTER VIII

UNITED NATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

India, during the year, took part in number of important inter- national conferences. These included Commonwealth Confe- rences, meetings of the non-aligned groups and conferences spon- sored by the United Nations.

The Prime Minister Shri Morarji Desai and the Minister of External Affairs Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee attended the 21st Com- monwealth meeting of the Heads of Government held in London in June 1977. The Prime Minister, in his speech, referred to India's attachment to the Commonwealth which, a "United Nations in miniature", had shown adaptability and dynamism and had mar- ched with the times. The Conference discussed a wide range of issues including the situation in South Africa, Cyprus, the Middle East, the Indian Ocean, the Law of the Sea, Human Rights and economic questions. The developed Commonwealth countries committed themselves to bring their official development assistance (ODA) up to the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product and to improve the quality of their assistance. The Conference wanted the EEC to take further account of the trade interests of Commonwealth. Asian countries which had been adversely affected by the phasing out of the Commonwealth preferences and suggest- ed that it could make an important contribution to enlarging the markets available to developing countries. It welcomed the con- tinued expansion of the Commonwealth fund for technical co- operation. A special statement on apartheid in sports condemned it as an abomination and stated that the member countries would use all their efforts to foster human dignity everywhere.

An Australian proposal made at the Conference and supported by India led to the convening of a Regional Meeting of Common- wealth Heads of Government from South-East Asia and Pacific at Sydney from 11 to Feb 16, 1978. This meeting was attend- ed, besides India and Australia, by Bangladesh, Fiji, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Tonga, Western Samoa, Pa- pua. New Guinea and Nauru. The Prime Minister and the Minister of External Affairs took part in this meeting. The meeting dis- cussed major political problem- but the main emphasis was on re- gional economic questions. The question of terrorism received

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attention particularly because of the explosion of a bomb on the eve of the opening of the Conference. The Conference decided to create study groups to examine terrorism, trade and internatio- nal drug trafficking. As regards trade, it was felt that the Commonwealth countries of the region should increase trade among themselves. Discussions on the energy question's were initiated by India and it was decided to constitute a Consulta- tion Committee to discuss problems relating to energy. The meeting helped the regional Commonwealth members to under- stand one another's problems in an informal atmosphere of fraternity and equality. It was decided that India would host the next Conference of Heads of Government of Commonwealth countries in Asia and the Pacific region in 1980.

India took part in a number of meetings of groups, of non- aligned countries. In pursuance of a decision taken at the New Delhi conference of Foreign Ministers of the Coordinating Bureau held in April 1977, two meetings of the coordinating countries in the area of monetary and financial cooperation were held at Belgrade from 30 June to 2 July 1977 and again from 18 to 21 January 1978. Besides India, other countries that took part were Cuba, Indonesia, Peru, Sri Lanka and Yugoslavia. The Meetings identified issues requiring expert investigations and studies in the field of financial and monetary cooperation.

India participated in a meeting of a group of experts on fisheries of non-aligned and other developing countries held in Cuba from 3 to 7 November 1977. The meeting's recomm- endations included the creation of a standing commission to identify the. areas of possible cooperation among non-aligned and developing countries in the area of fisheries.

India also took part in the first ever conference of radio and broadcasting organisations of the non-aligned countries at Sarajevo Yugoslavia, from 27 to 30 October 1977. India was elected a member of the coordinating committee set up by the conference to implement its action programme. The programme envisaged mutual cooperation in developing broadcasting in- frastructure, exchange of radio and television programmes and training of professional and technical cadres.

India participated in the United Nations International Con- ference held in Maputo, Mozambique, from 16 to 21 May 1977 in support of the peoples of Zimbabwe and Namibia. The con- ference was attended by 92 countries, five liberation movements

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and several governmental and non-governmental organisations. It adopted separate declarations on Zimbabwe and Namibia and also a programme of action. The declaration on Zimbabwe reaffirmed the primary responsibility of the United Kingdom as the administering power of Southern Rhodesia regarding the future of that country. It condemned the illegal racist minority regime and called upon the international community to endorse the existing mandatory sanctions including the possibility of widening the scope of these sanctions. The declaration on Namibia proclaimed support for the leadership of the South West African Peoples Organisation (SWAPO) as the sole authentic liberation movement. It called upon all states to de- sist from military collaboration with South Africa. The pro- gramme of action adopted envisaged various measures in sup- port of the national liberation movements and against the illegal minority regimes in Southern Rhodesia and South Africa.

At the World Conference for Action against Aparthied, held in pursuance of a United Nations resolution, in Lagos from 22 to 26 August 1977, India reiterated its total commitment to fight against apartheid. The Conference adopted by consensus a Declaration which re-affirmed the opposition of the international community to the policies and practice of apartheid in South Africa and its determination to work for its eradication. It call- ed for a mandatory arms embargo and total and comprehensive international boycott of South Africa. Later, in October 1977, India formally acceded to the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.

A conference on Desertification was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 29 August to 9 September 1977 in accordance with a United Nations resolution passed in 1974 to promote international action to combat desertification. The "Committee of the whole", of which Dr. Swaminathan, leader of the Indian delegation, was elected Chairman, drew up an action plan which was ad- opted by the Conference. The plan made specific recommen- dations at the national, regional and international level for check- ing desertification.

The Minister of External Affairs Shri A. B. Vajpayee led the Indian delegation to the 32nd regular session of the UN General Assembly which met from 21 September to 21 December 1977 at New York. In his address, delivered in Hindi for the first time, he outlined policies and attitudes of India to major inter- national issues. Welcoming the near universality of member- ship of the United Nations, he stressed the need to transform the

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General Assembly into a "parliament of man" representing the collective conscience and will of humanity. He pointed out that in this inter-dependent world, the greatest task before the world community was the welfare of man regardless of his race, colour, creed or nationality.

The General Assembly had before it a crowded agenda of 131 items covering political, economic, social and related issues. The Assembly and its Committees met 537 times and adopted as many as 262 resolutions. As in the previous years, the situa- tion in South Africa was one of the most important topics dis- cussed in the Assembly. India co-sponsored it of the 14 reso- lutions approved by the General Assembly on the problem of apartheid, In addition to requesting urgent consideration by the Security Council of mandatory economic sanctions, these called for specific measures such as oil embargo against South Africa, a tightening of the mandatory arms embargo and a halt to any supply of nuclear equipment, fissionable material or technology to the South Africa regime. The Assembly proclaimed the year beginning from March 1978 as an International Anti-Apartheid Year and endorsed the programme of work of the Special Com- mittee against apartheid.

The Assembly adopted 8 resolutions on Namibia. All these were co-sponsored by India. These reiterated inter-alia that "any independence talks regarding Namibia must be between the re- presentatives of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) and South Africa under the auspices of the United Nations for the sole purpose of discussing the modalities of the transfer of power to the people of Namibia".

On the question of Southern Rhodesia, the Assembly adopted two resolutions, both of which were co-sponsored by India. These reaffirmed the right of the people of Zimbabwe for self-determi- nation, that there should be no independence before majority rule and that the United Kingdom should do everything to enable Zimbabwe to attain independence in accordance with the wishes of the majorty. The Security Council was urged to consider the extension of the existing sanctions against Rhodesia.

On the question of Middle East and Palestine, the General Assembly passed resolutions reaffirming that Israel should with- draw to the positions held by it before 5 June 1967 and that the people of Palestine should be allowed to exercise their inalien- able rights. They called for the early convening of the Geneva Peace Conference with the Palestinian Liberation Organisation

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being allowed to take part in it. This position had the full sup- port of India which had always maintained that no just solution of the Palestine problem could be realised without withdrawal of Israel from territories under its illegal occupation and restora- tion of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

The General Assembly once again adopted a resolution on the Indian Ocean being maintained as a Zone of Peace. It call- ed for a meeting of littoral and hinterland States of the Indian Ocean to be convened in New York at a suitable date. This could be attended by other States which had participated or had expressed their willingness to participate in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean. This was an addition to the earlier resolution on the subject. India has consistently main- tained that Conference on the Indian Ocean would be fruitful if major maritime users and the Great Powers take part in it.

India abstained on the Pakistani-sponsored resolution adopted by the General Assembly on a nuclear weapon free zone in South Asia. Earlier, India had voted against such a resolution. The Indian delegate, explainting India's stand, pointed out that while India would like the whole world to be free of nuclear weapons, sub-regionalisation of this concept would be inconsistent with India's global approach to this question. In fact, regional nu- clear weapon free zones would not help to combat the nuclear threat to the world but on the contrary provide an advantage to nuclear weapon States since nuclear weapons and delivery sys- tems were inter-continental in nature. India, therefore, was opposed to this concept and expressed its inability, to cooperate in its implementation.

India took an active part in the work of the Committee on Disarmament. It reiterated its view that the goal of disarma- ment efforts should be the realization of general and complete disarmament under effective international control with the highest priority being accorded to the elimination of nuclear weapon's and all the other weapons of mass destruction. India has already made known its resolve to use nuclear energy for peaceful pur- poses only and has reaffirmed that this should be based on the respect for the principles of sovereignty, equality and non-dis- crimination. As a party to the Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction on the Seabed and the Ocean Floor and in the Sub- soil Thereof, India took part in the deliberations of its First Re- view Conference held in Geneva from 20 June to 1 July 1977. In accordance with its basic approach in the field of disarmament,

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India signed a Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques (ENMOD Convention) in December 1977. It also took an active interest in the work of the Preparatory Committee con- cerned with making arrangements for convening the Special Session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament to be held next year.

Regarding the problem of Cyprus, which came up before the General Assembly, India had always stood for the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-aligned status of that country. It supported the extension of the mandate of the Unit- ed Nations peace Keeping Force in Cyprus. This Force has been playing an important role in the existing situation on Cyprus by munities.

Among the other important items discussed by the Assembly included hijacking and the question of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. On the ques- tion of hijacking, a resolution was adopted by consensus condem- ning aerial hijacking calling upon all States to cooperate with one another to prevent such acts and also become parties to the three concerned international conventions. The resolution was co- sponsored by India. On the second question, the General Assem- bly in 1975 unanimously adopted a Declaration on the Protection of all persons from being subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. India propos- ed that member States should be called upon to declare uni- laterally that they intended to comply with the above-mentioned Declaration and that they would implement, through legislation or other effective measures, its various provisions.

The nomination of Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit as India's re- presentative on the U.N. Commission on Human Rights indicated India's interest in the problem and the importance India attached to the work of that Commission.

As regards economic issues, the dialogue between the deve- loped and the developing countries at the final meeting of the Conference of International Economic Cooperation held in May- June 1977 had left much to be desired. The 31st Session of the UN General Assembly convened in September 1977 to dis- cuss the results of that Conference had failed to reach agreement on the assessment of its recommendations and had transmitted the report to the 32nd Session of the Assembly for consideration.

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The debate at the 32nd Session was marked by a lack of prog- ress on substantive questions and there was continuing deadlock between the approach of the developed and the developing coun- tries.

India also took an active part in the deliberations on inter- national legal problems. The-Sixth Commtitee (Legal) of the UN General Assembly, during its meetings in October-November 1977, discussed the question of international terrorism, taking of hostages and measures against hijacking, consideration of addi- tion of articles on new subjects by the International Law Com- mission responsible for the modification of international law and review of the United Nations Charter. India stressed the im- portance of making civil aviation safe, both for the security of communications and for the safety of innocent human lives. As regards the Charter, it did not favour any major modifications though it was not opposed to the improvement of its working through amendment of some of its obsolete provisions. India became one of the 35 members of the Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism set up to study the underlying causes of terrorism and to recommend practical measures to combat it.

The Sixth Session of the Third United Nations Conference on Law of the Sea was held in New York from 23 May to 15 July 1977. The Conference consolidated the consensus developed on a 12-mile territorial sea, a 24-mile contiguous zone and a 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

There was also broad agreement on the definition of the outer limit of the continental shelf and on questions of marine pollution and scientific research. By a Gazette Notification issued in January 1977, Sections 5 and 7 of the Maritime Zones Act of 1976. India established a 24-mile contiguous zone and a 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

India continued to participate actively in the codification and development of international trade law through its participation in the various Working Groups and the annual meetings of the United Nations Commission International Trade Law (UNCI- TRAL). It also played an active role in the working of the Sub-Committee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Further India was of the view that the moon and its natural resources are the common heritage of mankind and that the commercial exploitation of these resources might be undertaken only in accordance with the international regime to be established.

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Indian experts took part in the, fourth session of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) of experts on natural resources shared by two or more States, held in Geneva from 5 to 16 September 1977.

During the session, India successfully contested elections to ECOSOC and the Industrial Development Board of UNIDO. It was also elected to the Executive Council of ICAO, the Exe- cutive Council of IMCO, the Executive Council of FAO, the Committee for Food Aid Policies and Programme of the FAO and the Inter-Governmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Currently India is a member of the United Nations Security Council and was President of the Council during the month of December 1977.

The Commission on Contributions of the United Nations General Assembly recommended new scales of contributions for the year 1978-79. In the case of United Nations Organisations, the share of India was reduced from 1.2% in 1975 and 1976 and 0.7% in 1977 to 0.68% for the year 1978 and 1979.

Lists of major International Conferences/Meetings/Seminars organised by Inter-Governmental Organisations/Non-Govern- mental Organisations/Miscellaneous International Conferences at which Government of India was represented in 1977-78 are at APPENDICES I, II and III. International Organisations of which India became a Member or ceased to be a Member during 1977-78 is at APPENDIX-IV.

During 1977, India concluded 72 treaties and agreements (Appendix V). Special mention may be made of the agreement between India and Bangladesh on sharing of the Ganga Waters at Farakka and on augmenting its flows and of India's accession to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the Optional Protocols thereto (December 1977). Feb 16, 1978

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Technical and Economic Cooperation
Jan 01, 1977 CHAPTER IX

TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION

Conscious of the increasing dimensions of economic diplo- macy and the inter-dependence of the world as a whole, India worked towards strengthening its economic relations with the developed as well as the developing countries. Having a large reservoir of skilled manpower, India was in a position to share its knowhow with many of the developing countries and put for- ward proposals for joint collaboration and cooperation in diffe- rent fields. Special attention was paid to India's neighbours and countries of South East Asia and West Asia and Africa, most of whom are members of the non-aligned group and share with India the need for cooperation for mutual benefit and de- velopment. India believes that economic cooperation to be really effective should be mutually beneficial in every sense and that technical and economic cooperation should be non-exclu- sive and should be tailored to suit the needs of the recipient country. This flexibility of approach which comprehended pro- gramme assistance and not insistence on what is usually called project aid' has made India an increasingly popular partner in cooperation among developing countries.

Many proposals for joint collaboration and cooperation in different fields were identified through Joint Commissions estab- lished with a number of these countries and implemented through technical and economic cooperation. While substantial aid was extended through bilateral agreements, the increase in the budgetary provision of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) to Rs. 600 lakhs reflected India's interest to use this programme to assist these countries in their development programmes. Under this programme, ser- vices of experts were provided, help rendered through supply of equipment and provision was made for providing training faci- lities to personnel from these countries in India's vocational and technical institutions. With the developed countries, the em- phasis was on greater aid and trade and exchange of technical knowhow to mutual advantage.

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The conclusion of the separate treaties for transit and trade with Nepal during March 1978 along with a separate agree- ment to control misuse of trade links was a major step forward in setting Indo-Nepalese economic relations on a firm. durable and healthy basis. It is expected that with the simultaneous im- plementation of these agreements, the economic exchanges bet- ween the two countries will reach a new high level. Close eco- nomic cooperation was established with Afghanistan. Iraq and Iran. At the meeting of the Indo-Afghanistan Joint Commis- mission in December 1977, India agreed to extend assistance for three industrial estates, a medical institute for ear, nose and throat diseases in Kabul and to supply three additional micro- hydro units. It was agreed to carry out study for the establish- ment of 15MW thermal power plant. In addition. it was de- cided to depute 150 Indian experts to Afghanistan in various fields and provide training facilities for 350 Afghan nationals in India.

The Indo-Iraqi Joint Commission, which met in June 1977, reviewed the earlier Indo-Iraqi cooperation in trade, transport, agriculture and irrigation and industrial collaboration. Further areas of cooperation were identified.

The Indo-Iranian Joint Commission, which met in Septem- ber 1977, discussed ways and means for increasing Indo- Iranian trade and possibilities of collaboration and joint ven- tures and identified new areas of cooperation. During his visit to India in February 1978, the Shahenshah of Iran offered to make available additional crude oil supplies on credit basis, to participate in or finance approved projects such as Alumina pro- ject for the Bauxite deposits on the eastern coast, paper and pulp factory for Tripura and the second stage of the Rajasthan canal, and this offer was accepted by India. India and Iran agreed that the plans for economic development provided an opportunity for mutually beneficial cooperation in accordance with their respective capabilities and capacities in a number of other fields such as rural electrification, housing, construction of industrial estates, development of power, railways and ship- building.

Considerable progress was made in connection with the Pilot Plants projects being established in Burma with Indian assist- ance. About 50 per cent of the equipment and machinery in respect of these plants have already been shipped. Indian ex- perts in the field of refrigeration, civil engineering and air traffic

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control were deputed to Maldives at the request of the Govern- ment of that country. Steps were taken to depute a teacher and equipment was supplied for schools in Maldives. Arrangements were also made to impart training to two Maldivian nationals in nursing in India.

Economic cooperation with Sri Lanka including the supply of two agricultural deep drilling rigs, deputation of experts in medicine and provision for training facilities to Sri Lanka nationals in India in fisheries, mica mining and for the Indo-Sri Lanka animal husbandry project.

As regards cooperation with countries of South East Asia, the officials of the Indonesian Electricity Authority visited India for exploring possibilities of cooperation in the power generation field. Medicines, irrigation pumps and textiles worth Rs. 30 lakhs were supplied to Laos. Two Indian experts visited that country to explore possibilities of sharing Indian technical ex- periences with Laos in the field of animal husbandry and agri- culture. A concrete shape was given to India's willingness to participate, according to its capabilities, in the economic recon- struction of Vietnam. A delegation of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry visited Vietnam in July 1977 to explore how the industrial capabilities and competence in India could be made available to support Vietnam's develop- ment plan. This was followed by the visit of a Vietnamese eco- nomic delegation to India in August-September 1977. Two agreements were concluded which provided for 100,000. tons of wheat loan to Vietnam and the setting up of a Rice Research In- stitute and a Buffalo Breeding Centre, in Vietnam with Indian as- sistance. Discussions during the visit of the Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs to Vietnam in February 1978 followed by the subsequent visit of the Prime Minister of Vietnam to India in the same month, resulted in agreements being signed on cooperation in the field of science and technology, in the field of agricultural research and on trade and economic cooperation, and Government to Government credit of Rs. 100 million. India also agreed to give a loan of 30,0000 tons of wheat to Vietnam and a commercial credit of Rs. 300 million.

To the West Asian region, India's exports continued to regis- ter Ali upward trend; there is also a healthy tendency towards diversification. There is a marked increase in the securing by Indian concerns of contracts for development projects in the

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countries of the region and also the provision by West Asian countries of funds for projects in the region. Kuwait gave a loan of Rs. 45 crores from its development funds for the Kalanad-- Hydro-electric project and Saudi Arabia a loan of US $100 mil- lion for the Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam project in Andhra Pradesh. It was hoped that additional amount will be made available for infrastructures in India Indian parties also secured a number of contracts. In, Libya, National Building Construction Corporation won a contract worth Rs. 900 million for the con- struction of 1300 houses and M/S Continental Construction Cor- poration signed a contract worth Rs. 720 million for the Wadi Ghan earth filled dam. The Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited was awarded a contract worth US$74 million by the Saudi Elec- tricity Organisation and the Dredging Corporation of India was awarded contract worth US$10 million for developing the Yanbu port in Saudi Arabia. In the field of consultancy, the Dastur and Company were awarded a contract worth Rs. 100 million for iron and steel complex in Libya and they were appointed as consul- tants for a separate foundry forge plant. National Industrial Development Corporation was commissioned to undertake a fea- sibility study for a mini steel plant and for Libya's Five-Year In- dustrial Development Plan.

The oil producing countries in the WANA region embarked upon massive development plans and this provided opportunity for India to send its technical personnel, trained technicians, skil- led and semi-skilled labour to assist these countries in their task of development by providing the necessary manpower. The ser- vices of these personnel possessing qualifications equivalent to those from western countries but with more relevant experi- ence in similar conditions and much less expensive to the receiv- ing countries were highly appreciated.

A delegaion from Yemen Arab Republic visited India in December 1977 to discuss possibilities of industrial collaboration in many fields. These resulted in the signing of two agreements regarding trade and technical and economic cooperation including the supply of manpower to that country. During the visit of the Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt in January 1978. India agreed to extend scientific, technical and industrial cooperation to that country for some of its developmental projects.

With Africa closer economic ties were developed, particularly with the countries of East Africa. With Kenya, increased eco- nomic contacts were established as a result of a delegation spon- sored by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and.

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Industry's visit to, Nairobi in October-November 1977. The Direc- tor of the Kenya Industrial Survey and Promotion Centre and the Executive Director of the Kenya Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation also visited India during the year. A number of industrial projects were identified for promoting bilate- ral cooperation with Uganda during the visit of the Ugandan Minister of Industry and Power to India in November 1977. These related to development of small scale and cottage indus- tries, establishment of machine tool complexes, textile mills, sugarcane plants, power generation etc. Ethiopia showed interest in learning from India's experiences in the field of sugar manu- facturing and two Indian experts were deputed to that country in this connection. In response to a request from that country, two Indians visited Ethiopia in December 1977 to identify matters of bilateral cooperation and utilise Indian experience in the develop- ment of small scale industries. Ethiopia recruited a number of teachers from India under the ITEC programme and India pro- vided training facilities to a number of Ethiopian nationals in various institutions.

India deputed an agricultural expert to Seychelles to advise in the production of canning and processing of vegetables, fruits and certain commercial crops. Close economic ties were developed with Mauritius. India offered to set up a Consultancy Service for small scale industries in that country. Assistance to the order of Rs. 2.1 million was given to the Industrial Trade Training Centre at Piton, and a number of experts in various disciplines were deputed to that country under the ITEC programme. The agreement to set up a Joint Economic Commission, signed bet- ween India and Mauritius during the visit of the Minister of Ex- ternal Affairs to that country in March 1978, reflected the desire of both countries to further their economic cooperation. To help Mozambique to tide over its economic difficulties, India con- tributed the rupee equivalent of US$100,000 as a part of the Commonwealth Fund for Mozambique and gifted cloth worth Rs. 900,000. It also agreed to provide experts in the field of railways, civil engineering, medicine, accountancy, teaching etc. and sent a delegation to assess its overall requirements in the field of railways. India expressed its readiness to assist Zambia in all possible fields and the Zambian Minister of Commerce, dur- ing his visit to India in October 1977, requested assistance in the seting up of a rural industry with agricultural base and the estab- lishment of handicrafts centre. Two delegations representing Pub- lic Service Commission and the Teaching Service Commission came to India to recruit Indian personnel.

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In West Africa, close economic ties were developed, parti- cularly with Nigeria. A joint venture, between M/S Scindia Steam Navigation Company Limited was set up for operating shipping services between India and West Africa including Nigeria. The Water and Power Consultancy Services was awarded an initial contract for carrying out hydrological surveys in that country. A team from the Nigerian Steel Development Authority visited India and concluded extension of an agreement for training per- sonnel in India. The agreement signed in December 1977, dur- ing the visit of a Nigerian delegation, for setting up a Joint Com- mission reflected the desire of the two countries to develop closer economic cooperation. A number of other delegations visited India to study the industrial experience of India in order to pro- mote industrial development in their own country. Many re- quests from Nigeria for recruitment of experts in various fields were received and speedily processed. The National Industrial Development Corporation team visited Ghana and Upper Volta under the ITEC programme in March 1977 and identified pos- sibilities of setting up several small and medium-scale industries. A trade delegation sponsored by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry visited Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia. Senegal and Kenya in October 1977 to explore possibi- lities of expansion of trade and joint industrial ventures. The Foreign Minister of Liberia visited India in April 1977 and dis- cussed bilateral economic and technical cooperation . Pursuant to these discussions, MECON sent experts teams to explore the possibilities of developing the iron ore industry in Liberia and setting up a steel plant. India agreed to assist in the prepara- tion of the feasibility reports. Further impetus was given by the visit of the Planning Minister of Liberia to India in February 1978.

With many developed countries India explored avenues of friendly cooperation in specialised fields through collaboration and for ventures in third countries. The Indo-Soviet Joint Com- mission, which met in March 1978, discussed further cooperation in the broad framework outlined during the visit of the Prime Minister to the Soviet Union in October 1977. A protocol war signed providing for economic, technical and scientific collabora- tion in various fields in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, par- ticularly for modernisation of technology and production process- ing at Bokaro and Bhillai and the project for setting up of an alumina plant. The two sides also agreed for participation of Indian organisations in Soviet projects in third countries.

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The Indo-GDR Joint Commission, which met in September 1977, considered the setting up of a mica paper and mica-nite plant in Bihar and the manufacturing of ophthalmic lenses at a factory at Durgapur, besides manufacturing equipment in a number of other fields. The Indo-Polish Joint Commission, which met in October 1977, laid emphasis on cooperation in the field of mining, sepecially coal-mine. The Indo-Italian Joint Committee, which met in December 1977, identified areas of special interest, such as electronics and establishing joint ventu- res in third countries. The British Minister for Overseas Deve- lopment visited India in July 1977. Britain announced increase in its aid programme to India and discussions were held concern- ing increase in the large capital projects in the British program- me. The Indo-German Ad-hoc Commission, which met in De- cember 1977 in Delhi, expressed interest of German industry in third country ventures with Indian parties as well as in collabo- ration in India in export-oriented and other industries. The Joint Commission set up under the commercial cooperation agreement between India and the European Economic Community met in Brussels in November 1977. India expressed concern at the protectionist tendencies in the Community but was assured that the Community had no intention to block access to the Commu- nity market.

Economic and technical links between India and Latin American countries, which are of relatively recent origin, were reviewed at a Conference of Indian Heads of Mission and eco- nomic officers held under the chairmanship of the Minister of Commerce in New York in August 1977. Problems discussed included those of distance, complementarity of development, traditional links between Latin American countries and the de- veloped world, inadequacy of trade and shipping, language diffe- rences. The share of India's trade being negligible, it was rea- lised that there was considerable scope for increase in India's exports to the South American region where several countries have impressive plans of development of industries and infras- tructure. Delegations of Public Sector undertakings such as EEPC and the market survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation identified a number of fields in this connection. The fields identified included railway equip- ment, textile machinery, cement machinery, machine tools. tele- communication equipment. compressors, mining and transport

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equipment, refrigeration and airconditioning, hand tools, bicycle. sugar plants etc. Exports of traditional items like jute, tea, gems, shellac, textiles, handicrafts etc. could also be increased in selec- tive areas.

The agreement to set up a Joint Commission with Guyana, the first, of its kind with a South American country, indicated India's intention to strengthen economic relations with countries of that hemisphere. Jan 01, 1977

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External Publicity
Jan 01, 1977 CHAPTER X

EXTERNAL PUBLICITY

The object of the Ministry's information activities is to pro- mote a correct appreciation of developments in India and the country's foreign policy.

There was world-wide interest in the General Elections held in India in March 1977. The orderly manner in which the change of government took place in accordance with the verdict of the electorate, demonstated the strength of India's democratic traditions. The Ministry gave extensive publicity to these developments. In general, the mass-media in foreign countries commented favourably on the complete restoration of democratic rights and the return to an open society.

A Committee under the Chairmanship of a prominent journalist Shri Chanchal Sarkar was set up to, review the Ex- ternal Publicity set-up of the Ministry with a view to making it more effective. The Committee has submitted its interim report which is being studied. The final report is awaited.

The daily briefing given by the Official Spokesman to press correspondents in Delhi contributed to a better appreciation of. India's foreign policy and stand on current international ques- tions. Meetings arranged between foreign correspondents and Ministers/Secretaries not only of the Ministry of External Affairs but also, of some of the other Ministries enabled corres- pondents to get an authoritative and correct view of the acti- vities of the government as a whole.

Indian Missions were constantly engaged in projecting India's new image and her official policies through Television and Radio interviews, speaking engagements and contacts at appropriate levels with journalists, intellectuals and political leaders. The Division supplied publicity literature in English, Hindi and some other languages to the Missions. The regular publicity work of the Ministry continued under

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the following heads :-- Press Relations The Press Relations Section acted as host to about 20 foreign journalists and arranged for their visits to important industrial and cultural centres within India and their briefing by senior officials. Assistance was provided to 77 Indian journ- alists to visit foreign countries and 208 foreign journalists who came to India on their own were accorded appropriate facilities. The Section provided facilities to 38 foreign Television teams for making documentary films on various subjects. The Sec- tion issued 178 press releases.

Audio-visual Publicity

250 prints of 50 approved documentary films were supplied to different missions/posts abroad. Two special compilation of films on "Farakka Project" and "Bhutan" hi-blighting co- operation with Bangladesh and Bhutan were completed during the year.

Over 200 Gramophone records of Indian classical vocal instrumental and popular music were supplied to different missions. Two sets of Vedanta literature on disc by Swami Ranganathananda were supplied to selected missions.

ISI Transmissions

The twice daily news transmission broadcasts to Indian Missions through the Overseas Communication Service kept them adequately informed about day-to-day developments in India in the political as well as economic fields. The trans- misions carried official statements on foreign and national poli- cies, joint communiques on important visits of Indian leaders abroad and foreign dignitaries to India. A new feature of the afternoon transmission is the inclusion of important news head- lines appearing in the daily press. It is proposed to increase the number of listening posts (presently 51) by supplying tele- printer equipments to 8 more missions.

Exhibition and Cultural Work

The Ministry supplied 275 large-size photographs, 393 books, 48 album pages of postal stamps, 32 panels of reproduc- tion of Tagore paintings, 100 children paintings and six Indian dolls to Missions in Paris, Amman, Copenhagen, Santiago, Dacca, Male, Bangkok, Washington, Rome and Accra for arranging exhibitions. The Ministry actively assisted the Lalit Kala Academy in organising Graphic Art Exhibition at Algiers, Tunis, Lisbon, Cairo and Belgrade. Help was extended to the National Book Trust in giving wide publicity abroad to the

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Third World Book Fair held in New Delhi in February 1978. Similar assistance was given for giving publicity to the Fourth Triennial of World Contemporary Art held in New Delhi in February 1978.

Print Publicity

The Ministry produced a number of pamphlets, for external publicity. Some of the notable among these were : "Prime Minister Morarji Desai in USSR", "Restoration of Bamyan", "Dynamics of an open society" and a collection of speeches by the Foreign Minister entitled "India's Foreign Policy-new di- mensions". A pamphlet in Hindi on "India's Foreign Policy" was also brought out. Some of the missions produced pamph- lets in the languages of the countries of their accredition. Notable examples were; Speeches of the Prime Minister in Thai and a biographical sketch of the Prime Minister in Spanish. Two pamphlets covering the Inaugural Address by Shri Morarji Desai and the Statement of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Minister of External Affairs, were produced on the occasion of the Conference of the Foreign Ministers of Non- Aligned Countries. The delegates attending the Conference were given a set of books on Indian Cultural heritage and other informative literature. Besides these, a number of other pamph- lets, articles on India's socioeconomic progress, books on Indian history, philosophy, religion, art, culture and recent developments in the country, newspapers, periodicals and a number of journals were also supplied to the missions abroad.

A large number of enquiries from foreign scholars and others on various aspects of Indian history, economics and other subjects were attended to and material collected from various sources, was provided to. help them.

The fortnightly "Indian & Foreign Review" in English and in French published informative articles on India's political, eco- nomic and cuttural matters and the monthly "Foreign Affairs Record" containing statements, speeches, important press communiques and agreements continue to fulfil a useful role. Copies of important press communiques, texts of speeches and other publicity material produced by the Press information Bureau and other sources were supplied to the Missions. A large number of photographs, including slides, covering various subjects were also supplied to the Missions.

The World Press Review containing comments on or of interest to India in foreign newspapers and periodicals continued to be brought out regularly in cyclostyled form. Jan 01, 1977

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Cultural Relations
CHAPTER XI

CULTURAL RELATIONS

Cultural relations of India were strengthened with a number of countries through the signing of cultural agreements. Such agreements were concluded with Sri Lanka. Mongolia and Thailand. Cultural agreements signed with Bahrain, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Korea and Vietnam were ratified during the year.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations acted as the main agency for promoting India's cultural contacts and streng- thening cultural ties with other countries. The Council did so through sponsoring exchange of scholars, writers, artists, send- ing cultural delegations, organising lectures and orientation pro- grammes, deputing visiting professors to centres of Indian studies abroad, sponsoring exhibitions within India and in various other countries, and presenting books and objects of art to various universities and institutions abroad. Within the country it ren- dered financial assistance to a number of foreign scholars and looked after their welfare.

Cultural exchange being a major constituent of foreign policy, it was felt that there was need to review the present arrangements in planning and implementing such exchanges with other countries. The Minister of External Affairs requested Shri Ashok Mehta to head a Committee to examine the working of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations and to recommend how to ration- alise and improve, its activities. The Report, submitted by the Committee in December 1977, is under consideration.

During the year, a large number of distinguished visitors from different spheres were invited to visit the country, and many eminent Indian painters, writers, educationists, dancers, musi- cians and journalists were sent abroad. Of the cultural dele- gations sponsored by the Council, one was sent to give lectures, demonstrations and concerts in German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union; another participated in the Festival. of Asian Arts in Hong Kong and the third gave per- formances in some countries of Europe. Nearer home, delega- tions were sent to Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan on the occa- sion of the Independence Day celebrations in these countries.

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The Council continued to bring out a series of publications aimed at projecting India's culture abroad. These included a quarterly publication in Spanish, French, Arabic and English relating to literature, culture and arts in India, and an illustrated- quarterly digest of cultural events in the country. The Council also published books in a number of foreign languages dealing with various aspects of Indian culture.

The Azad Memorial lecture during the year was delivered by Dr. Saburo Okita, Chairman of the Japan Economic Centre and Special Adviser to the Chairman of the International Deve- lopment Centre of Japan. The subject was "Implications of the Japanese experience for the Developing Economies".

The Indian Centre for Africa continued to focus attention on African affairs. The Centre held a public meeting on 31 August to commemorate Namibia Day. It was attended by 400 foreign students, particularly from the African countries. The Minister for External Affairs, who presided over the function, expressed India's solidarity to the freedom-loving people of Namibia. Zim- babwe and South Africa.

The Council, in collaboration with the African Missions in New Delhi, held an African Film Festival from 3 to Dec 08, 1977. The Festival was inaugurated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs. The Council conducted a number of orientation programmes for students and teachers from the United States and the Nether- lands. The lectures and demonstrations given in these programm- es were meant to make them familiar with Indian art, architecture, dances and economic planning.

A number of exhibitions were organized within the country, under the cultural exchange programme or in collaboration with the Lalit Kala Academy and some of the local Embassies. These included an exhibition of recent photographs from Australia, of prints and drawings from Thailand, an exhibition of contemporary Mexican paintings, arts, crafts, books and con- temporary films during the visit of the wife of the President of Mexico to the country, and an exhibition of toys from the German Democratic Republic. The Council also sent abroad paintings of some of the Indian artists for, participation in Festivals. Thus, paintings of Indian artists were sent for participation in the 8th lnternational Festival of Paintings held at Cagnes Sur-Mer and in the international exhibition of art organised by the Museum

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of Modem Art at Belgrade. Paintings by Rabindra Nath Tagore were exhibited in Indian Mission in Rajshahi (Bangladesh) and paintings by Indian artists exhibited at Sao Paulo Biennale. Books and objects of art were, presented to Universities and Institutions in many countries of Europe, Asia, America and Africa.

A number of professors and lecturers were deputed to various centres of Indian Studies abroad to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge about Indian history, languages, art and culture. Under this scheme, visiting professors were sent to Universities in Thailand, Trinidad, Mexico, Senegal, Romania, Bulgaria. Poland. Afghanistan, Indonesia and Guyana.

The third joint meeting of the Indo-US Sub-Commission on Education and Culture was held in New Delhi in May 1977. The Sub-Commission reviewed the progress made during the last year and identified areas of new initiative for future cooperation. The Commission decided to continue the fellowship programme by exchanging ten scholars on each side, agreed to new joint seminars and reviewed the programme for sending of Indian feature films to the United States for the festival of Indian films to be organised by the American Film Institute and the Public Broadcasting Service. T.V. Network. The Sub-Commission dis- cussed suggestions for expanding programme of collaboration in various fields. The first meeting to formulate plans for the Joint Media Working Group under the Sub-Commission was also held and the All India Radio, Doordarshan and the Films Division. were requested to send their suggestions regarding exchanges of films, documentaries and personnel.

The Indian Cultural centres in Fiji. and Guyana continued to function well. The Council assisted the School of Music at Kabul, the School of Indian Culture in Trinidad and Tobago and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in Mauritius by lending to them the services of experts in music/dance.

Another aspect of the Council's work was to look after the welfare of foreign students in India. Summer camps were orga- nised for the benefit of such students and financial assistance was given to the All India Uganda Students' Association to hold their annual conference in Delhi. Study tours and sight-seeing tours were organised for the benefit of foreign students from time to time. Financial assistance was also extended to a number of foreign students who were in India to enable them to tide over their difficulties.

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The scheme of nominating self-financing students from deve- loping countries of Asia and Africa for admission to medical and engineering colleges in India was continued during the year. Due to limited number of seats available, all the applicants for such courses, however, could not be accommodated. In all, 243 students were admitted to engineering colleges and 75 to medical colleges. The statement indicating the country-wise break-up of seats allotted during the last three years is given at Appendix VI.

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Pprotocol
CHAPTER XII

PPROTOCOL

The governments of Central African Empire, Niger and Mali appointed their first Ambassadors to India. H.E. Mr. Jean- Louis G. Psimhis, Ambassador of Central African Empire, H.E. Mr. Illa Salifou, Ambassador of Niger and H.E. Mr. Boubacar Kasse, Ambassador of Mali, presented their credentials on 9 May, 18 July and 15 December respectively. While the Ambassador of the Central African Empire is resident in Delhi, those of Niger and Mali are resident in Moscow.

New Heads of Missions of the following 27 countries arrived in Delhi and presented their credentials :

Ambassadors of Burma, Colombia, Uruguay (stationed at Tokyo), Afghanistan, Norway, FRG, Peru, Central African Em- pire, Romania, Egypt, USA, Niger (stationed in Moscow). Nepal, Mexico, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Ethiopia. Mali (stationed in Moscow), and High Commissioners of Britain, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Nigeria. Canada, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Singapore.

The Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of Ecuador left India on Apr 30, 1977, after closing down the resident mission of Ecuador in New Delhi.

H.E. Mr. S. Fida Hassan, Ambassador of the Islamic Repub- lic of Pakistan in India, died in New Delhi on 10 December 1977. He had been Ambassador of Pakistan to India since, 24 July 1976, when diplomatic relations were resumed between the two countries. Flags were flown at half mast on Government buildings and ail escort was provided for the body upto the Wagah border.

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Passport, Emigration & Consular Services
CHAPTER XIII

PASSPORT, EMIGRATION & CONSULAR SERVICES

Passport and consular service is an area of activity in which the Ministry of External Affairs comes directly into contact with the Indian public both at home and abroad. There, was an explosive growth in the demand for passports during the year and major policy changes were made to meet this demand.

The Minister of External Affairs, in a statement in the Lok Sabha on Aug 08, 1977, outlined the features of the new policy aimed at liberalising the issue of passports. The basic objectives of this set of policies were to reduce delays in the issue of paw- ports and minimise the inconvenience and hardship to appli- cants. The changes related-to the free grant of endorsements. signing of Verification Certificates by Members of Parliament dissemination of passport application forms through post offices and simplification of procedures.

From 15 August 1977 all ordinary Indian passports became valid for travel to "all countries except South Africa and the colony of Rhodesia" as against the previous policy of endorsing passports valid for travel on a restrictive basis. It is estimated that, by the end of the year, over five lakh passports, issued prior to the introduction of the new policy, would have been validated on the basis of the liberal endorsement policy.

Members of Parliament were empowered to sign Verification Certificates in support of passport applications. Hitherto, this could be done wily by Government officials of the rank of Deputy Secretary or above and by Stipendiary First Class Magistrates or above. The public welcomed this measure and 1,17,000 passport applications were verified by Members of Parliament, by the end of December 1977. This represented 20 per cent of the applica- tions received during this period.

The scheme for distribution of passport application forms through post offices was introduced from 2 January 1978. To start with, the scheme was put into operation through two Head

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Post Offices in Delhi and is being gradually extended to Head Post Offices in other States.

There was a substantial increase in the number of passport applications received by Regional Passport offices. The increase was due to a greater awareness of the availability of job opportu- nities outside India and to liberalised measures regulating the issue of passports.

Over nine lakh new ordinary passports were issued in 1977. This represented an increase of 58 per cent over the number issu- ed in 1976. The number of applications received, passports issu- ed and the number pending disposal at the end of the year in each of the Regional Passport Offices is given in Appendix VII. This statement also shows the details of diplomatic and official pass- ports issued or serviced and other miscellaneous services rendered by the Ministry during the year 1977.

This increase of 58 per cent over the previous year was achiev- ed by increasing the staff in Regional Passport Offices and by im- proving the efficiency of the system as a whole. 104 clerical posts and 4 officers posts were created in May 1977 and an additional 113 clerical posts and 4 more officers posts were created in September 1977. 53 more clerical posts were added towards the end of the year to cope with the increased workload in some offices. The total additions to clerical staff during the year was thus 270. The total sanctioned strength in different grades of the Central Passport & Emigration Organisation, as at the end of 1977, is given in Appendix VIII.

In spite of substantial increase in staff, arrears still persisted because the Current inflow of applications was more than the capa- city of disposal. Attention was paid to this aspect of the matter with the assistance of expert organisations. such as the Depart- ment of Administrative Reforms and the Staff Inspection Unit of the Finance Ministry. The steps taken led to a significant increase in productivity per man in all the Offices. Further improvements of the system will be effected during 1978. The facilities in the Passport Offices were also improved during 1977. After many years of, effort the Regional Passport Office in Bombay finally moved into adequate office promises. New premises were rented for the RPO, Ahmedabad, and more accommodation was made available in Ernakulam and Delhi. Additional equipment was provided wherever necessary. Aug 08, 1977
Annual Report for 1977-78
MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS 
 
ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1977-78 
 
CORRIGENDUM 
 
Page  Paragraph  Line 
 
v     1  13-14  Read "the visit of the 
              Japanese Foreign Minister,
              Mr. Hatoyama in July 1977". 
 
vi   3   1      Read "same time" for 
                "Same India". 
 
4    2   1      Read  "Bhutan", for "Bhusan". 
 
5   3    8      Read  "turnkey" for "turkey". 
 
12  1    2      Read   in it for "and". 
 
12  1  14       Read  "that" for "the". 
 
12  2   4       Read   "Was" for "were". 
 
15  1   2       Read  "Preceding" for 
                "Proceeding". 
 
15  3    7      Read   "non-aligned" for 
                "non-alignment". 
 
31   3   4      Read  "explaining" for 
                "explainting". 
 
33  5    4      Add "on" after 
                "Commission". 
 
37  2    1      Read  "included" for 
                "including". 
 
47  3    6      Read   "with" for "to". 
pg53>

In 1977, the total revenue of the Regional Passport Offices was Rs. 346.79 lakhs as compared to a revenue, of Rs. 213 laths, in 1976. The expenditure in 1977 was Rs. 104.20 lakhs (Rs. 61 lakhs in 1976).

Increasing attention was paid to the tightening up of emigra- tion control to ensure that the Emigration Act was not violated. With good job opportunities for Indian skilled workers in the Gulf and West Asian countries and with Indian firms securing more contracts in the areas, the year saw an increased emigration of Indian workers for employment abroad. The Ministry of Labour, who are the focal point for approving contracts for overseas deployment of Indian workers, approved recruitment of 34,450 workers till Dec 31, 1977. It was, however, suspected that a large number of workers also emigrated without fulfilling the requirements of the recruitment and in violation of the Emigration Act. This necessitated greater vigil on the part of the Protectors of Emigrants at Bombay and Delhi, the two main points of exit from the country towards West Asia. Surprise checks were carried out by them at sea/airports and those seeking to emigrate in vio- lation of the Emigration Act were not allowed to proceed until they had completed emigration formalities. This invigilation had it salutary effect on those assisting persons to emigrate illegally. It is proposed to strength the emigration staff at major exist points in 1978.

The Consular wing of the Consular, Passport & Visa Division, which coordinates the consular functions of Indian Missions abroad, extended financial assistance to 54 Indian nationals abroad. In addition to repatriation of 409 destitute Indian nationals, 105 cases of arrest of Indian nationals abroad were dealt with; 356 requests for registration of persons as Indian citizens were processed in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs. Death cases of 157 Indians abroad along with 35 cases of states of deceased Indians were looked into. Apart from looking after interests of Indians abroad, the Division also assisted foreign Missions in India in tracing missing foreigners in India. and in the disposal of dead bodies of foreigners and their estates. 119 requests from foreign Missions in India for verifying docu- ments originating in India were entertained. 70,350 judicial, com- merical and educational documents were authenticated.

The use of consular stamps for various consular services ren- dered by Indian Missions was dispensed with, with effect from 1 January 1977, since it was found that the results obtained from the use of stamps were not commensurate with the effort. Dec 31, 1977

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Organisation and Administration
CHAPTER XIV

ORGANISATION AND ADMINISTRATION

Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee and Shri Samarendra Kundu were respectively the Minister for External Affairs and Minister of State for External Affairs during the year. Shri A. K. Damoda- ran assumed charge as Additional Secretary on Nov 01, 1977.

At Headquarters, the Ministry comprised 21 Divisions (of which 9 were specialist divisions) with a total strength of 530 officers and 1871 non-gazetted staff. Twenty three officers were on deputation to other Ministries/Departments and International Organisations.

The number of Missions/Posts during the year was 127 (including 6 special offices of the Representative of India in Bhutan, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York and Geneva and to the U.N. Environment Programme, Nairobi, Permanent Mission of India to the International Organi- sations, Vienna, and Ambassadorial Mission to the E.E.C. and the European Coal and Steel Community, Brussels.) Besides these, India had also concurrent accreditation in 48 countries. Thus, with resident and concurrent accreditation, India was represented in most of the countries in the world. The strength of the Staff in the Missions/Posts was 659 Diplomatic Officers and 2520 non-diplomatic staff including local employees.

To provide better opportunities to its employees for advance- ment in their carreer, 52 posts were introduced in Selection Grade in Grade VI of the IFS(B) and 4 posts of Record Keepers were created in the case of Group 'D' officials. A separate Cell was set up to watch and monitor the implementation of Reserva- tion orders in respect of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and other directives relating to their representation in public services. Similar arangements are being introduced in the case of Central Passport and Emigration Organisations. Details regarding the number of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in the total strength of the Ministry, vacancies reserved for Scheduled Castes/Schedu- led Tribes and appointments made in these vacancies are given in Appendix IX and X.

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The revenue expenditure of the Ministry during the financial year 1977-78 is estimated to be of the order of Rs. 1,03,13.16 lakhs (excluding loans to Bangladesh and Bhutan amounting to Rs. 841.00 lakhs), (Appendix XI). Details of expenditure under various Heads at Headquarters and Missions/Posts abroad including External Publicity are given in Appendix XII.

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's directives on economy, a number of steps were taken to curtail expenditure but some increase in outlay became unavoidable because of inflationary trends affecting foreign allowance, rents and salaries of local staff. In order to reduce expenditure on spiralling rents of residential accommodation and office buildings abroad, efforts were intensified to acquire property abroad. Land was acquired in Lilongwe (Malawi), Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Djkarta (Indonesia). Decision was taken to purchase the existing Chancery building in Amman (Jordan), High Commissioner's re- sidence in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Ambassador's residence in Warsaw (Poland) and Chancery building in Tehran (Iran). Construction of office building and residential appartments in Lusaka (Zambia) and Ottawa (Canada) is expected to commence next year. Preliminary planning has been undertaken for construction of Chancery building in Ankara (Turkey), Colombo (Sri Lanka), and Kathmandu (Nepal). The investment and acquisition of property abroad in the above manner is expected to be around Rs. 5 crores in 1977-78.

A new Mission was opened in Surinam during the year 1977-78 (Appendix-XIII).

The Foreign Service Inspectorate carried out inspection during the year of Missions in Kathmandu, Rangoon, Cairo, Rabat, Rome, Madrid, Tunis, Lisbon, Algiers, Belgrade and Tehran.

The Welfare Unit of the Ministry continued to look after the general welfare of all the officials serving at Headquarters and Missions abroad including admission of their children in Educa- tional Institutions including Medical and Engineering Colleges. and in promotion of Cultural and Social activities.

Financial assistance was provided to some officials during their prolonged illness and to the bereaved families of the deceased officials from the Staff Benefit Fund and employment opportunities were also provided to the direct deserving dependents of the de- ceased officials. Nov 01, 1977

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Hindi in official work
Jan 01, 1977 CHAPTER XV

HINDI IN OFFICIAL WORK

In accordance. with the-Government's policy on official langu- age, the use of, Hindi in this Ministry is progressively increasing. One of the landmarks, in so far as the question of progressive use of Hindi is concerned, was the speech in Hindi by the Minister of External Affairs at the 32nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly in October 1977, thus giving Hindi its rightful place in the comity of nations. The Official Language Implemen- tation Committee in the Ministry watches over the implementation of orders and instructions issued in this regard and all efforts are being made to use Hindi in as many spheres of activity as possible.

This Ministry has two specialised fields of work, i.e., protocol matters and international relations. In these two fields, Hindi was regularly used during the year under review. Documents like "Letters of Recall", "Letters of Credence" and "Commis- sions of Appointment" as well as other protocol documents, were prepared in Hindi. The Ministry also advised Ambassadors and Heads of Missions that while presenting credentials, they may as far as possible, make their introductory speeches in Hindi.

Apart from the above, international treaties and agreements were also prepared in Hindi for signature. This Ministry ren- ders assistance to other Ministries and Departments of the Govern- ment in preparing Hindi texts of such legal and formal docu- ments. The Ministry issued a large number of notifications, office orders, etc., in Hindi. Letters received in Hindi from the State Governments and from the members of the public were invariably replied to in that language. The Ministry also sent, letters to Indian Missions abroad and to Regional Passport Office in Hindi to the extent possible and some of the Ambassadors also corres- ponded With the Ministry in Hindi.

A new tradition was established during the year in that on important occasions like visits of Heads of State and Heads of

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Government from foreign countries, where the visiting dignitary spoke in his own language, speeches on the Indian side were made in Hindi, and a number of joint declarations were also issued in Hindi.

Efforts are being made to equip all Missions abroad with Hindi typewriters and Hindi-knowing typists/stenographers so that facilities for increasing use of Hindi could be extended. 19 Missions were equipped with Hindi typewriters. During the current financial year, 25 Missions more will receive Hindi type- writers as a part of the effort to ensure that all the Indian Missions are equipped with facilities for correspondence in Hindi. Instruc- tions were issued to Regional Passport Offices located in Hindi-- speaking areas, to ensure that in all correspondence work, Hindi should invariably be used in addition to English.

In order to create a favourable atmosphere for the propagation of Hindi abroad, the Ministry took some positive steps. This included posting of Hindi Officers in the Missions in Mauritius, Trinidad and in the High Commission in Fiji. Efforts are also being made to create more posts of Hindi Officers abroad. Hindi translators have already been posted to our Missions in London and Kathmandu. Under the scheme for the propagation of Hindi abroad, Hindi books and equipment worth nearly Rs. 3 lakhs were sent during this year to the libraries of the Missions abroad and to voluntary organisations so that these libraries could meet the requirements of the local people, particularly the people of Indian origin. The Ministry also sent some Hindi news- papers and journals regularly to our Missions. A Hindi news- papers-exchange programme was also started tinder which Hindi newspapers published in foreign countries are sent to Hindi news- papers of India and vice versa.

The Ministry, with the help of its Missions abroad, rendered necessary assistance to those foreign nationals and non-Hindi speaking employees who learn Hindi through correspondence courses. Efforts were made to renew and widen contacts with eminent foreign Hindi writers and to popularise Hindi in foreign countries.

Under the aegis of this Ministry, a scheme called 'Children's Hindi Classes' was commenced by which the school-going children of the employees of the Government of India and public sector undertakings posted abroad, may be able to learn Hindi and not be placed at a disadvantage on return to this country.

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The Indian Council of Cultural Relations financed chairs of Indian studies abroad for which Professors/Lecturers are deputed for teaching Hindi and other Indian languages. These included visiting Professors of Hindi language in the University of Bucha- rest in Romania and a visiting lecturer of Hindi at Sofia in Bul- garia. For the propagation of Hindi abroad, lecturers in Hindi were deputed to Trinidad, Surinam and Guyana. The Professor of Dravidian languages in Dakar (Senegal) also conducted classes in Hindi.

In order to cater to the vast Indian community living abroad, the Indian Council of Cultural Relations also started a quarterly Hindi publication, "Gagananchal". In the cultural centres also maintained and assisted by the Council in foreign countries, ar- rangements for teaching Hindi were made besides arrang- ing instruction in Indian music, classical dance, etc. The Council regularly sent Hindi books for presentation to the cultural insti- tutions and also arranged to Project Hindi films in foreign coun- tries.

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Appendix I Major International Conferences/Meetings/Seminars
APPENDIX I Major International Conferences/Meetings/Seminars etc. organised by Inter-Governmental Organisations at which Government of, India was represented in 1977-78.
S.No.  Title of Conference etc. Foreign Exchange
       (with venue and date)    component of ex- 
                                penditure in Rs.                 
                                                      
 
1                2                      3 
 
Asian  African Legal Consultative Committee: 
 
    19th Session, Doha, 16-Jan 28, 1978  
                          Not available 
 
Asian Development Bank: 
 
    10th Annual Meeting, Manila, 18-27
             April 1977        3733.00 
 
Commonwealth Secretariat : 
 
1.  15th Meeting of the Commonwealth Tele com- 
    munications' Council, Auckland, New Zealand 
    17-28 May 1977                   9554.65 
2.  Commonwealth Telecommunications Conference 
    Sydney, 29 May-10 June 1977 
 
3.  Meetings of Commonwealth Fund for Technical 
    Cooperation, Commonwealth Senior Finance 
    Officials and Commonwealth  Finance 
    Ministers, Bridgetown, Barbados, 19-22 Sep- 
    tember 1977 
 
4.  Commonwealth Telecommunications  Council's 
    Specialist Group for Net-Work operation, Hong 
    Kong, 21-27 September 1977 
 
5.  16th Meeting of the Commonwealth Telecommu-        
                                    1933.46 
    nications Council, Singapore, 28th November-6 
    December 1977. 
 
*6. Indian Ocean Commonwealth Cable Meeting. Nil 
    Bombay- 13-16 December 1977 
 
1.  Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
                                 the Pacific: 
 
1.  Expert Groups Meeting on Socio-Economic 
                       Expenditure met by 
    Measures affecting Fertility Behaviour 
         Programmes    host organisations. 
    Bangkok, 5-10 April 1977 
 
                           

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2. Regional Conference on human Settlement, Bang- kok, 9-14 May 1977 3. Regional Meeting, Bangkok, 5-16 June 1977 5227.00 4. Seminar on Rural Development Organised by Expenditure met by U.N. Asian Centre for Development Administra- ESCAP tion, Kuala Lumpur, 20-28 June 1977. *5. Joint Panel Meeting on Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, Ahmedabad, 31 October- 5 November 1977. 6. Committee on Development Planning, Bangkok, 1-7 December 1977. Food and Agriculture Organisation : 1. 3rd Session of the Preparatory Commission of the 4432.00 IFAD, Rome, 4-8 April 1977. 2. 2nd Session of the Committee on World Food 10,263.00 Security, Rome, 13-19 April 1977. 3. 4th Session of the Committee on Agriculture, 4,489.50 Rome, 20-28 April 1977 4. Meeting on assessment of appreciation of Scienti- Expenses met by fic knowledge to Arid Land Problems, Rome, 2-6 FAO May 1977 5. Meeting of the Contact Group of Food & Agri- 3671.60 culture of CIFC, Paris, 10-15 May 1977. 6. Meeting of the Committee on Food Aid Policies of 8,513.00 World Food Programme, Rome, 16-27 May 1977. 7. 2nd Liaison Officers Meeting, Sri Lanka, 25-27 All expenses met by May 1977 FAO 8. 71st Session of the Council, Rome, 6-17 June 16460.00 1977 9. Joint Workshop on peoples anticipation in develop- All expenses met by ment, Bangkok, 10-16 June 1977 FAO 10. 2nd Expert Consultation on Accessibility Tropi- Expenses met by cal Forest Resources, Sweden, 4-7 July 1977 FAO 11. 4th Session of the Preparatory Commission of the 4500.00 IFAD, Rome, 11-15 July 1977 12. 4th Session of the Commission on Fertilizer, Rome, 28-30 September 1977 13. 21st Session of the Desert Locust Control Com- mittee, Rome, 3-7 October 1977 14. 3rd Asian Conference of Agricultural Credit Co- Nil operatives and the Ist General Assembly of the Asian Regional Agricultural Credit Association, New Delhi, 10-14 October 1977 1 2 3 15. 4th Session of the Committee on Food Aid Policies 9565.00 & Programmes of World Food Programme, Rome, 24 October-4 November 1977 16. 55th Session of the Executive Committee of IPFC, Expenses met by Manila, 31 October-2 November 1977 FAO 17. 72nd Session of the Council, Rome, 8-10 November 1977 18. 19th Session of the Conference, Rome, 12 Novem- 184066.00 ber-1 December 1977 19. Expert Consultation on Grain Legume Processing, Nil Mysore, 14-18 November 1977 20. Ist Session of the General Council of the IFD, Rome, 10-18 December 1977 21. Ist Session of the Governing Council of the IFAD, Rome, 13-16 December 1977 50,000 -00 International Atomic Energy Agency: 1. International Conference on Nuclear Power and its Fuel Cycle, Salzsburg, Austria, 2-13 May 1977 62,368.00 2. 21st General Conference, Vienna, 26-30 Septem- 27,742.00 ber 1977 International Civil Aviation Organisation : 1. 2nd Session of the Study Group on Traffic Peaks 1825.23 (approx) at International Airports, Montreal, 22-26 August 1977 2. 22nd Session of the General Assembly, Montreal, 44,300.00 (estimated) 13 September-5 October 1977 International Labour Organisation : 1. 10th Session of the Metal Trades Committee, 2,071.80 Geneva, 20-28 April 1977 2. Seminar on the 'Application of appropriate tech- 11,400.00 nology in road construction', Manila, 16-24 May Expenses met by 1977 ILO 3. 63rd Session of the Conference, Geneva, 1-22 1,69,007.61 June 1977 *4. National Seminar on Social Security & National Nil Development, New Delhi, 19-30 September 1977 5. Workshop for Directors of Training in Labour Nil Administration, Kuala Lumpur, 19-24 September 1977 6. General Assembly of the International Social 4,056.00 Security Association, Madrid, Spain 3-14 October 1977 pg62> 1 2 3 7. Asian Regional Seminar for Cooperatives for the Nil Disabled, Warsaw, Poland, 4-19 October 1977 8. Regional Workshop on Education and Motivation Nil of Rural Workers for Family Welfare Planning, Bangkok, 1-5 November 1977 9. 204th Session of the Governing Body and its 7,160.05 various Committee Meetings, Geneva, 7-18 November 1977 10. Tripartite Meeting on the conditions of work and Nil employment of Professional Workers, Geneva, 22-30 November 1977 11. 17th Session of Asian Advisory Committee and Not available the Asian Consultations on Working Conditions Environment and choice of Technology, Manila, 29 November-10 December 1977 12. Tripatite Technical meeting for Civil Aviation, Nil Geneva, 7-15 December 1977 13. Sub-Regional Seminar on Status and Role of Expenses met by Women in the organised sector, Dacca, 12-16 ILO December 1977 14. 205th Session of the Governing Body, Geneva, 28 February-3 March 1978 International Lead and Zinc Study Group. 21st Session and the meeting of the Committees of 25,000 (approx.) the Group, Geneva, 8-17 September 1977 Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation: 1. 38th Session of the Council, London, 23-27 May 1977 2. 5th Session of the Joint IMCO/ILO Committee on Training, London, 13-17 June 1977 3. 7th Session of the Marine Environment Protec- tion Committee, London. 10-24 June 1977 4. 11th Session, of the Sub-Committee on Life Saving Appliances, London, 27 June-1 July 1977 5. 10th Session of the Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping, London, 19-23 September 1977 pg63> 1 2 3 6. Joint Maritime Safety Committee/Marine Environ- ment Protection Committee Meeting on Tanker Safety and Pollution Prevention, London, 10-21 October 1977 7. 9th Extraordinary Session of the Council, London, 4-5 November 1977 8. 10th Session of the Assembly, London. 7-18 November 1977 9. 18th Session of the Sub-Committee on Radio- 2035.00 Communication, London, 28 November-2 December 1977 10. 8th Session of Marine Environment Protection Committee, London, 5-9 December 1977 11. International Conference on Tanker Safety and Pollution Prevention, London, 6-17 February 1978 International Monetary Fund/International Bank for Reconstruction and Development: 1. Meeting of the Group of Twenty-four, Interim & & Development Committees and annual meetings, Washington, 23-30 September 1977 2. Seminar of 18 member Nations, Washington, 4-12 Expenses met by October 1977 IMF International Telecommunication Satellite System: 1. 5th Meeting of the Singnatories, Sydney, 19-22 2,727.00 April 1977 2. Meeting of Operations Representatives for Indian 2,540.93 Ocean Region, Honolulu, Hawii, 26-30 April 1977 3. Seminar on New Earth Station Technology, 1,057.00 Athens, 23-26 October 1977 International Communication Union : 32nd Session of the Administrative Council, Geneva, 23 May-10 June 1977 United Nations Children's Fund : Annual Session of the Executive Board, Manila, 14,308.06 17 May-3 June 1977 pg64> 1 2 3 United Nations Conference on Trade ond Develop- ment : 1. 8th Session of the Committee on Shipping, Geneva, 12-22 April 1977 2. 2nd Meeting of the Committee on Economic Co- operation among Developing Countries, Geneva, 2-6 May 1977 3. 17th Session of the Trade & Development Board, Geneva, 23 August-2 September 1977 4. 3rd Session of 3rd Ad hoc Group of Experts on Restrictive Business Practices, Geneva, 17-25 October 1977 5. 2nd Part of the U.N. Negotiating Conference on a Common Fund under the Integrated Programme for Commodities, Geneva, 7 November-2 December 1977 6. 4th Session of the Inter-Governmental Prepara- tory Group on a Convention on International Multi-Modal Transport, Geneva, 14-25 November 1977 United Nations Development Programme : 1. Meeting of the International Panel of Experts for Nil preparatory work for a World Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries Kuwait, 31 May-5 June 1977 2. 24th Session of the Governing Council, Geneva, 18786.00 7 June-1 July 1977 3. Meeting of the Asian Re-insurances Corporation, Expenses met by Bangkok, 31 October-2 November 1977 UNDP United Nations Economic and Social Council: 1. 2nd Meeting of the Inter-Governmental Working Group on a Code of Conduct for Transnational Corporations, New York, 18-22 April 1977 2. 3rd Session of the UN Commission on Transna- 39. 131.10 tional Corporations, New York, 25 April-6 May 1977 pg65> 1 2 3 3. 5th Session of the Committee on National Re- Not available sources, Geneva, 10-21 May 1977 4. 3rd Meeting of the Inter-Governmental Working Group on a Code of Conduct for Transnational Corporations, New York, 6-17 February 1978 5. 34th Session of Human Rights Commission, Geneva, 6 February-10 March 1978 6. 4th Meeting of the Inter-Governmental Working Group on a Code of Conduct for Transnational Corporations, New York, 20-31 March 1978 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation: 1. 102nd Session of the Executive Board, Paris, 25 3,000.00 April-13 May 1977 2. Sub-Regional Meeting of National Commission in 2377.03 Asia, Manila, 1-7 August 1977 3. 103rd Session of the Executive Board, Paris, 12 3000.00 September-7 October 1977 4. Project Meeting No. 107, Izmir and Athens, 1693.00 21 September-6 October 1977 *5. Regional Seminar on Informatics in South and 27920.00 Central Asia, New Delhi, 7-9 November 1977 *6. International Symposium on Archaean Geoche- Nil mistry, Hyderabad, 15-19 November 1977 7. Ad Hoc Meeting of Experts on Science and Tech- Expenses met by nology aspects of UNESCO's, Paris, 21 November UN 1977 8. Project Meeting No. 2 on Precambrian Mobile 23,042.00 Zones, Cairo, 10-22 December 1977 9. Meeting on Ophiolites, Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, 360.00 10-17 December 1977 10. Project Meeting No. 129 on Laterites and Lateri- 1900.00 tization, Ouagadougou, Upper Volta, 17-27 December 1977 11. 2nd Thailand Workshop on Mangrove Environ- Expendituremet ment, Thailand UNESCO 6-1173EA/77 pg66> 1 2 3 United Nations General Assembly: 1. UN Conference on Succession of States in respect 44,724.00 of Treaties, Vienna, 4 April-8 May 1977 (estimated) 2. 6th Session of the UN Conference on the Law of Nil the Sea, New York, 21 May-18 July 1977 3. 10th Session of the United Nations Commission of 35,639.04 international Trade Law, Vienna, 23 May- (estimated) -17 June 1977 4. UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer 2,968.00 Space, Vienna, 20 June-1 July 1977 5. Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on 13,788.00 the Prohibition of Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and other weapons of mass destruction on the sea bed and the ocean floor and in the sub-soil thereof, Geneva, 20 June-1 July 1977 6. Meeting of the Regional Group for Asia and the 95.00 Pacific of UN Advisory Committee on the Appli- cation of Science & Technology to Development, (UN-ACAST), Bangkok, 21-23 June 1977 7. 6th Session of the 3rd United Nations Conference 6,425.00 on the Law of the Sea, New York, 25 June-15 July 1977 8. Meeting of the Working Group on Policy for 564.75 Science & Technology within the UN Systems set up by UN-ACAST, Geneva, 13-15 July 1977 9. International Conference on the National Treaty 200.00 Law and Procedure, Villa Cerbelloni, Italy, 6-10 (estimated) August 1977 10. 6th Session of International Civil Service 16,800.00 Commission Meeting, Vienna, 16 August-2 Sep- (approx.) tember 1977 11. 3rd U.N. Conference on Standardisation of Geo- 9927.61 graphical Names and the 7th Session of Experts on Geographical Names, Athens, Greace. 16 August 8 September 1977 12. World Conference for Action against Apartheid in 11,025.00 Lagos, 22-26 August 1977 and Accra, 27-29 (approx.) August 1977 pg67> 1 2 3 13. 9th Session of the United Nations Commission on 9,050.00 International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working (estimated) Group on the International Sale of Goods, Geneva, 19-30 September 1977 14. 32nd Session of the General Assembly, New York, 815,000.00 20 September-21 December 1977 (approx.) 15. Meeting of the 23rd Annual Session of the UN 1794.00 Secretary General's Advisory Committee on the Application of Science & Technology to Develop- ment (UN-ACAST), Geneva, 13-19 November -3 Decemcer 1977 16. U.N. Meeting of Experts on Sea Bed Mineral Nil Resources Assessment, New York, 27 November -3 December 1977 17. 6th Session of the Working Group on International Not available Negotiable Instruments, Geneva, 3-13 January 1978 18. International Civil Service Commission Meeting, 24,300.00 New York 27 February-17 March 1978 (approx.) 19. UN Conference on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, Not available Hamburg (FRG), 6-31 March 1978 United Nations Industrial Development Organisation : 1. Expert Group Meeting on Industrialisation in re- lation to Integrated Rural Development, Vienna, 12-15 December 1977 2. Plenipotentiary Conference on the Establishment of UNIDO as a Specialised Agency, New York, 21 Nil February-10 March 1978 World Health Organisation : 1. 30th World Health Assembly, Geneva, 2 May 1977 for 3 weeks 2. 30th Session of the Regional Committee for South East Asia, Bangkok, 2-8 August 1977 *3. International Symposium on "Recent Progress on Immunology of Laprosy and Chronic Microbacter- terial Infections, New Delhi, 11-15 November 1977 pg68> 1 2 3 *4. Regional Seminar on Anti-malaria operations, Bombay and Aurangabad, 28 November-9 December 1977 5. 61st Session of the Executive Board, Geneva, 11 January 1978 World Meteorological Organisation 1. 4th Session of the Panel on Tropical Cyclones, 668 -00 Dacca, 12-18 April 1977 2. 4th Session of the Commission for Basic Systems Expenses met by, Advisory Working Group, Geneva, 13-15 April WMO 1977 3. 13th Session of JOC for GARP and FGGE Re- Expenses met by search Coordination Conference, Stockholm, WMO 21-22 April 1977 4. Technical Conference on Instruments and Method of Observation, Hamburg, FRG, 27-30 July 1977 8629.00 5. 7th Session of the Commission for Instruments & Method of Observation, Hamburg, FRG, 1-2 August 1977 6. Conference on the Potential Benefit of Agricultural Meteorology, Rome, 16-24 October 1977 7. 2nd Planning Meeting on Tropical Wind Observing 2633.00 System (TWOS), Geneva, 17-21 October 1977 8. Informal Planning Meeting for the Establishment Financed by WMO of Co-ordinated Programme of Storm Data Acquisition in the Bay of Bengal, Bangkok, 2-5 November 1977 World Tourism Organisation SARTC Meeting, Islamabad, 12-26 September 908.00 1977 *In India. Jan 28, 1978
Appendix II Major International Conferences/Meetings/Seminars
APPENDIX II Major International Conferences/Meetings/Seminars organised by Non- Governmental Organisations, at which India was represented with Government assistance in 1977-78
S.No.    Title of Conference    Foreign Exchange
        (with venue & date)     component of ex- 
                                penditure in Rs. 

1                   2                     3 
 
1 . Special mid-year meeting of the International
       Exe-        Nil 
    cutive Committee and Council of Pugwash move- 
    ment, Geneva, 12-Apr 19, 1977 
 
2.  11th International Hydrographic: Conference in
             12,465.00 
    Monte Cario, Monaco, 18-30 April 1977 
 
3.  10th Conference of the International Association 
    of Ports and Harbour's, Houston, Texas (USA) 
    23-30 April 1977 
 
4.  14th Session of International Commission on Rice,
           2,000.00 
    Rome, 27-30 April 1977 
 
5.  Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA), Board of
           5601.00 
    Directors' Meeting, Frankfort, 1-20 May 1977 
 
6.  Asian Productivity Organisation Symposium on
               Nil 
    Computer Application, Tokyo, 23-27 May 1977 
 
7.  7th Session of the Working Group on International
         1,125.00 
    Statistical Programme, Geneva, 23-24 June 1977 
 
8.  Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA), Market-
           Nil 
    ing Meeting, Los Angeles (USA), 9-20 July 1977 
 
9.  27th Pugwash Conference on Science & World 
               Nil 
    Affairs, Munich (FRG), 21-31 August 1977 
 
10. 26th Session of International Conference on 
    Edu-          38,914.00 
    cation, Geneva, 30 August-8 September 1977 
 
11. International Conference on Nutrition 
    Education,          Expenditure met b
y 
    Oxford, England, 31 August-7 September 1977
               UNICEF 
 
12. Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA)--'
    Promote          2,188.00 
    Conference' Sydney, Melbourne, Perth & Adelaid, 
    2-15 September 1977 
 
                              
 
                              
 
1                      2                       3 
 
13.  9th Asian Electronics Conference and 5th 
     General        11022.00 
     Assembly of Asia Electronics Union, Tehran, 
     21-27 September 1977 
 
14.  Executive Committee Meeting of the International
        3667.65 
     Cooperative Alliance (ICA), Enschede, The Nether- 
     lands, 27-28 September 1977 
 
15.  Regional Conference of the International Council
        21,400 
     on Social Welfare for Asia and Western Pacific,
         (provisional) 
     Tehran, 3-8 October 1977 
 
16.  ASTA Annual Convention, Madrid, Spain and 
               3,930.00 
     Geneva, 29 October-5 November 1977 
 
17.  Pacific Area Travel Association, Board of Direc-
        Nil 
     tors' Meeting, San Francisco, 12 November-7 
     December 
 
*18. 41st Session of International Statistical 
     Institute,    Nil 
     New Delhi, 5-15 December 1977 
 
*19. Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) Conference, 
     New Delhi, 22-28 January 1978 
 
*In India. 
 

Apr 19, 1977
Appendix III Miscellaneous International Conferences
APPENDIX III Miscellaneous International Conferences etc. in 1977-78 at which Govern- ment of India was represented or at which India was represented with Government of India's assistance
S.No.  Title of conference     Foreign exchange
       (with venue & date)     component of ex-       
                               penditure in Rs.                      
                                                        
1                          2                3 
 
1.  Conference on Transfer of Nuclear Technology
           1016.00 
    Persepolis/Shiraz 10-Apr 14, 1977 
 
2.  Special Air Transport Conference, Montreal,
            7311.43 (approx.) 
    13-26 April 1977 
 
3.  4th Regional Consultation Meeting of the Asian 
        Nil 
    Programme of Educational Innovation and Deve- 
    lopment (APEID), Bangkok, 19-25 April 1977 
 
4.  Meeting of the Technical and Economic, Market- 
    ing and Financial Panel of Preparatory Committee 
    of International Maritime Satellite Organisation 
    (INMARSAT) Paris, 9-14 May 1977 
 
5.  International Maritime Satellite System First 
    Technical Panel Meeting, Paris, 9-13 May 1977 
         3,127.00 
 
6.  International Symposium on Space Science &  
           7,626.00 
    Technology, Tokyo, 16-20 May 1977 
 
7.  Symposium on Space Tribology, Netherlands, 
            4,692.00 
    27-30 May 1977 
 
8.  10th Asian Pacific Forestry Commission, Nepal,
         1635.00 
    6-10 June, 1977 
 
9.  Preparatory Meeting of the Experts for the 4th
         Nil 
    Regional Conference of Ministers of Education 
    responsible for Economic Planning in Asia and 
    Oceania, Bangkok, 25-28 July 1977 
 
10. 15th Session of the Asian and Pacific Coconut 
         All expenses met by 

    Community, Bangkok, 26-30 July 1977      APCC 
 
11. 6th Quinquenial Conference of the International 
       440.00 
    Council of Educators of the Visually handicapped 
    Paris 1-10 August 1977. 
 
                              
 
                              
 
1                      2                   3 
 
12. International Conference on "Utilisation of 
           7229.15 
    Mineral Resources in the Developing Countries" 
    Lusaka, Zambia, 3-5 August 1977 
 
*13.International Conference on Production Engi-
           Nit 
    neering New Delhi, 27-30 August 1977 
 
14. 8th International Congress on Social Insects. 
    Nageningen, Netherlands, 2-22 September 1977 
 
15. Sub-Commission of the South & East Asia of the 
        1190.00 
    Commission for Geological Map of World, 
    Seoul, Korea, 5-9 September 1977 
 
16. Final meetings of the study groups of the 
    Interna-     Not available 
    tional Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) 
    Group A, Geneva, 25 September-21 October 
    1977 
 
17. 1977 Photovolataic Solar Energy Conference con- 
       4000.00 (approx.) 
    ducted by Commission of European Communities, 
    Luxembourg 27-30 September 1977 
 
18. International , Conference on Remote Control and
       12,340 -00 
    Monitoring in Mining.  Birmingham, UK 10-18 
    October 1977 
 
*19. 3rd Asian Conference on Agricultural Credit and
       Nit 
    Cooperatives (ACACC) and Ist General Assembly 
    of the Asian and the Pacific Regional Agricultural 
    Credit Association (APEACA), New Delhi, 10-14 
    October 1977 
 
20. International Maritime Satellite System Second 
        1,763.00 
    TechnicalPanel meeting, New Castles, U.K. 10-14 
    October 1977 
 
21. Asian Regional Seminar on Social Policy organised
      Nil 
    by the Indian Association of Trained Social 
    Workers with India International tCentre, New 
    Delhi, 11-16 October 1977 
 
2.  Colloquium on-employment motivation in public  
        Not available. 
    enterprises in Asia, organised by the Asian Centre 
    for Development Administration, Kuala Lampur, 
    17-22 October 1977. 
 
*23. 5th Session of ICFC and the 6th Session of the
        Nil 
    ICFC Executive Committee for the implementation 
    of the International Indian Ocean Survey and 
    Development Programme, Cochin, 17-26 October 
    1977 
 
                              
 
1                      2                      3 
 
24. Conference of the International Nuclear Fuel 
    Cycle Evaluation, Washington, DC' 19-21 October 
    1977                                4,183.00 
 
25. Asian Regional Seminar on Deafness Tehran, 
     4-9         Nil 
    November 1977 
 
26. 26th Meeting of the Colombo Plan Consultative
          24750.00 
    Committee, Kathmandu, 28 November-9 Decem- 
    ber 1977 
 
27. Final meetings of the Study Groups of the Inter
        Not available. 
    national Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) 
    Group B, Geneva, 9 January-3 February 1978 
 
28. Asian and Pacific Regional Seminar on Public 
          Not available. 
    Enterprises Policy on Investment, Policy, Costs 
    and Returns, Kuala Lampur, 18-27 January 1978 
 
*In India. 
 

Apr 14, 1977
Appendix IV International Organisations
Jan 01, 1977 APPENDIX IV International Organisations of which INDIA became a Member or ceased to be a Member during the year 1977-78.
S.No. Name of International   Name of International
     Organisa-tion of which   Organisation of which
    India became a Member     India ceased to be a 
   during the year 1977-78    member during the year
                              1977-78         
 
1.  International Fund for Agricultural 
    Development (IFAD) 
2.  Association of Development Re- 
    search of Training Institutions of 
    Asia and the Pacific. 
 
                             pg74> 
 
Jan 01, 1977
Appendix V Treaties/Conventions/Agreements concluded or renewed by India
APPENDIX V Treaties/Conventions/Agreements concluded or renewed by India with other Countries in 1977* (*This list is not exhaustive)
Sl.  Title of Convention/   Date of     Date of    Date on   Remarks 
No.  Treaty/Agreement       signature   ratifica-  which 
                                        tion/      entered 
                                        accession  into 
                                                   force 
 
1          2                   3          4          5          6 
 
MULTILATERAL 
 
International Convention on 
the Suppression and Punish- 
ment of the Crime of 
 
APARTHEID 
 
1.  International Convention         Aug 17, 1977  22-10-1977 
    on the Suppression and 
    Punishment of the Crime of 
    Apartheid, 1973. 
 
    Vienna Convention on 
    Consular Relations 
    Optional Protocol to the 
    Vienna Convention on Con- 
    sular Relations concerning 
    Acquisition of Nationality 
    Optional Protocol to the 
    Vienna Convention on 
    Consular Relations concern- 
    ing the Compulsory Settle- 
    ment of Disputes. 1963. 
 
2.  Vienna Convention on Con-            25-10-1977 28-12-1977 
    sular Relations; the Op- 
    tional Protocol concerning 
    Acquisition of Nationality 
    and the Optional Protocol 
    concerning the Compulsory 
    Settlement of Disputes. 
    1963. 
 
European Economic Community 
 
3.  Exchange of letters between     10-5-1977         10-5-1977 
    the Government of India 
    and European Economic 
    Community regarding food 
    aid. 
 
                             pg75> 
 
                             pg76> 
 
1               2                      3       4      5          6 
 
4.  Exchange of letters between    15-11-1977      15-11-1977 
    the Government of India 
    and the Commission of the 
    European Communities for 
    EEC Food Aid-Skimmed 
    Milk Powder. 
 
    International Atomic Energy 
    Agency 
 
5  Exchange of letters between      4-11-1977        4-11-1977 
    the Government of India 
    and the International 
    Atomic Energy Agency re- 
    garding the extension of the 
    Regional Cooperative 
    Agreement (RCA) for Re- 
    search, Development and 
    Training Related to Nuclear 
    Science and Technology for 
    a further Period of five 
    years from June 12. 1977 
 
    United Nations Development 
    Programme 
 
6.  Agreement between the          31-3-1977       31-3-1977 
    Government of India and 
    the United Nations Develop- 
    ment Programme regarding 
    Vocational Training Pro- 
    gramme for Women. 
 
7  Agreement between the           India           30-5-1977 
    Government of India and        18-5-1977 
    the United Nations Deve-       UNDP 
    lopment Programme re-          30-5-1977 
    garding development of 
    Mushroom cultivation in 
    Himachal Pradesh. 
 
8.  Agreement between the           9-9-1977         9-9-1977 
    Government of India and 
    the United Nations Deve- 
    lopment Programme re- 
    garding Project "Stimula- 
    ting Milk Marketing and 
    Dairy Development (opera- 
    tion Flood)-Extended 
    Phase". 
 
9.  Agreement between the          23-9-1977       23-9-1977 
    Government of India and 
    the United Nations Deve- 
    lopment Programme re- 
    garding Project dealing with 
 
                              
 
1             2                      3        4        5         6 
 
Advanced Vocational 
Training System. 
 
BILATERAL 
 
Bangladesh 
 
10. Agreement between the          5-11-1977         5-11-1977 
    Government of the Re- 
    public of India and the 
    Government of the Peoples, 
    Republic of Bangladesh on 
    Sharing of the Ganga 
    Waters at Farakka and on 
    Augmenting its Flows. 
 
    BELGIUM 
 
11. Exchange of letters between   17-5-1977         17-5-1977 
    the Government of India 
    and the Government of 
    Belgium for Food aid- 
    1975/76-4000 tonnes of 
    wheat as gift from Belgium. 
 
    CANADA 
 
12. Exchange of letters for im-   18-1-1977         18-1-1977 
    port of Rapeseed Oil from 
    Canada during 1976-77. 
 
13. Amendment No.2 to Agree-      22-8-1977         22-8-1977 
    ment dated September 30, 
    1969 between the Govern- 
    ment of India and the 
    Government of Canada 
    (acting through the Cana- 
    dian International Deve- 
    lopment Agency). 
 
14. Amendment to Section 2.02     15-9-1977         15-9-1977 
    and 4.03 of the Canadian 
    Development Loan Agree- 
    ment dated 16-3-1973. 
 
15. Exchange of Notes regard-     27-9-1977         27-9-1977 
    ing Amendment to Section 
    403 of the Canadian Deve- 
    lopment Loan Agreement 
    dated 24-10-1975. 
 
16. Agreement between the          6-10-1977        6-10-1977 
    Government of India and 
    the Government of Canada 
    for Canadian Development 
    Loan Agreement of C $ 
 
                              
 
1             2                       3           4          5          6 
 
    32.0 million for import 
    of fertilizer and fertilizer 
    material from Canada. 
 
CHILE 
 
17. Trade Agreement between        17-4-1972  14-10-1977  14-10-1977 
    the Government of the Re- 
    public of India and the 
    Government of the Republic 
    of Chile. 
 
DENMARK 
 
18. Agreement between the          30-3-1977              30-3-1977 
    Government of Indla and 
    the Government of Den- 
    mark on a Danish Govern- 
    ment Loan to India. 
 
GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 
 
19. Consular Convention bet-       12-12-1975  India-      6-5-1977 
    ween the Republic of India                 7-1-1977 
    and the German Democra-                    G.D.R. 
    tic Republic.                             18-1-1977 
 
GERMANY, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF 
 
20. Loan Agreement between          2-3-1977               2-3-1977 
    KREDITANSTALT FUR 
    WIEDERAUFBAU and 
    India for DM 70,000,000. 
 
21. Arbitration Agreement with      2-3-1977               2-3-1977 
    reference to the Loan 
    Agreement-(Item No. 20) 
    Article IX, paragraph (6). 
 
22. Loan Agreement between          2-3-1977               2-3-1977 
    KREDITANSTALT FUR 
    WIEDERAUFBAU and 
    India for DM 9,300,000. 
 
23. Arbitration Agreement with      2-3-1977               2-3-1977 
    reference to the Loan 
    Agreement-(Item No. 22) 
    Article IX, paragraph (6) 
 
24. Project Agreement between      16-3-1977              16-3-1977 
    KREDITANSTALT FUR 
    WIEDERAUFBAU and 
    Neyveli Lignite Corpora- 
    tion Ltd. 
 
                              
 
1                2                       3          4          5          6 
 
25. Arbitration Agreement with        16-3-1977            16-3-1977 
    reference to the provision of 
    Article VI, paragraph (5). 
    of the Project Agreement 
    (Item No. 24) 
 
26. Exchange of letters con-          22-8-1977            22-8-1977 
    cerning supply of fertilizer 
    to the Indo-German Pro- 
    jects at Kangra, Mandi 
    (HP), Nilgiris (Tamilnadu) 
    and Almora (UP) during 
    1976. 
 
27. Exchange of letters con-          25-8-1977            25-8-1977 
    cerning follow-up assistance 
    to the Indo-German Agri- 
    cultural Development Pro- 
    ject, Mandi (Himachal Pra- 
    desh). 
 
28. Agreement between the             14-10-1977           14-10-1977 
    Government of India and 
    the Government of the 
    Federal Republic of Ger- 
    many concerning financial 
    assistance in 1977. 
 
29. Loan Agreement between            25-10-1977           25-10-1977 
    the Government of India 
    and KREDITANSTALT 
    FUR WIEDERAUFBAU 
    for DM 45,000,000 
 
30. Arbitration Agreement with        25-10-1977           25-10-1977 
    reference to the provision 
    of paragraph (6) of Article 
    X of the Loan Agreement 
    (Item No.29) 
 
31. Financing Agreement bet-          25-10-1977           25-10-1977 
    ween the Government of 
    India and KREDITANS- 
    TALT FUR WIEDERAU. 
    FBAU for DM 17,000,000 
 
32. Project Agreement between         25-10-1977           25-10-1977 
    the Government of Madhya 
    Pradesh and KREDITAN- 
    STALT FUR WIEDERAU- 
    FBAU. 
 
33. Arbitration Agreement with        25-10-1977           25-10-1977 
    reference to the provision 
    of paragraph (4) of Article 
    VI of the Project Agree- 
    ment. (Item No. 32) 
 
                              
 
1                2                      3           4         5           6 
 
34. Project Agreement between       25-10-1977            25-10-1977 
    Agricultural Refinance and 
    Development Corporation 
    (India) and KREDITANS- 
    TALT FUR WIEDERAU- 
    FBAU. 
35. Arbitration Agreement with      25-10-1977            25-10-1977 
    reference to the provision 
    of paragraph 5 of Article 
    V of the Project Agreement 
    (Item No. 34) 
 
36. Loan Agreement between          25-10-1977            25-10-1977 
    the Government of India 
    and KREDITANSTALT 
    FUR WIEDERAUFBAU 
    FOR DM 58,000,000 
 
37. Arbitration Agreement with      25-10-1977            25-10-1977 
    reference to the provision 
    of Article IX, paragraph 
    (6), of the Loan Agreement 
    (Item No. 36) 
 
38. Project Agreement between       25-10-1977            25-10-1977 
    Bharat Heavy Electricals 
    Ltd. and KREDITANS- 
    TALT FUR WIEDERAU- 
    FBAU 
 
39. Arbitration Agreement with      25-10-1977            25-10-1977 
    reference to the provision 
    of Article VI, paragraph 
    (5), of the Project Agree- 
    ment (Item No. 38) 
 
FRANCE 
 
40. Financial Protocol (1977-        9-3-1977              9-3-1977 
    78) between the Govern- 
    ment of India and the 
    Government of France. 
 
41. Financial Protocol relating     25-3-1977             25-3-1977 
    to the alleviation of the 
    Indian External Debt bet- 
    ween the  Government of 
    India and the Government 
    of France. 
 
                              
 
1                   2                  3            4           5        6 
 
HUNGARY 
 
42. Exchange of letters between      India- 
    the Government of               13-5-1977                9-10-1976 
    India and the Government 
    of Hungary for the exten-        Hungary- 
    sion of the Agreement for       17-2-1977 
    the development of atomic 
    energy for a further period 
    of five years from 9-10-1976 
 
INDONESIA 
 
43. Agreement between the           14-1-1977    22-6-1977  15-8-1977 
    Government of the Repub- 
    lic of India and the Govern- 
    ment of the Republic of 
    Indonesia on the Extension 
    of the 1974 Continental 
    Shelf Boundary between the 
    two countries in the 
    Andaman Sea and the 
    Indian Ocean. 
 
ITALY 
 
44. Exchange of letters between      2-4-1977                2-4-1977 
    the Government of India 
    and the Government of 
    Italy for Cooperation in 
    Matters relating to the 
    Peaceful Uses of Atomic 
    Energy. 
 
JAPAN 
 
45. Loan Agreement between           3-3-1977                3-3-1977 
    the Government of India 
    and the Overseas Economic 
    Cooperation Fund, Japan, 
    concerning  Commodity 
    Loan II for ten billion Yen. 
 
46. Loan Agreement between           5-4-1977                5-4-1977 
    the Government of India 
    and The Overseas Economic 
    Cooperation Fund of Japan 
    in respect of Tele-commu- 
    nication Project for nine 
    billion Yen. 
 
47. Loan Agreement concern-         19-8-1977               19-8-197/ 
    ing Commodity Loan III 
    between the Government of 
    India and The Overseas 
    Economic  Cooperation 
    Fund, Japan for twenty 
    billion Yen. 
 
                              
 
1                 2                   3              4          5         6 
 
MALAYSIA 
 
48. Agreement between the         25-10-1976                1-4-1977 
    Government of India and 
    the Government of Malay- 
    sia for the avoidance of 
    double taxation and the 
    prevention of fiscal evasion 
    with respect to taxes on 
    income and Protocol rela- 
    ting thereto. 
 
NEPAL 
 
49. Exchange of letters between   27-12-1977                1-4-1977 
    the Government of India 
    and the Government of 
    Nepal regarding extension 
    of the Agreement dated 
    2-3-1973 on supply of iodis- 
    ed salt to Nepal. 
 
50. Exchange of letters between   27-12-1977                5-1-1976 
    the Government of India 
    and the Government of 
    Nepal regarding construc- 
    tion of a Sports Complex at 
    Pokhara 
 
51. Agreement between the         27-12-1977                1-4-1972 
    Government of India and 
    His Majesty's Government 
    of Nepal for Continuation 
    of the Development of 
    Village, Cottage and Small 
    Scale Industries in Nepal. 
 
NETHERLANDS 
 
52. Loan Agreement for Hfl        20-5-1977                20-5-1977 
    120.000.000 between the 
    Government of India and 
    the Government of the 
    Kingdom of the Nether- 
    lands for goods and/or 
    services in connection with 
    the development of India. 
 
53. Loan Agreement for Hfl        20-5-1977                20-5-1977 
    54,000,000 between the 
    Government of India and 
    the Government of the 
    Kingdom of The Nether- 
    lands for goods and/or 
    services in connection with 
    the development of India. 
 
                              
 
1                   2                      3        4         5          6 
 
54. Exchange of letters regard-         8-8-1977            8-8-1977 
    ing financial assistance to 
    the Calcutta Metropolitan 
    Development Authority 
    and the State Government 
    of West Bengal. 
 
55. Exchange of letters regard-         2-9-1977            2-9-1977 
    ing financial assistance to 
    the programme of the Cal- 
    cutta Metropolitan Deve- 
    lopment Authority. 
 
56. Exchange of letters  between       31-8-1977           31-8-1977 
    the Government of India 
    and the Government of 
    Pakistan providing Consular 
    facilities to be accor- 
    ded to  airline personnel 
    operating   air services bet- 
    ween the two countries. 
 
57. Tele-Communication Agree-           1-10-1977           1-10-1977 
    ment between the 
    Government of India and 
    the Government of Pakis- 
    tan. 
 
POLAND 
 
58. Agreement between the               9-9-1977            9-9-1977 
    Government of India and 
    the Government of the 
    Polish Peoples Republic 
    on cooperation in the utili- 
    sation of atomic energy for 
    peaceful purposes. 
 
SRI LANKA 
 
59. Supplementary Agreement            22-11-1976  3-2-1977  5-2-1977 
    between India and Sri Lanka 
    on the Extension of the 
    Maritime Boundary bet- 
    ween the two countries in 
    the Gulf of Manaar from 
    Position 13m to the Trijunc- 
    tion Point between India, 
    Sri Lanka and Maldives 
    (Point T). 
 
60. Exchange of Notes between          10-5,1977           10-5-1977 
    the Government of 
    India and Sri Lanka regard- 
    ing amendments to the 
    Credit Agreement of 4 
    November, 1975. 
 
                              
 
1                2                    3          4           5         6 
 
SWEDEN 
 
61. Agreement on Develop-          26-5-1977              26-5-1977 
    ment Cooperation, 1977 
    between the Government 
    of India and the Govern- 
    ment of Sweden. 
 
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIA- 
    LIST REPUBLICS 
 
62. Agreement between the          27-4-1977              27-4-1977 
    Government of the Repub- 
    lic of India and the Govern- 
    ment of the Union of 
    Soviet Socialist Republics 
    on economic and technical 
    cooperation. 
 
63. Agreement between the          17-11-1977             17-11-1977 
    Government of India and 
    the Government of the 
    Union of Soviet Socialist 
    Republics for the Applica- 
    tion of Safeguards in Con- 
    nection with the supply of 
    Heavy Water. 
 
UNITED KINGDOM 
 
64. Exchange of Notes regard-      27-1-1977              27-1-1977 
    ing Capital Investment 
    Grant, 1977. 
 
65. Exchange of Notes for the      27-1-1977              27-1-1977 
    Mixed Project Grant, 1977 
 
66. Exchange of Notes regard-      27-1-1977              27-1-1977 
    ing Sectoral Grant, 
    1977. 
 
67. Exchange of Notes regard-      27-1-1977              27-1-1977 
    ing Debt Refinancing Grant 
    1977. 
 
68. Exchange of Notes regard-      27-1-1977              27-1-1977 
    ing Maintenance Grant, 
    1977, 
 
69. Exchange of Notes for          30-3-1977              30-3-1977 
    Amending the UK/India 
    Maintenance Grant, 1975. 
 
70.  Exchange of Notes regard-     28-6-1977              28-6-1977 
    ing Family Planning Grant, 
    1977. 
 
                              
 
1                 2                      3        4             5        6 
 
71. Exchange of letters regard-       6-10-1977            6-10-1977 
    ing Amendment to UK/India 
    Capital Investment Grant, 
    1977. 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
72. Agreement between the             3-2-1977             3-2-1977 
    Government of India and 
    the Government of the 
    United States of America 
    for Sales of Agricultural 
    Commodities. 
 
Aug 17, 1977
Appendix VI Number of seats allotted to various countries
Jan 01, 1977 
 
                              
 
APPENDIX VI 
 
Number of seats allotted to various countries 
 
                           1975-76        1976-77         1977-78 
Sl.     Country 
No.                     Engg.  Medical  Engg. Medical  Engg.  Medical 
 
1         2              3       4       5       6       7        8 
 
1.  Afghanistan           3       1       6       1       3        1 
2.  Angola                -       -       -       -       -        - 
3.  A.R.E.                -       -       -       -       -        - 
4.  Baharain              1       -       1       -       4        - 
5.  Bangladesh            1       1       3       -       2        - 
6.  Bulgaria              1       -       -       -       -        - 
7.  Burma                 -       -       -       -       -        - 
8.  Ethiopia              -       -       -       -       1        - 
9.  Fiji                  3       2       4       2       2        2 
10. Guyana                1       2       2       3       -        4 
11. Hungary               -       -       1       -       -        - 
12. Indonesia             -       -       -       -       -        1 
13. Iran                 21       6      40       5      36        5 
14. Iraq                  8       1       7       -       6        - 
15. Jordan               15       1      26       1      29        1 
16. Kenya                 5       4      15       3       6        4 
17. Kuwait                5       -       3       -      14        - 
 
                              
 
18.  Lebanon              1       -       2      -       -       - 
19.  Lesotho              1       -       -      1       -       1 
20.  Malawi               1       1       -      1       1       - 
21.  Malaysia            36      18      38     15      54      13 
22.  Maldive Islands      -       2       -      1       -       - 
23.  Mauritius           14      15      21     18      27      15 
24.  Nigeria              -       -       1      1       2       1 
25.  PDRY                 1       -       1      1       -       - 
26.  Poland               1       -       -      -       -       - 
27.  Rhodesia             -       -       3      -       4       1 
28.  Saudi Arabia         1       -       -      -       -       - 
29   Singapore            1       -       1      -       -       - 
30.  South Africa         1       4       2      3       2       3 
31.  Sri Lanka           23       4      21      7      23       6 
32.  Sudan                1       -       2      -       1       - 
33.  Syria                3       -       1      -       1       1 
34.  Tanzania            11       3      15      3      15       4 
35.  Thailand             4       3       5      3       2       2 
36.  U.A.E.               -       -       1      1       1       - 
37.  Uganda               -       -       5      1       3       2 
38.  West Indies          -       1       -      2       -       - 
39.  YAR                  -       -       -      -       1       - 
40.  Zambia               1       1       2      1       2       3 
41.  Developed Countries  -       -       -      -       -       3 
 

Jan 01, 1977
Appendix VII Statement of Number of Applications Received and Passport Issued
Jan 01, 1977 
 
                              
 
APPENDIX VII 
 
REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICES 
Statement of Number of Applications Received and Passport Issued in 1977 
 
Sl.  Passport Office/Passport    Jurisdiction   No. of Passport  No. of passpor
t 
No.  Issuing Authority                          applications     granted 
                                                received during  during 1977 
                                                1977 
1       2           3                                              4         5 

 
1.  Ahmedabad   Gujarat                                          79,267    77,8
80 
2.  Bombay      Maharashtra                                    2,39,679  2,23,8
84 
3.  Calcutta    W. Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Tripura, Meghalaya, 
                Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur 
                and Sikkim                                       24,290    20,9
98 
4.  Chandigarh  Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Union 
                Territory of Chandigarh                        1,45,688  1,10,1
21 
5.  Delhi       Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir            1,27,576    97,8
13 
6.  Ernakulam   Kerala                                         3,09,654  2,00,7
17 
7.  Hyderabad   Andhra Pradesh                                   62,068    46,4
84 
8.  Lucknow     U.P., M.P.                                       49,243    35,5
90 
9.  Madras      Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Pondicherry              1,12,905    93,1
14 
 
                              
 
10. Chief Secretary, Govern-   Union Territory of Daman and Diu   11,206    10.
300 
    ment of Goa, Daman & 
    Diu, Panaji 
 
11. Chief Secretary, Andaman   Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Island  1,5
21  1,174 
    & Nicobar Administration, 
     Port Blair 
                                                               11,63,097  9,18.
075 
 
Statement of Diplomatic / Official passports issued or serviced 
and other Misc. services rendered in 1977 
(Figures of 1976 shown in brackets) 
 
Diplomatic passports   762(942)   Diplomatic & official passports services-2469
(2615) 
 
Official passports    3979(4469)  No. of vises issued to foreign diplomats & ot
her staff of foreign 
                                  missions in India-3593(3473) 
 

Jan 01, 1977
Appendix VIII Total Sanctioned strength of Central Passport and Emigration Organisa-
Jan 01, 1977 
 
                              
 
APPENDIX VIII 
 
Total Sanctioned strength of Central Passport 
and Emigration Organisa- tions as on 31-12-77 
 
Regional Passport Officers                  9 
Assistant Passport Officers                 9 
Public Relations Officers                  17 
Superintendents/Protectors of Emigrants    26 
Assistants                                 56 
Upper Division Clerks                     180 
Stenographers                              10 
Lower Divisions Clerks                    244 
Non-Clerical Jeep Drivers                   2 
 
                                          553 
 
Class IV Staff-Record Sorters Daftaries, Gestetner
Operators, Telephone operators, Watchmen, Sweepers
, Peons, Messengers, and Farashes          300 
 
             Total                        853 
 
Jan 01, 1977
Appendix IX Statement showing the total number of employees
Jan 01, 1977 
 
                              
 
APPENDIX IX 
 
Statement A 
 
Statement showing the total number of employees (both permanent and temporary) 
in the Ministry under 
various groups and the representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 
therein (Position as 
on  Dec 31, 1977 
 
Class      Permanent/ Total     Scheduled  Percentage,  Scheduled  Percentage 

           Temporary  number of  Castes     to total     Tribes     to total 
                      employees            Employees               employees 
 
1. CLASS I   Permanent   256        24         9.4%          9         3.5% 
             Temporary   250        15         6.0%         10         4.0% 
 
2. CLASS II  Permanent   697        21         3.0%          -           - 
             Temporary   869        81         9.3%         12         1.4% 
 
3. CLASS III Permanent & 
             Temporary   812        66         8.1%         19         2.3% 
 
4. CLASS IV 
  (excluding  Permanent & 
  sweepers)   Temporary   429        20         4.7%          6         1.4% 
 
5. CLASS IV 
  (Sweepers)  Permanent & 
              Temporary    29        29         100%          -           - 
 
Note: The statistics above relate to posts in the Ministry of External Affairs 
only. 
 
Dec 31, 1977
Appendix X Statement showing the number of appointments
Jan 01, 1977 
 
                              
 
APPENDIX X 
 
Statement-B 
 
Statement showing the number of appointments (both by direct recruitment 
and by promotion) made to various groups of posts and reserved 
vacancies filed by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes during 1977. 
 
              Total      Number of vacancies  No. of reserved      No. of vacan
cies 
Class         number         reserved       candidates appointed   dereserved c
onse- 
               of                                                 quent to non-
avail- 
            vacancies   Scheduled Scheduled  Scheduled Scheduled  ability of re
served 
              filled     Castes    Tribes     Castes    Tribes        candidate
s 
                                                                 Scheduled Sche
duled 
                                                                  Castes    Tri
bes 
 
1. Class I      20        3          1          3         -         -          
1 
2. Class II     35        4          2          4         1         -          
1 
3. Class III    95       17         20          13        1         4         1
9 
4. Class IV (excluding sweepers)     -           -        -         -          
- 
5. Class IV      2        1          1           1        -         -          
1 
 
Note: The statistics above relate to appointments made by the Ministry of Exter
nal Affairs only. 
 
Jan 01, 1977
Appendix XI Revenue expenditure of the Ministry
Jan 01, 1977 
 
                              
 
APPENDIX XI 
 
Revenue expenditure of the Ministry during the financial year 
                      1977-78 
 
                                                             (Rs. in lakhs) 
 
                                                                       R.E. 
                                                                    1977-78 
 
Headquarters                                                         569.34 
 
Missions/Posts abroad                                               2661.97 
 
Supply wings                                                         158.17 
 
Other Items 
 
Contribution to the U.N. Commonwealth Secretariat and 
        other International Institutions                             241.22 
 
Central Passport and Emigration Organisation                         168.12 
 
Other Miscellaneous Items                                           2231.36 
 
Subsides and Aid 
 
Subsidy to Bhutan                                                   2466.00 
 
Aid to Nepal                                                         924.39 
 
Aid to other developing countries in Asia & Africa                   575.00 
 
Aid to Bangladesh                                                    263.10 
 
Social Security & Welfare                                             54.49 
 
                                       Total                       10313.16 

Jan 01, 1977
Appendix XII Expenditure on Headquarters and Missions/Posts abroad


pg94

APPENDIX XII

Expenditure on Headquarters and Missions/Posts abroad during 1977.78

The expenditure during 1977-78 on Headquarters of this Ministry is ex- pected to be of the order of Rs. 5,69.34 lakhs; a sum of Rs. 189.90 lakhs is towards establishment charges, a sum of Rs. 45.74 lakhs for Dearness Allowance, a sum of Rs. 230.52 lakhs for publicity, cables, diplomatic bags service etc., a sum of Rs. 101.78 lakhs for travelling expenses and, a sum of Rs. 1.40 lakhs for Departmental Canteen.

2. The expenditure on Missions/Posts abroad including the Supply Wings at London & Washington and special Mission in Thimpu is Rs. 2820.14 lakhs, out of which a sum of Rs. 1259.78 lakhs is spent on Establishment Charges including Foreign and other compensatory allow - ances, a sum of Rs. 264.97 lakhs on passages for transfers and local tours, Rs. 165.99 lakhs for Publicity Contingencies and Rs. 1080.72 for official and residential accommodation, P&T Charges and other office con- tingencies. The average annual expenditure per Mission comes to Rs. 21.64 lakhs.

3. The expenditure mentioned above (vix. Rs. 3389.48 lakhs= Rs. 569.34 lakhs+2820.14 lakhs) as per details below on Headquarters and Missions/Posts abroad included expenditure on External Publicity programme activities. The break-up of this expenditure is as under
(a) Headquarters                                            (Rs. in lakhs) 
 
(i) Salaries (Officers 24 Staff 80)                             12 85 
 
(ii) Travelling Expenses                                         5.36 
 
(iii) Publicity Contingencies Charges                          106.64 
 
                                                               124.85 
 
(b) Missions/Posts abroad 
 
(i)   Salaries (Officers 54 staff 245)                          44.30 
 
(ii)  Foreign Allowance, Compensatory Allowance                 34.26 
 
(iii) Passages & Travelling Expenses                             7.31 
 
(iv)  Publicity Contingencies                                   62.09 
 
(v)  Other Charges, including renting of residential accommo- 
     dation and other office contingencies                      18.03 
 
                                                               165.99 
 
                 TOTAL : External Publicity                    290.84 
 
The expenditure on external Publicity as detailed above comes to 8.5% 
of the expenditure on Headquarters and Missions/Posts abroad. 
 
                              
 
                                                       (in lakhs of Rupees) 
 
                               Establish-   Travelling  Office        Total 
                                ment        Expenses    Expenses 
                               Charges 
 
Secretariat 
 
Headquarters                    224.19        96.42        123.88    444.49 
 
External Publicity Division      12.85         5.36        106.64    124.85 
 
             TOTAL              237.04       101.78        230.52    569.34 
 
Overseas Establishment 
 
(a)  Missions/Posts abroad 
   (excluding Publicity Wings) 1181.22       257.66        1215.27  2654.15 
 
(b) Publicity Wings              78.56         7.31          80.12   165.99 
 
                 TOTAL         1259.78       264.97        1295.39  2820.14 
 
           GRAND TOTAL         1496.82       366.75        1525.91  3389.48 
 

Jan 01, 1977
Appendix XIII List of Indian Missions/Posts
Jan 01, 1977 
 
                              
 
APPENDIX XIII 
 
List of Indian Missions/Posts Opened in the year 1977-78 
 
Country                Location                     Remarks 
  1                       2                            3 
Surinam                Paramaribo                   Embassy 

Jan 01, 1977
 
 
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