1.   

India, Germany sign six new pacts

India and Germany on Thursday inked six key MoUs including that for putting together 7 million for next four years towards joint research in the field of higher education and a pact for a soft loan of 1 billion for strengthening the green energy corridor. A pact to promote German as a foreign language was also signed by the two sides following the 2nd round of inter-governmental consultations in Berlin.

2.   

India, EU inch closer to trade and investment agreement

India and the European Union appeared close to clinching the stalemated Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel concluding the multi-disciplinary bilateral consultations by saying the treaty had entered a dynamic stage of consultations and was within grasp. Talking to reporters with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Merkel said, "We are now in a position where we can get there.

3.   

BRICS combined GDP will surpass US, western Europe by 2020: UN

The combined output of BRICS countries will surpass the aggregate GDP of the US, Canada and other European nations by 2020, said a UN report."By 2020, the combined economic output of three leading developing countries alone - Brazil, China and India - will surpass the aggregate production of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States," said the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) 2013 Human Development Report, titled "The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World."

4.   

WTO's dispute panel to take up India-US poultry row

India and the US have finally brought the imbroglio over poultry imports to the doors of the World Trade Organization's (WTO)'s dispute settlement body (DSB), a year after the US filed a complaint accusing India of violating global trading rules. A consultation process that ended in December 2012 failed to reach a solution. "The US was not satisfied with the consultations. Now, the case has started formally. We are very clear on our position. This is a matter which concerns public health and safety. We are going to retaliate very strongly," a senior commerce department official told Business Standard.