SOURCE: PTI

 India and Greece agreed on Wednesday to firm up a migration and mobility agreement soon, besides ramping up their overall cooperation in the areas of trade, defence production and to combat terrorism. Expansion of the overall strategic cooperation figured prominently during extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Mitsotakis is on a two-day visit to India. It is the first visit to India by a head of state of Greece in 15 years. India and Greece have common concerns and priorities in the fight against terrorism, Modi said in his media statement.

SOURCE: AFI

The 21st round of India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held on February 19th at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point. The discussions aimed to build upon progress made in previous rounds and achieve complete disengagement in the remaining areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.

Both sides recognized the importance of complete disengagement as a crucial step towards restoring peace and tranquility in the border areas. The discussions were held in a “friendly and cordial atmosphere,” indicating a positive tone despite ongoing tensions.

SOURCE: PTI

The longest transportation tunnel of the country on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) was opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday as he flagged off the first electrified trains of the Kashmir valley.

“Prime Minister Modi was present in Jammu and he virtually flagged off two electrified trains simultaneously — one from Srinagar to Sangaldan in the down direction and the other from Sangaldan to Srinagar in the up direction,” a railway official said.

SOURCE: ANI

The United States Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, hailed the ties between New Delhi and Washington and stressed that the two nations should work more robustly on co-development and serve as a ‘model’ for the world.

He also said that ties betwen India and the US is not merely ‘additive relationship’ but instead a ‘multiplicative relationship’. The US envoy was speaking at the US India Business Council event in the national capital on Tuesday. Speaking at the event, Garcetti said, “Looking at the way, we are understanding each other’s culture, this is more than an additive relationship, this is not India plus the US, this is India times the US…a multiplicative relationship.”

SOURCE: ANI

On the sidelines of the Milan 2024 Exercise, Indian Navy Deputy Chief Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti interacted with Commodore Jalil Mughadam, Deputy Commander of the Iranian Navy’s Southern Fleet and discussed ways to enhance cooperation between the navies of the two nations.

The two sides also exchanged views on the contemporary maritime security environment and challenges. The 12th edition of multilateral naval exercise Milan 2024 commenced in Visakhapatnam on February 19 with the arrival of warships and one maritime patrol aircraft from FFC. In a post on X, Indian Navy spokesperson stated, “VAdm Tarun Sobti, #DCNS, interacted with Cmde Jalil Mughadam, Dy Commander of IRIN Southern Fleet, on the sidelines of #MILAN2024.

SOURCE: AFI

In a major boost to India’s self-reliance in defense technology, the Tejas Mk1A fighter jet successfully completed its maiden flight with an indigenously developed Digital Fly-by-Wire Flight Control Computer (DFCC) on February 19th. This marks a significant milestone in the development of the advanced fighter, paving the way for its deployment with the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) in Bengaluru, the DFCC is the heart of the Tejas Mk1A’s flight control system. It features advanced technology like a Quadraplex Power PC processor, high-speed I/O controller, and complex onboard software, ensuring precise and reliable maneuverability. This maiden flight successfully tested all critical parameters and performance of the system, confirming its readiness for further integration and testing.

SOURCE: AFI

The delivery of the much-anticipated Tejas Mk1A fighter jets to the Indian Air Force (IAF) has encountered a slight delay, according to officials. Originally slated for March 2024, the first two jets are now expected by March-end, with few more following by year-end. The final delivery under the Rs 46,898 crore contract is now pushed to February 2028.

While officials acknowledge the delay, they downplay its significance. They cite the testing of the improved digital fly-by-wire flight control computer (DFCC) onboard older LCA-Tejas as a primary reason for the setback. Integrating this crucial component into the Mk1A variant seems to have taken longer than anticipated, impacting the planned taxi trials.

SOURCE: AFI

Imagine a weapon that can neutralize drone attacks, deflect ballistic missiles, and even destroy fighter jets at the speed of light. This is the promise of India’s ambitious “DURGA-2” project, a directed-energy weapon (DEW) being developed by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

Current anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems have limitations. “DURGA-2” aims to overcome these limitations by offering a 100% kill probability, potentially revolutionizing the military landscape. This has sparked excitement in Indian strategic circles, envisioning the system effectively countering threats from China and Pakistan.

SOURCE: United News of Bangladesh

Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma on Tuesday said that India was willing to share wide-spectrum capabilities in defence manufacturing, including the most sophisticated technologies, with Bangladesh.

He also proposed graduating the bilateral defence cooperation to the next level by building joint ventures in defence manufacturing. Pranay Verma and principal staff officer of Bangladesh Armed Forces Division, Lieutenant General MR Shameem addressed the Seminar on Indian Defence Equipment — SIDE 2024 — hosted by the high commission of India in Dhaka on Tuesday.

SOURCE: PTI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has indicated that India was open to consider playing the role of a mediator to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict if approached, but noted that New Delhi does not believe it should initiate anything on its own. In an interview to German economic daily Handelsblatt, he also said that following the Ukraine conflict, India’s energy suppliers in the Middle-East gave priority to supply petroleum products to Europe that paid higher prices and New Delhi did not have any option but to procure Russian crude oil.

Jaishankar asserted that just as India does not expect Europe to have a view of China that is identical to New Delhi’s, Europe should understand that India cannot have a view of Russia that is identical to the European one. He said India has had a “stable” and “very friendly” relationship with Russia, and that Moscow never hurt New Delhi’s interests. “We, on the other hand, had a politically and militarily much more difficult relationship with China, for example,” he said.

SOURCE: REUTERS

India will invite private firms to invest about $26 billion in its nuclear energy sector to increase the amount of electricity from sources that don’t produce carbon dioxide emissions, two government sources told Reuters.

This is the first time New Delhi is pursuing private investment in nuclear power, a non-carbon-emitting energy source that contributes less than 2% of India’s total electricity generation. The funding would help India to achieve its target of having 50% of its installed electric generation capacity use non-fossil fuels by 2030, up from 42% now.

SOURCE: ANI

Bangladesh’s far right political party Bangladesh Islami Front has completely rejected a recent ‘India Out’ social media campaign in Bangladesh. The campaign has sharpened after Sheikh Hasina, who is seen to be close to India, won a record fourth term in the recently concluded national elections. S U M Abdus Samad, the Secretary General of the Bangladesh Islami Front on Tuesday hit out at the online campaign especially saying it was driven by hard-line elements who spread hate and misinformation.

The Islami front is a small independent party which had put up 37 candidates in the recently concluded polls. In an interview to ANI during his visit to New Delhi, Abdus Samad said cordial ties are crucial for both the neighbouring countries as he highlighted the increased connectivity in recent years. “There is misinformation there since the beginning that India brought a lot of stuff from Bangladesh in 1971 and also did brutal acts. This kind of misinformation is there.