SOURCE: Moneycontrol

The Drone Federation of India (DFI) will help the army adopt drone, counter-drone and associated technologies apart from working towards indigenisation of the drone ecosystem. A memorandum of understanding was signed on August 8 for collaborating on manufacturing, research and testing of drones by the army.

Under this programme, the army will invite proposals for development of drone-based solutions for supporting operations in harsh Himalayan terrains. The Army Design Bureau (ADB) will mentor drone companies and enable field visits for selected participants, DFI said.

SOURCE: DEFENSE NEWS

India is preparing a new list of additional banned foreign-made defense materiel, according to the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers, with the industry association providing its own input to the government. The effort follows three other lists released by the Defence Ministry, which have banned a total of 310 foreign-made weapons and platforms. The import embargoes are part of an effort to bolster the domestic defense industry under the economic initiative Make in India.

But analysts and industry experts tell Defense News the private sector — which has long faced adverse conditions competing against foreign and state-run companies — is yet to see a significant change, with few exceptions. Neither SIDM nor the ministry would provide specifics about the forthcoming list, and it’s unclear when it will be released to the public.

SOURCE: The Free Press Journal

In the second quarter of 2022, Meta Platforms, which runs Facebook, shut down several accounts that were found to be operated by APT36, a Pakistan-backed hacker group that was targeting Indians through bogus accounts.

The social media giant also shut down thousands of accounts that were found to be indulging in targeted harassment on grounds of religion or gender. Facebook released its Quarterly Adversarial Report earlier this week, and India features prominently in it.

SOURCE: IANS

 Backchannel talks between Pakistan and India have met a dead end as both sides have struggled to agree on the moves that may pave the way for slow but gradual improvement in the relationship, a media report said citing an informed source.

“Talks have been going on but have reached a point where things aren’t moving anywhere,” The Express Tribune report quoted the source as saying.

SOURCE: NEWS18

Barely minutes after the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) fired up its latest innovation – a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) on its maiden flight — the excitement paved way for dismay. The two experimental satellites – EOS-02 and AzaadiSAT — developed by hundreds of schoolgirls from across Indiahurtled towards the earth shortly after their launch from Sriharikota, and was rendered unusable.

The new-generation rocket that was expected to demonstrate India’s capacities in ready-to-launch missions could not achieve the target it aimed for.

SOURCE: ELECTRONIC FORU

These amplifiers were created by a research team at IIT Roorkee led by Prof. Karun Rawat and a team of scientists and engineers at DEAL, DRDO, under the direction of Pinaki Sen. They were created to be able to meet the demands for high efficiency (for thermal management) and good linearity (for signal fidelity) at the same time. Size, weight, and power have all been simultaneously maximised in the designs (SWaP).

According to IIT Roorkee, these amplifier units perform better than average, attaining high efficiency and gain while also taking into account effective harmonic and intermodulation suppression. The increase in efficiency will lead to a significant decrease in heat load, making it simpler to integrate in the requisite form factor within the Programmable Radio chassis. The device will be mass produced by private domestic partners and assembled with indigenous radio modules from DEAL and DRDO.

SOURCE: THE PRINT

Afurtive romance between a Dalit teen and his Brahmin classmate and neighbour was blossoming in the summer lockdown of 2020, in remote, dust-blown Kumharon Ka Teebba village in Rajasthan’s Barmer. Their families and villagers weren’t exactly happy.

But Gemra Ram Meghwal, then a 17-year-old from the Meghwal community, was in love with his bug-eyed neighbour Priya (name changed). Two years later, caste isn’t what ruined it for the star-crossed lovers. It was the 3,323-km-long fenced India-Pakistan border that came in the way.

SOURCE: Firstpost

“I cycle every night from Paro to Thimphu. I find it meditative”. I was sitting across the Fourth King of Bhutan, listening in awe as the Druk Gyalpo or the “Dragon King” of the Himalayan kingdom narrated tales about his tryst with quiet contemplation. In 2013, when I met him, the ruler had, of course, passed on his reign to his son, Jyigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk.

But the “relinquishing” of power was perhaps more by way of grooming his son onto the higher duties of a monarch. In senses more than one, K4 decreed over the realm and was perhaps one of the most revered personalities in South Asia. In Bhutan he was a celestial being whose word was divinely ordained without question.

SOURCE: VOICE OF SIKKIM

The Chief Minister of Sikkim Shri Prem Singh Tamang attended the meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhawan Cultural Centre in New Delhi.

At the outset, the Chief Minister expressed his pleasure to be a part of the meeting and underlined some of the crucial issues faced by Sikkim. He stated that the meeting is held at an opportune time unfolding the vision of India @2047 coinciding with 100 years of India’s Independence and briefly underlined the state government’s focus on repositioning agriculture and rural societies, developing climate change resilience; diversifying development partners, reorienting the governance architecture, the scientific harnessing of rich biodiversity, restructuring the services sector; deepening the connectivity projects, and establishing mountain-specific institutions.

SOURCE: Analytics India Magazine

In 2021, India’s military spending was the third-highest globally, a defence think-tank SIPRI has pointed out. It was up by 0.9% from 2020 and has witnessed a significant 33% jump from almost a decade ago. Inflated defence budgets are a global phenomenon, with world military spendings reaching an all-time high of $2.1 trillion in 2021. USA, China, India, UK and Russia were the five biggest spenders on defence.

Back in 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin had strongly emphasised on the importance of AI in geopolitical dominance and went on to say that whoever becomes the leader in AI will become the ruler of the world. The dynamics of warfare have changed over the years. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, drones, big data capabilities is what all leading governments are investing in massively, for that’s the stuff future world dominance is made of.

SOURCE: TNN

How will the killing of al-Qaida boss Ayman al-Zawahiri affectTaliban’s relationship with the US and India? In an interview with Sunday Times, Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program and senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center, discusses its impact

What does the hit on Zawahiri smack in the middle of Kabul tell us about Taliban’s links with al- Qaida and other terror groups?

SOURCE: ET

China’s unilateral decision to suspend talks with the US in eight areas underscores Beijing’s attitude towards Taiwan and provides a glimpse of its worldview, particularly how it views the Indo-Pacific region. It should give India a sense of renewed urgency to build up and strengthen its partnerships with like-minded countries.

China has not suspended communication on economic and trade issues, areas it prioritises. Instead, it has suspended military communication, climate change talks – issues that have regional and global impact. China has no qualms holding the world hostage to further its sphere of influence.

SOURCE: PTI

In one-of-its-kind celebrations, the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence will be observed in Boston with participation from 32 countries and will feature an airplane carrying a 220-foot US-India flag over the major American city.

The celebrations this year have several firsts in the history of India’s Independence celebrations in Boston, said eminent community leader and organiser of the parade Abhishek Singh, president of Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) New England.

SOURCE: INDIA NARRATIVE

Indian Army Chief Manoj Pande will be visiting Kathmandu in the first week of September, officials from Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Army said. This will be the first visit of an Indian Army chief to neighbouring Nepal since his appointment to the post on April 30 this year.

“We have received communication from the Indian side that General Pandey will be here from September 5 to 7,” a senior official at Nepal’s foreign ministry, told India Narrative on Sunday, requesting anonymity. He added that the government and army are currently making preparations for the visit.

SOURCE: INDIA TODAY

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday (August 8) carried out searches at multiple places in Jammu and Doda districts of Jammu and Kashmir against members of banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in a terror funding case, officials said.

Simultaneous raids are underway at nearly a dozen places at the premises of JeI office-bearers and members in different parts of the two districts since early this morning, the officials said.
Official sources said the raids are being carried out at Dhara-Gundana, Munshi Mohalla, Akramband, Nagri Nai Basti, Kharoti Bhagwah, Thalela and Malothi Bhalla in Doda district and Bhatindi in Jammu.