SOURCE: REUTERS

Japan’s Astroscale , a company specialized in removing orbital junk, has agreed with Bengaluru-based space companies Digantara and Bellatrix Aerospace to collaborate on technology and services, it said on Friday. The tie-ups will “hopefully” result in an orbital services bid for Indian clients “in one to two years,” which would mark Astroscale’s first operations in Asia-Pacific outside its home, its Japan unit president Eddie Kato said.

“India has been on our top list of possible markets” with established space capabilities, where Astroscale’s on-orbit servicing technology would meet demand, Kato told Reuters. Astroscale is also interested in South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Australia, he added.

SOURCE: ANI

Philippines Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo described the deal between India and the Philippines for shore-based, anti-ship BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles as an important step in strengthening defence ties between the two nations.

Speaking about the agreement, Manalo highlighted its significance for future cooperation in various defence areas. “It was a major significant development in our defence relations and that will open the door for further collaboration not only in terms of military equipment but military cooperation, training, exchanging of officers and operational facilities…,” he said.

SOURCE: PTI

Meetings and discussions in the BRICS grouping are aimed at finding common ground and working together to shape the global order while their common thread is the “commitment to multi-polarity”, the Centre told Parliament on Friday.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said this in a written response to a query on the current status of BRICS and whether it is true that the grouping has now “started disintegrating” post the “tariff threat by America”.

SOURCE: ANI

India has raised concerns over Pakistan’s hospitality towards fugitive preacher Zakir Naik, with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal underlining what it signifies about Pakistan’s approach in sheltering a wanted individual, especially after Naik met former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

During his weekly press briefing on Friday, Jaiswal was asked about India’s view on the hospitality extended to Naik, despite India seeking his extradition to face justice. “This is not the first time that he has been treated in Pakistan,” Jaiswal said.

SOURCE: PTI

The Indian Army on Friday organised a seminar at Likabali Military station in Lower Siang district for an in-depth discussion on Arunachal Pradesh’s strategic significance, developmental progress and security challenges.

The seminar was attended by senior military officers, policymakers, academicians and local dignitaries.
Under the theme ‘Resurgent Arunachal: Integrated Approach to Security and Development’, the seminar saw active participation from students of various colleges in Assam and Arunachal, NCC cadets, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and civil administration officials.

SOURCE: THALES

Today, Thales celebrated the opening of its new avionics MRO facility in Gurugram, near the New Delhi airport. Aligned with the vision of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” (‘self-reliant India’), this centre will provide a wide range of services, including the maintenance & repair of avionics components, to prominent Indian airlines such as Air India and IndiGo. This new repair hub draws on Thales’s expertise as a global leader in the aerospace industry, providing premium support and services to airline customers in India.

The inauguration was held in the presence of the Honourable Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu. The event was graced by Mr. Damien Syed, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of France in India, along with senior Government officials and eminent dignitaries from the French Embassy and the industry.

SOURCE: PIB

Approval of new Deep Tech & Cutting-Edge policies under the TDF Scheme has been initiated to encourage DRDO establishments to identify and involve private sector entities in the collaborative development of emerging technologies. Additionally, private entities are funded through grants to develop specific technologies.

DRDO laboratories have structured research roadmaps designed to keep pace with global advancements in defence technologies and products. Furthermore, DRDO prepares a bi-monthly document that provides a global review of new technologies and systems developed worldwide.

SOURCE: PTI

A US federal judge has blocked the deportation of an Indian student at Georgetown University who was arrested after federal authorities accused him of “actively spreading Hamas propaganda”.

Badar Khan Suri is a postdoctoral fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington DC.

SOURCE: PTI

India is aware of China establishing two new counties, parts of which fall in Ladakh, and has registered a “solemn” protest through diplomatic channels, the government told Parliament on Friday.

“The Government of India has never accepted the illegal Chinese occupation of Indian Territory in this area. Creation of new counties will neither have a bearing on India’s long-standing and consistent position regarding India’s sovereignty over the area, nor lend legitimacy to China’s illegal and forcible occupation of the same,” Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha.

SOURCE: IANS

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday reiterated Modi government’s zero tolerance policy towards terrorism and lambasted previous dispensations for being ‘soft on terror’.

Amit Shah, while replying to the debate on the working of Ministry of Home Affairs in the House, listed out some path-breaking decisions of Modi government including abrogation of Article 370 and how it brought lasting peace in the valley.

SOURCE: PTI

India has “strongly registered” its concerns with the US authorities on the treatment meted out to deportees on a flight that landed on February 5, particularly with respect to use of shackles, especially on women, the Centre informed Parliament on Friday.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha also said the “US side has conveyed” to the MEA that detainees on the three deportation flights (that landed on February 5, 15 and 16 respectively) were “not instructed to remove any religious head coverings and that the detainees did not request any religious accommodations during the flights aside from requesting for vegetarian meals”.

SOURCE: PTI

A total of 388 Indian nationals have been deported from the US since January 2025, the government informed Parliament on Friday.

Of these, 333 were deported directly from the US on three separate military flights in February. Also, the US deported 55 Indian nationals through Panama in commercial flights, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said in a written response in Lok Sabha.

SOURCE: PTI

The Ministry of External Affairs said Friday while an understanding has been reached for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to resume this year, its modalities are yet to be firmed up.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said this in his weekly media briefing in response to a query on the pilgrimage. He also referred to the overall constructive engagement between Indian and Chinese sides at various levels, since the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Russia’s Kazan last October.

SOURCE: UNI

The Navy and the Coast Guard on Friday rescued three sailors from on board a merchant vessel, MV Heilan Star, in the Arabian Sea.

Among those rescued were an Indonesian and two Chinese nationals, said officials. The fourth crew member had already succumbed to injuries by the time a Navy helicopter reached the fire-hit vessel, which was stuck some 425 km west of Goa.

SOURCE: IANS

In a significant breakthrough, the Crime Branch (Southern Range) of Delhi Police has dismantled a syndicate involved in facilitating the illegal entry and settlement of Bangladeshi nationals in India. Three illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, along with their Indian facilitator, have been arrested.

According to a Delhi Police press release, the syndicate was involved in trafficking Bangladeshi nationals into India through Assam and providing them with forged Indian identity documents, enabling them to settle undetected in Delhi/NCR.