Tejas misses another deadline for being fully combat-ready
Published: The Times of India
09 Jul 2018
The indigenous Tejas fighter, first approved way back in 1983, has missed yet another deadline to become fully combat-ready. After several target revisions, the government had repeatedly declared over the last couple of years in Parliament that the jet would get its final operational clearance (FOC) by June 2018.
But the single-engine Tejas is still far away from achieving the FOC, amidst galloping costs and operational concerns, say defence ministry officials. The estimated overall development and production cost of the first 123 light-weight Tejas – only nine delivered till now in their initial operational clearance (IOC) configuration – has also zoomed past Rs 75,000 crore.Click here to read...
India reconsidering Rs 2 lakh crore 5th-generation fighter jet programme with Russia
Published: The Economic Times
08 Jul 2018
India has conveyed to Russia its unwillingness to go ahead with the joint development of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) primarily due to high cost involved in the project, official sources said. They, however, said the negotiations between the two countries on the much ambitious project have not yet been shelved as India was ready to have a re-look at co-development of the jet if an appropriate cost sharing formula between the two countries was arrived at.Click here to read...
Pakistan election: Religious parties file record 460 candidates for National Assembly
Published: The New Indian Express
08 Jul 2018
Religious parties in Pakistan, including the banned Jamaat-ud Dawa's political wing, have fielded more than 460 candidates on the National Assembly seats for the July 25 general elections, breaking all previous records, a media report said today. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued the final list of candidates, according to which, 3,459 candidates will contest on 272 general seats of the National Assembly.Click here to read...
China launches two satellites for Pakistan
Published: The Tribune
09 Jul 2018
China launched two satellites for Pakistan on a Long March-2C rocket on Monday. The PRSS-1 is China's first optical remote sensing satellite sold to Pakistan and the 17th satellite developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) for an overseas buyer, reports Xinhua news agency.Click here to read...
Sri Lanka hopes India will take stake in airport with no flights
Published: Hindustan Times
08 Jul 2018
Sri Lanka has already sold China a port that gets almost no ships. The island nation now wants India to take control of an airport with no scheduled flights. The nation first tried to offer China the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in the southern district of Hambantota, but is now in talks with India, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Sri Lanka’s parliament on Thursday. The move follows the $1.1 billion sale of the loss-making port in Hambantota to state-owned China Merchants Group.Click here to read...
India won’t sacrifice principle for Indo-Pacific strategy
Published: Global Times
08 Jul 2018
The US-India "2+2 dialogue," which scheduled to be held on July 6 was once again postponed. Although the two governments attributed it to scheduling changes, the public did not buy the reason. Some Indian scholars linked it to the US concerns over India's purchase of S-400 air defense missile system from Moscow and oil from Iran, and its retaliatory measures against US tariff hikes. As the US struggles to win over India to build an Indo-Pacific partnership, the fragility shows up.
Japan has been an advocate of the US Indo-Pacific strategy, and Australia has shown anti-China sentiment for more than a year. Whether India will actively join the Indo-Pacific strategy is vital to the plan's success. But Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue is likely to be the main reason why the US is slamming the brakes on ties with India.Click here to read...
Bangladesh should liberalise import rules demands Tripura CM Biplab Deb
Published: The New Indian Express
09 Jul 2018
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Sunday, demanded that Bangladesh should liberalise its import rules so that the products from Tripura could be easily exported to the neighbouring country. "There are barriers in exporting products like rubber sheet from Tripura to Bangladesh, however, the same products could be sent through Benapole border. We have listed 17 items which we want to export to Bangladesh through Akhaura border here", said Tripura CM. According to Deb, if these items can legally be exported then both the governments will be benefited in the form of revenue and stop illegal trade.Click here to read...
