1. Rahul Gandhi says Adani gets contracts wherever PM visits, BJP labels allegations ‘baseless’
2. Quake-hit Syria thanks India for humanitarian support
3. Quad Joint Statement on Cooperation to Promote Responsible Cyber Habits
4. Indian forces seek armed predator drones from US
5. ‘No place for violence in new India’: Amit Shah chairs meet on ‘Left Wing Extremism’

What Else

6. Israel, India to expand defense ties at Aero India 2023
7. Foreign Secretary Kwatra attends meeting in Paris on India-France-UAE cooperation
8. Govt does not abide by collegium view on Christian lawyer’s elevation
9. US stands by ‘stalwart partner’ Pakistan in terror war
10. Pakistan lawmakers discuss Gwadar protests in Senate, denounce rights violations in Balochistan
11. China’s mega railway project is likely to stall in Pakistan, Railway Minister Khawaja
12. Pakistan makes failed attempt to block Balochistan documentary by Indian news network on Twitter
13. China Reservists its Law on “reserve personnel”
14. Taiwan weapons firm test-fires cruise missile believed to be capable of striking central and eastern mainland China

Rahul Gandhi says Adani gets contracts wherever PM visits, BJP labels allegations ‘baseless’

• Rahul Gandhi, a Congress lawmaker, alleged that the govt was favoring the Adani Group.
• Gandhi also attempted to link the rise in the fortunes of the Indian businessman Gautam Adani to the Modi govt coming to power in 2014.
• Speaking on Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, Gandhi claimed: “Earlier he used to travel in Adani’s aircraft and now Adani travels with Modiji in his aircraft.”
• “First the matter was limited to Gujarat then the country and now he has become international,”
• Gandhi further alleged, questing “how much money Adani gave to the BJP in the last 20 years.”
• Meanwhile, a BJP leader responded to the claims and accused Gandhi of making baseless, shameless, and reckless allegations against PM Modi. (here)

Quake-hit Syria thanks India for humanitarian support

• Syria has thanked India for sending humanitarian support in the aftermath of the earthquake that impacted the country.
• A devastating quake hit southern Turkey that also had a huge impact in northern Syria, with thousands feared dead.
• Syrian Ambassador Dr. Bassam Alkhatib said, “we really appreciate people, Govt of India for support, this is the voice of the south we want to see in the future“.
• India is sending a plane load of humanitarian support to the country, even as the ambassador hoped, “another plane going to Syria with more humanitarian assistance”.
• Yesterday, Indian and Syrian foreign ministers established contacts as New Delhi stepped up its efforts to help the country.
• On the sanctions against the country, the ambassador explained, “The government, countries who impose such sanctions, they know well that they are behind the suffering of Syrian people with such sanctions.” (here)

Quad Joint Statement on Cooperation to Promote Responsible Cyber Habits

• Quad countries launch Quad Cyber Challenge & are inviting Internet users across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to join the Challenge and pledge to practice safe and responsible cyber habits.
• Internet users worldwide are targets of cybercrime and other malicious cyber threats that can cost trillions of dollars each year and compromise sensitive, personal data.
• Together, Internet users and providers can take small steps to significantly improve cybersecurity and cyber safety.
• These steps include routinely installing security updates, enabling enhanced identity checks through multi-factor authentication, utilizing stronger and regularly changing passphrases, and knowing how to identify common online scams, like phishing. (here)

Indian forces seek armed predator drones from US

• The Indian forces are seeking 18 armed Predator MQ 9A drones and electronic and spatial intelligence organization NTRO will soon acquire 8 Indian-manufactured medium altitude long endurance drones for border surveillance and reconnaissance.
• While Indian Navy already has 3 General Atomics-manufactured Sea Guardian (MQ 9B) drones for maritime domain awareness on lease from the US.
• The acquisition of 18 armed drones on a G2G basis — with each of the triservices getting 6 drones — will be put up before the center at the CCC at Karwar Naval Base in Apr.
• The conference, which will be addressed by PM Modi, was shifted from Mar to Apr due to logistical requirements.
• Though the navy earlier projected the requirement of 30 drones for $3 billion, the number was pruned to 18 after operational analysis. (here)

‘No place for violence in new India’: Amit Shah chairs meet on ‘Left Wing Extremism’

• Union home minister Amit Shah on Tue chaired a parliamentary committee meeting on ‘Left Wing Extremism (LWE)’ and stressed that “there is no place for violence and LWE ideas in self-reliant ‘New India’ under the leadership of PM Modi”.
• Shah also spoke of how security and development in LWE-affected areas are the main focus of the central govt and that several flagship schemes are being launched to bolster development.
• The construction of 17,462 km of roadways has been sanctioned to improve road connectivity, out of which work on about 11,811 km has been completed.
• Apart from this, to improve mobile connectivity, 2,343 mobile towers have been installed in the first phase, during the last 8 years, under the Mobile Tower Project.
• Approval has been given to upgrade them to 4G. (here)

Israel, India to expand defense ties at Aero India 2023

• Israel Aerospace Industries will sign a series of MoUs with Indian defense contractors at an Indian defense exhibition next week.
• The Aero India 2023 (biannual event) show, India’s largest defense exhibition, begins on Sun at the Yelahanka Airforce Base in Bengaluru
• The IAI will display a number of its aerial drones, a mini communications satellite, a supersonic, long-range air-ground assault rocket, and an electronic warfare system designed to detect and disrupt ground and airborne threats among other items.
• Israeli defense exports to India are reportedly $1.5 – $2 billion annually.
• The IAI has provided the Indian Armed Forces with air and missile defense systems, satellites, radars, unmanned aerial systems, and training platforms.
• The IAI is also working with Indian authorities to develop and produce military technologies for use in the air, land, and sea. (here)

Foreign Secretary Kwatra attends meeting in Paris on India-France-UAE cooperation

• Foreign Secy VM Kwatra attended a meeting in Paris on cooperation among India, France, and the UAE in areas of defense, energy, and environment under a trilateral framework.
• Kwatra is on a visit to France from Feb 5 to 7.
• External Affairs Ministry said he participated in the ‘Focal Points’ meeting of the India-France-UAE trilateral dialogue, launched in Sept 2022 by the FMs of 3 countries.
• 3 countries on Feb 4 unveiled an ambitious roadmap for cooperation in a plethora of areas, including defense, energy, and technology, under the trilateral framework.
• The roadmap was finalized during a phone conversation among FMs of three.
• A joint statement was issued following the telephone talks. (here)

Govt does not abide by collegium view on Christian lawyer’s elevation

• The tumult over advocate LC Victoria Gowri’s appointment as a judge in the Madras high court overshadowed the Union govt’s decision to not follow the collegium’s recommendation to give precedence to elevating a lawyer whose name was proposed for the second time on the same day that Gowri’s name was sent.
• The govt picked to not only keep the recommendation of advocate R John Sathyan pending while clearing 5 others for the high court, but it also stamped out the collegium’s attempt to protect Sathyan’s seniority as a judge.
• Stressing the importance of free speech, the collegium maintained that sharing of the posts “will not impinge on the suitability, character or integrity of Shri Sathyan” as it stood by its recommendation dated Feb 16, 2022. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

US stands by ‘stalwart partner’ Pakistan in terror war

• The United States has said Pakistan will continue to be its “stalwart partner” in the fight against terrorism.
• The remarks by US State Department came on Tue against the backdrop of the recent Peshawar Police Lines terrorist attack that killed over 100 people, mostly policemen.
• The suicide bombing was one of the deadliest attacks in Pakistan and sent shockwaves among the people, who fear the return of dark days of war on terror.
• Given the spike in terrorism, the Department was asked whether the US was extending any help and his response was: “Pakistan will continue to be a stalwart partner of the US and vice versa in the face of these types of horrific terrorist attacks.” (here)

Pakistan lawmakers discuss Gwadar protests in Senate, denounce rights violations in Balochistan

• The issue of protests and sit-ins led by the Haq Do Tehreek (HDT) in Pakistan’s Gwadar was raised in Pakistan’s Senate on Mon.
• Pakistani lawmakers in Senate denounced the rights violations in Balochistan
• Protests led by HDT chief Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman have been witnessed in Gwadar for the past year for being denied basic facilities, including healthcare, electricity, and clean drinking water.
• Jamaat-e-Islami’s Mushtaq Ahmed condemned the violation of basic human rights and lamented that more than 18 cases have been registered against the movement’s leader.
• On Mon, Minister of State for Law and Justice Shahadat Awan said addressing the Gwadar issues was primarily the provincial govt’s responsibility.
• He made the remarks while discussing the motion presented by Senator Kamran Murtaza and Mushtaq Ahmed on the recent situation of protests in Gwadar City. (here)

China’s mega railway project is likely to stall in Pakistan, Railway Minister Khawaja

• China’s mega railway project is likely to stall in Pakistan, Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique says he will talk to China for a 40% reduction in the cost of its mega railway project as Pakistan cannot afford such a huge debt.
• Rafiq said that the ministry will take approval from the federal cabinet and then talk to China.
• The two countries had agreed in Nov to upgrade the 1,163-mile track from Karachi to Peshawar in the south.
• The minister said how will we repay such a huge debt.
• In addition, the report added that Pakistan has been a key location for President Xi’s BRI, under which more than $29 billion of projects have been completed. (Jang)

Pakistan makes failed attempt to block Balochistan documentary by Indian news network on Twitter

• Pakistan’s bid to gag an Indian news platform’s ground coverage on Balochistan has been rebuffed by social media giant Twitter.
• Twitter rejected Pakistan Telecom Authority’s request to gag a News9 Plus story.
• The PTA had claimed that the content violates their law.
• News9 Plus, India’s first news OTT platform, released two-part series ‘Balochistan: Bangladesh 2.0’, which investigates alleged human rights violations in the region as also the likely reasons for sudden attacks on Chinese nationals in Balochistan.
• The documentary series describes the rise in alleged state-sponsored killings of the Baloch people.
• Strategic experts and geo-political observers have labeled the restive province a second Bangladesh.
• The spike in violence has also been attributed to anger by Baloch rebels over China’s investment plans in the province. (here)

China Reservists its Law on “reserve personnel”

• CCP has passed a new law where anyone above 18 years of age is obliged to serve in the battle and report to the designated place and time as commanded.
• To improve the “reserve personnel” [citizens who perform their military service obligations under the law] system, standardize the management, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests, ensure effective perform their duties and missions, and strengthen the building of national defense forces.
• Reserve personnel is divided into reserve officers and reserve soldiers. Reserve soldiers are divided into reserve sergeants and reserve soldiers.
• The reserve personnel adheres to the leadership of the CCP, and implements Xi Jinping’s thoughts on strengthening the military.
• Reserve personnel must obey orders, strictly observe discipline, be brave and tenacious, not afraid of sacrifice, and participate in political education and military training (here)

Taiwan weapons firm test-fires cruise missile believed to be capable of striking central and eastern mainland China

• Taiwan’s top weapons builder has test-fired a missile believed to be capable of hitting mainland China, as cross-strait tensions show no sign of abating.
• It has also said it is working with local companies to develop 5 types of unmanned aerial vehicles to build up a drone fleet and boost the military’s surveillance ability.
• The moves came amid increasingly active air and naval operations by the People’s Liberation Army around the self-ruled island in recent months.
• There have also been warnings from US military officials about the increasing risk of cross-strait conflict.
• The govt-funded National Chung-Shan Institute test-fired the missile from its base in Jiupeng in the island’s southernmost county of Pingtung around 9.10 am on Tue. (here)