1. Air India-Airbus deal: PM Modi underlines deepening India-France ties
2. PM Modi holds telephonic conversation with Joe Biden after Air India-Boeing deal
3. India: Income Tax Department searches BBC offices in Delhi, Mumbai; phones seized: Reports
4. NIA raid at 60 locations in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala in Coimbatore car blast case
5. Ram temple defaced with anti-India graffiti in Canada’s Mississauga

What Else

6. Pulwama anniversary: 8 of 19 attackers killed, 7 arrested, says ADGP Kashmir Zone
7. India does not believe in countering security challenges in neo-colonial paradigms: Singh
8. Sri Lankan envoy meets Fin Min and Commerce Min ahead of G20 Finance Ministers Meet
9. Pakistan-IMF agreement: Alvi refuses to approve ‘mini-budget ordinance’
10. Fitch Downgrades Pakistan to ‘CCC-‘
11. UN nuclear chief to arrive in Pakistan tomorrow
12. CTD killed 7 suspects in North Waziristan
13. Nepal: Home Ministry directs police to bring guilty of Gongabu riot to book
14. China ‘disinformation’ alleging US spy scheme impedes top-level diplomatic talks: State Deptt

Air India-Airbus deal: PM Modi underlines deepening India-France ties

• Air India will acquire 250 aircraft, including 40 wide-bodies, from Airbus, Tata Sons Chairman said on Tue at a virtual event attended by PM Modi and French President Macron.
• Addressing the event, PM said the deal reflects the deepening ties between India and France, as well as the successes and aspirations of India’s civil aviation sector.
• He further stated new windows of opportunities are opening up in aerospace manufacturing under India’s ‘Make in India – Make for the World’ vision.
• Macron said the Air India-Airbus partnership shows that the French aerospace company and its partners are fully dedicated to developing new areas of cooperation with India. (here)

PM Modi holds telephonic conversation with Joe Biden after Air India-Boeing deal

• PM Modi held a telephonic conversation with US President Biden on Tue and welcomed the landmark deal between Air India and Boeing as a “shining example of mutually beneficial cooperation”, as per media reports.
• The deals for a record purchase of 470 jets from Airbus and Boeing were unveiled by Air India on Tue, its new owners Tata Group as the US and Europe appreciated.
• The provisional deals include 250 planes from Airbus and 220 from Boeing, breaking previous records of any such deal.
• The agreement was called “historic” by Biden.
• Boeing will provide 190 737 MAX, 10 mini-jumbo 777X, and 20 of its 787 Dreamliners. (here)

India: Income Tax Department searches BBC offices in Delhi, Mumbai; phones seized: Reports

• British public broadcaster BBC News has said it is cooperating with the Income Tax department, which is surveying its offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.
• According to sources, IT officials were verifying certain account documents in the finance department of BBC.
• Earlier this morning, Income tax officials surveyed BBC offices located in New Delhi and Mumbai and were limited to the business premises only.
• According to officials, the survey was carried out to probe the international taxation and transfer pricing of the broadcaster’s subsidiary firms.
• The officials alleged that BBC was ‘defiant and non-compliant’ despite being served notices in the past.
• The Supreme Court had on Feb 3 directed the central govt to produce original records relating to its decision to block the BBC documentary. (here)
• The US has said it is aware of the survey at the BBC offices in New Delhi but it is not in a position to offer any judgment. He asked the reporter to refer to the Indian authorities for the details of the search. (here) WH didn’t comment on it.
• [Most of the global elite international media reported this news by correlating it with BBC docu on PM, and termed it as suppression of FoE, however, no word on “Indian news channel fined in the UK for hate speech about Pakistan” (link)]

NIA raid at 60 locations in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala in Coimbatore car blast case

• The NIA on Wed carried out searches at 60 locations across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala in connection with the 2022 Coimbatore car cylinder explosion case.
• On Oct 23, 2022, Jamesha Mubeen, a suspected terrorist, was killed after a gas cylinder in the car he was traveling in exploded in front of a Temple in the sensitive Ukkdam.
• 6 people were arrested by the police for allegedly helping Mubeen purchase explosives by e-commerce and transport them from his rented house to another house. (here)

Ram temple defaced with anti-India graffiti in Canada’s Mississauga

• A prominent Hindu temple was defaced with anti-India graffiti in Mississauga in Canada, sparking outrage of the Indian community.
• The Consulate General of India in Toronto strongly condemned the defacing of Ram Mandir in Mississauga and called for stern action against the perpetrators.
• Banned US-based terror group Sikh for Justice has claimed responsibility for the incident.
• Brampton’s Mayor Patrick Brown also condemned the “hate-motivated” vandalism at the temple and said this type of hate has no place in the region.
• Earlier in Jan, a Hindu Temple in Brampton was defaced with anti-India graffiti.
• The Indian Consulate General condemned the vandalism at the Gauri Shankar Mandir and said that the “hateful” act “deeply hurt” the sentiments of the Indian community.
• In Sept last year, BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Canada was defaced by ‘Canadian Khalistani extremists’ with anti-India graffiti. (here)

Pulwama anniversary: 8 of 19 attackers killed, 7 arrested, says ADGP Kashmir Zone

• On the 4^th anniversary of the Pulwama terror attack, Kashmir police chief, Vijay Kumar on Tue said of the 19 militants involved in the attack, 8 have been killed, 7 arrested and 4, including 3 Pakistanis, are still alive.
• Talking to the media, Kumar said the security forces are after JeM and almost all their top commanders have been neutralized.
• “At present, the JeM only has 7-8 locals and 5-6 active Pakistanis, including Mossa Solaim (wanted),” he said, adding that they will be neutralized soon.
• He said the police are not only busting militant modules but are also cracking down on narco-terrorism and terror funding.
• He also said the cases registered against over-ground workers involved in such activities are being disposed of at a rapid pace.
• He further said a total of 37 local militants are presently active and only 2 of them — Farooq Nalli and Riyaz Chatri — are old while the rest have joined recently. (here)
• “Remembering our valorous heroes who we lost on this day in Pulwama. We will never forget their supreme sacrifice. Their courage motivates us to build a strong and developed India.” twitted PM Modi.

India does not believe in countering security challenges in neo-colonial paradigms: Singh

• India does not believe in giving “sermons or cut-and-dried” solutions to countries in need of assistance, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tue.
• In an address to his counterparts from various countries at Aero India, Singh also called for united efforts to counter-pressing security challenges, including terrorism.
• The minister said India does not believe in dealing with such security issues in the “old paternalistic or the neo-colonial paradigms” [the control of less-developed countries by developed] and that it always preferred a collective approach to counter them.” (here)

Sri Lankan envoy meets Fin Min and Commerce Min ahead of G20 Finance Ministers Meet

• High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India, Milinda Moragoda on Tue met Fin and Corp Affairs Minister N Sitharaman ahead of G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting.
• During the discussion, Moragoda once again thanked Minister for the unprecedented emergency assistance that India has extended to Sri Lanka.
• The meeting took place just ahead of the first meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers scheduled to be held on Feb 24-25, 2023 in Bengaluru, chaired by Sitharaman.
• Piyush Goyal discusses economic recovery plans with Moragoda and mechanisms relating to the expansion of bilateral trade, the ways to establish and promote rupee trade as a means of economic recovery in Sri Lanka, and the possibility of further bilateral integration in the textiles and garment sector. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Pakistan-IMF agreement: Alvi refuses to approve ‘mini-budget ordinance’

• President Arif Alvi on Tue turned down the federal govt’s request to approve an ordinance, seeking to impose new taxes in line with the conditions of IMF to revive the stalled $6.5 billion bailout package.
• As per an official statement, Fin Min Ishaq Dar called on the president and apprised him of the progress in talks with the IMF and all modalities that had been agreed upon.
• Alvi appreciated the efforts of the govt in negotiating with the IMF and assured that the state of Pakistan would stand by the govt’s commitments in this regard, it added.
• However, the president advised that it would be more appropriate to take the parliament into confidence on this important subject.

Fitch Downgrades Pakistan to ‘CCC-‘

• Fitch Ratings – Hong Kong – Feb 14: Fitch Ratings has downgraded Pakistan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘CCC-‘, from ‘CCC+’.
• There is no Outlook assigned, as Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to ratings of ‘CCC+’ or below.
• The downgrade reflects further sharp deterioration in external liquidity and funding conditions, and the decline of foreign exchange (FX) reserves to critically low levels.
• Liquid net FX reserves of the SBP were about USD2.9 billion on Feb 3, or less than three weeks of imports, down from a peak of more than $ billion at the end-Aug 2021.
• External public-debt maturities in the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 2023 (FY23) amount to over USD7 billion and will remain high in FY24.
• The IMF’s conditions are likely to prove socially and politically difficult amid a sharp economic slowdown, high inflation, and the devastation wrought by widespread floods last year. Funding Contingent on IMF Programme:
• The Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR also reflects the following factors: Renewed Commitment by Authorities: Funding in the Pipeline, Government Committed to Debt Service, and Restructuring Cannot be Fully Excluded. (here)

UN nuclear chief to arrive in Pakistan tomorrow

• Rafael Mariano Grossi, DG of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will visit Pakistan from Feb 15-16 to visit sites employing nuclear technology.
• During his 2-day visit, the Grossi will hold high-level meetings and will visit different institutions employing nuclear technology in various fields, the FO said on Tue
• Pakistan is a founding member of the agency since 1957 and enjoys longstanding and mutually beneficial collaboration with the IAEA.
• Earlier, a group of UN Disarmament Fellows comprising officers from 24 countries, visited Pakistan from October 8 to 10 as part of their international study tour. (here)

CTD killed 7 suspects in North Waziristan

• A team of the Counter-Terrorism Department has been attacked by terrorists in North Waziristan, 7 suspects were killed during the encounter.
• According to the sources of CTD, the terrorists attacked the squad that was transporting the accused from Miran Shah to Bannu.
• CTD said that the incident took place last night at Mir Ali Bypass, and some accomplices of the terrorists escaped in the dark of night. (Jang)
• A joint session of Parliament was held on Mon under the chairmanship of Speaker Qaumi Raja Pervez Ashraf.
• In the meeting, the Speaker NA prayed for the martyrdom of two soldiers, Amjad Islam Amjad and Zia Mohiuddin in Balochistan.
• Former Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani said that a policy statement should come first from the govt regarding the agenda of terrorism.
• He said that since 2006, the situation in Balochistan has not returned to normal.
• Balochistan is rich in resources, but alas, our region is backward, the people of Balochistan are called traitors when we demand their rights.
• He said that we are not getting anything on CPEC and Reco Diq, we are being humiliated in the name of CPEC. (Nawai Waqt)

Nepal: Home Ministry directs police to bring guilty of Gongabu riot to book

• The Home Ministry has directed the Police to launch an investigation and arrest all those involved in the arson of police vehicles and robbery at Lotse Mall in Kathmandu.
• Home Secretary, on Tue, held a meeting with concerned authorities and ordered them to investigate the incident and bring the guilty to book.
• The New Buspark-based shopping complex was vandalized and ransacked after the demonstration staged by transport workers on Mon turned violent.
• Looters had made off with mobile sets worth millions of rupees in the robbery, taking advantage of a protest.
• The Ministry also showed concerns about the police’s lackadaisical response, and the failure to take prompt action to abate the protests, a huge security lapse. (here)

China ‘disinformation’ alleging US spy scheme impedes top-level diplomatic talks: State Deptt

• Washington has suggested Beijing’s “disinformation” about an alleged US surveillance program has impeded the rescheduling of a meeting between the two countries’ top envoys.
• US State Department on Tue told reporters that the Chinese govt was on “its back heels” owing to details that American officials were providing to “dozens” of countries about the balloon incident.
• The bilateral row over the “Chinese spy balloon” and contradictory explanations that have emerged since it was brought down has aggravated tensions between the two.
• American officials have rejected Beijing’s explanation that the balloon shot down on Feb 4 was mainly for meteorological monitoring.
• They assert it was part of a global surveillance program. (here)