1. PM Modi inaugurates “Aadi Mahotsav” to showcase tribal culture, pays tribute to freedom fighter Birsa Munda
2. Snubbed on video, Iran Foreign Minister scraps visit
3. Gautam Adani’s woes will spur ‘democratic revival in India’, George Soros says
4. India plans to make 470 jets, first to roll out in Feb next year
5. IT survey at BBC’s Mumbai, Delhi offices ends, statement likely on Fri

What Else

6. Cabinet approves Centrally Sponsored – “Vibrant Villages Program” of Rs. 4800 Crore
7. One terrorist killed during an infiltration attempt near LoC in Kupwara
8. India will strengthen international bodies to promote Hindi: MEA
9. CBI busts another fake call centre targeting US citizens; foreign currencies, gadgets recovered
10. Indian Railways cancels 443 trains today, diverted on February 17
11. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon over sales to Taiwan
12. ‘Don’t make a fuss’: China asks Japan to dismiss rumors of spy balloon in its airspace
13. China’s Xi Jinping set for Iran state visit as Ebrahim Raisi closes ‘fruitful’ Beijing trip
14. China targets foreign and ‘unauthorized’ media in extended crackdown
15. Pakistan: 2 killed, 4 injured in blast on Quetta-bound Jaffar Express
16. Pakistan nuclear power plants’ safety ‘world-class’: IAEA chief
17. Gilgit-Baltistan government has banned protest
18. The BSC has staged a demonstration in Karachi against the forced disappearance
19. Pakistan: 2 Chinese nationals have been taken into custody for security reasons

PM Modi inaugurates “Aadi Mahotsav” to showcase tribal culture, pays tribute to freedom fighter Birsa Munda

• “Development of Adivasis is personal for me,” says PM after inaugurating tribal showcase ‘Aadi Mahotsav’
• Underlining the govt’s efforts to promote tribal products, PM Modi on Thu said that the Centre is working to ensure that the demand for Adivasis products should increase.
• PM Modi said inaugurating the mega National Tribal Festival at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.
• The PM also highlighted that now over 3000 ‘Van Dhan Vikas Kendras’ have been established in different states of the country.
• He said that over the last 8-9 years, events like ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ that are connected to the tribal community had become a campaign for the country. (here)

Snubbed on video, Iran Foreign Minister scraps visit

• A blink-and-miss 2-second shot of Iranian women cutting their hair in protest, juxtaposed with an image of the Iranian President has upset Tehran, forcing their Foreign Minister to cancel his visit to India next month.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was due to travel to India for the Raisina dialogue scheduled for Mar 3 and 4.
• The Raisina Dialogue is the flagship think-tank event organized by the Observer Research Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs.
• A promotional video of the Raisina Dialogue was put out about a month ago, announcing the 2023 edition of the event.
• This angered the Iranian embassy which reached out to ORF and the MEA and asked them to delete the sequence. However, the organizers didn’t oblige.
• Significantly, New Delhi has not commented on the protests, and last Nov, India abstained on a resolution adopted by the UNHRC to set up a fact-finding mission into alleged human rights violations in Iran committed on the protesters. (here)

Gautam Adani’s woes will spur ‘democratic revival in India’, George Soros says

• George Soros has predicted PM Modi will be weakened by the woes of business tycoon and close ally Gautam Adani, “opening the door” to a democratic revival in the country.
• The 92-year-old billionaire said in a speech on Thu that Modi would “have to answer questions” from foreign investors and parliament on allegations, noting that Modi had been “silent” on the topic.
• Adani Group has come under fierce scrutiny since US short seller Hindenburg accused the company of engaging in “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud” over decades.
• The power-to-port conglomerate was forced to pull a $2.4bn share sale after its stock losses amounted to more than $100bn following the report.
• The Hungarian-American businessman, who established the Open Society Foundations to promote democratic governance, said Modi “is no democrat”, noting that “inciting violence against Muslims was an important factor in his meteoric rise”.
• He added that India “buys a lot of Russian oil at a steep discount and makes a lot of money on it”. (here)
• On Jan 23, 2020, George Soros pledged to Start $1 Billion School to Fight the Nationalist govt (here)
• In Feb 2008, Soros and Google put $17 million into a venture with the Omidyar network to fund small and medium enterprises in India.
• It is said that the venture would make investments of between $500,000 and $3.5 million in small and medium businesses in India.

India plans to make 470 jets, first to roll out in Feb next year

• India is planning to manufacture 470 fighter jets, with the 1^st one — Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mark-1A — to be rolled out in Feb next year.
• The massive project in already underway.
• These 470 jets are separate from 114 jets the IAF wants to manufacture in collaboration with a foreign partner in India.
• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is producing 83 Tejas Mark-1A jets.
• HAL Chairman said: “The manufacturing capacities have been augmented and the delivery of all 83 jets will be ahead of schedule.”
• Apart from 83 Tejas Mark-1A jets, the project includes 108 Tejas Mark-2 jets, 126 jets of the AMCA, and 100 twin-engine deck-based fighters for the Navy.

IT survey at BBC’s Mumbai, Delhi offices ends, statement likely on Fri

• The 60-hour survey operation by the Income Tax Department of India at BBC’s Delhi, Mumbai offices ended on Thu night.
• The drive that went on for 3 days was related to international taxation and the alleged transfer of profits by the BBC and the tax agency is likely to release a detailed statement.
• Meanwhile, the BBC in a Twitter post said that “they will cooperate with the authorities and continue to report without fear.”
• The raids came just weeks after BBC released and was bashed for a critical docu-series against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The documentary, though banned in India, stirred controversy across the world for its bias and non-objective reporting of facts.
• Only the BBC accounts section’s digital data was copied by the I-T officials and journalists’ phones or their data copies were not taken away or analyzed. (here)

Cabinet approves Centrally Sponsored – “Vibrant Villages Program” of Rs. 4800 Crore

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Modi, has approved the Centrally Sponsored Scheme- “Vibrant Villages Programme” for the Financial Years 2022-23 to 2025-26.
• Comprehensive development of villages of blocks on the northern border thus improving the quality of life of people living in identified border villages.
• This will help in encouraging people to stay in their native locations in border areas and reversing the outmigration adding to improved security of the border.
• The scheme will provide funds for the creation of livelihood opportunities in 19 Districts in 4 states and 1 UT along the northern land border.
• In the first phase, 663 Villages will be taken up in the program. (here)

One terrorist killed during an infiltration attempt near LoC in Kupwara

• Indian Army on Thu foiled an Infiltration attempt of terrorists in the forward area of the Tangdhar sector in the Kupwara district.
• One terrorist has been killed and another was injured in the operation and searches are continuing in the area.
• The army said that alert troops deployed in an anti-infiltration grid detected the movement of 3 terrorists across their side of the LoC, while they were approaching.
• However, a thorough Joint Search Operation was launched along with Jammu and Kashmir Police in the area resulting in the recovery of one dead terrorist
• One AK series rifle, one light automatic weapon, six magazines, two grenades, and large quantities of war-like stores. (here)

India will strengthen international bodies to promote Hindi: MEA

• India aims to strengthen organizations that work in the direction to promote the Hindi language in the international arena, and the language laboratory is one of the steps which will help the teachers to get training on the same, the MEA said.
• “For Fiji, we have the developmental and capacity-building program, which is working well,” MEA added.
• “Around 900-1000 people participated in this conference and people from over 30 countries. During this conference, 14 foreign scholars & institutions were honored,” it is added. (here)
• Everyone is hopeful that this World Hindi Conference will be a “Hindi Mahakumbh” and will become a partner for the “global networking platform” in the subject of Hindi, the External Affairs Minister said while addressing the closing ceremony at World Hindi Conference in Fiji. (here)
• With a focus on renewables, India launches the solarization of residences of Pacific heads of state projects. Launched during EAM Jaishankar’s visit to Fiji.
• EAM unveiled Sardar Vallabhai Patel’s bust in India House in Suva where he interacted with a large gathering of members of the diaspora community. (here)
• India, Fiji sign MoU on visa exemption for diplomatic, official passport holders

CBI busts another fake call centre targeting US citizens; foreign currencies, gadgets recovered

• A fake tech-support call center targeting US citizens online was busted by the Central Bureau of Investigation following raids across 4 locations in the Delhi-NCR on Thu.
• The search operation helped the CBI to recover foreign currencies worth around Rs 3 crores, over Rs 3 lakh in Indian currency, 15 mobile phones, and 7 laptops.
• The seized gadgets contained remote access applications, Textnow apps, fake international calling numbers, incriminating documents of US nationals, crypto investments, chats containing details of the fraud, and scripts for talking.
• According to the CBI team, the racket indulged in online cheating of US citizens by impersonating tech support executives.
• They used to dial-up potential targets in the USA, spotted by their sources, via the Textnow application.
• Later, on the pretext of solving issues, they took over the control of their systems using remote access software like AnyDesk. (here)

Indian Railways cancels 443 trains today, diverted on February 17

• The Indian Railways canceled over 443 trains on Fri and diverted 51 trains and rescheduled 13.
• The ticket fare shall be returned. However, no reason was immediately given by the Railway. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon over sales to Taiwan

• China on Thu imposed trade and investment sanctions on Lockheed Martin and a unit of Raytheon for supplying weapons to Taiwan.
• Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Technologies Corp.’s Raytheon Missiles and Defense are barred from importing goods into China or making new investments.
• It said they were added to the “unreliable entity” list whose activities are restricted because they might endanger national sovereignty, security, or development interests.
• The US bars most sales of weapons-related technology to China, but some military contractors also have civilian businesses in aerospace and other markets. (here)

‘Don’t make a fuss’: China asks Japan to dismiss rumours of spy balloon in its airspace

• “The Japanese side should stop following the US to engage in artificial speculation and make a fuss,” said China’s FM following Japan’s apprehension of a Chinese spy balloon.
• Japan on Wed said that at least 3 “unidentified flying objects” in its airspace since 2019 which were “strongly presumed to be unmanned reconnaissance balloons by China.”
• An expert said that alleged spy balloon sightings in Japan and South Korea have the potential to further hurt China’s ties with other Asian nations. (here)

China’s Xi Jinping set for Iran state visit as Ebrahim Raisi closes ‘fruitful’ Beijing trip

• Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to Iran, the two countries announced in a joint statement, as Iranian leader Ebrahim Raisi wrapped up his first official trip to Beijing.
• Xi “gladly accepted the invitation” from the Iranian president, the statement said but did not give any date for the visit.
• Xi’s last visit to Iran was in 2016 as part of a tour of the region.
• This came as Raisi on Thu closed his 3-day state visit to China, the 1^st trip to the country by an Iranian president since 2018.
• His visit saw the two strategic partners pledge to strengthen political, economic, security, and agricultural ties, in the latest display of strong bonds as tensions with the US escalate for both.
• China and Iran also reaffirmed “strong mutual support” on issues of core interest, according to Thu’s statement. (here)

China targets foreign and ‘unauthorised’ media in extended crackdown

• Beijing will extend a crackdown on journalists and media operating unregistered in China, its latest effort to “clean up” online content and unsanctioned information.
• The campaign – which began in 2022 with aim of overseas media and “unauthorized internet media” – has “made new progress” and the Central Propaganda Deptt will continue with it this year.
• China has an extensive and sophisticated system in place to control online information, and the govt has also imposed strict licensing requirements for reporting (here)

Pakistan: 2 killed, 4 injured in blast on Quetta-bound Jaffar Express

• At least 2 persons were killed and 4 injured in a blast on Quetta-bound Jaffar Express on Thu.
• The blast occurred when the Quetta-bound Jaffar Express coming from Peshawar, was crossing the Chichawatni railway station.
• According to sources, the blast occurred in bogie number 6 of the economy class, resulting in the deaths of two persons and injuries to at least four more.
• This is the 2^nd such incident to be reported on the Jaffar Express while 1^st was on Jan 30, a blast occurred, injuring at least 8 passengers, and derailing 2 bogeys.
• Recently, at least five people were injured in an explosion near Pakistan’s Quetta Police Lines area, the Dawn reported citing rescue officials.
• According to the report, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility (here)

Pakistan nuclear power plants’ safety ‘world-class’: IAEA chief

• International Atomic Energy Agency DG Rafael Mariano Grossi has said that Pakistan’s nuclear safety is “world-class” as he lauded the nation’s technical and engineering capacity, reported state-broadcaster Radio Pakistan.
• The IAEA chief is in Pakistan on a two-day trip to discuss matters related to the Pakistan-IAEA collaboration.
• This is Grossi’s maiden visit to Pakistan after assuming office in 2019.
• Addressing a seminar in Islamabad on Thu, Grossi said Pakistan’s capacity to establish “new nuclear power plants indicates a promising future” for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• According to Grossi, there is strong political support for new nuclear power plants in Pakistan. (here)

Gilgit-Baltistan government has banned protest

• Gilgit-Baltistan govt has banned the protest and blocking of Karakoram Highway, Jiglot and Skardu Roads with a warning of stern actions against law breakers.
• The Awami Action Committee has been planning protests and road blocking for issues like wheat and electricity crisis. (Baad-e-Shimal, Daily K2)

The BSC has staged a demonstration in Karachi against the forced disappearance

• The Baloch Solidarity Committee has staged a demonstration in Karachi against the forced disappearance of Rahim Zehri, Rashida Zehri, and Zaman Baloch.
• The protesters were demanding an immediate investigation of their disappearance and finding them.
• Many people supported them and raised their voices against the atrocities in Balochistan.
• The protesters said that the forced disappearance is going on for 2 decades but previously it was limited to males only, but now even women and children have also become the targets of the security forces.
• Many of them are killed after their disappearance. Action is never taken against the security staff for these illegal and unconstitutional activities. (Intekhab Daily)

2 Chinese nationals have been taken into custody

• 2 Chinese nationals have been taken into custody for roaming in the city of Hyderabad without permission.
• The two Chinese have been taken into custody by Kotri Site Police for roaming around the city without security and transferred to the police station.
• DSP Kotri said that information is being taken from both Chinese nationals, they were roaming in the city without permission which is a security risk. (Ummat, Daily Jinnah)