1. President Droupadi Murmu appoints 6 new governors, reshuffles 7 others
2. ‘Sky of Bengaluru becoming witness to capability of new India’: PM Modi inaugurates Aero India 2023
3. ‘Each tent, each blanket are of vital importance’: Turkey thanks India again for quake relief aid
4. Army gets its first set of offensive swarm drone system, IAF next
5. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to be in India on 25-26th Feb, visit to Bangalore on the cards

What Else

6. Mauritius minister thanks India on Chagos Islands, confirms US base in Diego Garcia will remain
7. LTTE chief Prabhakaran alive, in touch with his family: Ex-Congress leader’s big claim
8. Adani-Hindenburg: Indian government says yes to Supreme Court panel to protect investors
9. PM Modi congratulates Christodoulides on winning Cyprus presidential election
10. IMF, Islamabad resume talks, virtually
11. Balochistan: Protest continues in front of Lasbela Press Club against enforced disappearance of Zehri family
12. Bajwa asked me to decry Ukraine attack after Russia visit: Imran Khan
13. Philippines urges China to prevent any ‘provocative act’ after complaint over laser
14. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi To Visit China, Set To Meet Xi Jinping
15. US and China seem on the brink of a new cold war, with spy balloons and UFOs

President Droupadi Murmu appoints 6 new governors, reshuffles 7 others

• President of India Droupadi Murmu on Sun appointed governors in 12 states and a UT
• Accepted the resignation of 2 — Maharashtra’s Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Ladakh’s RK Mathur.
• Of the 13, Meghalaya and Nagaland are election-bound states.
• Murmu has appointed Lt Gen KT Parnaik (r) Former GOC-in-C Northern Command to Arunachal Pradesh; LP Acharya of Sikkim; C P Radhakrishnan to Jharkhand; SP Shukla to Himachal; GC Kataria to Assam; Justice (r) S Abdul Nazeer to Andhra; and Brig BD Mishra (R) to Lt Governor of Ladakh.
• Justice S Abdul Nazeer was part of the historic judgment on the property dispute in Ayodhya, ‘triple talaq’. President has reshuffled 7 governors. (here)

‘Sky of Bengaluru becoming witness to capability of new India’: PM Modi inaugurates Aero India 2023

• PM Modi on Mon inaugurated Asia’s largest aero show, Aero India 2023, in Bengaluru.
• The 14^th edition of the event will display indigenous equipment and technologies to forge partnerships with foreign companies.
• Spanning over 5 days, the aero show, on the theme ‘The runway to a billion opportunities’, will witness the participation of 98 countries, the Defence Ministers of 32 countries, Air Chiefs of 29 countries, and 73 Chief Executive Officers of global and Indian original equipment manufacturers.
• Nearly 809 companies will showcase the country’s defense capabilities during the 5-day event which is expected to be attended by around 5 lakh visitors. (here)
• Rajnath Singh holds bilateral meetings with defense heads of 7 nations’ DM or Dy DM including from Armenia, Congo, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. (here)

‘Each tent, each blanket are of vital importance’: Turkey thanks India again for quake relief aid

• With Turkey battling to recover from the aftermath of a devastating earthquake, India has extended its helping hand to the quake-hit country by sending relief aid there.
• Turkey’s Ambassador to India Firat Sunel on Mon thanked India for sending relief materials to his country.
• The death toll from the last week’s powerful earthquake in Turkey and neighboring Syria has climbed to over 33,000.
• “THANK YOU INDIA! Each tent, each blanket or sleeping bag are of vital importance for the hundreds of thousands of earthquake survivors.” Sunel tweeted.
• “7^th #OperationDost flight reached Syria with over 23 tons of relief material, including gen-sets, solar lamps, emergency & critical care medicines, & disaster relief consumables,” tweeted the Ministry of External Affairs. (here)

Army gets its first set of offensive swarm drone system, IAF next

• The Indian Army has started taking delivery of its first heterogeneous swarm Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system for use on the battlefield.
• This may be the world’s 1^st operational high-density swarming Unmanned Aerial System, especially given that most swarm drone research is yet to be operationalized.
• Supplied by an Indian start-up – Bengaluru-based NewSpace Research & Technologies – the swarm of 100 drones is capable of hitting targets at least 50 km away.
• (sources)- the delivery has just begun and comes at a time when the country’s military air show Aero India began here.
• These were ordered under emergency procurement and show that India has taken a global lead with the induction of cutting-edge ‘Made in India’ technology. (here)

Mauritius minister thanks India on Chagos Islands, confirms US base in Diego Garcia will remain

• Mauritius Minister Mahen Kumar Seeruttun has expressed his gratitude to India for its support on the Chagos Islands and reassured the American base on Diego Garcia.
• The Chagos archipelago, located in the Indian Ocean, is currently under British administration, despite calls from international courts for London to relinquish control.
• The Diego Garcia island, part of the archipelago, is home to an American military base.
• Seeruttun added, “We are a small island, and we don’t have the military muscle to fight the British and US. India has always been supportive of that, and other countries including China have been supportive in that particular discussion we are having with the UK.” (here)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to be in India on 25-26^th Feb, visit to Bangalore on the cards

• The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, will be visiting India from the 25^th-26th of Feb in his 1^st visit since taking charge in Dec 2021.
• During his trip, he will hold talks with Indian PM Modi in Delhi and later visit Bangalore.
• Ahead of the Chancellor’s visit, German Foreign and Security Policy Advisor, Dr. Jens Plötner, held talks with his counterpart and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
• The talks focused on cooperation in the areas of climate change, Afghanistan, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the preparation for the Chancellor’s visit.
• Dr Plötner expressed his optimism about the relationship between Germany and India, saying, “there is hardly any area – culture, science, economy – in which tremendous work is not going on.”
• Regarding the tensions between India and China, he expressed his concerns and stressed the importance of dialogue, saying, “…this is not an area where arms should speak, dialogue is needed, and I see this willingness on the Indian side”. (here)

LTTE chief Prabhakaran alive, in touch with his family: Ex-Congress leader’s big claim

• The Chief of a militant organization, LTTE, V Prabhakaran is still alive and is living with his family, former Congress leader Pazha Nedumaran claimed on Mon.
• Speaking to reporters in Thanjavur, Nedumaran, the chief of the World Confederation of Tamils, said that he will soon announce a plan for a better life for Eelam Tamils.
• The Sri Lankan govt had in May 2009 claimed that they killed Prabhakaran which had been verified by DNA test. (here)

Adani-Hindenburg: Indian government says yes to Supreme Court panel to protect investors

• The GoI on Mon accepted SC’s suggestion to form an expert-level committee to look into the allegations by Hindenburg against the Adani group and protect the investors.
• Earlier, the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India had also given its nod to the committee.
• Representing the center, Solicitor General, however, added that the govt will like to have a say in the composition of the panel.
• He added no such message should go out to the investors that SEBI was incapable of handling the situation.
• Last Friday, the apex court, taking a grim view of the rout in shares of the Adani group stated that investors had suffered losses running into several billion dollars. (here)

PM Modi congratulates Christodoulides on winning Cyprus presidential election

• PM Modi on Mon congratulated Nikos Christodoulides on being elected as the new president of Cyprus and said he looked forward to working with him to enhance India’s ties with his country. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

IMF, Islamabad resume talks, virtually

• The IMF and Pakistan resumed their talks on Mon, as Islamabad hopes that these discussions lead to a deal that eases up ever-increasing pressure on the country.
• In Islamabad, Finance Secy told Reuters the “duration (of the talks) cannot be confirmed but we intend to wrap these up at the soonest”.
• Pakistan already held 10 days of intensive talks with an IMF delegation in Islamabad — from Jan 31 to Feb 9 — but could not reach a deal.
• The IMF, however, said in an earlier statement that both sides have agreed to stay engaged, and “virtual discussions will continue in the coming days to finalize the implementation details” of the policies discussed in Islamabad.
• Insiders say Fund wants Pakistan to start work on agreed measures before releasing the next tranche
• “The IMF is adamant, no deal without implementation,” said a diplomatic source. (here)

Balochistan: Protest continues in front of Lasbela Press Club against enforced disappearance of Zehri family

• A protest took place in front of the Balochistan Lasbela Press Club on Mon against the enforced disappearances orchestrated by the Pakistani army and for the recovery of the Zehri family.
• The protestors demonstrated against the enforced disappearance of Rasheeda and her husband Muhammad Rahim.
• As per reports, the Pakistani army was behind the enforced disappearance.
• Due to the enforced disappearance of Rasheeda and her husband Muhammad Rahim, their daughter is left without her parents.
• In 2022 alone Pak Army forcibly disappeared 629, extrajudicially killed 195, and tortured 187 people.
• In Jan 2023, 92 people disappeared, 15 were murdered, and 1 was tortured by the Army, reported International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS).
• According to recent figures released by COIOED in July 2022, a total of 8,696 missing person cases have been reported.
• While 6,513 of these cases have been solved, 2,219 are still pending, as per DW news.
• The irony is that successive Pakistan governments have pledged to end the practice of enforced disappearances but there is no end to it, IFFRAS. (here)

Bajwa asked me to decry Ukraine attack after Russia visit: Imran Khan

• Firing fresh broadside at the former military commander, ex-PM Imran Khan on Mon claimed that Gen (r) QJ Bajwa asked him to decry the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• He asked me to decry Russia after I talked with Putin about cheap oil, says Khan.
• “A grade-22 officer made a foreign policy statement during a seminar to please the US.”
• In a bid to plea the US, 80,000 people got killed in the war on terror, he added.
• Khansays the country will have to face consequences when decisions are made to please Washington.

Philippines urges China to prevent any ‘provocative act’ after complaint over laser

• Reuters – China should restrain its forces to prevent them from committing any “provocative act”, the Philippine military said on Mon, after Manila accused China’s coast guard of using a laser to try to disrupt a resupply mission to troops in the SCS.
• The coast guard said its vessel was assisting a navy mission to deliver food and supplies to troops on an atoll in the disputed waterway on Feb. 6 when a Chinese ship directed a “military-grade laser” at the ship, temporarily blinding its crew on the bridge.
• Aguilar quoted the Philippine defense chief as saying the Chinese action was “offensive” and unsafe.
• The incident took place at the Second Thomas Shoal, 195 km off the Philippine province of Palawan.
• China’s foreign ministry said in response that its coast guard conducted actions according to the law.
• The office of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declined to comment, referring reporters to the PCG statement.
• Marcos visited Beijing last month when China said it was ready to manage maritime issues “cordially”. (here)

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi To Visit China, Set To Meet Xi Jinping

• Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping during his 3-day trip in China starting Tue, as the two U.S. rivals seek further cooperation.
• China’s FM spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the announcement Sun, saying Raisi’s visit was at Xi’s invitation.
• Raisi will meet with Xi and their delegations will sign cooperation documents, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA.
• Meeting with Iranian and Chinese business leaders and Iranian expatriates in China is also part of his itinerary, the report added. (here)

US and China seem on the brink of a new cold war, with spy balloons and UFOs

• The US on Sun shot down 4^th unidentified airborne object in its airspace, a day after it brought down a similar-looking cylindrical object over Canada.
• In the last few months, after the dispute over the Taiwan issue, the US shooting down the Chinese ‘spy’ balloon has badly affected the already strained relationship. (here)