1. G20 FMs meet: ‘global governance has fallen’ and consequences of it being ‘faced by developing countries’, Says, PM Modi
2. Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland Election Result 2023: BJP Alliance Crosses Majority Mark in 2 States, Ahead in Nagaland
3. India’s position would have been different had it developed planned cities after independence: PM Modi
4. PLA amps up propaganda on social media before Jaishankar-Qin Gang meet in New Delhi
5. India approves $3.9bn hydropower project near China border

What Else

6. NBDSA pulls up TV news channels for airing programs with communal flavor
7. FCRA licence of think tank CPR suspended: What is FCRA, why the licence matters
8. Drone shot along Punjab border last year had ‘footprints’ in China, Pakistan: BSF
9. Indian Air Force to get 70 ‘HTT-40’ made-in-India trainer aircraft from HAL
10. Man detained in Madhya Pradesh for suspected links with Pak’s ISI, terrorist groups
11. HC refuses to lift stay on Arumugasamy Commission’s inquiry report on Jayalalithaa’s death
12. Adani Group secures $3 billion loan from sovereign wealth fund: Report
13. 700,000 people lost their jobs since regime change in Afghanistan: UN envoy
14. Elections in Punjab, KP to be held in 90 days, rules Supreme Court in 3-2 verdict
15. Inflation shatters all records, spikes to nearly 50-year high of 31.5%
16. Student organizations ‘clash’ at Punjab University
17. Mohammad Sadiq resigns as Pakistan’s special envoy to Afghanistan
18. TTP aims to push Pakistan govt out of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: US report

G20 FMs meet: ‘global governance has fallen’ and consequences of it being ‘faced by developing countries’, Says, PM Modi

• PM Modi addresses the G20 foreign ministers meet. Says, ‘global governance has fallen’ & consequences of it being ‘faced by developing countries’.
• Developing countries facing ‘unsustainble debt’, he said in his address.
• G20 Foreign ministers meet begins with a moment of silence for those who lost lives in the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria
• Jaishankar meets Russian counterpart Lavrov, EU top diplomat Borrell, Nigeria’s FM Onyeama

• Ahead of the G20 FM’s Meeting, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Russian FM Sergey Lavrov, EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell and Nigeria’s FM Geoffrey Onyeama.
• Jaishankar will chair two sessions at the FMs meeting on Thu.
• The first session will focus on multilateralism, and issues related to food and energy.
• The second session will focus on 4 or 5 key issues including counter-terrorism and narcotics, global skill mapping, and focus on global talent pools,” said Foreign Secretary.
• India on Wed cleared its stand on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, reaffirming PM Modi’s statement that “this isn’t an era of war.”
• He said the Russia-Ukraine conflict will be an important point of discussion when the FMs gather in New Delhi.
• Jaishankar also met Onyeama and underlined India’s strong commitment to the Global South and the interests of the African Union. (here)

• The UK Foreign Secy James Cleverly raised the issue of BBC tax searches with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.
• In response, the EAM told Cleverly that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations.
• Meanwhile, the UK govt publicly defended the BBC, with a representative repeatedly stating in the UK Parliament that it has brought these issues up with New Delhi. (here)
• Cleverly is set to launch a new exchange scheme for young British (3K) and Indian professionals (3K) to live and work in the two countries. (here)
• FM of Canada, Argentina, Netherlands, Singapore, and Bangladesh reached India for the FM’s meeting under the G20 meeting on Wed.
• FM UK, Brazil, Mauritius, Mexico, South Korea, and International Labour Organisation’s G20 Sherpa also arrived in New Delhi on Tue.
• Representatives of 40 countries, including non-G20 members have been invited by India, and multilateral organizations will also attend. (here)

Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland Election Result 2023: BJP Alliance Crosses Majority Mark in 2 States, Ahead in Nagaland

• Election Counting Result 2023: Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland election result 2023
• Finally, after a month of the election process in 3 northeastern states —Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Tripura, the decisions have been made for the next 5 years. T
• he counting of votes for Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Tripura will begin at 8 AM amid tight security.
• While the first trends are expected to emerge by 8:30 or 9 AM, a final picture will only be clear by noon. (here)

India’s position would have been different had it developed planned cities after independence: PM Modi

• PM Modi said India’s position in the world would have been completely different if 75 planned cities had been developed in the 75 years of its independence.
• Addressing a post-Budget webinar on the subject of ‘Urban Development with Focus on Planning’, PM said only one or two planned cities were developed in the country after independence.
• This was the 6^th of the series of 12 webinars being organized by the govt to seek ideas for the effective implementation of the initiatives in the Union Budget 2023.
• PM Modi reiterated that well-planned cities are the need of the hour in the fast-paced environment of India in the 21^st century. (here)

PLA amps up propaganda on social media before Jaishankar-Qin Gang meet in New Delhi

• Right before Chinese FM Qin Gang meets with his counterpart from India, S Jaishankar, on Mar 2, the PLA has amplified their military propaganda on social media.
• A video was posted that featured the PLA conducting training with their Dongfeng vehicles and light tanks.
• The Dongfeng is China’s version of the US Army’s High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.
• According to Aadil Brar, a China scholar, this video marked the return of PLA military propaganda post the Chinese New Year.
• Jaishankar and Qin Gang are likely to discuss the protracted standoff at the Line of Actual Control, which is now nearing its third year. (here)

India approves $3.9bn hydropower project near China border

• India on Tue approved its largest-ever hydropower project – Dibang Project – in the northeastern region bordering China in a move to build renewable generation.
• The project will be developed by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited,
• The 2,880-MW Dibang project is being built in the Lower Dibang Valley District of Arunachal Pradesh on the Dibang River.
• It has received approval for an estimated investment of $3.9 billion and is said to take approximately 9 years to build.
• The project construction includes a 278m high Concrete Gravity Dam, 6 horseshoe-shaped head race tunnels of length varying from 300-600m with 9 m diameter, an underground Power House, and 6 Nos. horseshoe-shaped tailrace tunnels of length varying from 320m to 470 m with 9m diameter.
• The project’s primary objective is to serve flood control and is based on storage. Once built, the 278-m-tall dam will be India’s tallest.
• The govt of Arunachal Pradesh will receive 1346.76 MU or 12% of the project’s cost after completion. (here)

NBDSA pulls up TV news channels for airing programs with communal flavor

• The News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority has come down heavily on several TV news channels, including Times Now, Zee News, and News18India, for airing communally charged programs.
• NBDSA – set up by news broadcasters, and currently headed by Justice (R) A K Sikri – passed 7 decisions during its meeting held on Mon, about complaints of last year.
• The NBDSA said if the broadcaster was unsure of the slogans shown in the video, it should have run a disclaimer
• It issued a warning to the broadcaster to be more careful in the future, besides a fine of Rs 50,000, and also directed them to publicize NBDSA’s order mandatorily on the ticker of its channel News18 India. (here)

[Just 6 days back, EU DisInfo Lab certified that ANI is publishing rubbish stories, as the source mentions in the report don’t exist (here). However, editor in chief stated “ANI dared the European NGO to send its reporters to strife-torn regions such as PoK, Balochistan, Sindh, Tibet, and other regions in Pakistan and China to present a counter view of the ‘picture perfect democracy’ that EU DisinfoLab professes to claim. (here). Nonetheless, the media name mentioned above are considered to be nationalistic in India]

FCRA licence of think tank CPR suspended: What is FCRA, why the licence matters

• The Centre on Mon suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) license of the Centre for Policy Research.
• This came 5 months after the Income Tax department conducted ‘surveys’ on the premises of the CPR, Oxfam India, and the Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF), which funds a range of digital media entities.
• The license was suspended following prima facie inputs regarding the violation of funding norms.
• “Inquiry is going on. Further decisions will be taken within six months,” an official said. (here)

Drone shot along Punjab border last year had ‘footprints’ in China, Pakistan: BSF

• A drone that was shot down by the Border Security Force along the India-Pakistan international border in Punjab last year, was flown in China and Pakistan, said BSF.
• The quadcopter was downed on Dec 25, 2022, in Punjab’s Amritsar district.
• Forensic analysis found that the drone flew in Fengxian, Shanghai, on June 11, and later it was flown from Sept 24 to Dec 25, 2022, 28 times “within” Khanewal, Punjab, Pakistan.
• An FIR on the illegal activity of the drone and its shooting on the Indian side was filed by the BSF with the Amritsar district police last year, he said.
• A total of 22 drones coming across from Pakistan were shot down last year.
• The drone sightings along the 2,289 km long India-Pakistan IB have increased from 77 sightings in 2020 to 104 in 2021 and more than 311 sightings last year. (here)

Indian Air Force to get 70 ‘HTT-40’ made-in-India trainer aircraft from HAL

• The Indian Govt has approved the procurement of 70 ‘HTT-40’ variant basic trainer aircraft for the Indian Air Force, at a cost of more than Rs.6800cr.
• Built by India’s govt-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the aircraft would be delivered over six years.
• These aircraft are meant to address the shortage of basic trainer aircraft that the IAF uses to train newly-inducted pilots.
• The HTT-40 is a twin-seater, fully aerobatic turboprop aircraft with a fully air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, etc.
• The aircraft is also capable of being hot-refueled (to refuel while the engine is running) and is equipped with zero-zero ejection seats.
• In making so, HAL provides direct employment to 1,500 personnel and indirect employment for up to 3,000 individuals in more than 100 MSMEs.

Man detained in Madhya Pradesh for suspected links with Pak’s ISI, terrorist groups

• Indore Police has detained a 40-year-old man who had lived in China and Hong Kong between 2005 and 2018, on the suspicion of having links with ISI and terrorist organizations, officials said on Tue.
• State Home Minister said the man, identified as Sarfaraz, was detained following inputs from the National Investigation Agency and being questioned.
• He was currently living in Indore’s Chandan Nagar police station limits, the DCP said without disclosing the suspect’s name.
• Indore Police were probing the case in coordination with the concerned central and state agencies, the official added.
• The suspect obtained an Indian passport for the 1^st time in 2003, and in ‘06 he got a new one issued through the embassy in HK after complaining that he had lost 1^st one. (here)

HC refuses to lift stay on Arumugasamy Commission’s inquiry report on Jayalalithaa’s death

• The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Wed refused to lift the stay on the Arumugasamy Commission’s inquiry report on the death of former CM J Jayalalithaa.
• Justice Arumugasamy has ticked 4 persons namely Sasikala, her cousin KS Sivakumar, Vijayabaskar, and former Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan for various mistakes
• He suggested further investigation and action against them.
• The state govt on Wed moved before HC to lift the stay on the referrals against Dr Vijayabaskar, then health minister. However, the court refused to lift the stay. (here)

Adani Group secures $3 billion loan from sovereign wealth fund: Report

• Adani Group has told creditors it has secured a $3 billion loan from a sovereign wealth fund, as the embattled conglomerate seeks to ease debt concerns after a short-seller attack.
• The sovereign wealth fund could be increased to $5 billion citing a memo that was circulated to participants of a 3-day investor roadshow that ended on Wed.
• The identity of the sovereign wealth fund was not disclosed in the memo.
• Adani’s management told investors it was from the Middle East.
• A spokesperson for Adani did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

700,000 people lost their jobs since regime change in Afghanistan: UN envoy

• Ramiz Alakbarov, the Dy Special Rep of the UN Mission in Afghanistan said that the gross income has declined by 35%, and nearly 700,000 people have lost their jobs over the past 18 months.
• Alakbarov, on Tue, said that 65% of the people need humanitarian aid, and millions are on the verge of catastrophic starvation in Afghanistan.
• Alakbarov has said that the price of essential food items has increased by 30%, and ¾ of ordinary people’s income goes to food only.
• Furthermore, he highlighted that currently, 28.3 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, and 6 million people are on the verge of starvation. (here)

Elections in Punjab, KP to be held in 90 days, rules Supreme Court in 3-2 verdict

• The SC, in a 3-2 verdict, ruled on Wed that elections in KP and Punjab — both of which have been under caretaker govts since the assemblies were dissolved in Jan — should be held within 90 days.
• In Punjab, because the governor did not dissolve the assembly, the president’s Apr 9 date is ‘constitutionally competent’
• If polls can’t be held within 90 days, ECP must propose a date that ‘deviates to the barest minimum’ from the deadline
• After consultation with ECP, the president will announce a date for the Punjab polls
• In KP, because the governor acted on CM’s advice and dissolved the assembly, he is bound to consult with ECP to announce a date and the president’s date is invalid
• ECP must be ‘proactively’ available to the president/governor for consultation on dates (here)

Inflation shatters all records, spikes to nearly 50-year high of 31.5%

• In an alarming development, Pakistan’s inflation — measured by the consumer price index— broke all previous records and skyrocketed to 31.5% in Feb.
• The fresh reading issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Wed has also augmented the prospects of a further rise in interest rates in the upcoming monetary policy committee meeting — which the central bank has preponed for Mar 2.
• The inflation rate rushed to 31.5% in Feb over the year — the highest since the available data i.e. July 1965.
• Last time, in Apr 1975, the inflation had been recorded at slightly over 29%.
• The pace of increase in the prices beats the expectations of the finance ministry that had just a day ago given a 28% to 30% inflation range. (here)

Student organisations ‘clash’ at Punjab University

• A clash took place between two student organizations at the University of Punjab, the Lahore police said Wed, resulting in the closure of the varsity.
• During the scuffle, the groups also resorted to aerial firing and stone pelting in one of the country’s biggest universities, the police said
• The number of students injured in the clash could not be ascertained.
• The police added that at least 47 students involved in the firing on university premises, including one identified as Haseeb, have been arrested.
• The incident comes just days after the country’s top-ranked Quaid-i-Azam University was shut down this week for an indefinite period following a clash. (here)

Mohammad Sadiq resigns as Pakistan’s special envoy to Afghanistan

• Veteran diplomat Mohammad Sadiq resigned as Pakistan’s special representative to Afghanistan on Wed.
• “After serving close to 3 years as Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, I have requested the govt that the time had come for me to move on and focus on my personal pursuits.” (here)

TTP aims to push Pakistan govt out of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: US report

• A US State Department report has warned that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan aims to push the govt of Pakistan out of KP and establish Sharia by terrorism in the state.
• According to the 2021 Country Reports on Terrorism, the TTP uses the tribal belt along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to train and deploy its operatives.
• TTP draws ideological guidance from Al Qaeda, while elements of AQ rely in part on TTP for haven in the Pashtun areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
• According to the report, Pakistan “experienced significant terrorist activity” during the year in review, i.e. 2021.
• The link between terrorism and lack of economic activities, the report points out that “the US provides assistance to support trade and economic growth” in Pakistan.
• The US assistance to Pakistan includes partnering with US businesses, civil society, and the regions bordering Afghanistan. (here)

Belarus backs China’s Ukraine peace plan – despite Western skepticism

• Belarus endorsed China’s peace proposal for Ukraine on Wed as both Beijing and Minsk vowed to strengthen cooperation amid concerns over Beijing’s role in the conflict.
• In talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko offered his country’s support for China’s global security initiatives.
• Lukashenko said the meeting was taking place at a time that required “new non-standard approaches and responsible political decisions”.
• The two met for longer than planned and adopted a statement on the further development of the “China-Belarus All-Weather Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the New Era”. (here)