1. LOC issued; Amritpal Singh brandished rifle, changed clothes, looks to flee
2. Not just production, self-reliance should cover design, development: IAF chief
3. UAPA tribunal upholds Centre’s decision to ban PFI, its affiliates
4. US Consulate General in Hyderabad opens new state-of-the-art facility in Nanakramguda
5. US keen to partner more with India on defense, wants specific pact for air force, says top Pentagon official

What Else

6. Parts for ‘Albatross’ amphibious aircraft to be made in India; $125mn investment expected
7. Indigenous items give India an edge, defence exports cross $1.5 billion
8. India rejects UAE request for more air traffic rights
9. Xi and Putin vow to ‘significantly increase’ trade between China and Russia
10. Pakistan: Brigadier martyred in encounter with ‘hardcore terrorists’ in South Waziristan: ISPR
11. Pakistan: PTI leader among 10 killed in targeted attack by rival group
12. Dar backtracks on ‘nuclear’ remarks
13. Imran Khan asked overseas Pakistanis to tell human rights organizations and world politicians about worst situation human rights and democracy

LOC issued; Amritpal Singh brandished rifle, changed clothes, looks to flee 

• The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tue slammed the state govt as so far it failed to arrest the fugitive Amritpal Singh.
• The Court also asked the govt to submit a status report on their operation and further noted that it was an intelligence failure of the state’s police. (here)
• Search for Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh has been extended to other states on Tue after Punjab Police on Wed released his several photos so that he can be identified.
• The India-Nepal border is under a close watch.
• The Uttarakhand Police conducted a combing operation at gurudwaras, hotels in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district, close to the border.
• The Police issued a lookout circular and a non-bailable arrest warrant against him.
• The updates on Amritpal Singh: The Punjab Police on Tue revealed details of how Amritpal Singh fled.
• 4 have been arrested on charges of aiding him to escape.
• The vehicle has been seized and Arms Act has been invoked as a rifle has been recovered from the vehicle.
• Residents of the village where Amritpal Singh took refuge on Mar 18, when the crackdown began, said they were unaware of anything. (here)
• Amritpal Singh has not been arrested yet. We are making all efforts to arrest him. We’re hopeful that we’ll arrest him soon…It is difficult to say that. Punjab Police is receiving full cooperation from other states and central agencies: Punjab IGP
• Avtar Singh Khanda, who targeted Indian mission in UK, ‘groomed’ Amritpal: Agencies probing Amritpal’s case have found that Khanda, who has been arrested for pulling down the Indian flag at the embassy in London, is the same person who had been a “godfather” to Waris Punjab De leader.
• Khanda, the agencies is the one who “groomed” Amritpal before the latter reached Punjab.
• Highly placed sources said that Khanda’s father Kulwant Singh Khukrana was a terrorist of Khalistan Liberation Force. (here)

Not just production, self-reliance should cover design, development: IAF chief

• As the country sharpens its focus on achieving self-reliance in defense, the Air Force chief on Tue stressed that Atmanirbharta should not be confined only to production
• He called for building offensive and defensive space capabilities to safeguard assets and directed energy weapons that have significant advantages over traditional weapons.
• He said stakeholder collaboration was imperative to achieve self-reliance, and without it, “we will wallow in the dark.” It does not end here, he said.
• His comments come at a time when boosting self-reliance in the defense manufacturing sector is one of the top priorities for the government.
• Indigenous research and development, and production of platforms, sensors, and weapons will play a critical role in future capability building, he said.
• In early Mar, CDS Gen Anil Chauhan said that self-reliance in defense manufacturing was one of the biggest lessons for India from the Ukraine conflict
• The govt has taken a raft of measures during the last 3 years to promote self-reliance.
• These include creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware, increasing FDI from 49% to 74%, and as many as 411 systems that cannot be imported.
• The race to weaponize space has already started and the day is not far when the next war will be fought across the land, sea, air, cyber, and space, the IAF chief said. (here)

UAPA tribunal upholds Centre’s decision to ban PFI, its affiliates

• The Popular Front of India and its 7 affiliates wanted to establish “caliphate rule” in India by 2047, a tribunal constituted under the UAPA held on Tue as it upheld the ban.
• Holding that the evidence produced against the PFI was “credible” and “trustworthy”,
• The tribunal agreed that the PFI wanted to turn India into an “Islamic State” and carried out “political murders” of well-placed people in the Hindu community in the country.
• A senior advocate who appeared for the Centre said the tribunal noted that the Union govt was able to prove on record enough material concerning the activities. (here)

US Consulate General in Hyderabad opens new state-of-the-art facility in Nanakramguda

• The US Consulate General in Hyderabad has opened a new state-of-the-art facility in the city’s financial district, Nanakramguda.
• The facility will help link people and businesses from the US with people from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha.
• “It will help in linking people and businesses from the US with people from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh & Odisha,” Vedant Patel, spokesperson of US State Department said.
• The media recently reported Vedant Patel will be serving as the interim spokesperson of the US State Department, as Ned Price is going to step down this month. (here)

US keen to partner more with India on defense, wants specific pact for air force, says top Pentagon official

• Noting that the trust factor between the US and India has increased, a visiting top Pentagon official Tue said both countries are keen on signing an agreement specific to the air forces as they look at defense tech cooperation including that for jet engines.
• However, Frank Kendall, US Secy for Air Force, flagged American concerns over the Make in India program, “the requirement of having a larger share in manufacturing India should be implemented in stages instead all in one go”.
• Responding to a question, he said the US is keen to talk to India on how it can meet the country’s requirement for new fighters.
• Talking about greater cooperation, he said the US and India are looking at signing the air information sharing agreement.
• Kendall held meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and also the team of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. (here)

Parts for ‘Albatross’ amphibious aircraft to be made in India; $125mn investment expected

• Hawking Defence Services, an Indian defense and aerospace firm inked a procurement cum partnership agreement with Australia-based Amphibian Aerospace Industries.
• The ‘Albatross’ is a 28- seater Amphibious Aircraft capable of landing and taking off from land, water, and snow.
• The agreement includes the confirmation of procurement of a single aircraft by Hawking Defence Services.
• The ‘Albatross’ twin-engine seaplane was originally used by the US Navy and Coast Guard for maritime search and rescue operations in the 1960s.
• The new variant of this aircraft with modern engines and avionics is designated as ‘G-111T Albatross’ and is manufactured in Australia’s Northern territory.
• “We are looking at an investment of approximately Rs. 1,000 crores in the next five years. Our aviation arm is expected to create around 850 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs too,” said Vijayanarayanan Rapalli, Chairman, of Hawking Defence. (here)

Indigenous items give India an edge, defence exports cross $1.5 billion

• The defense export in the country as per the latest data has crossed $1.5 billion.
• On 13 Mar, MoS for Defence in a written reply in RS said, the Indian govt has given the focus on the indigenization of various defense items to achieve self-reliance.
• The data states total defense export value stands at Rs. 13,399 crores as of Mar 6, 2023.
• For 2021-22, the data stood at Rs. 12,815 crores while for 2020-21 it was Rs 8,435 crores.
• India presently exports defense supplies to over 80 countries, name of those cannot be divulged due to strategic reasons, as per a govt release.
• In recent years, the govt has taken various steps to improve defense products and make them competitive globally.
• The push for Made-in-India equipment is a priority for the Indian govt as it strengthens and promotes the nation’s self-reliance in the defense sector.
• India has a target of achieving $5 bn in annual defense export by 2024-25. (here)

India rejects UAE request for more air traffic rights

• India is not looking at increasing air traffic rights for the UAE, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told Reuters in an interview on Tue.
• The UAE has urged India to increase the maximum number of seats between the 2 countries by 50K a week but Scindia said, “at this point, we’re not looking at increase”.
• India is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets where demand for air travel is outstripping the supply of planes.
• Air India last month placed a record order for 470 jets.
• The bulk of India’s international air traffic is carried by Gulf carriers powered by efficient hubs.
• Scindia said he wants Indian carriers to order more wide-body planes and offer non-stop flights to international destinations, adding India was mobilizing to handle the transportation needs of its population of 1.3 billion. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Xi and Putin vow to ‘significantly increase’ trade between China and Russia

• Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged on Tue to “significantly increase” trade between their two countries by 2030.
• Putin threw his weight behind the wider globalization of the yuan, a move aimed at weakening the power of the US dollar.
• “We are for the use of the Chinese yuan in settlements between Russia and Asian countries, Africa, and Latin America,” Putin said. “This practice should be further encouraged.”
• Xi and Putin held a 2^nd round of talks on Tue discussing security and economics, including energy, resources and IT
• The leaders also signed a joint statement pledging cooperation through 2030.
• Additionally, Xi invited Putin to China for this year’s Belt and Road Forum, both Xinhua and Russia’s Sputnik news agency reported.
• Russia and China have long decried the inordinate strength of the US dollar – the de facto global currency – and the leverage it gives Washington. (here)
• Xi and Putin met for more than 4 hours on Mon, discussing topics that included bilateral cooperation, the war in Ukraine, and a peace plan proposed by Beijing.
• Xi’s visit, which will last for 3 days, has drawn scrutiny and suspicion from the West.
• The US and its allies have argued that China is hardly a neutral party given its diplomatic and material support for Russia since it invaded Ukraine a year ago.
• The Chinese leader said that “rational voices” were gaining sway regarding Ukraine, with a growing number of countries in favor of de-escalation and dialogue and against “adding fuel to the fire”, according to Xinhua. (here)

Pakistan: Brigadier martyred in encounter with ‘hardcore terrorists’ in South Waziristan: ISPR

• Army media wing, ISPR said on Tue that a Brig from the ISI was martyred during an encounter with “hardcore terrorists” in South Waziristan’s Angoor Adda.
• ISPR said Brig Mustafa Kamal Barki was martyred “while leading the encounter from the front” and 7 others were injured, including 2 who were critically wounded.
• ISPR said Brig Barki and his team “put up a valiant resistance against the terrorists during the encounter and the officer sacrificed his life for the peace of the motherland”.
• Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed regret over the incident and said Brigadier Barki had “sacrificed his life for the peace of motherland.
• 3 soldiers martyred during an exchange of fire with militants in DI Khan: Separately, the ISPR said 3 soldiers embraced martyrdom while 3 terrorists were killed.
• The terrorists had opened fire on a police checkpost last night in Khutti area, prompting security forces to immediately block all possible escape routes.
• Surge in terrorism: Over the past few months, the law and order situation in the country has worsened, with terrorist groups executing attacks with near impunity across the country. (here)

Pakistan: PTI leader among 10 killed in targeted attack by rival group

• A local PTI leader, Atif Munsif Khan, was among 10 people killed in a targeted attack by a rival group in Langra village in Havelian, police said on Mon.
• Atif, the mayor of Havelian tehsil, was traveling in a car when a bullet pierced its fuel tank, resulting in a fire
• According to videos shared on social media, the car was completely gutted in the attack.
• No FIR was registered till the filing of this report, but police have started a search operation to arrest the culprit(s).
• Some unconfirmed reports claimed that the car was gutted after it was hit by a rocket. (here)

Dar backtracks on ‘nuclear’ remarks

• Fin Minister Ishaq Dar on Mon backtracks from his statement about the nuclear program, saying that neither any country nor the IMF has attached any conditionality about “our nuclear capability”.
• The finance ministry stated on behalf of Dar after Pakistan’s FO and the IMF denied that the global lender had made any demand about the country’s nuclear program.
• “It is clarified that neither IMF nor any other country has attached any conditionality or made any demand from Pakistan about our nuclear capability,” stated Dar.
• Dar had said last week that “nobody has any right to tell Pakistan what range of missiles it can have and what nuclear weapons it can have. We have to have our deterrence.”
• Dar was the 1^st fin min who brought up the issue of the range of nuclear missiles in the public sphere.
• In private conversations, some officials had said that there was a longstanding demand by a Western country to abandon the long-range nuclear missile program. (here)

Imran Khan asked overseas Pakistanis to tell human rights organizations and world politicians about worst situation human rights and democracy

• The PTI Chairman Imran Khan has asked overseas Pakistanis to go out and tell the human rights organizations and politicians of the world about how human rights are being violated in Pakistan and how democracy is being killed.
• Nobody is caring about the constitution.
• He said that elections are to be held in Apr but the govt is not allowing to create an atmosphere for the elections.
• It is not allowing us to take out rallies or hold meetings.
• We will contact the international organizations of human rights through the PTI offices abroad.
• We will also contact the Chief Justice of Pakistan that they are creating an atmosphere of fear by using violence and force.
• They are trying to divide us by calling our Pakhtun workers terrorists.
• They want to prove that we are terrorists and we are trying to spread anarchy in the country.
• The govt is spreading anarchy to stop the elections.
• They know that they can’t win the elections, so they are trying to wipe out PTI. They are trying to create a clash between PTI and the army. (Islam Daily)