1. PM Modi announces Kerala’s first Vande Bharat express at Kochi roadshow
2. India-China Military Talks On Border Standoff Fail To Reach Breakthrough
3. Hizbul chief Salahudeen guiding cadres of 13 Pak-based Kashmir-centric terror outfits: NIA
4. India to buy more Russian, American missile systems for Navy
5. Operation Kaveri: Ships, aircraft set to bring 500 Indians back from port Sudan, says Jaishankar

What Else

6. Australia’s new defense review- Focus on stronger ties with India, Japan amidst China military build-up
7. Don’t wish to become PM, want to work for country’s good: Nitish Kumar after meeting Akhilesh
8. Supreme Court launches web page on 50 years of basic structure judgment
9. 12 policemen martyred and more then 40 injured in blasts at Swat CTD police station
10. Taiwan in talks with US about potential weapons stockpiles on or near island, premier confirms
11. Chinese scientists take big step on long-distance journey to 6G wireless communication

PM Modi announces Kerala’s first Vande Bharat express at Kochi roadshow

• PM Modi listed initiatives undertaken by his Central govt at the to help the people of Kerala as he announced the state’s 1^st Vande Bharat train during his roadshow in Kochi.
• PM Modi is in the state for a two-day visit.
• The youth of the state know the importance of basic developments, PM Modi said,
• The CAPF exam is conducted to recruit candidates for the armed forces.
• “Wherever there is a BJP govt, efforts are on to give govt jobs to the young. But the government in Kerala is not interested in this,” he alleged.
• “Kerala’s Ayurvedic medicine is another unique factor…… talking about the former Kenyan PM & how his daughter’s eyes were cured with the help of Ayurveda,” he said
• The PM’s roadshow, attended by hundreds, is being seen as a show of strength by the BJP in a state it is yet to win. (here)

India-China Military Talks On Border Standoff Fail To Reach Breakthrough

• The Indian Army and the PLA held 18^th round of military talks on Sun to ease tensions along the LAC but there was no advance yet again in defusing the troop confrontation.
• The two sides have been locked in a border standoff for almost 3 years now.
• However, agreed to continue the dialogue and maintain “security and stability” along the frontier. [Means Nothing]
• The fresh talks came after a gap of 4 months as the last dialogue happened in Dec 2022
• The border tension will enter its 4^th year in May but problems at Depsang in Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction in Demchok are still on the negotiating table.
• India pushed for troop disengagement at the strategically-located Depsang Bulge area and the CNN junction as the first step towards eventual de-escalation and de-induction.
• The talks come ahead of the Chinese Defence Minister’s upcoming visit to India for an SCO meeting to be held in New Delhi on Apr 27-28.
• All eyes are now on the bilateral meeting on Apr 27, a day before the main SCO (here)

Hizbul chief Salahudeen guiding cadres of 13 Pak-based Kashmir-centric terror outfits: NIA

• NIA-Self-styled supreme of HM, Syed Salahudeen, is instructing the cadres of the banned terror group UJC- a firm of around 13 Pak-based Kashmir-centric terror outfits.
• As per the NIA, Salahudeen has been guiding activists of the UJC from Pakistan.
• NIA said that Salahudeen is the chairman of the UJC which is also known as Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC)– an umbrella organization of outfits such as LeT and JeM.
• This exposé came after action on his 2 sons- Shahid Yusuf and Syed Ahmed Shakeel.
• Earlier on Mon, the agency attached two immovable properties of both that are located in Soibugh in Budgam district and Nursing Garh’s in Srinagar district. (here)

India to buy more Russian, American missile systems for Navy

• At a time when the US and Russia are pitted against each other over Ukraine, India plans to buy missile systems from both these countries worth around $200 million.
• A proposal is at an advanced stage in which the Navy has to acquire 20 Klub antiship cruise missiles from Russia & equipment for the US Harpoon anti-ship missile system.
• The Klub missile is equipped on both the warships and submarines and has been one of the importing weapon systems for it for a long time.
• The Harpoon missile system acquisition is expected to cost around $80 mn under a foreign military sales route.
• The US Congress has already approved the sale of the Harpoon Joint Common Test Set and related equipment to India.
• The Navy has already deployed the Harpoon missiles on its anti-submarine warfare aircraft and submarines. (here)

Operation Kaveri: Ships, aircraft set to bring 500 Indians back from port Sudan, says Jaishankar

• Amid the Sudan crisis, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed that its ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacuate Indians is underway and about 500 had reached Port.
• India has launched “Operation Kaveri” to bring back stranded 3k Indians from Sudan.
• The French embassy in New Delhi said on Mon said that 388 people from 28 countries, including India, were evacuated.
• The French diplomatic sources said that 5 Indian nationals were evacuated so far through a French Air Force flight.
• Sudan is facing violence due to fighting between the army and the paramilitary forces. There are reports of violence even amid a 72-hour ceasefire. (here)

Australia’s new defense review- Focus on stronger ties with India, Japan amidst China military build-up

• Australia on Mon released the Defence Strategic Review that has proposed a strategy of greater autonomy and stronger relations with its allies, including Japan and India.
• The plans to prioritize its long-range precision strike capability, domestic production of guided weapons, and diplomacy, in its biggest defense shake-up since WWII.
• The review said Australia is facing a “radically different” strategic environment, including a military build-up by China.
• Commissioned in the first 100 days of Govt, the Review sets the agenda for ambitious, but necessary, reform to Australia’s Defence posture and structure.
• It says the US is no longer the “unipolar leader of the Indo-Pacific”, intense competition between the US and China, and that this competition has “potential for conflict”. (here)
• Australian Member of Parliament, Jason Wood on Sun said that the country is very excited about PM Modi’s forthcoming visit to Australia in May. (here)

Don’t wish to become PM, want to work for country’s good: Nitish Kumar after meeting Akhilesh

• Bihar CM Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav on Mon met former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav as they sought to cobble up a united opposition front against the BJP in the 2024.
• After holding a closed-door meeting with Akhilesh, Kumar addressed the media and said that he aims to bring more opposition parties together.
• Kumar also refuted the claims of being in the PM race for the 2024 general elections.
• Further speaking about the face, Nitish said, “When we all come together, we will decide who our leader would be”.
• Meanwhile, Akhilesh said that he is with Nitish Kumar in his endeavour to uproot the incumbent BJP regime from the country.
• The meeting with Akhilesh came hours after he met TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in Howrah earlier Mon.
• “If we have an all-party meeting in Bihar, we can then decide where we have to go next,” Banerjee said after the meeting. (here)

Supreme Court launches web page on 50 years of basic structure judgment

• The Supreme Court on Mon launched a special web page to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of its historic 1973 judgment in the Kesavananda Bharati Case
• The judgment evolved the doctrine of basic structure- Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution but cannot tinder with its basic structure – a check on the legislative
• On Mon, CJI Chandrachud informed the lawyers present in his court hall that the SC admin has dedicated a special web page for paying a tribute to the landmark judgment.
• The web page contains the individual opinions by all the 13 judges on the bench in the 1973 case, which was decided through 11 separate judgments.
• The top court, by majority of 7-6, declared that Parliament has the power to amend any and every part of the Constitution, as long it doesn’t violate basic structure. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

12 policemen martyred and more then 40 injured in blasts at Swat CTD police station

• At least 10 people, including 8 policemen, were killed and more than 40 people injured in a “suspected suicide attack” at a Counter Terrorism PS in Swat’s Kabal on Mon
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan said security officials were on “high alert” throughout the province.
• Earlier, District Police Officer (DPO) said there were 2 blasts inside the station, which destroyed the building.
• The building that collapsed was an old one while most offices and personnel were located in a newer building, he added.
• The DIG said that the cause of the blasts was not yet known. (here)

[Unverified reports claimed that over 20 policemen killed and 48 others injured in a suicide bomb attack. No terror group has claimed responsibility]

Taiwan in talks with US about potential weapons stockpiles on or near island, premier confirms

• Taipei is in talks with Washington for building weapons stockpiles in the region to give the island access to weapons needed to fight Beijing Taiwan confirmed on Mon.
• Primier confirmed that both had been in discussions over the potential plan since the US National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) 2023 was approved by US Congress.
• The NDAA, signed into law by US President Joe Biden on Dec 23, includes provisions for military aid and cooperation programs for the island.
• In addition to a proposal for the two sides to have joint military exercises, strengthen security partnerships and modernize Taiwan’s security capabilities.
• “The [US] President may establish a regional contingency stockpile for Taiwan that consists of munitions and other appropriate defense articles” or “inclusion of Taiwan among other allies eligible for defense articles,” one of the provisions says. (here)

Chinese scientists take big step on long-distance journey to 6G wireless communication

• A research team from China’s Aerospace Corporation 2^nd Institute has conducted the 1^st real-time wireless transmission of China’s 6G communication technology.
• The test used terahertz orbital angular momentum communication technology, according to a report on Wed by state media.
• 6G cellular networks – still years away – are expected to be faster and more reliable than current 5G technology, which as per experts, will support data speeds up to 1TB/s.
• The researchers used an antenna to generate 4 different beam patterns at a frequency of 110 GHz and achieved transmission at a speed of 100 GB/s on a 10 GHz bandwidth. (here)