NEWS 17/01/2021. NEWS FOR 18-JAN (MONDAY) 1. India’s first indigenous machine pistol 'ASMI' developed jointly by DRDO and Indian Army was displayed at the Army’s innovation display event. The ‘Make in India’ gun would replace the present 9mm pistols in the defence forces. The machine pistol can fire at a range of 100 metres and is in the class of the Uzi series guns of Israel. 2. The Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared a deal worth nearly Rs 48,000 crore for the acquisition of 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircrafts for the Indian Air Force. Designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development, the Tejas Mk-1A multirole light fighters will be manufactured by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. It will be an improvement over the Mk-1 version. 3. The drug regulatory body has granted emergency-use approval to Oxford University/AstraZeneca's Covishield — being locally manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) — and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin based on safety and immunogenicity data. Serum Institute of India is an Indian biotechnology and pharmaceuticals company. It is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer. It is located in the city of Pune. Mr Adar Poonawalla is the CEO of Serum Institute of India. Bharat Biotech International Limited is an Indian biotechnology company headquartered in Hyderabad. Dr. Krishna Ella is the Chairman & Managing Director of Bharat Biotech. 4. A major-rank Indian Army officer has indigenously developed the world’s first universal bulletproof jacket 'Shakti' which can be used by both male and female combatants. The jacket is also the world’s first flexible body armour. 5. India and Turkmenistan reviewed their bilateral ties and agreed to enhance cooperation in the UN and multilateral arena. The 4th round of Foreign Office Consultations were held between India and Turkmenistan through virtual mode. 6.India's Defence Secretary and Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister held a "security dialogue" on wherein they committed to elevate engagements between the armed forces of the two countries under the framework of "comprehensive strategic partnership". 7. CVRDE, Avadi has indigenously designed and developed 3 Ton Retractable Landing Gear (RLG) Systems for TAPAS and 1 Ton Landing Gear System for SWiFT UAV. In addition to this, 18 types of state-of-the-art indigenously developed hydraulic, lubrication and fuel filters for P75 Submarine for Indian Navy, duly qualified by DGQA (N) were handed over to Indian Navy. 8. The Defence Research and Development Organisation has developed multiple products such as the 'Him Tapak' heating devices and snow melters to help soldiers survive the extremely low temperatures. 9. NASA is set to launch the most powerful rocket in the world on January 17, 2021. NASA has named it as the “Space Launch System”. 10. The second edition of coastal Defence Exercise Sea Vigil-21 was conducted between January 12 and January 13. The exercise is conducted by the Indian Navy. The Sea Vigil is a build-up towards the major theatre level exercise TROPEX that the Indian Navy conducts every two years. 11. India will send 100 troops to Russia for S-400 training. It is planned that 100 Indian interns will be trained to operate and use S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems in combat conditions. 12. A contingent of 122 members of Bangladesh Armed Forces have reached Delhi to participate in the 2021 Republic Day parade there in commemoration of Bangladesh's 50th anniversary of independence. 13. According to the Army Chief, Women will be inducted as pilots in the Army Aviation Corps from 2022. The Indian Air Force has 10 women fighter pilots. In the Indian Navy, women pilots are flying the Dornier aircraft and also as observers onboard helicopters and P8I surveillance aircraft. Other than the 10 fighter pilots, the IAF has 111 women pilots who fly transport planes and choppers. 14. The 3rd test match between Ind & Aus ended in a draw. The series is tied at 1 each. The deciding 4th test match will commence from 15th Jan in Brisbane. 15. The Supreme Court recently suspended the implementation of three farm laws to end the disagreement between the farmers and Government of India. The Supreme Court has directed to form a committee to resolve the issue. What are the Farm Laws? (a) Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020. This act creates a national framework for contract farming between farmer and buyer. (b) Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020. The act permits inter-state and intra-state trade of farmers produce beyond the premises of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC). (c) Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. Why are the farmers protesting against the Farm Laws? The laws lay the framework to sell the produce directly to the corporates. The farmers do not trust the corporates. According to the farmers, this might end the Minimum Support Price system in the country. < < Back