NEWS 04-02-2021. NEWS FOR 5th-FEB (FRIDAY) 1. Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty has taken over as the vice-chief of Army Staff. Before this, he held the post of Southern Army Commander and will be succeeding Lt General SK Saini. 2. India has signed a Framework for strategic partnership agreement with the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) seeks to strengthen the cooperation in global energy security, stability and sustainability. 3. Boeing has received a licence from the US government to offer its F-15EX fighter jet to the Indian Air Force (IAF). Boeing will compete with Sweden's Gripen and France's Rafale among others for the Indian Air Force's plan to buy 114 multi-role aircraft to replace its Soviet-era fleet. 4. The Indian Air Force is now looking to focus on the multirole fighter aircraft project under which it is planning to acquire 114 combat aircraft expected to cost over Rs 1.3 lakh crore. 5. The govt has announced for the launch of Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS). The scheme will be in mission mode for the year 2021-25. The scheme was launched with the aim of providing the financial assistance to start-ups. 6. The fifth joint meeting of the India-Japan Act East Forum was held between India and Japan on January 28, 2021. 7. The Union budget 2021-22 was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the 1st of Feb. Growth is clearly high on the agenda not only for the next fiscal year but the focus seems to be to put Indian economy on a higher growth trajectory for the coming years. 8. Russia to feature over 200 weapon systems at Aero India air show. Russia’s state hi-tech corporation Rostec will feature over 200 weapon systems that will run in the Indian city of Bangalore from February 3 to 5. 9. India will be providing financial assistance in form of grants and loans worth Rs 6251.65 cr to 10 countries in the region. The highest assistance will go to Bhutan. 10. NASA, SpaceX to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station on April 20 11. India is closely watching the evolving situation in neighbouring Myanmar where it has huge stakes following detention of political leaders by the country's all-powerful military. 12. India has stepped up engagements with its extended neighbour Iran by handing over cranes for the strategically located Chabahar Port within days of the Biden administration taking charge. 13. The second production line for LCA Tejas, inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru will double the production of India's indigenous fighter jet LCA Tejas to 16 per year. 14. The Indian Navy's aircraft Ilyushin 38SD successfully fired Combat Kh35E anti-ship missiles during the ongoing Theatre level Readiness and Operational Exercise 2021 (TROPEX-21). 15. The first Test between India and England will be played between February 5-9 in Chennai. < < Back