NEWS 09-01-2022. NEWS FOR 10th-JAN (MONDAY) 1. Indian Army has deployed Four Heron drones from Israel to keep a close eye on China's movements along LAC in the Ladakh sector. 2. Sri Lankan Cabinet has cleared the Trincomalee oil tank farm deal with India. The cabinet also cleared two other proposals with Indian involvement. Ashok Leyland has won the bid for providing 500 new buses to Sri Lanka, while the Sri Lanka Police force will procure 750 jeeps from Mahindra and Mahindra. 3. India is among the six Indo-Pacific nations participating in a multi-lateral anti-submarine warfare exercise in the Pacific Ocean named *'Sea Dragon 22'*. The exercise began on January 5 involving navies of India, Australia, Canada, Japan South Korea & the US. 4. India’s GDP is projected to grow 9.2 % in the current FY 2021-22, according to the data released by the govt. The projection is slightly less than the 9.5% forecast by the IMF. Moody's had put India's growth forecast at 9.3%, while Fitch ratings had projected an 8.7% expansion. 5. France is ready to offer India its Nexter's Leclerc Tank. Recently, Russia had also offered India to jointly develop a new battle tank based on its T-14 Armata platform. 6. India's unemployment rate has hit a four-month high in the Dec 2021. The unemployment rate rose to 7.9% in December from 7.0% in November, its highest since 8.3% in August. 7. The Indian Navy recently tested the Rafale-M (Marine) fighter aircraft at the INS Hansa in Goa as it plans to procure a batch of these fighter jets for the indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) Vikrant. 8. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved a RT-PCR kit that will be used to detect Omicron. The kit named 'OmiSure' is manufactured by Tata Medical and Diagnostics. 9. Sri Lanka is facing a deepening financial and humanitarian crisis with fears it could go bankrupt in 2022 as inflation has risen to record levels. < < Back