Army Inducts Surface to Air Missile Akaash

Army Inducts Surface to Air Missile Akaash

More than three decades after the project was initiated, Army on May 5 inducted the indigenously developed supersonic surface to air missile Akaash, capable of targeting enemy helicopters, aircraft and UAVs from a range of 25 kms.

The missiles developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will be a boost for the army Air Defence Corps, which had been grappling for years with obsolete air defence weapons.

Indo-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement

The Bill to operationalize the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh on May 5, 2015 was cleared by the Union Cabinet and now includes territories in Assam along with those in West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya

The inclusion of Assam territories in the Bill indicated government's resolve to get the legislation cleared after bringing all parties on board.

The Bill would require ratification of at least 50% of the state legislatures before it comes into effect.

Rajya Sabha Clears the Bill

The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on May 6, 2015. The Constitution (One hundred and Nineteenth Amendment) Bill, 2013 was unanimously passed by the Upper House

The First Schedule of the Constitution to give effect to an agreement entered into by India and Bangladesh on the acquiring and transfer of territories between the two countries on May 16,1974.

In 2011, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Bangladeshi Premier Sheikh Hasina had signed the land swap deal known as the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).

The First Schedule defines the area of each state and union territory which together constitute India.

The Bill to operationalise the agreement with Bangladesh includes exchange of territories in Assam, West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya, and was cleared by the Union Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi on May 5, 2015.

Lok Sabha Passes the Bill Unanimously

The Lower House also unanimously passed the Bill on May 7, 2015 to allow the operationalisation of the 1974 India Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement. MEA minister Sushma Swaraj said the measure, apart from demarcating the boundaries would also help checking illegal immigration

India, French Dialogue for the Conclusion of Rafale Deal

France's defence minister and his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar pledged on May 6, 2015 to wrap up negotiations over the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets, agreeing to set up teams to nail down the deal.

The meeting between French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Parrikar came some four weeks after the announcement of an outline purchase agreement which fell a long way short of previous proposals for India to buy 126 of the jets made by French firm Dassault

It may be recalled that during a visit to France in April, Modi had announced that New Delhi had ordered 36 of the 'ready to fly' planes.

The deal, estimated to be worth five billion euros ($ 5-5 billion) followed tortuous years, long negotiations on buying the jets.

Talks began in 2012 about the possible purchase of 126 of the planes as part of a $ 12 billion deal. But they became bogged down over cost and New Delhi's insistence that 108 of the planes be manufactured in India

India has in recent years launched a vast defence modernisation programme worth some $ 100 billion, partly to keep up with rival neighbours Pakistan and ChinjTJ

Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife Gets its Original Powers on Project Approvals Restored

The environment ministry has withdrawn an order that drastically pruned the powers of its Committee tasked with giving project approvals around 650 wildlife protected areas—apparently fearing a reprimand from the Supreme Court.

The move restores the original jurisdiction of the standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife, as mandated by the top court in 2006, to appraise all projects coming up within 10 km of protected areas, such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, across India. So, a project cannot get environment clearance unless it gets the committee's nod—a position held till August 2014.

The Prakash Javadekar-led ministry had in August issued a circular trimming the wildlife committee's jurisdiction from 10 km to a much smaller ecologically sensitive area (ESA)—which could fall anywhere between 100 meters and five km of a protected area. The ministry is in the process of notifying such ESAs around protected areas and has completed 200 of them already.

A month later, it issued another circular delinking projects outside national parks and sanctuaries from the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972

The committee approved over 150 projects, including some in fragile coastal and border areas, in the seven months after the new rules kicked in. The orders were challenged in Supreme Court in September with a petition also accusing the ministry of filling up the standing committee with government officials while nominating only three representatives from NGOs or ecological institutions against the stipulated 10. In response, the court sought the rationale behind the circulars

NITI Aayog to Conduct Study on PM's Flagship Make in India, Energy Mission

In the first policy intervention, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog will gauge investers interest in PM Narendra Modi's ambitious Make in India and Clean Energy Mission

The government has set 175 Gigawatt (GW) target for renewable energy generation capacity by 2022—five times higher than the UPA government's goal.

According to sources the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has asked NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya to access effectiveness of policies and campaigns announced by the government to boost investment interest and make requisite recommendations

The aim of the exercise is manifold—quick resolution of the problems that investors may be facing, projecting investment estimates for these programmes and creating a synergy between different stakeholders.

In addition, the government believes that Clean Energy Mission can boost 'Make in India's as the industry has committed installing over 200 GW of renewable energy, more than the government's target of 175 GW

For Make in India , government officials said, NITI Aayog will work with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion to come up with an impact study