Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 6th July 2024

 

National News 

1.At 1.27 lakh crore, defense production registered a new high in 2023-24, says Centre 

• The country has recorded the highest-ever growth in indigenous defense production in value terms in the financial year (FY) 2023-24, the Defence Ministry said on Friday. 
• As per the data received from all Defence Public Sector undertakings (DPSUs), other PSUs manufacturing defense items, and private companies, the value of defense production in the country has gone up to a record-high figure of ₹1,26,887 crore, reflecting a growth of 16.7% over the defense tion of the previous financial year, the Ministry said in a statement. 
• The value of defense production in FY 2022-23 was 1,08,684 crore. 
• "Of the total value of production [VoP] in 2023- 24, about 79.2% has been contributed by DPSUs/other PSUs and 20.8% by the private sector. The data show that in terms of absolute value, both DPSUs/ PSUs and private sector have recorded a steady growth in defense product production," the statement said. 
• FY24's figure reflected a growth of 16.7% over the previous year's defense production. 
• The feat has been achieved due to the policy reforms, initiatives and ease of doing business brought in by the government in the past 10 years with a focus on attaining self-reliance, it stated. 
• "The Make in India programme is crossing new milestones, year after year, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many congratulations to our industry including DPSUs, other PSUs manufacturing defense items and the private industry. The government is committed to creating a more conducive regime for developing India as a leading global defense manufacturing hub," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on X. 
• In addition, the spiraling defense exports have contributed tremendously to the overall growth in indigenous defense production, the Ministry pointed out. 
• Defense exports touched a record-high of 21,083 crore in FY 2023-24, reflecting a growth of 32.5% over the last fiscal when the figure was ₹15,920 crore. 
• In the past five years (since 2019-20), the value of defense production has been increasing steadily, and has grown by over 60%, the statement added. 

2. 'Modi's visit to Russia purely bilateral’ 

• The timing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Rus is "purely bilateral", said Foreign Secretary V Kwatra, dismissing suggestions that his talks with Russian President Via dimir dimir Putin Putin on July July 9 would contrast to 1 to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summ scheduled to appear the same day. 
• The summit is exресте to focus on the Russia-Like ukraine conflict 
• Briefing the media about the upcoming visit on July 8 and it, he said that when the two meet for the 22nd annual summit, they will discuss the conflict in Ukraine, particularly the issue of Indians recruited by the Russian militar along with other global and regional issues. They are expected to focus, who wear, on the many issn pending between them since the last annual sun mit in 2021, with trade, connectivity, space, oil and LNG, defense supplies, payment issues given Western sanctions as well as cooperation on nuclear power reactors high on the agenda and US. President Joseph Ba den is hosting the transatlantic group of NATO for a special 75th anniversary summit, which will also have Asia-Pacific leaders Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelerskyy guests from July 8-10 "With regard scheduling of Prime Minister (Modi's visit to sa. We look at our relationship with Russia purely through a bilateral framework of reference. The must summit has not been held since 2021 and it has been scheduled now. I would not read any other significance into the meeting except that of great importance to it, Keatra said, downplaying any comparison to the parallel summit in the US. He said India's position on the Russia Ukraine con consistently in fa of dialogue and diplomacy and a settlement that Packed agenda:Adimir Put to meet for a number of events during the July 8-9 visit includes the two parties. When asked if India will discuss 7 sanctions on Russia during the talks, he said India is "careful in ad bering to UN sanctions but its discussions on the G-7 sanction only "protect India's економис sanctions are and national needs, whether it relates to diamonds other sectors economy Mr. Kwatra said India has been pursuing the case of an estimated 30-45 Endian nationals who were working with the Run Army after being recruited through "illegal and uneth means, saying that r. Modi will likely request discharge of Indian nationals who have been misled into the service of the Russian Any in his talks. 
• Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin are expected to meet for a number of events during the two-day visit. Mr. Modi will land in Moscow on Monday afternoon, and Mr. Furin him dinner that evening. The next meaning, after the ceremonial welcome, the leaders are expected to the tomb of the knowu soldier inside the Kremlin to pay their respects. Mr. Modi will visit an exhibition to view new developments by Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom that has built the reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu While India has signed a member of civil nuclear with countries, Russia a is the only foreign country operating nuclear power plants in India thus far with Kudan kulam units 1 and 2 operational and units 3-6 under construction. 
• Following the exhibition, Mr. Mod will hold bilateral talks with Mr. Putin followed hy delegation-level talks Trying to resolve the trade deficit between the countries would also be high on the kaders agenda, Mr. Kwatra said, pointing out that India's im Imports from Russia were about 560 billion dollars owing to a change in oil purchases since the Ukraine war, while Iulia's exports to Russia stand at about $4 every sector, wõutih er it is in agriculture, manufacturing, pharmaceutical or services, we are trying to maximize Indian exports to Russia so that the trade Imbalance can be addressed," he added but said that the payment mechanisms between the two countries that had been stuck due to were "working fine at present. 
• Mr. Modi will leave Tuesday evening for the second leg of his visit, to Vienna, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Austria in more than 40 years. While there, he will discuss trade and broadening the scope of the India Austria parinersl 

3. 'India, U.S. share goals to prevent Ukraine conflict from spreading’ 

• Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the United States has had continuous communications with India about what the two can do "together" to hold Russia "to account", U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said on Thursday. India and the U.S. share the goals of "preventing this conflict from spreading, promoting stability in the Middle East, and efforts to establish a future Palestinian state", he said in an email interview to The Hindu. 
• Welcoming India's support in providing humanitarian assistance for the people of Ukraine, Mr. Garcetti said that the U.S. appreciated the strength of the strategic partnership with India to "coordinate and exchange perspectives" on such challenges. 
• "Since the first days of Russia's unjustified and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we have had continuous communication with our Indian counterparts about what we can do together to hold 
• Russia to account and impose consequences for its war of conquest," Mr. Garcetti said, ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit scheduled to be held from July 9 to II. Incidentally, on the eve of the NATO summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Russia on July 8, 8 and 9 for the 22nd annual summit between the two countries. 
• "Going forward, we want to make sure that Ukraine is a success, that it stands strongly on its own feet militarily, economically, democratically, and that's exactly what we're enabling Ukraine to do," the U.S. envoy added. Last week, in an interview lew to The Hindu Business Line, Mr. Garcetti had said that the U.S., together with dozens of allies, is standing up against the idea that one country should be able to take the land of another by brute force. "Let me hope that India will continue to recognise that principle and work with us. identify those companies that are fuelling the Russian war machine that has taken tens of thousands of lives," he had said. Stating that India cares deeply about the people of Ukraine and has long standing ties with the country, while also noting that India has a close relationship with the people and government of Russia, Mr. Garcetti hoped that In dia could continue to play a "constructive role" towards peace. At the same time, he also cautioned that any Indian companies that violate global sanctions "will have to be aware of the consequences they face in the international market." 
• Ambitious agenda The U.S. Ambassador termed India as an important strategic partner of the U.S., noting that the two nations are pursuing an "ambitious" agenda to expand their cooperation in several areas. "We're working together. on world shaping initiatives. that extend from the depths of the seabed to the furthest reaches of the stars," Mr. Garcetti said. Quoting U.S. President Joe Biden, who had said that the U.S. and India share one of the "most consequential" relationships in the world, Mr. Garcetti said, "When we work together, our might is multiplicative. It's not just theU.S. plus India, it's the U.S. times India. This, he said, is playing out in many ways, including a "game-changing" initiative to co produce jet engines; a trade relationship of more than $190 billion, and more Indian students coming to study in the U.S. than ever before. 
• Asked whether NATO had formally asked to set up a presence in India, Mr. Garcetti said, "There is no NATO presence in India, and I'm not aware of a request for one." However, he said, NATO members have an interest like the rest of the world in ensuring a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific region, and noted that many NATO members are strong defense partners to India. 
• In May last year, the U.S. House Select Committee on the strategic competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist 
• Party recommended strengthening the "NATO- Plus framework by including India into the alliance. This was rejected by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar who said that the "NATO template does not apply to India".

 

International News 

4. Labour Party's former human rights lawyer Keir Starmer will be Britain's next Prime Minister 

• The Labour Party has registered a landslide victory in the UK parliamentary elections. 61-yearold former human rights lawyer Keir Starmer is set to become Britain's next Prime Minister by defeating incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party. In all but two of the final results, Labour had won a remarkable 412 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons of the British Parliament. 
• When Keir Starmer was elected to lead the UK Labour Party in 2020, after the party suffered its worst general election defeat in 85 years, he made it his mission to get the party re-elected. 
• Such a spectacular victory was a direct result of the changes Mr Starmer brought to the Labour Party's identity since the time of former leader Jeremy Corbyn. Mr Starmer, who became an MP in 2015, took over the leadership of Labour in 2020 after the left-wing Mr Corbyn resigned following the party's defeat in the 2019 election. 
• Mr Starmer stood in the leadership race with an agenda of 10 key pledges, which he said is 'based on the moral case for socialism'. Some of the key pledges include restricting the UK's arms sales, nationalising rail, a new Green Deal, strengthening workers' rights, etc. 
• The party has also promised to "make Brexit work" and seek "an ambitious" security deal with the EU. Their manifesto included a commitment to pursue a "new strategic partnership" with India, with an emphasis on a trade deal. 
• Starmer was the first member of his family to go to university, after which he helped run a left-wing magazine called Socialist Alternatives. He received a knighthood in 2014, a year before entering politics. 

5. Bangladesh Navy signs deal with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers for 800-tonne ocean-going tug 

• The Bangladesh Navy has signed a deal with India's Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) for an 800-tonne ocean-going tug. The deal is one of the major contracts signed under the $500 million credit line extended by India to Bangladesh for defence equipment procurement. 
• This coincides with the four-day visit of Indian Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi to Bangladesh, aimed at strengthening bilateral defence ties between India and Bangladesh and exploring new avenues of naval cooperation. 
• According to GRSE, the ship, worth around $21 million, will be delivered to Bangladesh within 24 months as per the contract. The vessel will be around 61 metres long and 15.80 metres wide with a maximum speed of at least 13 knots when fully loaded. 
• According to officials, this platform will help in towing ships at sea, and will also be able to carry out rescue operations at sea. This development comes amid China's growing presence in Bangladesh's defence market. Currently, Bangladesh also bought two submarines from China in 2016. 
• The official also said that apart from strengthening defence ties between the two countries, it will also be logistically convenient due to the proximity of the Kolkatabased GRSE shipyard to Bangladesh. 
• India has been encouraging Bangladesh to send Indian shipyards for repairs and rebuilding of its naval assets. 
• Last month, GRSE signed a contract with Germany's Karsten Rehder Schiffsmaukler & Rederei GmbH & Co for the construction of four multi-purpose vessels of 7,500 deadweight tonnes (DWT). Earlier, GRSE had exported one Offshore Patrol Vessel to Mauritius and one Fast Patrol Vessel to Seychelles. 

6. Belarus becomes the 10th member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation 

• The 24th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on 4 July 2024. Kazakhstan President KassymJomart Tokayev hosted the summit. 
• The Eurasian country Belarus was accepted as the 10th full member of the SCO. The Indian Prime Minister did not attend the meeting and India was represented by External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar. 
• The meeting was also attended by 16 world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres. 
• The SCO was first expanded in 2017 when India and Pakistan joined the organisation. Iran was added as its 9th member in 2023. Afghanistan and Mongolia have observer status. 
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was founded on June 15, 2001 by five countries: Kazakhstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It was a regional organisation that replaced the China-led Shanghai Five Organisation. 
• The 25th SCO Council of Heads of State meeting will be held in China as China took over the rotating chairmanship of the SCO from Kazakhstan. The Chinese city of Qingdao has been appointed as the tourism and cultural capital of the SCO for 2024-2025. 

7. Russia approves plan to build new orbital station by the year 2030 

• Russia has approved the construction of a Russian orbital station by 2030. The head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, signed the timetable with the directors of 19 enterprises involved in the construction of the new station. 
• It includes a timetable for the design and construction of space modules, flight tests of a new generation of manned spacecraft, the construction of launch vehicles and space infrastructure on Earth, and the work of scientific institutions supporting the project. 
• The agency confirmed plans to launch the initial scientific and energy modules in 2027. It said three more modules would be added by 2030 and two more between 2031 and 2033. 
• Russia has until now partnered with the United States and other countries on the International Space Station, one of the few areas of close cooperation given the acrimonious state of relations with the US since the invasion of Ukraine. 
• With the ISS nearing the end of its operational life, Moscow announced plans to exit the project in 2022 and build its own station. It will leave the ISS after 2024 but told its partners last year that it would extend its participation until 2028. 
• In addition to the design and construction of modules, Roscosmos said the program approved by Borisov includes flight testing of a new generation of crew spacecraft and the construction of rocket and ground-based infrastructure. 
• The new station will enable Russia to solve "problems of scientific and technological development, national economy and national security that are not available on the Russian segment of the ISS due to technological limitations and the terms of international agreements."

 State News 

8. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan sign agreement for Parvati-KalisindhChambal river linking project 

• The Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan governments signed an agreement for the implementation of the Rs 72,000 crore Parvati-KalisindhChambal river linking project. 
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Bhopal in the presence of Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Mohan Yadav. 
• The project aims to harvest surplus water available during rainy season in Chambal and its tributaries including Kunnu, Parvati, Kalisindh in southern Rajasthan. 
• The link project proposes to provide drinking water and industrial water in 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan, Malwa and Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh, besides providing irrigation to a minimum of 2.8 lakh hectares of area in both the states, including supplementation of root tanks in the states. 
• The link project will help in optimal and economical use of available water resources of the Chambal basin. After this agreement, drinking water and irrigation facilities can be expanded in 13 districts of Madhya Pradesh including Morena, Gwalior, Sheopur and Rajgarh. 
• Apart from solving the problem of water shortage, Yadav identified possible agreements between the two states in tourism, medical, mining and other sectors. Efforts will also be made to build a corridor from Khatu Shyam Temple in Rajasthan to Mahakal Shiva Temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. Chambal River 
• It originates from the northern slopes of Vindhya Mountains (Indore, Madhya Pradesh). From there, it flows in a northerly direction in Madhya Pradesh for a length of about 346 km and then flows in a north-easterly direction through Rajasthan for a length of 225 km. 
• It enters Uttar Pradesh and flows for about 32 km before joining the Yamuna River in Etawah district. River Linking Project 
• The idea of linking rivers was first proposed in the year 1919 by Sir Arthur Cotton, Chief Engineer of Madras Presidency. In 1982, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had formed the National Water Development Agency. The Supreme Court had said that the outline of this scheme should be ready by 2003 and the scheme should be implemented by 2016. 
• After this direction of the Supreme Court, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had formed a task force headed by Suresh Prabhu. In 2016, after getting some environmental clearances, the government started implementing the Ken-Betwa Link Project in earnest. 

Awards News 

9. President honors six CRPF men for gallantry 

• Six Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including four posthumously, were decorated with military gallantry medals by President Droupadi Murmu during a defense investiture ceremony held here on Friday. 
• The family members of Inspector Dilip Kumar Das, Head Constable Raj Kumar Yadav and Constables Bablu Rabha and Shambhu Roy received Kirti Chakras (posthumously) from Ms. Murmu. They were recognised for gallant action during an anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on April 3, 2021. Twenty-two security personnel were killed in action during this gun battle, followed by a Naxal ambush that went on for six hours. 
• Ms. Murmur also awarded Shaurya Chakras to two other personnel, Assistant Commandant Bibhor Kumar Singh and Constable Gamit Mukesh Kumar of the country's largest paramilitary force for showing gallantry during an anti-Naxal operation and counter-terrorist action in Jammu and Kashmir, respectively. 

Defence News 

10. 'Indo-Russian venture delivered 35,000 assault rifles to MoD’ 

• Just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia, the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL), a joint venture between the two countries, has produced and transferred 35,000 Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles to the Indian Ministry of Defence, Rostec state corporation of Russia announced on Friday. 
• "The IRRPL joint venture, co-founded by Roboronexport on the Russian side, has completed the first phase of the project to produce AK-203 Kalashnikov assault rifles in India. To increase the degree of localization, all necessary equipment has been shipped to the Korwa Ordnance Factory in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh state, and production facilities are now fully equipped," said Alexander Mikheev, Director General of Roborex- port in a statement. 
• "This made it possible to produce and deliver a batch of 35,000 Kalashni-kov assault rifles to the Indian Army within the time-frame agreed with the Ministry of Defence of India." 
• Mr. Modi is scheduled to visit Russia on July 8 and 9 for the 22nd annual summit. 
• As reported by The Hindu in May, the initial lot has been handed over to various Army Units and the later batches are being inspected and will be handed very soon. 
• Under an over ₹5,000 crore contract signed in July 2021, over 6.1 lakh AK-203 assault rifles are to be manufactured in India with technology transfer from Russia, by a joint venture Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL). 
• As reported by The Hindu earlier, as per contractual terms, the first 70,000 rifles will be produced in India with a phased increase in the extent of localisation from 5% to 70%. 
• The remaining rifles will be produced with 100% localisation. Appointment 

11. Hemant Soren sworn in as Jharkhand CM 

• Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as Jharkhand Chief Minister for the third time on Thursday. 
• Mr. Soren, who is currently out on bail in a money laundering case, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhawan in Ranchi. 
• 'Work for development' "Despite the political ups and downs, Champai Soren ji was running the government because I was in jail. I don't want to discuss why I was in jail because the court's order is already in the public domain. It is only because of the court's order that I am out of jail and have resumed my work. Now I will work for the development of the State," the new Chief Minister said after taking the oath, as JMM workers burst crackers in celebration outside Raj Bhavan. 
• Jharkhand is expected to head to the polls to elect a new legislative Assembly in October this year.