Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 5th April 2025

 International News

 1. Modi reaches Colombo, to discuss key issues with Sri Lankan President 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Colombo on Friday night for a weekend visit focused on bilateral discussions and the signing of several key agreements between India and Sri Lanka. Mr. Modi travelled to Sri Lanka after attending the BIMSTEC summit in Thailand. 
•  Invited by Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Mr. Modi's visit is the first by a foreign head of government since the significant political changes in Sri Lanka last year, which saw President Dissanayake and his National People's Power (NPP) alliance assume office. This follows President Dissanayake's first state visit abroad to New Delhi in December 2024, shortly after his election victory. 
• According to Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha. Herath, speaking in an interview with The Hindu earlier this week, a total of eight Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed during the visit, covering sectors such as energy, digital in-frastructure, health, and defence 
•  Ties 'never been better' Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha remarked to local media that bilateral ties "have never been better". He added that Mr. Modi's visit aims to build upon the "very comprehensive" joint statement adopted during Mr. Dissanayake's trip to New Delhi. 
•  The PM's official engagements begin on Saturday, April 5. Accompanied by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Mr. Modi will receive a ceremonial guard of honour at Independence Square in Colombo. This will be followed by bilateral talks and the signing of agreements at the Presidential Secretariat. 
•  Sources in Colombo in-dicated that Mr. Modi's schedule on Saturday also includes meetings with several opposition political figures, including representatives of the Tamil community. On Sunday, April 6, Mr. Modi is sche-duled to travel to Anurad-hapura in Sri Lanka's North Central Province. 
•  Key topics expected during the discussions include ongoing economic cooperation, Sri Lanka's debt restructuring efforts, potential Indian investments, and the sensitive, longstanding fisheries conflict affecting Tamil fishermen from both Sri Lanka's northern provinces. and Tamil Nadu. 
•  The fisheries issue gains added significance as Mr. Modi is scheduled to travel directly from Sri Lanka to Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu on April 6, a coastal town from which many bottom trawlers operate.

 Defence News 

2. CSIR-NAL signs technology transfer deal with firm to make HANSA trainer-planes 

• First, the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) , a Council of Scien-tific and Industrial Research (CSIR) body, has signed a technology transfer agreement with a private company to manufacture trainer airplanes in India. This would be the first time that the aircraft would be manufactured in India based on technology fully designed and developed indigenously. 
•  The HANSA-3 NG aircraft is a two-seater aircraft and is the latest iteration of the HANSA planes that have been made by NAL since 1998. Fourteen HANSA planes have been made over the years by NAL and used by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Indian Institutes of Technology. "We have now managed to seal a partnership with a private company which will manufacture these planes," said N. Kalaiselvi, Director-General, CSIR. 
•  The company, Pioneer Clean AMPS Pvt Limited, is expected to set up manufacturing facilities as well as handle marketing, servicing and aftersales, though NAL would be closely involved in the initial years to help them with various aspects of the manufacturing and operations, said Abhay Pashlikar, Director, CSIR-NAL. 
• The HANSA-NG is powered by a Rotax Digital Control Engine with features such as a composite lightweight airframe, a glass cockpit, a bubble canopy with wide panoramic view, and electrically operated flaps, among other features, a brochure says.