Current Affairs Current Affairs - 16 February 2017 - Vikalp Education

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Current Affairs - 16 February 2017

General Affairs 

Day After Major, 3 Others Die In Kashmir, Army Chief Bipin Rawat's Warning To 'Locals'
  • A day after four soldiers -- among them an army major -- died in Kashmir, Army Chief Bipin Rawat indicted it was time terror was controlled from the grass-root level in Kashmir. The army, he said, was not getting support from the local population despite trying to conduct "people-friendly operations". At a time the terrorists have "graduated" to villages, "harsher measures" were needed to control the local boys, he said.

    "We request local population... people who have picked up arms, local boys, if they continue with these acts of terrorism, displaying flags of ISIS and Pakistan, they will be treated as anti-nationals," General Rawat said. "We request the parents of these boys to counsel them... We will have to continue with harsher measures if need be."

    Former Union Minister P Chidambaram caled the Army Chief's comments "intemperate" and would be a "wrong approach to Jammu and Kashmir".

    Over the last few months, securitymen involved in anti-terror operations in Kashmir's villages have claimed they were targeted by slogan-shouting, stone-throwing locals. In several cases, it had enabled the terrorists to escape, they have said.

    Army sources have even said they suspect during yesterday's operation in Bandipora, two terrorists had managed to escape due to mob violence. On Sunday, an encounter in Kulgam was followed by protests, during which the protestors had tried to break cordon. The crowd control became a problem and pellet guns had to be used, the police had said.

    Last year, Kashmir witnessed five-month-long protests following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani. As protests swelled, the security forces claimed that in many areas, especially in South Kashmir, they became targets of stone throwing by local young men.

    Security forces - who came under harsh criticism for pellet injuries in protesters' eyes -- claimed they were targeting the protesters' legs as per protocol and the men had sustained eye wounds only because they were stooping to pick stones.

    President Clears The Decks For Supreme Court To Get Five More Judges
    • President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday cleared the appointment of five high court judges to the Supreme Court, signaling the end of the stalemate triggered by the refusal of a senior judge to participate in the selection process unless it was made transparent.

      The fresh appointments will raise the strength of the Supreme Court from 23, to 28 judges, leaving just three vacancies in the top court that has a sanctioned strength of 31 judges.

      Of the five to be sworn in as Supreme Court judges on Friday, four are chief justices of high courts: Justice Navin Sinha (Rajasthan) Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul (Madras) and Justice Deepak Gupta (Chhattisgarh) and Justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar (Kerala).

      The fifth, Justice S Abdul Nazeer is a judge in the Karnataka high court.

      The Supreme Court's collegium - or the group of senior-most judges that decides on judicial appointments - had recommended these names to the government which approved it and sent to the President for clearance.

      The selection process was stalled last year when a Supreme Court Justice J Chelameswar, boycotted meetings of the collegium to push for transparency and accountability in the selection process.


      Justice Chelameswar had then told  that the collegium "should record and give reasons for its decisions on selection or rejection of judge". If the Chief Justice of India (Justice TS Thakur) gives an assurance on this, I will attend meetings," he said in September 2016.

      The Supreme Court had declared soon after that the concerns raised by the senior judge would be sorted out.

      The new CJI Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar at the helm of affairs, sources said, is understood to have persuaded Justice Chelameswar to attend the meetings and all his concerns have been sorted out.

      In 2015, Justice Chelameswar was the only judge to take a different view  when a five-member bench struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act that gave politicians a role in appointing judges.

      Backing the law passed by parliament, he was critical of the system of judges appointing judges in which there was "no accountability".

      He had referred to cases where the SC collegium, after rejecting a name recommended by the High Court collegium, had "quickly retraced its steps" and leaving scope for speculation on what led to the quick change.

    PM Modi Pays Tribute To Soldiers Who Died Fighting Terrorists In Kashmir
    •  Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tribute to the four soldiers -- one of them an Army Major -- who lost their lives during two encounters in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday. Among the soldiers who died were Major Satish Dahiya, Rifleman Ravi Kumar, Paratrooper Dharmender Kumar and Gunner Astosh Kumar. Altogether, four terrorists had died in the encounters, which took place barely 12 hours apart in Kashmir's Handwara and Bandipora.

      Major Satish Dahiya was shot while leading his troops to track down a group of terrorists, who were hiding in a residential house in Handwara. The operation, which took place in the evening, eventually led to the killing of three terrorists, which, officials say will prove a blow to the terror network in north Kashmir.

      The 31-year-old Major was airlifted to a hospital in Srinagar, where he died later. The officer had been part of several counter-terrorist operations and had also received gallantry award earlier. He is survived by his wife and a two-year-old daughter. The gun-battle in Hajin area of Bandipora, which started in the morning, had claimed the lives of three securitymen. Fifteen security personnel -- including a commanding officer of the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) -- were injured in the encounter, which started after the forces cordoned off the house following a tip-off. One of the terrorists was killed in the shootout. A civilian -- the son of the man who owned the house -- also died.

      But the operation claimed the life of 33-year-old rifleman Ravi Kumar, who was a resident of the state. "He sacrificed his life for the nation, but I have to bear the pain for rest of my life," his father Ratan Lal said at his village in Samba.


      Paratrooper Dharmender Kumar, 26, a resident of Nainital, Uttarakhand, was also part of the same operation.
       Grenadier Astosh Kumar who, too, died in Bandipora had lost his father, Havildar Lal Sahib, in the 1999 Kargil war, when he was barely seven years old. His father's sacrifice had strengthened his resolve to join the Army which he did at the age of 19, officials said.


      The condition of CRPF commanding officer Chetan Cheetha is said to be critical. He has been shifted to Delhi's All-India Institute of Medical Sciences.

    Foreign Media On India's Record Of 104 Satellites Launched By ISRO On One Rocket
    • In India's space center on the barrier island of Sriharikota, the white-jacketed scientists held their collective breath.

      India's trusty red-and-white satellite launch vehicle had just lifted off from its launchpad moments before and blasted into orbit.

      The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C37 was about to perform a delicate maneuver - carefully sending 104 satellites into the heavens in pairs, the highest number ever attempted in one mission. One Indian space analyst on television likened the complicated maneuver to dropping children at different bus stops.

      Around 10 a.m., the announcement came - all the satellites had been successfully launched. The scientists breathed a collective sigh of relief, and backslapping and applause followed.

      "This is a great moment for each and every one of us. Today we have created history," said the project's manager, B. Jayakumar afterward. The total number of satellites far outstripped the previous record - 37 simultaneously sent into space by Russia in 2014.

      Wednesday's launch was another success for the Indian Space Research Organization, which is rapidly gaining a reputation globally for its effective yet low-cost missions.


      India has already sent up dozens of satellites, including 20 at once last year.

      In 2014, India became the first Asian nation to successfully send a Mars probe into orbit of the red planet, a bargain $74 million effort that, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted at the time, cost less than what it took to make the Hollywood space movie "Gravity."

      The fierce national pride that resulted after that success sent the Mars probe rocketing on to the face of the country's new 2,000 rupee currency note in November.


      Now, India is showcasing its competitiveness in the $300 billion global space market, said Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

      The 104 satellites on board - from India, the United States, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates - are considered small, micro and nano-sized spacecraft, much easier to load onto a rocket in greater numbers.

      India's commercial arm, Antrix Corporation, has charged about $3 million to send a satellite into space in recent years, far less than private companies. The ability to reuse components and some government subsidies contribute to these savings, Rajagopalan said.

      The complex, 90-minute mission "shows that India's space program has come a long way, and gained a lot more sophistication in terms of launch capabilities," he said.

      India increased the budget of its space program by more than 20 percent this year in an effort to mount a second Mars mission in the coming years, as well as an orbiter mission to Venus that may done in collaboration with scientists from the U.S.'s National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

      As the scientists in India watched anxiously on Wednesday, a group of environmentally-focused techies gathered around big screens at their San Francisco headquarters with equal excitement, filming the lift-off on their smartphones.

      The American earth-imaging company now known as Planet owns 88 of the satellites sent into orbit Wednesday, and their flock of tiny craft called "Doves" will join another 12 satellites already in rotation in an ambitious project to "image all of Earth's landmass every day," the company noted in a post-launch report.

    Dassault Eyes Contract To Supply 57 Rafale Fighter Jets To Indian Navy
    • After securing the Euro 8.78 billion deal for 36 Rafale fighters jets to strengthen the Indian Air Force fleet, French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation is now eying the naval contract of 57 aircraft that is up for grabs. The navy issued a 'Request for Information' last month seeking response from various manufacturers to equip its aircraft carriers with fighter jets, shelving the original plan to go in for the naval version of the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft.

      Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, said the French aviation company will pitch for the naval contract. "We are the only company to have strictly the same aircraft for our air force and for our navy. Our Rafale for the navy and the air force are same," he told news agency PTI.

      Early last year, a team from France had given a detailed presentation to senior navy officers on various aspects of the naval version and the benefits it would offer with two arms of defence forces using Rafale fighter jets.

      "In case we have the new contract for the navy, we will benefit from the local implementation of the Rafale production (for the air force)," Mr Trappier said.


      The Air Force is also looking to procure fighter jets to replenish its aging fleet. Dassault has already begun manufacturing the initial lot of 36 Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.


      Like other defence companies vying for the multi-billion dollar contract, Dassault too has offered to set up a manufacturing line in India. "We started to think seriously about producing Rafale in India a long time ago. We will start production of parts of the Rafale jet, which is a part of the exisiting contract.

      "It will not only be Rafale, but parts of Falcon (fighter jet) will be produced in India too. We want to have a serious footprint under the Make in India programme."

      "If we get new contract for more Rafale jets, it will help us to develop more capabilities and we will have an assembly line in India," Mr Trappier said.

    Business Affairs 

    No more delays, now get your PAN instantly
    • To push PM Modi's Digital India drive,  the Central Board of Direct Taxes is working on issuing the Permanent Account Number (PAN) instantly using Aadhaar's e-KYC facility, reports the Times of India.  
      The e-KYC allows the user to verify details through a biometric identification features.
      Quoting an official from the concerned department, the report said that the new decision will minimise the whole process to few minutes from the existing time span of two to three weeks. The officer said,"If a SIM can be issued through e- KYC, then the same can be done for PAN". He also added that though the number will be granted instantly but the card delivery will take time.
      The Income Tax Department is also mulling over the option of developing a smartphone app so that the citizens can pay their taxes on the go. The same app will also allow them to track their returns and an option to apply for PAN card.
      Last month, the Government decided to issue newly designed PAN (Permanent Account Number) cards that have added security features to make them tamper-proof and with contents written in both Hindi and English.
      The distribution of new-look PAN cards, being printed by NSDL and UTIITSL (UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Ltd), started since January 1. The cards are being issued to new applicants but existing ones can also apply.
      "The distribution of new PAN cards kicked off on January 1. However, these are only for the fresh lot of PAN card applicants," the official said.  
      PAN cards are mandatory for any transaction above Rs 2 lakh and as identity proof for a lot of other activities such as opening a bank account. There are currently more than 25 crore PAN card holders in the country.
      As per government estimate, every year 2.5 crore people across the country apply for PAN cards.

    Sensex tanks 184 points on dismal corporate earnings
    • The benchmark Sensex extended losses for second straight day, plummeting 183.75 points to close 28,155.56, while the broader Nifty dropped well-below the crucial 8,800-level following sustained sell-off across the sectors despite firm global cues.
      Volatility ruled across the spectrum barring FMCG counters which found minor buying interest, with shares of index heavy weight Tata Motors and SunPharma continue to witness heavy drubbing because of poor earning results.
      Market witnessed lurking negativity after forceful overnight statement of US Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen to hike rates in its policy review next month might may results renewed capital outflows from emerging economies.
      Realty, Industrials, Auto, HealthCare, Consumer Durables, Metal and Power sectors witnessed acute selling pressure outperformed by broader markets the midcap and small cap shares.
      Auto major Tata Motors fell over 10 per cent after the automaker on yesterday reported a sharp 96 per cent fall in December- quarter profit, citing sharply lower earnings at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and losses in its domestic business, weighed heavily on the bourses apart from profit-booking in recent gainers.
      Sun Pharmaceutical also dropped over 4 per cent after 4.72 per cent decline in consolidated net profit for the December.
      The 30-share Sensex, opening lower at 28,270.11, traded to an high of 28,382.32 and plunging to day's low of 28,102.23 before settling at 28,155.56, showing a loss of 183.75 points, or 0.65 per cent over its last close.
      The gauge had lost 17.37 points yesterday.
      The 50-share NSE Nifty also slid 67.60 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 8,724.70 after moving between 8,807.90 and 8,712.85.
      Globally, European and Asian markets rose as Wall Street set record highs overnight after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen spoke in support of an interest rate hike next month.
      Yellen said yesterday that the Fed will probably need to raise interest rates at an upcoming meeting in March, and that delaying rate increases could leave the Fed`s policy- making committee behind the curve.
      Stocks of south korea, singapore, Japan and HongKong gained between 0.45 per cent to 1.23 per cent, while Sc (China) fell 0.15 per cent.
      Paris CAC rose 0.48 per cent, while London's FTSE by 0.41 per cent and Germany's DAX up 0.50 per cent.
      Meanwhile, Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 6.45 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
      Selling was witnessed in mid-cap and small-cap stocks.
      Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index provisionally fell 1.16 per cent. The BSE Small-Cap index provisionally dropped 1.52 per cent. The declines in both these indices were higher than the Sensex's drop in percentage terms.
      Of the 30-share Sensex pack, 18 scrips ended lower while the remaining 12 firmed up.
      Major losser was Tata Motors slumped 10.32 per cent with the stock extending yesterday's 3.68 per cent fall triggered by the company's weak Q3 December 2016 results. Tata Motors' consolidated net profit fell 96.22 per cent to Rs 111.57 crore on 2.22 per cent decline in net sales to Rs 66855.18 crore in Q3 December 2016 over Q3 December 2015.
      Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries fell 4.25 per cent, with the stock extending yesterday's 0.73 per cent fall triggered by the company's weak Q3 December 2016 results. On a consolidated basis, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries' (Sun Pharma) net profit declined 11.23 per cent to Rs 1721.85 crore on 8.41 per cent rise in net sales to Rs 7683.24 crore in Q3 December 2016 over Q3 December 2015.
      It was followed by Tata Steel 2.57 per cent, Adani Ports 2.09 per cent, Hero Motoco 1.99 per cent, ICICI Bank 1.49 per cent, Maruti 1.32 per cent, Dr reddy 1.27 per cent, NTPC 1.08 per cent and Bharti Artl 0.99 per cent.
      However, ITC rose by 0.96 per cent followed by TCS 0.53 per cent, HDFC Bank 0.49 per cent, Bajaj Auto 0.38 per cent, Asian Paints 0.34 per cent and Power Grid 0.32 per cent.
      Among BSE sectoral and industry indices, realty fell by 3.53 per cent, followed by industrials 3.10 per cent, auto 3.03 per cent, healthcare 1.90 per cent, consumer durables 1.61 per cent, metal 1.35 per cent, power 1.30 per cent, telecom 1.15 per ent, capital goods 1.12 per cent and oil&gas 1.05 per cent, while, FMCG rose by 0.08 per cent.
      The market breadth remained negative as 2,147 stocks ended lower, 688 closed higher while 150 ruled steady.
      The broad market depicted weakness. There were more than three losers against every gainer on BSE. 2,143 shares fell and 698 shares rose. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.
      The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3,412.57 crore, higher than turnover of Rs 2,694.12 crore registered during the previous trading session.

    SBI, associate banks' merger gets green signal from govt
    • Seeking to create a global sized bank, the government on Wednesday gave a go-ahead to the merger plan of SBI and its five associate banks but did not take a decision with regard to Bharatiya Mahila Bank.
      "The Cabinet had earlier in-principle cleared the (merger) proposal. It had gone to the boards of various banks which have granted the approvals. The recommendations of the boards were considered today and the Cabinet cleared the proposal," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
      The associate banks which will be merged with SBI are: State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Travancore (SBT), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH).
      "With this merger, the SBI, with all these five subsidiaries merging in it, will also become a very large bank, not merely from a domestic point of view but actually a global player in its very size," the minister said after the Union Cabinet meeting.
      It will, he added, "certainly lead to far greater efficiency. It will lead to synergy of operations within these banks...it will cut down the cost of operations. The cost of funds itself will come down".
      With the merger of all the five associates, SBI is expected to become a global-sized bank with an asset base of Rs 37 trillion (Rs 37 lakh crore) or over USD 555 billion, 22,500 branches and 58,000 ATMs. It will have over 50 crore customers.
      State Bank of India has about 16,500 branches, including 191 foreign offices spread across 36 countries.
      SBI first merged State Bank of Saurashtra with itself in 2008. Two years later, State Bank of Indore was merged with it. .
      On the proposal to merge Bharatiya Mahila Bank with SBI, Jaitley said, "It is under consideration as of now. We have not taken any decision related with that today."
      About the specific date on which the merger of five associate banks with the SBI would become effective, the he said, "We will inform you about the specified date when the merger will come to the effect."
      Jaitley also said that merger will not be detrimental to the services of any employee, "It will be a smooth arrangement."
      The board of SBI earlier approved the merge plan under which SBBJ shareholders will get 28 shares of SBI (Rs 1 each) for every 10 shares (Rs 10 each) held. Similarly, SBM and SBT shareholders will get 22 shares of SBI for every 10 shares.
      SBI had approved separate schemes of acquisition of State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Hyderabad. There will not be any share swap or cash outgo as they are wholly-owned by the SBI.
      The SBI stock closed 0.68 per cent down at Rs 268.65 on BSE.
      Of the three listed subsidiary banks among the five: State Bank of Mysore stock closed 0.47 per cent down at Rs 561.65 apiece; State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur down 0.51 per cent at Rs 718 and the share of State Bank of Travancore fell 0.91 per cent down at Rs 559.95.

    DLF promoters in last leg of talks for Rs 12,000-14,000 crore sale deal
    • Realty major DLF's promoters are in the final stage of discussion with potential investors to sell their 40 per cent stake in the company's rental arm DCCDL Ltd for an estimated Rs 12,000-14,000 crore.
      DLF, the country's largest real estate developer, had announced in October 2015 that its promoters would sell their entire stake in DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), which holds the bulk of the commercial assets of the group.
      Global investors Blackstone and GIC are in the race to acquire the 40 per cent stake of DLF promoters in DCCDL, sources said. DLF holds the remaining 60 per cent in DCCDL.
      The promoters will infuse a significant amount in DLF to cut net debt of over Rs 24,000 crore.
      "We are in the final stage of discussion with prospective investors," DLF group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Ashok Tyagi said.
      DLF's Senior Executive Director (Finance) Saurabh Chawla told analysts that the transaction is in the "last leg" and will be soon presented to the Committee of Independent Directors for evaluation and final decision.
      To allay market concerns over delay in the proposed deal, Chawla said the one-year extension of deadline for conversion of compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) held by promoters in DCCDL does not mean that "the transaction has been delayed by one year".
      Shares of DLF Ltd today fell 6.98 per cent to close at Rs 137.20 apiece at the BSE after the company reported a 46 per cent decline in net profit amid concerns over delay in the proposed deal.
      Chawla, however, agreed that the progress on the transaction has been a tad slow, given the deal size and many complexities involved in it.
      "In the short period of time, we will able to guide the market about this transaction," Chawla said, adding that the company's endeavour would be to announce the deal this fiscal itself.
      Yesterday, DLF had announced the conversion period for CCPS issued to the promoters in DCCDL has been extended by one year at their request to facilitate its sale.
      In late 2009, DLF had announced the merger of its subsidiary DCCDL with promoter firm Caraf Builders & Constructions. DCCDL had then issued CCPS worth Rs 1,597 crore to promoters.
      Post conversion of CCPS into ordinary shares, promoters will have a 40 per cent stake in DCCDL.
      DLF has about 30 million sq ft of commercial area with an annual rent of about Rs 2,700 crore and out of that, DCCDL holds about 22 million sq ft of commercial space.

    Capital gains from unlisted shares: Govt may use net asset value method to calculate FMV
    • The tax department is likely to calculate the fair market value (FMV) of unlisted shares by the net asset value method for computing capital gains tax arising out of the transfer of such shares.
      The government has proposed in the budget that the tax department would compute capital gains from transfer of unlisted shares at less at the selling price or fair market value (FMV), whichever is higher, and that it would come out with the method for calculation of fair market value.
      According to some tax experts, tax and revenue officials have hinted that the main objective of inserting this section in the Income Tax Act is to target sale of properties at undervalued prices though the company structure, and that they would use the net asset value to calculate FMV instead of the discounted cash flow (DCF) method.
      The net asset value is expected to reflect the fair market value of the property. If the fair market value is calculated by the DCF method that would have led to many litigations because DCF method of calculation is very subjective, thus giving discretionary power in the hands of tax officials, who may contest the fair market value of the shares calculated by a company for sale of shares.
      As per the budget announcement, "If the consideration received a result of the transfer by shares of an unlisted company is less than the fair market value of such share determined in such manner as may be prescribed, the value so determined should, for the purpose of computation of capital gains, be deemed to be the full value of consideration received or accruing as a result of such transfer."
      This announcement came as a major dampener for unlisted companies especially the start-ups where a lot of deals takes place and promoters, private equity investors and venture capital funds keep selling their stakes.

    General Awareness

    Aero India 2017 Begins at Air Force Station, Bangalore
    • The 11th biennial edition of International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition – Aero India 2017 kicked off at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru, Karnataka on February 14, 2017.
      • The five day event was inaugurated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. It has been organized and conducted by the Defence Exhibition Organisation (DEO) and will conclude on February 18, 2017.
      • The 2017 Aero India is expected to be the largest show in the recent year with a focus on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India initiative.
      • It began with a flypast with Mi17 helicopters carrying the flags of India and the Indian Air Force (IAF).
      Key Highlights of Aero India 2017
      Nearly 270 Indian and 279 foreign companies with over 2 lakh business visitors are taking part in the event.Total 51 countries are participating in the show and there shall be country-wise company participation from 23 countries including official delegations.
      • Aircraft from India and different parts of the world will also be major attraction. 72 aircraft will participate.
      • Among the aircrafts, foreign aircraft like Rafale fighter jets, Swedish Gripen and American F-16 fighters is participating at the show.
      • Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) displayed a variety of helicopters in the show ranging from the new Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Dhruv and Rudra,  HAL Tejas (LCA) and Sukhoi Su-30 MKI.
      • Besides, fighter aircraft manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, SAAB, Dassault Aviation, BAE among other major manufactures are setting up stalls to showcase their products.
      • Four Indian states including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala are setting up exclusive SEZ pavilions for attracting investment.
      • The Aerobatic teams participating in the show includes, the Indian Air Force Sarang Team, the Indian Air Force Surya Kiran Team, the Scandinavian Air Show Team from Sweden and the Evolvkos Aerobatic Team from Britain.
      • Surya Kiran Aerobatics team of the Indian Air Force is participating after six years with newly inducted Hawk jets and it will be the team’s 500th public show.
      • The total area of the show has grown from 24,403 sqm to 27,678 sqm in 2017 while the gross area has also increased from 2,50,000 sqm to 2,60,000 sqm.
      • Exhibitors from USA, France, the UK, Russia, Israel, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Ukraine, Singapore, Sweden, Spain, South Africa, Italy, the UAE, South Korea, Hong Kong, the Czech Republic, Canada, Australia, Poland and Greece are participating in the show.
      Chinese Team Participate for the First Time
      For the first time in the Aero India event, China will also participate with a five member team. Besides, two more delegates from china would also be attending the event.
      • The Chinese air Force will be headed by Major General Wang Qiang. Other defence delegates include Senior Colonel Gao Zhikuan, Col Huang Xinyang, Lt Col Jiang Jiaji and Maj Li Yiu.
      DRDO Hands Over Airborne Early Warning and Control System to Indian Air Force
      One of the major event of Aero India 2017 on February 14, 2017 was the handing over of Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C) to the Indian Air Force by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).
      • The Netra AEW&C system has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaborative efforts by IAF along with coordination for certification clearance and quality assurance by CEMILAC and DGAQA.
      • The system has a range of around 200 km and capability to better detect enemy aircraft and missiles by integration of the information from sensors with intelligence to provide air picture.
      • The Surveillance System has a voice communication system and self protection suite mounted on Brazilian Embraer-145 jet, Emb-145 platform with an air to air refueling capability to enhance surveillance time.
      Other Major events of the Aero India 2017
      As a part of the Aero India 2017, a seminar has been organized by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in association with the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) from 12th to 14th of February 2017.
      • The theme of the seminar is “Aerospace: Technology Collaboration and Self Reliance”.
      • iii.Among the seminar, Andhra Global CEO’s Conclave on Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Opportunities in Andhra Pradesh was also held on February 14, 2017.
      • The conclave was chaired by Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati while the Guest of Honour was Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar.The CII, FICCI and PHD shall jointly conduct business meet on February 15, 2017 under the Make in India Initiative.
      • The important topics of the meeting include,  “Indian Aerospace : Investor’s Meet” by CII, “Make in India in Aerospace: Are MSMEs geared for it?– Reflections and the Way Forward” by PHD, CII.
      • Further, Round Tables Country specific meet by Indian chambers has been organized.
      About Aero India
      Aero India is a biennial air show and aviation exhibition held in Bengaluru, India at the Yelahanka Air Force Station since 1996.
      • It is the largest air show in Asia and the second largest air show of the world after the Paris Air Show.
      • Aero India is organised by Defence Exhibition Organisation, Ministry of Defence
      • Besides, the Defence Ministry of India, Indian Air Force, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Department of Space, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry and other such organisations join hands to organise the Aero India show.

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