India-US defence partnership critical for US, beneficial for India

US Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh has termed the India-US defence partnership as critical for the United States and also beneficial to India.

During a meeting of Defence Writers Group,Welsh said that there is an opportunity to talk to the Indian Air Force to continue to develop a partnership that overtime could be very strong. He said that Pacific Air Forces and the US Pacific Command are very interested in building that partnership and pay a lot of attention to it.

What are India-US defence relations?

1.       US-India military relations derive from a common belief in freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, and seek to advance shared security interests. These interests include maintaining security and stability, defeating violent religious extremism and terrorism, preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction and associated materials, data, and technologies, and protecting the free flow of commerce.

2.      In recent years, India has conducted large joint military exercises with the US in the Indian Ocean called “Excise Malabar” .

 Exercise Malabar is a multilateral naval exercise involving the United States, India, Japan, Australia, and Singapore. The annual MALABAR series began in 1992, and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers, through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises.

3.      In January 2004, the US and India launched the "Next Steps in Strategic Partnership" (NSSP), which was both a milestone in the transformation of the bilateral relationship and a blueprint for its further progress.

4.      In July 2007, the two countries reached a historic milestone in their strategic partnership by completing negotiations on the bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation, also known as the "123 Agreement."

Current Affairs

Agni-1 missile test fired from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast

The indigenous Agni-1 missile was test fired from the Wheeler islands, off the Odisha coast on NOV 8^th 2013.

The user trial of the 12 ton missile was conducted at around 9.30 am from the ITR, Chandipur in Balasore district of Odisha.

Launched from a mobile launcher, Agni-1 surface to surface missile can travel a distance of 700 kilometres. The 15 metre long missile can carry a payload of 1000 kilogram.

Indian Navy inducts first fully indigenous Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers

Indian Navy inducted the first fully indigenous Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers (AJT) manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at INS Dega in Vishakhapatnam.

About Hawk AJT

Hawk AJT is a dual seat multi-purpose aircraft powered by a single Rolls Royce Adour Mk.871 engine. The AJT is primarily used for basic, advanced and weapons training of the pilots. The aircraft can be used as a ground attack aircraft or for air defence. It has superb flying characteristics with good stability, and has the capability to be flown at night and can perform a wide range of aerobatic manoeuvres.

RBI permits foreign banks’ subsidiary to acquire private banks

As per the guidelines released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Wholly-Owned Subsidiary (WOS) of foreign banks are allowed to acquire domestic private sector banks as well as open branches anywhere in the country. In addition, as per the guidelines:

Foreign bank subsidiary are permitted to be listed on local stock exchanges.

As a condition, foreign bank subsidiary will not be permitted to acquire more than 74%, the sectoral limit for overall foreign investment, in the private banks they may acquire.

WOSs will be given near national treatment which will facilitate them to open branches anywhere in the country at par with Indian banks (except in certain sensitive areas where the Reserve Bank’s prior approval would be required).

The initial minimum paid-up voting equity capital or net worth for a WOS would be Rs 500 crore.

As a measure of prevention against the possibility of the Indian banking system being dominated by foreign banks, there are certain measures to contain their expansion if the share of foreign banks exceeds a critical size.

India to host 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup

The International Hockey Federation, FIH has selected India to host the men's World Cup, which is planned for December 2018.

England has been selected as hosts of the 2018 women's World Cup. FIH President Leandro Negre announced that the two nations fought off competition from Malaysia and New Zealand.

Hockey's World Cup is held every four years and is second only to the Olympics in significance.