<img src="https://api-discussion.policharcha.com/1642078848295" alt="India’s another blow to China in the Indo-Pacific" style="float:none;height: auto;width: auto"/>

India and Sri Lanka struck a deal to redevelop the Trincomalee oil tank farms after an arduous effort of more than thirty years. It is a success for Indian policymakers and diplomatic community from a trade and economic perspective, and it also has the potential to impact the strategic situation in the Indian Ocean Region in favour of New Delhi.
Considering the fact that the announcement came on the eve of the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s Colombo visit, the deal definitely gives a strategic angle in the competition between two power-houses of Asia, India and China as the former is pulling the strings to safeguard its backyard from latter’s encroachment measures in the Indian Ocean and its island nations i.e. India’s ‘sphere of influence’.
The agreement also has the potential to make the India-Sri Lanka relationship to come back on track, especially after the Chinese economic incursion in SL has created a strategic imbalance in the region which had developed tensions between India and Sri Lanka.
<ins>Some History</ins>
During the Tamil insurgency in Sri Lanka in the 80s, New Delhi pursued the policy of humanitarian military intervention to stop the genocide against the Sri Lankan Tamils, supported the Tigers, and promoted a settlement between majority southern Sinhalese Buddhist and minority northern Tamils.
New Delhi advocated for the Tamils rights, aided Tigers with material resources due to the fear of spilling out the conflict in southern parts of India originated from northern areas of Sri Lanka, but Beijing threw its weight behind Colombo-ruling majority-Sinhalese government, provided political support and military assistance to suppress the Tigers' guerrilla forces.
After Colombo crushed the insurgency and ended civil war in ’09, as expected, Chinese bagged the major infrastructure projects including contracts to build Port City Colombo, Hambantota port, and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport — in a way, Beijing was emerged victorious in the civil war, successful in materialising the economic gains wished to achieve while it supported the Sinhalese-majority government, widely seen as a major strategic win for China.
While India fought for the autonomy of Tamilians in Sri Lanka, Beijing simply proclaimed “Non-intervention” in national sovereignty of the land, coming out as a good guy who would support the national government, even in civil war, and later on, reap out the economic benefits out of the country which would have strategic implications as another power is situated in the country’s proximity.
Result? Sinhalese-majority Colombo government prioritised the Chinese state-backed infrastructure projects and investments while putting the Indian investments in the back burner, generating the anxiety in New Delhi of losing the ‘sphere of influence' to its rival in Asia-pacific theatre with whom New Delhi is also contesting on its Himalayan Borders.
A major strategic threat to the country, but the tide appears to be turning in favour of New Delhi as Colombo recognises the dangers of tilting too far towards the Beijing. Colombo realised that Chinese are merely using it as a pawn in containing Indians in the power game of dominating the Indian Ocean theatre.
Another concern raised in Colombo was the infringement of national sovereignty due to Chinese encroachment policies such as debt-trap. In every project, investment that goes to Chinese company, Sri Lanka loses a part of its sovereignty. Beijing has similar experiences in South China Sea where littoral countries are suffering from the Chinese expansionist policies which also began with winning infrastructure projects in those countries. These countries felt there are ‘no strings attached’ with Chinese investments, but later realised the hidden motives of Beijing.
The Sinhalese majority’s concerns about sovereignty against China, once aimed at India, are beginning to find expression against China, whose presence in the country has grown rapidly.
<ins>Current Developments</ins>
The latest wave returned to the Indian shore is the oil agreement between Lankan IOC and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. The signing of agreement is a milestone for New Delhi’s long-term goals in Sri Lanka to gain the lost confidence in its government since 80s insurgency, and in short-term, it will serve as a step to contract the growing foothold of Chinese investors on Lankan land.
This is a long-stalled and controversial project in Sri Lanka’s eastern Trincomalee district which has an enviable natural harbour. While Indian involvement in a strategic national asset is viewed with suspicion by Sri Lanka’s Sinhala nationalist forces, which prefer the Chinese-funding infrastructure projects due to their dislike of New Delhi’s stance on Tamilians, New Delhi has been keen in partnering Sri Lanka in developing the World War II-era storage tanks, since it was first discussed around the time of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the former Sri Lankan President J R Jayewarndene as part of the annexure to the India-Sri Lanka Accord of July 29, 1987. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to the island nation in 2015, spoke of developing Trincomalee as a “regional hub”.
According to a press statement issued by the SL's Department of Government Information on decisions taken at the first cabinet meeting of the year held on Monday, India and Sri Lanka “have reached an agreement to implement a joint development project” through diplomatic talks.
“Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal presented by Minister of Power to allocate 24 oil tanks for the business activities of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, to allocate 14 tanks of the Lower Oil Tank Complex already in use by Lanka IOC for the company’s business activities, and to implement a development project by a company named Trinco Petroleum Terminal Pvt. Ltd. of the remaining 61 tanks, 51% to be owned by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and 49% by Lanka IOC,” the statement said, reaffirming Minister Udaya Gammanpila’s announcement last week.
Before this latest stint, in December ’21, Chinese firm Sino Soar Hybrid Technology was dropped from the Asian Development Bank (ABD) funded solar energy project, and suspended its current activities on the northern islands of Sri Lanka.
The tweet by Colombo-based Chinese embassy mentioned about a Chinese company shifting its solar energy project from northern Sri Lanka to the Maldives, in the wake of "security concerns from a third party." While the Embassy did not name the party, it was clearly alluding to India that objected to the Chinese project in three islands off Jaffna peninsula.
Earlier that year, in January, Sri Lanka’s cabinet cleared the project in its northern islands Nainativu, Delft or Neduntheevu, and Analaitivu, located off Jaffna Peninsula in the Palk Bay, some 50 km off Tamil Nadu which raised the alarming bells in Indian strategic circle that needed to be undone. New Delhi offered $12 million to execute the project which could have fatal consequences if we look at it from a security perspective. Even Tamil parties in Sri Lanka objected the handing-over of the land to develop the solar energy parks to Chinese company, and they blamed the Sinhalese-majority government for such a move to reduce the Indian influence in the northern part of the Sri Lanka, the areas dominated by Tamilian minority. The minority population played to their soft-side for New Delhi’s investments and involvement in economic matters, which would ultimately reflect on their identity politics.
Beijing is conscious to animosity which northern Tamilians carry against Sinhalese-majority government, and even against China. That is why Beijing is making efforts to woo the people of the north to reduce the dependency of people on New Delhi on socio-political front.
In one such effort, to make up for losing the contract, and especially to dampen the positive trip of the Sri Lankan Finance Minister, Basil Rajapaksa to New Delhi, Chinese Ambassador to Colombo, Amb Qi Zhenhong offered prayers at Nallur Kandaswami Temple, a major religious site of Tamil-Hindus which attracts Tamil-Hindu diaspora pilgrims in large numbers, especially during the annual festival in months of August and September.
He religiously wore a veshti, went bare-chested, and performed all local Hindu rituals. Thus, seeking to impress the faceless Jaffna cultural czars, who have arrogated to themselves the guardianship of Tamil social life and ethnic politics from inside the country and outside.
The unprecedented visit by Zhenhong to the ethnically-sensitive Tamil-majority Jaffna Peninsula from across the Indian shores have flagged a greater Indian strategic concern due to the historic reasons.
Beijing is diving into the deep waters by indulging in the socio-politico-ethnic realm of northern Sri Lanka just to counter the India’s strategic interests. This can prove to be a big risk considering the fact that Tamilians would any day choose New Delhi over Beijing, and latter might burn its hand while putting into the sensitive ‘ethnic-issue’.

India’s another blow to China in the Indo-Pacific

<img src="https://api-discussion.policharcha.com/1642073095496" alt="Situation “under control” along LAC, & India ready to deal with any challenge: General Naravane" style="float:none;height: auto;width: auto"/>

Addressing the media ahead of Army Day, Army Chief General MM Naravane said, on Wednesday, that the Chinese threat in the northern border has not reduced in any way despite partial disengagement at multiple friction points.
Earlier on Wednesday, Indian and Chinese Corps Commanders met for the 14th round of discussions to resolve the 21-month-long standoff in eastern Ladakh.
General MM Naravane pointed out with conviction that China’s land boundary law that came into force on January 1 is not legally binding on India.&nbsp;
“This law will have no bearing on our bilateral relations and we do not accept it as such,” he said. “India and China have many other agreements and protocols which predate this new law that they have passed. And any new law which is not binding on other countries and which is not legally tenable and is not in keeping with the agreements that we have had in the past, obviously cannot be binding on us.”
Passing the boundary law, China claimed that “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the People’s Republic of China are sacred and inviolable”. Resultantly, the Chinese position raised concerns among Indian authorities that it could have a bearing on the dispute along the Line of Actual Control.
Gen Naravane said the situation along the LAC “is stable and under control”. He added, however, that India is in a position “to meet whatever is thrown at us in the future”.
Speaking about the sensitive topic of going to war, the army chief general maintained, “war or conflict is always an instrument of last resort, but if resorted to, we will come out victorious.”
On the talks with China on Wednesday, Naravane said, “we are hopeful that we will be able to resolve the issues at PP15 (Hot Springs), which is the one which is pending as of now.”
Once that issue is resolved, India will go on to the other issues which pre-date the current standoff, he added, while saying that India is hopeful that other issues will get resolved with time.
The two other unresolved points are Depsang Plains, where Chinese troops are blocking Indian soldiers from accessing their five traditional patrolling points, and Demchok, where some “civilians” have pitched tents on the Indian side of the LAC.
The talks began on Wednesday morning on the Chinese side of the Chushul-Moldo border personnel meeting point. The Indian side was led by XIV Corps commander Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, and the Chinese side by Maj Gen Yang Lin, commander of South Xinjiang Military District.
Stressing on the need for dialogue, he said it is unreasonable to expect an outcome after every round of discussions.
“A number of rounds will be required to deal with this situation and resolve them, one at a time,” said the Army Chief. “While we say that, while there has been partial disengagement, the threat has in no way reduced. The force levels are more or less the same, and from our side they have been enhanced.”
During the press briefing, Naravane talked about a range of issues including the botched Army ambush in Nagaland, the state of the borders with Pakistan and Myanmar, and the situation in J&amp;K. He said the Court of Inquiry is expected to submit in a day or two its report about the December 4 Army operation in Nagaland that left seven civilians dead. Terming the episode “highly regrettable”, he said, “based on the findings of the inquiry, appropriate action will be taken. I would like to clarify that the law of the land is paramount, and we will always uphold that, and will take action as required in upholding the law of the land. Appropriate action will be taken and corrective measures instituted, based on the outcome of the investigation.”
Chief Gen Naravane also said that the army would want to “progressively increase the number of Assam Rifles battalions for border guarding” of the boundary with Myanmar.
He flagged an “increase in concentration of terrorists in various launchpads” and “repeated attempts at infiltration” along LoC, despite ceasefire with Pakistan.

Situation “under control” along LAC, & India ready to deal with any challenge: General Naravane

<img src="https://api-discussion.policharcha.com/1641978229818" alt="Final 4 Rafales to be added to India’s strength; Marine version showcased to Navy" style="float:none;height: auto;width: auto"/>
To conclude the Rafale deal of 36 aircrafts, three of the four remaining fighter jets are expected to reach India in February. The fourth one, however, is expected to arrive in April, and is the same that was used by Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilots for training purposes after deliveries started from France.
What makes this development significant is the fact that there four aircrafts are fitted with India specific enhancements, which will give extra teeth to engage with any regional challenger.
It is anticipated that the three Rafale fighters will leave Istres-Le Tube air base in south of France on February 1 or 2 (tentative), depending on the weather conditions. The aircrafts will be refuelled mid-air by India’s ally, the United Arab Emirates, using Airbus multi-role transport tankers before reaching their destination.&nbsp;
The last fighter jet is nearly ready with fresh paint and enhancements, but it will arrive only in April this year due to reasons best known to the IAF. This fighter was also inspected by Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar at the Istre-Le air base during his visit to France for a high level defence dialogue in December 2021.
The Indian specific modifications include long range Meteor air-to-air missile, low band frequency jammers, advanced communication systems, more capable radio altimeter, radar warning receiver, high altitude engine start up, synthetic aperture radar, ground moving target indicator and tracking, missile approach warning systems, and very high frequency range decoys.
After the arrival of the fighter jets, the IAF will test the specific enhancements to their satisfaction under Indian conditions apart from verifying the original equipment. Post this, work will begin in retrofitting the remaining 32 aircraft at Ambala air base in western sector and Hasimara air base (West Bengal) in eastern sector with the India specific enhancements. The upgrade will be carried out at Ambala air base which has the maintenance-cum-repair set-up for Rafale fighters in India.
<ins>Dassault Aviation exhibits Rafale M ski-jump to Indian Navy</ins>
The Indian Navy, on Monday, was showcased with ski-jump by Rafale M, which is the marine version of the French fighter jet. The demonstration ski-jump from the shore-based test facility (SBTF) at INS Hansa, in Goa, was done by Dassault Aviation, which has brought the marine version to project its capabilities to operate from Indian aircraft carriers to the Indian Navy.
Ski-jump is a crucial take-off capability needed to operate from Indian aircraft carriers.&nbsp;
Dassault Aviation, the French aircraft manufacturer, and Boeing, the American aviation player are seeking for a huge deal with the Indian Navy as the latter is looking for at least two squadrons of new fighters that will operate from its aircraft carriers.
Back in 2017, the Navy had issued a Request for Information (RFI) to foreign players for 57 new fighters, but as the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is working on a Twin-Engine Carrier-Based Deck Fighter (TEBDF), the former is expected to cut down its requirement for foreign fighters.
As per the reports, the Monday event in Goa was not a trial, but a demonstration to showcase the fighter jets’ capabilities to work in Indian environment. The Navy is bidding to procure some aircrafts that will replace the MiG 29K.
Similarly, Boeing will also bring its F/A 18 Super Hornet to the same facility in Goa to exhibit its ski-jump capability in March.

Final 4 Rafales to be added to India’s strength; Marine version showcased to Navy

<img src="https://api-discussion.policharcha.com/1641903595436" alt="First of its kind – GM Pig heart successfully transplanted into a man" style="float:none;height: auto;width: auto"/>

A man hailing from Maryland, United States has become the first transplant recipient of a heart of a genetically modified pig. After a procedure that went on for around eight hours, the 57-year-old man fighting from a life threatening heart disease received the heart on Friday, and is recovering now, according to reports.
Though it is hard to say about the long term success of the transplant, the procedure has opened the gates for similar kind situation where a human can be cured by using organs from animals.
"It was either die or do this transplant," Mr Bennett explained a day before the surgery. "I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice," he added, according to a statement.
The pig used in the procedure had gone through genetic modification to take out several genes that would have led to the organ being rejected by Mr Bennett's body.
The surgery was performed by a team at the University of Maryland Medicine. They are among the first to demonstrate the viability of a pig-to-human heart transplant – a field made possible by new gene editing tools.
“This was a breakthrough surgery and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis. There are simply not enough donor human hearts available to meet the long list of potential recipients,” Dr Bartley Griffith, who surgically transplanted the pig heart into the patient, said in a statement.
<ins>Growing field of genome editing</ins>
Scientists have been working enthusiastically to modify pigs whose organs would not be rejected by the human body. As research accelerated in the past decade by new gene editing and cloning technologies, few month ago some surgeons in New York successfully attached the kidney of a genetically engineered pig to a brain-dead person.
Genome editing (genome engineering or gene editing) is a type of genetic engineering in which DNA is inserted, deleted, modified, or replaced in the genome of a living organism. Unlike early genetic engineering techniques that randomly inserts genetic material into a host genome, genome editing targets the insertions to site specific locations.
Researchers hope procedures like these will usher in a new era in medicine in the future when replacement organs are no longer in short supply.
The chief medical officer of the United Network for Organ Sharing and a transplant physician, Dr. David Klassen said, “This is a watershed event. Doors are starting to open that will lead, I believe, to major changes in how we treat organ failure.”
However, he was also of the view that there are many hurdles to overcome before such a procedure can be broadly applied, noting that rejection of organs occurs even when a well-matched human donor kidney is transplanted.

First of its kind – GM Pig heart successfully transplanted into a man

<img src="https://api-discussion.policharcha.com/1641824223519" alt="ISRO’s Venus mission – ‘Shukrayaan-1’ orbiter" style="float:none;height: auto;width: auto"/>

In a message welcoming 2022, Chairman of ISRO, K Sivan has informed that ISRO has made “very significant contributions in continuing the operational missions, conceiving many new missions, undertaking many technology development initiatives, and planning for the next decade of space activities.”
While it felt like 2021 was not a major year for the Indian Space agency because of “less number of launches”, 2022 will pave the way towards achieving India’s space goals.
ISRO has Chandrayaan-2, Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), and Astrosat missions operational, and Chandrayaan-3 could be set for a launch date by middle of 2023 with huge progress in incorporating design and testing.
Shukrayaan-1 is one of the three significant projects in the pipeline by ISRO. The other two being TRISHNA, in collaboration with CNES (French Space Agency), to accurately map land surface temperatures, and DISHA mission for a twin aeronomy satellite.
<ins>About Shukrayaan – The Venus Mission</ins>
Aimed to be launched in late 2024, Shukrayaan will be India’s first mission to Venus and will study the planet for more than four years. The mission’s primary objectives are to map Venus’ surface and subsurface while studying the planet’s atmospheric chemistry and interaction with the solar wind.
If ISRO misses the 2024 launch window, the other would come in 2026. It was noted that the optimal launch window (when Venus is closest to the Earth) comes about every 19 months.
Previously also, the launch date of the mission has been extended for a year due to pandemic related delays. ISRO was aiming for a mid-2023 launch when it released its call for instruments back in 2018.
Currently, Shukrayaan is planned to be launched on India’s GSLV Mk II rocket, although the prospect of launching it through the more powerful GSLV Mk III rocket is being analysed. The latter will allow Shukrayaan to carry more instruments and fuel.
Weighing around 2500 kilograms, the orbiter will carry a science payload consisting of a synthetic aperture radar and other instruments.
Upon launching, Shukrayaan is predicted to take a few months to reach Venus, where it will enter a highly elliptical orbit of 500 by 60,000 kilometers around the planet. Over the following year, it will use aerobraking to lower its orbit to 200 by 600 kilometers. This polar orbit will be the final one used for scientific observations.
The orbiter will also carry a ground penetrating radar, making it the first to map Venus’ subsurface. These observations would help scientists better understand Venus’ geology and evolution.
Venus is often described as the ‘twin sister’ of the Earth because of the similarities in size, mass, density, bulk composition, and gravity. It is believed that both planets share a common origin, forming at the same time out of a condensing nebulosity around 4.5 billion years ago. Venus is around 30 per cent closer to the Sun as compared to Earth resulting in much higher solar flux.
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Also read: <a href="https://policharcha.com/article/scitech/b8b0a5f1-d18b-41ac-abb4-63577fbb80a9/nasas-parker-probe-passes-through-the-suns-atmosphere" target="_blank">NASA’s Parker Probe passes through the Sun’s atmosphere</a>&nbsp;
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<ins>Countries that might join the mission</ins>
Almost 100 kilograms of Shukrayaan’s 2500 kg mass is set aside for scientific instruments, according to the call for instrument proposals ISRO issued two years ago soliciting payloads from India and abroad.
The open call for instruments marks a return to the approach ISRO took with Chandrayaan-1, the lunar orbiter it launched in 2008 carrying six instruments from countries other than India. The 2013 Mangalyaan Mars orbiter, and 2019’s Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter and lander, in contrast, carry only Indian instruments.
Consequently, instruments from 20 countries have been shortlisted. It is expected that Russia, France, Sweden, and Germany will have instruments on-board. The French space agency CNES announced in September that the Venus Infrared Atmospheric Gases Linker, or VIRAL, instrument it co-developed with Russia’s space agency, will fly on Shukrayaan.
According to ISRO, Shukrayaan will also carry an instrument suite capable of spectroscopic observations in infrared, ultraviolet, and submillimeter wavelengths to study Venus’ atmosphere. The possible detection of phosphine in Venus’ upper atmosphere excited many people about the prospects of life there.
The presence of phosphine and other biomarkers in Venus’ upper atmosphere could be confirmed using the orbiter’s Near Infrared Spectrometer. The instrument will also be used to detect and locate any active volcanism on Venus.
Only three spacecraft have orbited Venus in the past 30 years. NASA announced about two Venus missions earlier this year. The European Space Agency is considering a Venus orbiter mission called EnVision that would launch by the 2030s. Russia is working on a Venus orbiter and lander mission concept called Venera-D that would launch no earlier than 2023.

ISRO’s Venus mission – ‘Shukrayaan-1’ orbiter

<img src="https://api-discussion.policharcha.com/1641815800973" alt="PM security breach row: SC lawyers get threatening calls from Khalistani terror group 'Sikhs for Justice'" style="float:none;height: auto;width: auto"/>

Several Advocates-on-Record (AoR) in the Supreme Court have received a threatening call about PM Modi's security breach. As per the reports, the call from a number registered in the UK contained a pre-recorded message by a Khalistani terror group 'Sikhs For Justice', which also claimed responsibility for the breach in PM Modi's security in Punjab last week.
"The message is from Sikhs for Justice General Council from the USA and we take the responsibility for blocking Modi in Punjab," the message to Supreme Court lawyers said.
Sikhs for Justice is a Khalistani Terror Organisation which is banned in India. Earlier it had also taken responsibility for the Republic Day riots which took place on the Red Fort on 26th January 2021.
The appalling development has now been confirmed by Manoj Mishra, Vice President SCAORA (Supreme Court Advocates-On-Record Association). The SCAORA VP has trashed the threat calls and urged the national investigation agencies to catch the perpetrators behind them.
He said that over 1000 threat calls have been received by advocates. "This is a serious issue. Many advocates have got the threat calls. Many members have told me the same and I personally got the call twice,” the SCAORA VP said while speaking to Republic News Network.
According to advocate Mishra, in the first call he received, the callers stated that all Supreme Court judges must refrain from hearing the case regarding PM Modi's security breach.
Meanwhile, other senior advocates have also come out about the issue. Senior Advocate KK Manan said that the Supreme Court AoR receiving threat calls over PM's security breach matter was a serious issue. “I would request National Investigation Agency to perform a preliminary inquiry into this matter and start probe without delay,” he added. The advocates said that the callers threatened to take severe action if they were not followed.
The call also warned the SC against hearing a plea seeking an independent inquiry into this matter citing that it was yet to provide "justice" to the victims of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
This comes after a video was discovered in which the founder of terror outfit ‘Sikhs for Justice’, Gurpatwant Singh Pannu announced a reward of USD 1,00,000 to block PM Modi's rally in Punjab.
Moreover, a secret intelligence note sent by the Centre to the Punjab government had also signalled that Pakistan-based pro-Khalistan terrorists are looking to target VIPs in a bid to revive militancy in Punjab.
<ins>PM Modi's security breach</ins>
On January 5, in a <a href="https://policharcha.com/article/nation/d4b071c8-38c6-4171-92e8-e65d6c847d54/what-to-make-of-security-lapse-during-pms-travel-just-a-lack-of-coordination-or-a-gruesome-plan-that-failed" target="_blank">‘major security lapse’</a>, which also seems like a deliberate attempt to compromise the safety of a sitting Prime Minister, the convoy of PM Modi was brought to a halt for about 20 minutes. PM Modi was on his way to National Martyr’s Memorial in Hussainiwala village, which borders Pakistan, in Punjab’s Firozpur district when his vehicle was stopped due some protestors blocking the way. After the breach, the cavalcade had to return to Bhatinda.

PM security breach row:  SC lawyers get threatening calls from Khalistani terror group 'Sikhs for Justice'

Moreover it is our 75th year of independence. We will also see a new Rajpath and a new Parliament.

With elections in seven states, 2022 is of great political significance.

In a joint operation, the Jammu and Kashmir police along with CRPF have arrested an active terrorist of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Budgam, and recovered arms and ammunition from his possession.
J&amp;K police said in a statement, “On a specific input regarding movement of terrorists in Poshkar area of Budgam, Police alongwith 62RR/2RR &amp; 79Bn CRPF launched a joint cordon and search operation in the area. During the search operation the joint team arrested an active terrorist linked with proscribed terror outfit LeT. He has been identified as Ab Hameed Nath resident of Pethzanigam Beerwah, Budgam.”
Several weapons including a pistol, one magazine, five pistol rounds, and one Chinese grenade were recovered from his possession. According to the police records, he was active since February 2021.
A case under relevant sections has been registered against him in the police station and investigation has been started.

LeT terrorist arrested in J&K's Budgam; arms & ammunition recovered

India has accomplished its goal of producing 40 per cent of its installed electricity from non-fossil energy sources, an official statement said on Thursday.
"At COP 21, as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), India had committed to achieve 40 per cent of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030. The country has achieved this target in November 2021 itself," the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said.
As per the statement, the country's installed renewable energy capacity stands at 150.05 GW, while its nuclear energy-based installed electricity capacity is 6.78 GW.
This brings the total non-fossil fuels based installed energy capacity to 156.83 GW, which is 40.1 per cent of the total installed electricity capacity of 390.8 GW.
Last month, the Prime Minister made an announcement at COP26 climate change conference about achieving 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

With elections in seven states, 2022 is of great political significance.

LeT terrorist arrested in J&K's Budgam; arms & ammunition recovered

What a proud moment. India has achieved the target of generating 40% power from non-fossil fuel sources.

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