The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has greenlit a major capital acquisition worth ₹21,772 crore. This package includes the procurement of 151 naval boats and six Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) for the Indian Coast Guard. These assets aim to fortify India’s maritime and coastal defence capabilities, aligning with its broader strategy for a secure Indo-Pacific region.

Strengthening the Indian Navy: 151 Boats Approved

The Indian Navy will receive 31 Water Jet Fast Attack Crafts (NWJFACs) and 120 Fast Interceptor Crafts (FIC-1).

NWJFACs: Designed for low-intensity maritime operations, these vessels will bolster coastal surveillance, patrolling, and search-and-rescue missions. They will also play a critical role in anti-piracy operations around India’s islands.
FIC-1s: These high-speed crafts, capable of reaching 45 knots, are equipped with machine guns and bullet-resistant cabins. They will escort high-value units such as aircraft carriers and submarines while enhancing response to maritime threats like piracy and insurgency.

The Centre on Monday (December 9, 2024) announced the appointment of Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra as the 26th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, a day before incumbent Governor Shaktikanta Das’s six-year term comes to an end on Tuesday (December 10, 2024).

A 1990-batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service of the Rajasthan cadre, Mr. Malhotra is a computer science engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Princeton University, U.S.A, and will take charge of the country’s monetary policy framework and banking regulation at Mint Street on December 11.

Kush Maini has created history by becoming first ever Indian racer to win FIA Constructors Championship. Maini drives for Invicta Racing team in the Formula 2.

2024 has been an impressive season for Maini who earlier became the first Indian to claim an F2 pole position. Despite the ups and downs of the season, he played a pivotal role in Invicta’s success, securing five podiums, including a race win in Hungary.

CitiusTech, a leading provider of healthcare technology, services & solutions, announced that it is a recipient of a 2024 Geography and Global AWS Partner Award, recognizing leaders around the globe that are playing key roles in helping their customers drive innovation and build solutions on Amazon Web Services (AWS). CitiusTech was the winner of Industry Partner of the Year - Healthcare & Life Sciences; the category recognizes top AWS Partners with the Healthcare or Life Sciences Competency who deliver innovative mission-based wins for healthcare customers.

Announced during the Partner Awards Gala at AWS re:Invent 2024, the Geographic and Global AWS Partner Awards recognize a wide range of AWS Partners that have embraced specialization, innovation, and cooperation over the past year. Geo and Global AWS Partner Awards recognize partners whose business models continue to evolve and thrive on AWS as they support their customers.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs has said the population of Parsis or Zoroastrians has declined in the country consistently over the years.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said in 1941 there were more than 1.14 lakh Parsis in the country which had depleted to 57 thousand in the 2011 Census.

The union minister said in order to arrest the decline of the population of these minority groups notified under the National Commission of Minorities Act 1992, several initiatives have been undertaken by the Centre. He said the Jiyo Parsi scheme has been started by which the government provides financial assistance under medical and health components.

Under the medical component the government provides help towards infertility treatments which amounts to a maximum six lakh rupees or actual expense.

Official results from Saturday's presidential election in Ghana have confirmed the victory of opposition candidate, former President John Mahama.

Mahama won with 56.6% against 41.6% for Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia. It is the biggest margin of victory in the country for 24 years.

Voter turnout was 60.9%, said the head of Ghana's electoral commission, Jean Mensa.

Mahama said he felt "humbled" that he and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) had "chalked one of the best results in the electoral history of Ghana".

The unique destroyer USS Zumwalt is back in the water after a yearlong drydocking at Ingalls Shipbuilding. The yard has removed the vessel's iconic twin cannon turrets and replaced them with a weapons system more suitable for high-end modern conflict - the Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missile, or CPS.

The U.S. Navy's futuristic Zumwalt-class destroyers were built to carry twin high-velocity cannons for shore bombardment, and these extra-large vessels resemble a sleek and stealthy version of a battleship. The number of ships in the class was cut back from 32 to three due to cost overruns, and the cost per round of manufacturing the specialized ammunition for the deck guns rose to an impractical $800,000-$1 million per shot. The production run for these costly high-speed shells was canceled, making the guns unusable.

Rebels in Syria announced on Sunday that they had seized control of the capital, Damascus, in a swift offensive, and proclaimed the end of President Bashar al-Assad's decades-long "tyranny". Assad's whereabouts remain unknown, with some reports suggesting he has fled to an undisclosed location.

The Syrian capital saw celebrations as fighters and a section of residents took to the streets cheering. Rebel factions, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, declared Damascus "liberated" and said, "We announce the freedom of our city and the fall of the tyrant Assad".

If confirmed, Assad’s ouster would end his 24-year iron rule and the 54-year Assad family dynasty, which began with his father, Hafez Assad, in 1971. Bashar Assad took power in 2000 following his father’s death and struggled for 13 years to maintain control during a brutal civil war that devastated the nation.

In a major development for West Asian security cooperation, the United States, Bahrain, and the United Kingdom have announced an expansion of their strategic partnership through the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA). The UK’s entry into this agreement marks a crucial enhancement of the existing security framework, which was initially established between the US and Bahrain in 2023. Central to this partnership is the newly unveiled Geospatial Acceleration Initiative, which leverages the expertise of the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to enhance regional maritime security and navigation safety.

This initiative will focus on developing and sharing critical hydrographic, aeronautical, and topographic data among partner nations. Bahrain’s strategic importance is highlighted by its role in maintaining security in vital maritime corridors, including the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The nation hosts key UK naval facilities in the Gulf and has demonstrated its commitment to regional stability through active participation in multinational security operations. The economic dimension of this partnership has already shown promising results, with the UK-Bahrain Strategic Investment Partnership, established in 2023, generating over £1 billion in investment in the United Kingdom.

In line with Act East policy, India on Saturday sent a consignment of 2200 metrci tonnes rice to Myanmar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

Jaiswal added that India was committed to provide humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.

"In line with India's 'Act East' & 'Neighbourhood First' policies, India reaffirms its commitment to humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar. A consignment of 2200 MT of rice departed Chennai Port today for Myanmar," the MEA spokesperson said in a post on X.