THE SPOKESPERSON

  India is set to export its indigenously developed Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers (MBRL) for the first time. Pinaka has been developed by the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured by indigenous private sector firms. India is set to export one of its prized possessions, the “Pinaka” missile system, to conflict-ridden Armenia, just days after recording the highest-ever defense export that swelled by a staggering 334% over the last five years.As Armenia grapples with managing a surge in violence with Azerbaijan in a new flare-up of tensions, India has decided to export missiles, rockets, and ammunition, including indigenous Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, Economic Times reported. The system figured in India’s export list published in February 2021. The Ministry of Defense authorized the export of weapons via a government-to-government channel, under which the two countries signed agreements to deliver weapons and ammunition to Armenia...

  The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully conducted two test flights of the Very-Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missile on Tuesday from a ground-based portable launcher at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha. As per DRDO, VSHORADS is an indigenously designed and developed Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPAD). It was created by the Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry Partners. The VSHORADS incorporates a number of novel technologies, including a miniaturised Reaction Control System and integrated avionics, which have been successfully tested, reported news agency ANI.  A dual thrust solid motor propels the missile, which is designed to counter low-altitude aerial threats at short ranges.In the multilayered air defence network, VSHORAD is the soldier's last line of defence against enemy combat aircraft and helicopters.  These ...

  In a big win for security forces, two terrorists have been killed in an encounter on Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, police said. Both the terrorists were affiliated with the terror outfit Ansar Gazwatul Hindu. Based on specific inputs, security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Dangerpora area under the Nowgam police station area, a police official said. During the operation, terrorists opened fire. The security forces retaliated, triggering an encounter.They were involved in a recent terror attack on an outside labourer namely Muneer ul Islam from West Bengal on September 2, 2022, in Pulwama," ADGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said. A migrant worker was shot at outside his rented accommodation in the Newa village. He was rushed to the hospital where his condition was said to be stable.Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including one AK series rifle, two pistols and one grenade were recovered from the site of the encounter. "In this ...

  Pakistani Health authorities have sought the government's permission to procure around 7.1 million mosquito nets from India due to a surge in the vector borne diseases in the wake of the devastating floods in several parts of the country, a media report said on Thursday. The development came after a deadly malaria onslaught wreaked relentless havoc in flood-affected regions of the country, where hundreds of cases of deadly 'Plasmodium falciparum' species of the disease are being reported on a daily basis, The News International reported. "The National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHS, R&C) has sought the permission of the Ministry of Commerce to procure around 7.1 million mosquito nets from India," an official of the NHS, R&C was quoted as saying in the report. "Actually, the Global Fund, which is the major donor for the National Malaria Control Programme, has offered to provide funds for the procurement of mosquito nets fr...

  As its name suggests, the NAMICA (Nag Missile Carrier)) is a tracked, amphibious, armored ‘missile-carrier’ vehicle based on the BMP chassis. The new prototype was developed by the Ordnance Factory Medak in conjunction with DRDL, Hyderabad, and has an import substitution of Rs. 260 cr. In the first phase, and expected to rise up to Rs.3000 Cr.First revealed in 2008, the Nag Missile and its Carrier share parallel development processes. The earlier versions of the Nag missile had the uncooled LWIR sensors which failed to correctly identify their targets’ heat signature during testing in the hot desert conditions of Rajasthan. According to sources, only one of the four missiles fired during trials in July 2012 had hit the target. NAMICA Undaunted by the failures of the early NAMICA prototypes, the Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) went on to produce the improvised version of the platform called the NAMICA-2, housing not one but two CoMPASS Electro-Optica...

  An ISI agent who was the biggest supplier of fake currencies in India was shot dead in Nepal's Kathmandu on September 19. A man who worked as an agent of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was shot dead outside his hideout in Nepal’s Kathmandu on September 19. Intel agencies told India Today that he was the biggest supplier of ISI's counterfeit notes in India. The incident was caught on camera and India Today got access to the CCTV footage where unidentified assailants shot the ISI agent. Viewer discretion is advised for the following video. The video includes instances of violence.The ISI agent has been identified as Laal Mohammad (55) alias Mohammad Darji. At the behest of the ISI, Lal Mohammad used to get fake Indian currency from Pakistan and Bangladesh to Nepal and then supply it to India from there. According to the authorities, Laal Mohammad also assisted the ISI with logistics support and had links to underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s D-gang. He al...

  The government has amended the  Foreign Trade Policy  to allow international trade invoicing, payment and settlement in the Indian rupee, activating the mechanism announced by the  Reserve Bank of India  ( RBI ) to facilitate trade in the domestic currency. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry notified the changes to the policy. The central bank allowed authorised banks in India to open special rupee Vostro accounts of correspondent banks of any partner trading country to facilitate trade in the Indian currency. Under the arrangement, Indian importers will make payment in rupees into the special Vostro account of the partner country bank against the invoices for the supply of goods or services from the overseas seller or supplier, the trade policy said.Indian exporters undertaking exports of goods and services through this mechanism shall be paid the export proceeds in Indian Rupees from the balanc...