PIB Summary- 14th May, 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Atmanirbharta in Defence

Context
Approval of 4th Positive Indigenisation List (PIL) of 928 strategically important Line Replacement Units (LRUs)/Sub-systems/ Spares and components.

Details

• In line with the ‘Atmanirbharta in Defence’ and in order to promote minimise imports by DPSUs (Defence Public Sector Undertakings), the Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh approved 4th Positive Indigenisation List (PIL) of 928 strategically important Line Replacement Units (LRUs)/ Spare/ Subsystems and components, including high-end materials and spares, with import substitution values worth Rs 715 crore.
• The defence ministry has set specific timelines for import ban of the items, spanning the period from December 2023 to December 2028.
• In the last two years, the Defence Ministry had approved three PIL of 351, 107 and 780 items which will have to be procured from indigenous sources after the timelines indicated against them. Of these 1238 items 310 (1st PIL -262, 2nd PIL – 11 and 3rd PIL – 37) have been indigenised as of now.
• The DPSUs will undertake the indigenisation of these items through different routes under “Make” category and in-house development through the capabilities of MSMEs and private indian industry which will help in the growth of economy and will decrease the dependence on imports for DPSUs.

Ex. Samudra Shakti, 2023

Context
The 4th edition of India-Indonesia Bilateral Exercise  Samudra Shakti, 2023 to commence from 14-19 May,2023 at Batam Port, Indonesia.

Details

• Exercise Samudra Shakti was conceived in 2018 as a bilateral India-Indonesia exercise.
• The Indian Navy has deployed its indigenously built anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette INS Kavaratti , a Dornier maritime patrol aircraft and a Chetak chopper for the Samudra Shakti exercise.
• The Indonesian navy is represented by KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda, CN 235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft and AS565 Panther helicopter.
• The exercise aims to strengthen the bilateral relationship, enhance mutual understanding and interoperability in maritime operations between the two navies.
• The exercise comprises two phases- harbour phase and sea phase. 
  • The harbour phase comprises cross-deck visits, professional interactions, and subject matter expert exchanges.
  • During the Sea Phase, weapon firing, Helicopter Operations, Anti-submarine warfare & air defence exercises and boarding operations are planned.

India -EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC)

Context
The first ministerial meeting of India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) will be held in Brussels, Belgium(16th May, 2023).

Details

• India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) was announced by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and President of the European Commission, Ms Ursula von der Leyen during the latter’s visit to New Delhi in April, 2022.
• The objective of TTC is to create a high-level coordination platform to tackle strategic challenges at the nexus of trade, trusted technology and security and thus deepen cooperation in these fields between India and the EU.
• The TTC with India is the second such Council for the EU and the first such mechanism for India.
• India and the EU announced the establishment of three Working Groups under India-EU TTC and their terms of reference. Under TTC following Working Groups have been established-
  • Working Group on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance and Digital Connectivity, 
  • Working Group on Green and Clean Energy Technologies and 
  • Working Group on Trade, Investment and Resilient Value Chains.
• The first ministerial meeting will lay the roadmap for the cooperation under all three working groups and provide direction to achieve desired results before the next ministerial meeting in the coming year. During the high-level meeting issues of mutual interests like negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA), addressing issues of mutual market access, WTO reforms etc would be discussed. 
• The TTC will be co-chaired on the Indian side by the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, External Affairs Minister  (EAM) and the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

G20: Low-Cost Finance for New and Emerging Technologies

Context
An event, “Low-cost finance for new and emerging technologies” on the sidelines of 3rd ETWG.

Details

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is conducting an event, ‘low cost finance for new and renewable technologies’ on the sidelines of 3rd Energy Transition Working Group (ETWG) on 15th May, 2023.
• The event is being conducted in partnership with the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and International Renewable Energy Development Agency (IRENA) as a knowledge partner at Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• This side event will have two sessions –
  • The first session will involve the discussions on the outlook of new and emerging energy technologies.
  • The second session will discuss the role of international financial institutions and development banks in mobilising investments.
• The 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting (ETWG) under India’s G20 Presidency is being held in Mumbai (May 15 to 17, 2023). The three-day meeting will see over 100 delegates representing  G20 member countries, special invitee countries and International Organisations such as International Energy Agency (IEA), World Bank and World Energy Council India engaging in discussions and deliberation on Priority Areas.