The Daily Brief – 22nd February 2019

President Trump has signed a directive that orders the Pentagon to establish the Space Force as the sixth branch of the United States military, to go along with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. The main aim of the Space Force is to secure and extend American dominance of the space domain. The Space Force will focus on national security and preserving the satellites and vehicles that are dedicated to international communications and observation.

The government has approved the capital infusion of Rs. 48,239 Crore into 12 State-Run Banks to ensure that lenders are able to maintain regulatory capital requirement and step up lending and boost overall growth. The government has now provided Rs 1,00,958 crore out of the Rs 1.06-lakh-crore bank recapitalisation plan.

Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Aero India 2019 at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru. It will be held for 5 days from February 20 to 24 and each day of the air show would have a special theme. Day one would be Inaugural Day, day two would be Start-Up Day, day 3 would be Technology Day, Day four would be Women’s Day and day five Public Day. “The Runway to a Billion Opportunities” is the tagline of Aero India 2019.

Union Human Resource Minister, Shri Prakash Javadekar launched Operation Digital Board to leverage technology to boost quality education in the country. Under Operation Digital Board seven lakh classrooms of 9th, 10th and 11th standards and two lakh classrooms of colleges and Universities will be equipped with digital boards in the next three years.

Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh celebrated the 32nd and 47th Statehood Day respectively on February 20. The Indian Constitution was amended through the Mizoram State Act, 1986 and the Mizoram state came into existence. Arunachal Pradesh was directly under the Governor of the provincial government of Assam. Arunachal Pradesh attained full statehood on 20 February 1987 after the passing of the Constitution 55th Amendment Act.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industries, Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the 4th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit that would be held from 21-23 February 2019 in New Delhi. ASEAN or Association of South East Asian Nations is an association of nations brought into existence on August 8, 1967, after ASEAN declaration (also known as Bangkok declaration). Founder countries of ASEAN were Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand.

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud visited India and held delegation level talks with PM Modi at Hyderabad House on February 20, 2019 and released the India-Saudi Arabia Joint Statement. Both the sides also signed five agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) including deals on an investment fund and tourism. He announced to invest over USD 100 billion in India. Mohammad Bin Salman’s visit to India is a part of an Asia tour that includes stopovers in Pakistan and China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the India-Korea Startup Hub in Seoul during his visit to South Korea on February 21, 2019 while addressing the India-Korea Business Symposium. As part of the global celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Minister unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Seoul Campus of Yonsei University. Modi will also receive the Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of his dedication to international cooperation, global growth and human development.