18 JANUARY 2015: Pakistan generating more nukes, says US!

Ø  Evidence has emerged this week suggesting that Pakistan may have accelerated its covert nuclear weapons development programme and rendered operational a nuclear reactor structure located near a heavy water reactor. The complex housing the structure is in the Khushab reactor complex, south of Jauharabad in Punjab, likely geared toward the production of plutonium. In a report that included the satellite photographs by Digital Globe, the Washington-based think tank, Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), said the assessment of reactor completeness and operation was “based on the presence of a very specific signature: steam is venting from the reactor’s cooling system.”

Ø  Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar handed over the first series-production version of the Light Combat Aircraft to the Indian Air Force. At Bharat Electronics Ltd, the Minister laid the foundation stone for a training academy. He rolled out the 750{+t}{+h}metro car made by BEML Ltd for Delhi Metro, the defence companies said.

Ø  The campaign to get the U.S. Postal Service to issue a commemorative Diwali stamp gained momentum this week with the introduction of a resolution in the House of Representatives on January 14 and a Congresswoman writing a letter to President Barack Obama calling on him to support this cause on the eve of his visit to India. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, the Consul-General of India in New York Ambassador Dnyaneshwar Mulay, Chair of the Diwali Stamp Project Ranju Batra, and Chair of the National Advisory Council of South Asian Affairs Ravi Batra gathered at the Indian Consulate along with supporters to encourage the USPS to issue a postage stamp to commemorate the holiday Diwali.

Ø  Days after terminating the contract of DRDO chief Avinash Chander, the government is planning to corporatise some of the ordnance factories. The plan is to initially corporatise about 10 ordnance factories and turn them into Public Sector Undertakings to make them more accountable and increase their capabilities. Those under consideration are the cloth-making and equipment factories in the Kanpur belt. A note on this matter has already been circulated in the highest echelons of the government and the proposal is likely to get the government nod by April. These factories are into manufacturing personnel clothing, parachute material, small arms, metallurgical equipment, shells and other such equipment.