23 NOVEMBER 2015

Ø  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday unveiled a 12-ft bronze statue of Swami Vivekananda here in Malaysia, saying the sage is neither the name of a man nor identity of a system but personifies 1,000-year-old Indian culture. Addressing a gathering at the unveiling of Vivekananda’s statue at the Ram Krishna Mission here, Mr. Modi said it was Swami Vivekananda who first gave the concept of ’One Asia’ that the Asean and the East Asia Summits were talking about. The statue was a gift from a Belur Math devotee in India. Mr. Modi, who was welcomed by Swami Supriyananda, who heads the mission here, also released a book on yoga and wellness by yoga teacher Ajay Sahoo.

Ø  After an impasse over technicalities, India and France are working to finalise the agreement for the direct purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets before the visit of French President Fancois Hollande to India as the chief guest of the next Republic Day parade here. Last week, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the deal was “in the final stages of price negotiations” and issues such as the 50 per cent offset clause had “almost been sorted out”. The offset issue had been one of the major sticking points in the negotiations. Offset clause applies for defence deals worth over Rs. 300 crore under which companies are to invest 30 per cent of the value of the contract back in the country. For the MMRCA deal, the government had fixed it at 50 percent. In addition, the Air Force wanted some structural changes to the aircraft to incorporate the indigenously built “Astra” beyond visual range (BVR) missiles. It is still unclear if the Defence Ministry intends to order additional Rafale jets over and above the 36 or how it intends to replace the MiGs. The Air Force has said on several occasions that it requires at least six squadrons comprising 108 Rafale or similar planes to arrest the depleting force levels and maintain the combat edge with respect to China and Pakistan.