29 AUGUST 2016

Ø  India on Sunday became only the fourth nation to flight-test a scramjet engine, a technology that scientists claim could change the way space travel is undertaken. Though the full development of the engine, for an “air breathing” propulsion system that significantly reduces the amount of fuel needed to fire up engines on a rocket, is “decades away”, this is a milestone for the Indian Space Research Organisation. At 6 a.m., the ISRO conducted its first trial of the engine, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. It used an Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), a sounding rocket, for the test. The ATV with the scramjet engines weighed 3,277 kg at lift-off.

Ø  French submarine manufacturer DCNS, which is in a tight spot after classified data on Scorpene submarines pertaining to the Indian Navy got leaked, is set to take legal recourse to prevent The Australian newspaper from making public any more information from the 22,400 documents it obtained.

Ø  India and the U.S. are expected to formally sign the long-pending Logistics agreement as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar departed on a four-day visit to the U.S., his second in eight months. The text of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), which allows both sides access to each other’s military facilities for refuelling and replenishment, was finalised during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington in June. Pending the signing of the deal which officials on both sides described as a “mere formality”, discussions have already begun on the other two foundational agreements — Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA).

Ø  India is planning a major diplomatic outreach ahead of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly in order to push through the ‘Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism’ (CCIT) that addresses, among other things, the issue of Pakistan’s alleged support for cross-border terrorism in south Asia. A highly placed diplomatic source told The Hindu that India will brief visiting Peter Thomson, President-elect of the U.N. General Assembly, on CCIT, and launch the campaign during the September 13-18 Non Aligned Movement summit in Venezuela. “Global mood on the Comprehensive Convention against International Terrorism will be tested in the NAM summit in Venezuela, which is just prior to United Nations General Assembly [UNGA] and following India’s interactions at the NAM, the tactics for the CCIT will be fine-tuned for UNGA,”

Ø  President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday night re-promulgated an Ordinance to amend the Enemy Property Act (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) of 1971 pending ratification by the Rajya Sabha.