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In a landmark deal that gives a massive boost to ties between the US and India, General Electric (GE) Aerospace signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force.
The announcement of the pact came during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s State visit to US. GE Aerospace said this pact marks “a major milestone” and is “a key element in strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries”.
The agreement, the statement said, includes the potential joint production of GE Aerospace’s F414 engines in India, for which it is working with the US government to receive necessary export authorisation.
Modi in America
Coming, Artemis Accords, ISRO-NASA mission (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
In a decision that will bring the two countries’ space programmes closer than ever before, India signed on to the three-year-old Artemis Accords, a US-led alliance seeking to facilitate international collaboration in planetary exploration and research.
In a related development, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will partner the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US in sending a joint mission to the International Space Station, a permanent laboratory in space, next year. It was not immediately clear whether the joint mission would include an Indian astronaut to the space station.
The Artemis Accords, established by the US and seven partner countries in October 2020, are a set of 13 principles that seek to promote peaceful and cooperative exploration of space.
The signatory countries agree to abide by these principles that are mostly a reiteration of established international law on space exploration, like a commitment not to use space for military purposes, a promise to cooperate on matters of safety of space assets and astronauts, and a willingness to share scientific data from space missions.
Editorial
Uniform rights, not laws (Page no. 10)
The 22nd Law Commission of India has decided to solicit the views of the public and recognised religious organisations about the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
In a public notice, the Commission headed by former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi stated: “Initially the 21st Law Commission of India had examined the subject of Uniform Civil Code and solicited the views of all the stakeholders through its appeal along with a questionnaire dated October 7, 2016 and further (periodic) public appeals.
Pursuant to the above overwhelming responses have been received by the Commission. The 21st Law Commission of India has issued a consultation paper on the Reform of Family Law on August 31, 2018.
Since more than three years have lapsed from the date of issuance of the said consultation paper, bearing in mind the relevance and importance of the subject and also various court orders on the subject, the Law Commission of India considered it expedient to deliberate afresh over the subject.”
Explained
Inflation down, not (all) prices (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The headline retail inflation rate fell to a 25-month low in May and the wholesale price index (WPI) is now deep in the red, but groceries and household items continue to appear expensive to most Indians.
While some of the decline in year-on-year inflation rates is statistical, prices of cereals, milk, spices, prepared meals, snacks, and sweets, as well as the costs of education, personal care items, and household goods and services continue to pinch consumers’ pockets.
Economy
Das at MPC meet: Adverse climate events can change inflation trajectory (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Although inflation trajectory has seen significant softening in March-April 2023, adverse climate events have the potential to change the direction of the inflation trajectory, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das cautioned in the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held on June 6 to 8.
The retail inflation or CPI eased to an 18-month low of 4.7 per cent in April from 5.7 per cent in March. It further declined to 4.25 per cent in May.
According to the RBI Governor, compared to April, uncertainties on the inflation outlook for the second half of the current fiscal have not abated.
World
Shehbaz meets IMF head, hopes to get $6-bn deal to avoid default (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Pakistan's premier Shahbaz Sharif met with the head of International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the sidelines of a global financing meeting in Paris, hoping to unlock a $6 billion bailout and gain critical tranche of $1.1 billion in loans which has been on hold since November.
The meeting between Sharif and IMF's Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at Summit for a New Global Financing Pact comes a week before the $6 bil- lion bailout package originally signed between the IMF and the country's former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2019 expires.
The meeting came a week after the IMF slammed a proposed annual budget pre- sented to parliament by Pakistan's government. Esther Perez Ruiz, IMF's representative for Pakistan, said in a statement that the draft budget failed to implement a fairer tax system as promised in the bailout agreement.