NewsBytes

India on Saturday received the last of its 16 Airbus C-295 military transport aircraft from Spain, marking an important milestone in strengthening its defence capabilities, the Indian Embassy in Spain said. The C-295, a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology, is set to replace the ageing Avro aircraft of the IAF. Indian Ambassador to Spain Dinesh K Patnaik, along with senior Indian Air Force officials, received the last of the 16 Airbus C-295 military transport aircraft at the Airbus Defence and Space assembly line in Seville, the Indian mission posted on social media.  The aircraft, with a flight endurance of up to 11 hours, is a versatile and efficient tactical transport aircraft. India signed a contract with Airbus Defence & Space, Spain, for acquisition of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft for IAF in Sep 2021. Under the C-295 programme, a total of 56 aircraft are to be delivered, of which 16 were to be delivered directly by Airbus from Spain, and the remaining 40 will be manufactured in India. Spain fulfilled that commitment on Saturday by handing over the last of the 16 aircraft.

India achieved a remarkable milestone of performing over 18,900 organ transplants in 2024, the highest ever recorded in a single year, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said on Saturday. This is a significant leap from fewer than 5,000 transplants in 2013, he said, adding that India ranks third globally in the total number of organ transplants, behind only the United States of America and China. The health minister added that India leads the world in hand transplants, showcasing our cutting-edge surgical capabilities and the unwavering dedication of our medical professionals. Speaking at an event organised by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) to mark the 15th Indian Organ Donation Day, Nadda said there is a significant gap between the number of patients who need transplants and the number of donors.

Two Red Panda cubs were born in the Himalayan Zoological Park (HZP), Bulbuley near Gangtok, after seven years, an official statement said. The cubs were born to parents Lucky(II) and Mirak. This is the pair's first litter together and marks a significant milestone in the park's conservation efforts, it said. A statement issued by the Park on Friday said that the birth of the cubs recently is especially heartening as it comes after a difficult period in the Red Panda Conservation programme's history - a seven-year gap in successful births due to challenges like the two outbreaks of canine distemper that nearly decimated the captive red panda population. Initiated in 1997, HZP's Conservation Breeding Programme began with a pair of red pandas—Preeti from Rotterdam Zoo and Jugal from Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling. Their successful breeding laid the foundation for a thriving genetic lineage. In 2005, the programme was further strengthened with the inclusion of a wild-origin pair, Lucky and Ram, helping expand and diversify the genetic pool, it said. The statement said that all red pandas born under this programme are tracked through national and international studbooks to ensure healthy genetic variability and global breeding cooperation.

Asserting that India is on the path to becoming the world's third-largest economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country must remain alert to its own economic priorities amid the instability and uncertainty facing the world economy. PM Modi's remarks came just days after US President Donald Trump called India a "dead economy" after announcing a 25 per cent tariff on the import of Indian goods along with an unspecified "penalty" for buying Russian military equipment and crude oil. Addressing a public meeting in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on Saturday, Modi said, "As we talk about economic progress, I want to draw your attention to the current global scenario. The PM also made a renewed push for 'Swadeshi', stressing that every party, leader and citizen must work to promote indigenous goods if "we want India to become the third-largest economy".