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Updated At : 05:47 PM Apr 09, 2025 IST

French navy Dassault RafaleM landing at Leeuwarden airbase

India clears procurement of Rafale-M jets for Navy

The government on Wednesday is understood to have cleared the procurement of 26 naval variant of Rafale jets from France at a cost of around Rs 64,000 crore, sources in the defence establishment said.

The mega procurement project has been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they said. In July 2023, the defence ministry approved the purchase of 26 Rafale (marine) jets from France, primarily for deployment on board the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.

The ministry had also cleared procurement of three Scorpene submarines from France. However, the CCS is yet to clear the project. Under the Indian Navy's Project 75, six Scorpene submarines have already been constructed in India by the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in cooperation with the Naval Group of France.

The procurement of the Rafale (M) jets along with associated ancillary equipment, including weapon systems and spares, would be based on an inter-governmental agreement (IGA). The Indian Air Force had bought 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in fly-away condition.

Bangladesh is the newest Artemis Accords signatory

Bangladesh has officially become the 54th nation to sign the Artemis Accords, a set of guidelines for responsible space exploration, NASA said in a statement. The signing ceremony took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital city, on Tuesday. Ashraf Uddin, the country's Secretary of Defense, signed on behalf of the country. Charge d'Affaires Tracey Jacobson from the US Embassy in Dhaka participated in the event, and NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro contributed remarks in a pre-recorded video message. In 2020, the United States, led by NASA and the US Department of State, and seven other initial signatory nations established the Artemis Accords, a first-ever set of practical guidelines for nations to increase safety of operations and reduce risk and uncertainty in their civil exploration activities. That group of signatories has grown to more than 50 countries today.

The Artemis Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements, including the Registration Convention and the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices for responsible behaviour that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.

Home, auto loans to get cheaper as RBI cuts interest rate for 2nd time in a row

Home, auto and other loans are likely to cost less as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut interest rates on Wednesday for a second consecutive time and signalled more easing to come as it sought to bolster the economy that is facing further pressure from damaging US tariffs.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), consisting of three central bank members and an equal number of external members, voted unanimously to cut the repurchase or repo rate by 25 basis points to 6 per cent. It had reduced rates by an equal measure in February -- the first cut since May 2020.

The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends money to banks to meet their short-term funding needs. With a 25 bps cut in the repo rate, all external benchmark lending rates (EBLR) linked to it will come down. And if the banks fully pass on this to the borrowers, equated monthly instalments (EMIs) on home, auto and personal loans will decline by 25 bps.

The move lowers borrowing costs to the lowest level since November 2022, amid easing inflation and a fall in oil prices. RBI changed its policy stance to "accommodative" from "neutral", indicating the possibility of more rate cuts in future, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said while announcing the MPC decisions.

The rate cut came on a day when the full 26 per cent additional tariffs on Indian goods exported to the US came into effect. The US tariffs exacerbate uncertainties, with some economists predicting a 20-40 basis point drag on Indian GDP growth in the current fiscal year that started on April 1.

RBI also lowered its estimate for economic growth to 6.5 per cent for 2025-26 fiscal year from 6.7 per cent earlier. The inflation projection was also lowered to 4 per cent from 4.2 per cent, keeping it within the target range of 2-6 per cent. The Indian economy grew by 6.5 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 31 (2024-25), its weakest pace since the pandemic.

NewsBytes

Tribune News Service

India clears procurement of Rafale-M jets for Navy

Bangladesh is the newest Artemis Accords signatory

Home, auto loans to get cheaper as RBI cuts interest rate for 2nd time in a row

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