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India is likely to purchase MQ-9 Reaper drones in a billion-dollar deal with the US. These drones, which use laser-guided Hellfire missiles for precision strikes, fall in the category of hunter-killer Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

The US had reportedly used the MQ-9 Reaper drone for an air strike on a compound in Kabul, Afghanistan that had allegedly killed Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.

According to media reports, India is preparing to acquire the MQ-9 Reaper drone for all the three military services of the Indian Armed forces. However, the Indian government is yet to come out with an official statement on this issue.

Ahead of election year, Telangana has witnessed a series of investigations against lawmakers and their family-owned companies for money laundering, foreign exchange management violations and tax evasion.

Enforcement Directorate, income tax investigation unit and Central Bureau of Investigation have launched a probe against ministers, MLAs and MPs of Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the ruling party in the state.

While chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao's government issued orders giving general consent to CBI, the agency's unit from Delhi is now probing his daughter and member of legislative council K Kavitha in connection with Delhi excise policy scam. She was being grilled at her home on December 11.

Opposition members in Rajya Sabha took on chairman Jagdeep Dhankar on Tuesday, after he told the House that members have been giving notices for discussion under Rule 267, but except for one (from SP’s Ramgopal Yadav) all the notices were found to have “outrageous disregard to rules.”

Opposition members from different parties had given notices for discussion under rule 267, which is meant to take up issues of importance on a priority basis, over the last few days. The issues included China (Congress), price rise (Trinamool Congress), political vendetta (Shiv Sena) etc, which had been denied by the chair.

In the wake of sudden rise in Covid-19 cases in China and several other countries, the Centre on Tuesday asked states to step up genome sequencing of positive samples. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will hold a meeting to review Covid situation in the country with ministry officials on Wednesday, sources said.

“In view of the sudden spurt of cases being witnessed in Japan, United States of America, Republic of Korea, Brazil and China, it is essential to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants through Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network. Such an exercise will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate undertaking of requisite public health measures for the same.  In this context, all states are requested to ensure that as far as possible samples of all positive cases, on a daily basis, are sent to the designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSLS) that are mapped to the States and UTS,” the health ministry said.

China continues to export its JF-17 jet fighters to small countries despite numerous malfunctions being reported in the Russian RD-93 engines. The jet fighters are being jointly developed with Pakistan.

Several nations like Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia and North Korea have shown their interest in buying the JF-17 fighter jet despite malfunctions being reported.

Pakistan has bought 22 JF-17 jets and plans to buy 50 more, making it a 72-strong fleet but reports suggest that malfunctions to the jets engines could dent both nations’ ambitions to dethrone American and European fighter jet making companies like Lockheed Martin and Dassault Rafale.