Three IAF officers sacked for Brahmos accidental firing into Pakistan

• The missile landed 124 km inside Pakistan, following which the IAF ordered a CoI headed by an Air Vice-Marshal, a two-star officer, to investigate the incident.
• A day after the incident, the Pakistan military said the supersonic surface-to-surface missile flying at three times the speed of sound at 40,000 feet ended up 124 km inside Pakistan, damaging some civilian property.
• BrahMos is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia-based NPO Mashinostroyeniya and the missile derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers.

With eye on defaulters, Centre tweaks overseas investment rules

• With an eye on wilful defaulters, the new rules stipulate that any Indian resident who has an account appearing as a non-performing asset; or is classified as a wilful defaulter by any bank; or is under investigation by a financial service regulator or by investigative agencies in India, will have to seek an no objection certificate before making any overseas financial commitment.
• Any resident in India acquiring equity capital in a foreign entity or overseas direct investment (ODI), will have to submit an Annual Performance Report (APR) for each foreign entity, every year by December 31.
• No such reporting shall be required where a person resident in India is holding less than 10% of the equity capital without control in the foreign entity and there is no other financial commitment other than equity capital or a foreign entity is under liquidation.

Stunning Jupiter images shown by NASA''s James Webb telescope

• The photographs published have captured a new view of the planet, presenting in detail its massive storms, colourful auroras, faint rings and two small moons — Amalthea and Adrastea.
• Jupiter’s famous Great Red Spot, a storm so big that it could swallow Earth, appeared bright white in the image, since it was reflecting a lot of sunlight, the space agency stated.
• NASA’s $10 billion James Webb Telescope was developed with the assistance of the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
• It was launched to space on December 25, 2021 and is currently observing from Lagrange point 2, approximately 1.5 million km beyond Earth’s orbit around the Sun. The telescope released its first image on July 11 2022.

SC declares retrospective use of benami law unconstitutional

• In a decision much awaited by businesses, a three-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, declared as unconstitutional Sections 3(2) and 5 introduced through the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016. The 2016 law amended the original Benami Act of 1988, expanding it to 72 Sections from a mere nine.
• Section 3(2) mandates three years of imprisonment for those who had entered into benami transactions between September 5, 1988 and October 25, 2016. That is, a person can be sent behind bars for a benami transaction entered into 28 years before the Section even came into existence.
• Justice Ramana, who wrote the 96-page judgment, held that the provision violated Article 20(1) of the Constitution. Article 20(1) mandates that no person should be convicted of an offence, which was not in force “at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence”.
• Section 5 of the 2016 Amendment Act said that “any property, which is subject matter of benami transaction, shall be liable to be confiscated by the Central Government”. The court held that this provision cannot be applied retrospectively.

India-China dispute casts gloom over space project

• Scientists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, were among nine groups selected from 42 applicants in 2019 as part of a UN-led initiative that invites research teams from all over the world to compete for an opportunity to design payloads that will be shuttled to Tiangong aboard rockets of the Chinese Manned Space Agency.
• The project, called Spectrographic Investigation of Nebular Gas (SING), also involves collaboration with the Institute of Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, and has been designed and developed by research students at the IIA. The plan is to have it ready by the year-end so that it can be launched in the summer of 2023.
• Though the plan is on schedule, scientists at the IIA are now consulting with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the External Affairs Ministry whether they are in the clear to go ahead with the project.

DRDO & Indian Navy successfully flight-test Vertical Launch Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile off Odisha coast

• The VL-SRSAM, a ship-borne weapon system, is meant for neutralising various aerial threats at close ranges, including sea-skimming targets, and was last test-fired in June.
• The flight test was carried out from an Indian naval ship against a high-speed unmanned aerial target for demonstration of vertical launch capability. The missiles, equipped with indigenous Radio Frequency (RF) seeker, intercepted the target with high accuracy.
• During the test launch, flight path and vehicle performance parameters were monitored using flight data captured by various range instruments, the statement said.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry releases Booklets and Documents on Future Ready Commerce

• It comprised of fourteen volume Restructuring Dossier of ‘Department of Commerce which has been created to facilitate transition.
• The restructuring programme for Department of Commerce has been undertaken with the key objective to equip the ecosystem to achieve two trillion dollar export target by 2030. Under it a dedicated Trade Promotion Body will also be set up to drive overall promotion strategy.
• He said, the 14 volumes defines the role of each section within the department and lays down the expected outcomes and key performance indicators.
• The restructuring exercise rests on five major objectives including to increase India''s share in global trade, assume leadership position in multilateral organisations like WTO and democratisation of trade.

India to work towards unlocking trade potential with Central Asia through Chabahar Port

• Sonowal reviewed the progress in the work on the terminal and handed over six mobile harbour cranes “to improve efficiency”.
• The Chabahar plan had three main objectives — to build India’s first offshore port; to circumvent trade through Pakistan; and to find an alternative land route to Afghanistan.
• A fourth strategy has also emerged wherein the government hopes to provide Central Asia with an alternate route to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
• The development of the Shahid Beheshti terminal in Chabahar has hit geopolitical road-block after road-block; the biggest issue being Iran’s relationship with western countries, especially the U.S.