INTERNATIONAL

India, U.S. sign landmark agreement COMCASA

India and the United States on Thursday began a new generation of military and security cooperation by signing Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA).

COMCASA, which stands for Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, is one the four foundational agreements that the U.S. signs with allies and close partners to facilitate interoperability between militaries.

COMCASA is an India specific version of the Communication and Information on Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA).

COMCASA allows India to procure encrypted communication systems from the U.S. for military platforms like the C-17, C-130 and P-8Is. Due to non-signing of COMCASA, these platforms were using commercially available communication systems.

S. returns two antique statues stolen from India

Two antique statues worth hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen from India and displayed at two American museums have been repatriated to India by the US.

The first statue, ‘Lingodhbhavamurti’, a 12th century granite sculpture depicting an iconic representation of Lord Shiva, dates back to the Chola dynasty.

Currently valued at about $225,000, it was stolen from Tamil Nadu and was on display at the Birmingham Museum in Alabama.

The second phyllite sculpture depicts the bodhisattva of wisdom, ‘Manjusri’, holding a sword and painted in gold leaf. This statue was stolen from a temple in Bihar in the late 1980s.

· Google launches new search engine for scientists

Google launched a new search engine called ‘Dataset Search’, which works in multiple languages, to help scientists, data journalists and others find data required for their work.
The new search engine will work likeGoogle Scholar, the company’s popular search engine for academic studies and reports.

NATIONAL

· Supreme Court decriminalised a portion of Section 377 of IPC

The Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra overruled its own 2013 decision and decriminalised a portion of Section 377of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), that criminalises private consensual sexual acts between same sex adults (homosexuality).
Section 377 was introduced in 1861 during the British rule of India, and targeted in particular Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) individuals and communities. Modelled on the Buggery Act of 1533, it criminalised sexual activities “against the order of nature”, including homosexual sex.

Cabinet doubles Jan Dhan accounts overdraft cap to Rs 10,000 from 5,000

In a significant move, the cabinet today approved doubling Jan Dhan accounts overdraft cap to Rs 10,000 from 5,000.

The age for availing entitlements has also been relaxed from 60 to 65 years.

Jaitley also stated that around 83 per cent of accounts opened in Jan Dhan are linked with Aadhar.

· Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate India’s first ever Global Mobility Summit

The main focus of the two-day summit, being organized by the NITI Aayog, is to make Indian cities pollution free.
The summit will deliberate on 5 themes electrification & alternative fuels, reinventing public transport, goods transport & logistics, and data analytics and mobility.

· Union Government launches National Mission on Government e Marketplace (GeM)

National Mission on Government e Marketplace (GeM) was launched on 5th September 2018 to accelerate the adoption and use of GeM by major central Ministries, State Governments and their agencies.
The main aim of the National Mission is to promote inclusiveness, transparency and efficiency in public procurement and achieve cashless, contactless and paperless transaction.

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