Which Armed force signs MoU with CSIR for advanced technologies, recently?

India has signed a deal with a Russian firm to manufacture 7.5 lakh AK-203 rifles. These are the latest derivative of the AK-47 rifles. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the AK-203 rifles will be produced at the Indian Ordnance Factory at Amethi's Korwa. The new rifles will replace the indigenous INSAS rifles in the Army, Air Force, and Navy.

Indian Army inducted its domestically developed and manufactured Dhanush artillery howitzer at a ceremony held the Ordnance factory in Jabalpur to give a major fire-power boost to the Indian Armed Forces. The Dhanush gun is the first indigenous artillery gun of 155x45mm caliber and is based on Bofors howitzer which was commissioned in the 1980s. Bharat Electronics, the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation, the Directorate General of Quality Assurance, SAIL was the supporting company to develop this gun. It is the first long-range artillery gun having a range of 38 km produced in India.

Highlighting the close maritime proximity between India and Indonesia, Indian Coast Guard Ship 'Vijit' became the first-ever Coast Guard ship to visit Sabang, Indonesia. During its maiden voyage, officers and crew of Vijit will hold interaction with officials of Bakamla (Indonesian Coast Guard), Indonesian Armed Forces and the civil administration at Sabang, read a press release from Indian embassy in Jakarta.

India and Sri Lanka is to conduct joint military exercise Mitra Shakti VI from 26 March to 8 April at Sri Lanka. At the Military Exercise Mitra Shakti VI India would be represented by the Bihar Regiment. Gemunu Watch Battalion of Sri Lankan Army will be representing the Sri Lankan side. The exercise aims to build and promote close relations between armies of both the countries and to enhance the ability of joint exercise commander to take military contingents of both nations under command. The exercise also involves tactical level operations in an international Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorist environment under the United Nations mandate.

The Nigerian military has lifted a ban on UNICEF operations in the ravaged northeast of the country. Earlier, the army had suspended the aid agency & accused it of training spies supporting Boko Haram jihadists. Boko Haram's Islamist insurgency has killed more than 27,000 people since it began in 2009 and has triggered a humanitarian crisis in the wider Lake Chad region, where the jihadists have stepped up attacks in recent months.

Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully test fired the PINAKA guided WEAPON rocket system from Pokhran range in Rajasthan. The weapon system is equipped with state-of-the-art guidance kit comprising of an advanced navigation and control system. The weapon systems impacted the intended targets with high precision and achieved desired accuracies.

According to a biennial report released by the government, the Centre has identified 106 Coastal and Marine sites as Conservation Reserves under its National Wildlife Action plan for the period of 2017-2031. This was the 2nd biennial updated report which was made by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and was submitted to the UN body on Climate change in December 2018. According to the report, India has been successful to sustain the ecosystem when it is at its edge of disappearing at an alarming rate. Also, it will further conserve the coastal and marine ecosystems from the impact of climate change. Both the coastal and marine areas facilitate with food baskets and fish protein to population, and also provide a valuable foreign exchange in turn.

Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the 12th biennial edition of International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition, the Aero India 2019 on 24th February 2019 at the Air Force Station Yelahanka in Bengaluru. The theme of the event was "Runway to a Billion Opportunities". India and Singapore sign agreement for skilling Indians in aviation. Aero India 2019 observed "Technology Day" on the third day. Maiden Drone Olympics Competition held at Aero India 2019.

The Indian Navy held the 2nd edition of the bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and Vietnam Peoples' Navy, (IN - VPN BILAT EX) at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam during 13th to 16th April, 2019.The exercise was undertaken as a part of the ongoing Overseas Deployment of Eastern Fleet ships to South East Asian countries.INS Kolkata under the command of Captain Aditya Hara and INS Shakti under the command of Captain Sriram Amur participated in the exercise.

The Indian Army has successfully built the longest suspension bridge 'Matiri Bridge' over the Indus River in the Leh-Ladakh region. Built in a record time of 40 days 'Maitri Bridge' is longest Suspension Bridge over Indus River. The 260-feet long suspension bridge was built by the combat engineers belonging to the Sahas aur Yogyata regiment of Indian Army's Fire & Fury Corps.