Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez inaugurated the TATA Aircraft complex for manufacturing C-295 aircraft in Gujarat’s Vadodara on Monday.

Around 56 aircraft are there under the C-295 programme, of which 16 are being delivered directly by the aircraft manufacturing company Reportedly, Airbus from Spain, and the remaining 40 will be manufactured at the complex, which is the first private sector Final Assembly Line (FAL) for military aircraft in India.

It will include the full development of a complete ecosystem from the manufacture to assembly, test and qualification, to delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft. In 2021,the Ministry of Defence signed a Rs 21,935-crore contract with Airbus Defense and Space SA, Spain for the supply of 56 aircraft.

Addressing the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the aircraft manufactured at the Vadodara facility will also be exported in the future. He added that the Tata-Airbus manufacturing facility will strengthen the India-Spain relations and the ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ mission.

Narendra Modi also paid tribute to former Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata, who is said to be the brain behind the project. Remembering the industrialist, PM Modi said that if Ratan Tata would have been among them, he would have been happy, but wherever his soul is, he would be happy. 

In the inauguration event, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said the project was originally conceived by Ratan Tata in 2012. He said that he will fail in his duty if he forgets to mention that this project was originally conceived more than a decade ago, in 2012, by the then Tata Sons Chairman, Ratan Tata, who led the whole concept to build a relationship with Airbus and created this partnership with Airbus and laid the foundation stone for this opportunity. He also remembered him for his visionary leadership in this very path-breaking initiative.

Notably, the C-295 is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the Indian Air Force’s ageing Avro-748 planes. The aircraft is known to be a superior aircraft used for tactical transport of up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers and for logistic operations to locations that are not accessible to current heavier aircraft.

The C-295 aircraft, called robust and reliable, with a flight endurance of up to 11 hours, and can carry out multi-role operations under all weather conditions. It can also routinely operate day as well as night combat missions from desert to maritime environments.

Reportedly, all the 56 aircraft under the agreement will also be fitted with an indigenous Electronic Warfare suite manufactured by Indian DPSUs – Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Limited.

The Congress on Sunday accused the BJP of distributing fertilisers to farmers in Madhya Pradesh only where bypolls are taking place and said that this shows that the BJP can stoop to any level for votes.

In a post in Hindi on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report which claimed that while farmers across Madhya Pradesh are standing in queues all night long for Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP), the fertilizer is in abundance and even being distributed in advance to farmers of the two assembly seats Budhni (Sehore district) and Vijaypur (Sheopur district) where by-elections are being held.

“The supply of fertilizers only to the places where by-elections are being held in Madhya Pradesh is a betrayal of the farmers of the rest of the state,” Ramesh said.

Fertilisers are needed equally everywhere but the rest of the areas are not even getting five per cent of the required DAP, the Congress leader alleged.

“Supplying fertilisers in this manner for electoral gains shows the shamelessness of the BJP government. This makes it clear that they can stoop to any level for votes,” Ramesh said.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, on October 21, claimed that the BJP is the biggest enemy of Maharashtra’s farmers. He asserted that the state has concluded that farmers will benefit only by removing the double-engine government from power.

In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge criticized the BJP for the numerous farmer suicides in the state, stating that the promise of making the state drought-free is mere rhetoric.

“The BJP is the biggest enemy of Maharashtra’s farmers; 20,000 farmers have committed suicide. There has been a significant cut in funding for farming. The promise of a Rs 20,000 crore water grid turned out to be false. The promise of making Maharashtra drought-free is just a jumla,” he said.

Kharge also slammed the BJP for its refusal to provide compensation to farmers while showering insurance companies with Rs 8,000 crore.

On October 24, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait criticized the BJP-led governments, stating that they are “governments for businessmen and not for farmers.”

Addressing a Mahapanchayat of farmers at the exhibition ground in Bijnor on Thursday, Tikait said, “These governments are for businessmen, not farmers. Farmers should be prepared to engage in a tough fight to have their demands met. We will continue to fight for our rights.”

Israeli strikes in northern Gaza have resulted in the deaths of at least 22 people, stated Palestinian officials adding that the majority of the victims were women and children.

The Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service stated that 11 women and two children were killed in strikes on several homes and buildings in the northern town of Beit Lahiya late Saturday.

It stated that another 15 people were wounded and that the death toll could rise. The Ministry listed the names of those killed, most of whom came from three families.

The Israeli military claimed it conducted a precise strike targeting militants in a structure in Beit Lahiya and took measures to avoid harming civilians. However, it disputed the casualty numbers reported by the media, without providing further elaboration or evidence to support its own claims.

Israel continues to carry out daily strikes across Gaza while also engaging in air and ground operations against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. An Israeli airstrike on a southern neighborhood of Beirut early Sunday sent flames and smoke rising into the sky.

On Saturday, Israeli warplanes targeted military sites in Iran—supporter of both Hamas and Hezbollah—in retaliation for an Iranian ballistic missile attack earlier this month.

These escalating conflicts have heightened concerns about a potential all-out regional war pitting Israel and the United States against Iran and its militant proxies, which include the Houthi rebels in Yemen and armed groups in Syria and Iraq.

In a separate incident, a truck crashed into a bus stop near Tel Aviv, injuring 35 people, though the circumstances remain unclear. This event occurred near the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, and while first responders treat it as a terrorist attack, the details of the assailant’s status remain unconfirmed.

In response to Israeli airstrikes on Iran, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expressed that the impacts of these strikes should not be understated or exaggerated. The exchange of fire raises concerns of a wider regional conflict involving Israel, the United States, Iran, and militant factions like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the strikes against Iran accomplished Israel’s objectives, severely impacting Iran’s defense capabilities. Meanwhile, the supreme leader emphasized that the authorities would determine Iran’s response.

The ongoing conflict has also seen incidents of violence within Israel, such as the recent truck attack near Tel Aviv, raising tensions amidst an already volatile situation. In the Gaza Strip, the Red Cross has described the circumstances as horrific, with severe limitations on humanitarian aid exacerbating the plight of civilians in the area.

The conflict, which began with a surprise attack by Hamas-led militants in 2023, has led to widespread devastation, with significant loss of life and dire humanitarian consequences. Both sides have reported substantial casualties, but the impact on civilian populations, including displacement and shortages of essential supplies, remains a grave concern.