Fernandes told the committee that the Defence Ministry will spend Rs 30.27 billion to procure state-of-the-art plant and machinery for meeting technological needs of 'futuristic products' during the 10th five-year plan. A new ordnance factory is being set up at Nalanda in Bihar for manufacture of futuristic bi-modular propellant charges required for heavy calibre ammunition, he said.
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China joins World Trade Organization
Doha: China has been formally made a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The induction of China as a member of the WTO comes after 15 years of negotiations. Even as consensus continues to evade delegates in Doha, the complete agreement among the 142 countries over China's entry was a welcome change.
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India, Russia to develop super-fighters
Moscow: India and Russia are embarking on several ambitious projects for the joint development of super-fighters and smart weapons.

Talking to reporters Russian vice premier Ilya Klebanov said that India and Russia have agreed to jointly develop a fifth-generation strike aircraft and its project would be presented in New Delhi by the first quarter of the year 2002.
The Indo-Russian super-fighter would rival the US Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to be built by Lockheed-Martin. The Indian and Russian air forces could get the new generation fighter around 2009 when JSF is scheduled to be commissioned.

Meanwhile, the Russian government has floated a tender to identify the Russian designing bureau for the super-fighter project.
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Forex reserves up $407 mn
Mumbai: India's foreign currency reserves witnessed a $407 million jump on account of fresh inflows at $45,568 million during the week ended November 2.

The foreign currency assets rose by $394 million at $42,621 million, according to the Reserve Bank of India.

While special drawing rights grew by $1 million to $10 million, gold reserves spurted by $12 million at $2,937 million.

The FCA expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation/depreciation of non-US currencies such as Euro, Sterling and Yen held in reserves.
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$1 billion US aid for Pak
New York: The United States on Saturday pledged more than a billion dollars in economic aid to Pakistan as reward for its support in the war on terrorism. On Afghanistan, Bush endorsed General Pervez Musharrafs line that the Northern Alliance should not be allowed to march into Kabul.

They also agreed that any future government in Kabul would have to be broad-based.

The break up of the $ 1 billion-plus aid was also not spelt out clearly. While the earlier $ 500 million package (of which only $ 100 million has actually been delivered), included assistance for border security, refugees, and anti-terrorism measures, the enhanced package appeared to count debt relief and tariff concessions than any fresh and direct bilateral aid.
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