This Week in Explainers: Why India’s ‘Poorvi Prachand Prahar’ military drill in Arunachal matters

The three wings of the Indian military are set to hold a joint drill in Arunachal Pradesh. The tri-service exercise, ‘Poorvi Prachand Prahar’, comes days after the Indian armed forces launched the ‘Trishul’ exercise on the Western front.

American tech firm Nvidia has joined the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA), a group of private equity and venture capital investors committing $2 billion (Rs 17,735 crore) for deep tech investments.

Indian flyers may soon be able to cancel their air tickets for free. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has proposed rules to offer more flexibility to passengers with their bookings, allowing them to cancel or amend their tickets without extra charges, but with certain caveats.

Here’s all this and more in our weekly wrap from India.

1. The Indian armed forces will carry out ‘Poorvi Prachand Prahar’ next week in the rugged mountains of Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh. The forward-looking exercise will test the operational synergy between the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force.

The tri-service military drill will focus on multi-domain integration across land, air and maritime fronts, demonstrating the enhanced readiness of the Indian armed forces for future conflicts, Defence PRO Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said in a statement. The exercise comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor and an increased threat from China. Read our report to know more.

2. Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company helmed by CEO Jensen Huang, has joined the India Deep Tech Alliance as a founding member and strategic technical adviser. IDAT was launched in September at the Semicon India event in New Delhi by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and Semiconductors and Electronics Ecosystem (Semi). The US chipmaker has said it will train and mentor emerging deep tech startups in India as part of the alliance.

It will also provide policy input to help Indian deep-tech startups adopt its AI and computing tools. The development comes days after the Indian government set up a $12 billion (Rs 1 lakh crore) Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) Scheme. We take a detailed look at the story here .

3. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has doubled down on his allegations of voter fraud (chori). Addressing a press conference this week, Gandhi claimed that a Brazilian model’s photograph was used 22 times in the electoral rolls of Haryana’s Rai Assembly constituency.

He alleged that this indicated a “massive voter fraud” during the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections. Gandhi went on to accuse the BJP of running a “planned operation” to manipulate votes and subvert the democratic process. But does the person whose picture was allegedly used in the voter rolls actually exist? We take a look here .

4. India’s aviation watchdog is considering reforms to the ticket refund norms. The DGCA has proposed allowing passengers to cancel or amend their tickets without extra charges within 48 hours of booking.

The regulator has said in draft rules that airlines should complete the refund process within 21 working days. Changes are also suggested to the norms that levy extra charges on flyers in case of name correction. What else could change for flyers? Read our story to know more.

5. Sudan’s brutal civil war has come to haunt an Indian family. There are reports that a 36-year-old Indian national has been abducted by rebel forces, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in war-torn El-Fasher.

Last week, the RSF said it had captured the city from the army after an 18-month siege. A video has come to light showing an Indian, identified as Adarsh Behera, being quizzed by two RSF fighters. The man, who hails from Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district, was reportedly kidnapped from El-Fasher and is being held at an RSF stronghold in South Darfur. But what was Adarsh Behera doing in the African nation? We take a look here .

6. Two brothers have been arrested in a suspected spy racket. Akhtar Hussaini Qutubuddin Ahmed, 60, was nabbed by the Mumbai Police last month for posing as a scientist of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

His 59-year-old brother, Adil Hussaini, was apprehended by the Delhi Police later on charges of espionage and running a fake passport racket. Akhtar was allegedly trying to sell an alleged nuclear-related design to companies in Iran. The duo also received foreign funding and made several foreign tours. Here’s our story on the case.

This is all we have for you this week. If you like how we explain the news, you can bookmark this page.