Army fires Excalibur precision guided ammunition from M-777 howitzers

The Excalibur can penetrate 8-10 inches thick concrete bunkers and walls and will reduce the chances of collateral damage when used against the enemy

Indian Army has fired Excalibur precision-guided ammunition from M-777 artillery howitzers. The Excalibur can penetrate 8-10 inches thick concrete bunkers and walls and will reduce the chances of collateral damage when used against the enemy. The range of the Excalibur ammunition is between 35 and 40-km. The ammunition was fired on Monday at both concrete and sand bunkers.

The firing was witnessed by senior leadership of the Indian Army including Director General Artillery Lieutenant General Ravi Prasad. In October, ANI had reported that the Indian army has inducted the indigenous Dhanush howitzer and the American precision-guided Excalibur artillery ammunition in its inventory. The Excalibur ammunition has been acquired under the fast track procedure.

The ammunition can be busted in the air as well as after its penetration into bunker-type structures by using its different fuses. The Excalibur ammunition was developed in the US for improving the accuracy of the artillery shells in the war in Afghanistan which the Americans have been fighting for almost two decades now. The Army has also started inducting the US-made M– 777 Gun Explosion  ultra-light howitzers which can be used for firing the Excalibur ammunition. The M777 ultra-light howitzers were inducted into the Indian Army along with the K-9 Vajra and Dhanush howitzers at Deolali near Nashik. The Indian Army will induct a total of 145 M777 howitzers in service…

Onion shortage: Prices may halve in two weeks on increased new arrivals

Prices in Lasalgaon mandi down to Rs 41/kg from Rs 71/kg last Saturday

Onion prices are likely to decline by 50 per cent in the next two weeks, as arrivals of seasonal and pre-seasonal varieties of “red onions” from Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka increase sharply.

Arrival of pre-matured onions has already brought down prices by 42 per cent since Sunday. In the benchmark Lasalgaon mandi (market), the largest spot wholesale onion market in Asia, prices have crashed. They were trading at Rs 41 a kg on Tuesday compared to Rs 71 a kg on Saturday. Onion arrivals on Tuesday surged to 704 tonnes, compared to 421 tonnes on Sunday. Arrival of stored onions, however, has declined over the past two days. Sources said there was hardly any available stock after much of it was spoiled in warehouses because of floods.

“Onion prices are likely to be between Rs 20 a kg and Rs 25 a kg by January. Onion Price will decline gradually as arrivals increase steadily. In the next two weeks, we expect it to fall to Rs 30-35 a kg,” said Suvarna Jagtap, chairman, Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), Lasalgaon.

Arrivals of red onion — that cannot be stored for more than three days because of high moisture content — have also increased. Traders and stockists sell this variety within two days after it is dried in the sun.

“Onion arrivals will increase steadily in the coming days as farmers are harvesting pre-matured crop to cash in on high prices. Currently, arrivals are coming in from Nashik, and Dhulia districts. Arrivals from Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Dhule, and other centres are yet to start. Once arrivals begin from these centres, prices will decline steeply,” said Sudin G Tarle, assistant secretary, APMC Lasalgaon.

Adivasis, farmers in Maharashtra planning to march from Nashik to Mumbai

The march will commence on Wednesday from Mumbai Naka in central Nashik and reach Mumbai on February 27

Current Affairs: Afraid of being left out under government’s relief schemes, around 80,000 adivasis and farmers in Maharashtra are planning to begin a long march from Nashik to Mumbai to press upon their demands.

The march will commence on Wednesday from Mumbai Naka in central Nashik and reach Mumbai on February 27. The Nashik police, however, said that it was expecting a gathering of around 25,000 farmers from all across the state for which all necessary precautions have been taken.

A similar protest march, organized in March 2018, ended with promises from the state government to ensure farmers’ returns on agricultural commodities were 50 per cent higher than their cost of production, apart from loan waivers and other promises.

“Half of Maharashtra is facing drought this year due to uneven distribution of rainfall in the last monsoon season. To weed out farmers’ problems, therefore, we have listed five immediate demands which include: regular work under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), cattle camps to look after animals in the state, compensation for crops damaged in the drought, payment of school and tuition fees of aggrieved farmers’ kids and provision of drinking water,” said Ashok Dhawale, President, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the organiser of the long march…Read More