Morning Brief: India Tests First High-Energy Laser Weapon; Trump Dilutes Tariffs, But India's Edge Over China Remains; Apple Supplier Foxconn Plans First Facility In North India

Kick-start your morning with Swarajya’s Morning Brief – your news fix, curated for clarity and insight.

India Demonstrates Its First High-Energy Laser Weapon

India successfully demonstrated its first high-energy laser-based weapon system, capable of targeting drones, missiles, and surveillance equipment, during trials on Sunday. The Mk-II(A) laser-directed energy weapon developed by DRDO generates a 30-kilowatt laser that can destroy enemy drones and blind sensors with precision and speed.

This system, currently land-based, is expected to be inducted within two years, with technology transfer likely to be offered to select industry players. DRDO plans to enhance the system’s power for greater ranges and to develop satellite and maritime applications in the future. The satellite-based version would allow the weapon to target threats in space, providing India a non-kinetic option to hit Chinese satellites.

India Retains Edge Over China Even As Trump Dilutes Tariffs

Despite Trump temporarily exempting smartphones and personal computers from reciprocal tariffs on China, India retains an edge, according to ET. Industry executives remain optimistic that India’s consumer electronics exports to the US will grow, especially with Apple expected to double its global iPhone manufacturing share in India from the current 14–15 per cent.

Dixon Technologies, India’s largest electronics contract manufacturer, which already exports Motorola smartphones to the US, is set to hold discussions with its American client this week to expand its export share.

While the tariff relief has narrowed the differential between China and India, Dixon’s managing director Atul Lall said a 20 per cent advantage still exists for smartphones. Moreover, Trump's exception for electronics is only temporary as the US plans to cover these under semiconductor sector-specific tariffs to be implemented within a month.  

Apple Supplier Foxconn Plans First Facility In North India

Foxconn is in talks with the UP government to secure 300 acres of land along the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida for its first facility in northern India, ET has reported. The plant, potentially larger than its upcoming Bengaluru facility, will manufacture products yet to be determined, with discussions still ongoing. The proposed location is near a site where Foxconn and HCL are working on a semiconductor assembly facility.

This investment comes as Foxconn looks to diversify its operations within India, strengthening its presence amidst geopolitical uncertainties and the global supply chain realignment. Foxconn’s expanded investment in India aligns with the country’s growing role as both a manufacturing hub and an export destination, with the Noida area emerging as a key manufacturing ecosystem.

Other Developments

IAF Aircraft Targeted By GPS Spoofing During Myanmar Mission

The Indian Air Force's C-130J aircraft was targeted by a GPS-spoofing attack while carrying out a relief mission in Myanmar after a deadly earthquake. The spoofing disrupted the aircraft's real-time coordinates, but pilots swiftly switched to the internal navigation system (INS) to ensure safe flight. GPS spoofing involves fake signals overriding genuine satellite data, and similar incidents have been reported near the India-Pakistan border, with 465 cases near Amritsar and Jammu since November 2023.

Myanmar was struck by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake on March 28, killing 3,649 people and injuring over 5,000, followed by numerous aftershocks.

Mehul Choksi, Accused in Rs 13,000 Crore PNB Scam, Arrested

Belgian police have arrested Mehul Choksi, a key accused in the Rs 13,400 crore Punjab National Bank fraud, following a request from the CBI after he was spotted in Belgium. The arrest was based on two open-ended warrants issued by a Mumbai court, and Indian authorities have now been asked to file a formal extradition request.

Choksi, who resides in Antigua, is expected to seek bail citing poor health, a move Indian agencies will oppose. The ED has been tracing and recovering Choksi’s overseas assets, identifying properties worth nearly Rs 80 crore in Thailand, Dubai, Japan, and the US. As part of the recovery effort, the ED has already restored assets worth over Rs 2,500 crore, handing Rs 125 crore worth of property to the liquidator of Gitanjali Gems.

India Cracks Down On Chinese Telecom Gear

The government has requested details from telecom operators about Chinese equipment used in their networks to address security risks amid growing US-China tensions. The aim is to monitor the role of Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE, which still service parts of India's 4G and 2G infrastructure despite being excluded from 5G deals.

The move follows a similar exercise from last year when the government tracked Chinese connections in SIM cards. The government has also mandated that any new telecom suppliers must secure the ‘trusted source’ certification, a status that Chinese firms like Huawei and ZTE have yet to achieve, while Western competitors like Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung have successfully secured the necessary security clearances. 

Revolutionary Leap In Brain Research

Scientists have achieved a groundbreaking milestone by mapping the activity and structure of 200,000 cells and 523 million connections in a cubic millimeter of a mouse brain. This achievement, once thought impossible, was the result of a collaboration among more than 100 researchers who collected 1.6 petabytes of data — equivalent to 22 years of nonstop high-definition video.

In 1979, Nobel laureate Francis Crick had declared that understanding the anatomy and activity of just a cubic millimeter of brain matter would always be beyond reach. However, the new study, published in Nature, demonstrates that mapping such a tiny fraction of the brain is now possible, with hopes to extend this progress to mapping the entire mouse brain. The achievement comes over 130 years after Santiago Ramón y Cajal first observed individual neurons under a microscope.

From The States

Naidu Pushes Amaravati Project With New Land Acquisition

The Andhra Pradesh government plans to acquire another 30,000-40,000 acres of land for expanding the Amaravati project, including the construction of a ring road and an international airport. This is in addition to the 34,241 acres acquired earlier for the project during CM Chandrababu Naidu’s first term as CM.

Amaravati was initially declared the state capital in 2014, but after Naidu lost power in 2019, the YSRCP government scrapped the project in favour of a "three capital formula." Following Naidu's return to power last June, work on Amaravati has resumed.

Sukhbir Badal Returns As SAD President 

Sukhbir Singh Badal has been re-elected as Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president, just five months after resigning following accusations of "religious misconduct" during his previous tenure. The election was held at the SGPC headquarters in Amritsar and reaffirming the Badal family's grip on the post since 1990.

Addressing the gathering, Badal vowed to restore the SAD’s rule in Punjab and accused the NDA of conspiring to dismantle the party after it quit the alliance over the farmers’ protest. He also alleged that efforts were made to take over the SGPC and control Sikh religious institutions.

No Condemnation From Mamata As Murshidabad Burns

Mamata Banerjee remains silent as violence continues to rage in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, where clashes sparked by the Waqf Act have left a trail of destruction. Despite the scale of the unrest, including attacks on Hindu homes and reports of lynchings, the West Bengal Chief Minister has refrained from condemning the violence directly.

The situation escalated rapidly after Friday prayers, with violence spilling into a second day. Paramilitary forces were deployed to patrol the most sensitive areas, following an order from the Calcutta High Court.

You’re all caught up—until next time.