India launches first pilot project for hydrogen-fueled vehicles

JAKARTA: Hundreds evacuated from dozens of flooded neighborhoods around Jakarta on Tuesday as torrential rains pounded the Indonesian capital and its surrounding satellite cities, causing several rivers to overflow.
There were no immediate reports of casualties after the latest deluge, but parts of the city, home to around 11 million people, ground to a halt as whole neighborhoods were swamped in muddy water.
Heavy rain began on Monday, causing some flooding in Jakarta and nearby the cities of Bogor, Bekasi and Tangerang.
Water was seen meters high in areas of east and south Jakarta on Tuesday after the rain caused the Ciliwung river to overflow, affecting 1,446 people from 224 houses in one village alone, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said.
In Bogor, more than 300 people were evacuated, dozens of houses were damaged and one bridge collapsed. In Tangerang, 350 houses were flooded after the Cimanceuri River overflowed.
Residents took to rooftops or used ropes to pull themselves to safety through the floodwater in one south Jakarta district, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
Authorities said they were distributing ready-to-eat food, blankets and tarpaulins to those affected by the floods, and deploying rubber boats to evacuate residents.
“If there is a shortage, the public can ask for more. We are ready to help,” BNPB deputy for emergency response Lukmansyah said in a statement.
The low-lying city is prone to flooding during the wet season which runs from around November to March.
In 2020 torrential rain triggered flooding and landslides that killed nearly 70 people in and around Jakarta, while thousands more were forced to evacuate to shelters.

NEW DELHI: An Indian defense committee has recommended including the private sector in military aircraft manufacturing to shore up the capabilities of the Indian Air Force, whose falling squadron strength and delayed fighter deliveries have irked its chief.
The move, if accepted, would boost India’s private defense firms and reduce the burden on state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, which makes most of India’s military aircraft.
The committee, headed by defense ministry’s top bureaucrat, submitted its report to Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday, the government said in a statement late on Monday, adding that Singh had directed that recommendations “be followed up in a time bound manner.”
The Indian Air Force’s fleet of mainly Soviet-origin aircraft has been operating with only 31 fighter squadrons compared with a target of 42 amid tense relations with neighbors China and Pakistan.
India’s Air Chief Marshal AP Singh has said that the country should involve the private sector to speed up defense aerospace manufacturing. Speaking at an event in New Delhi last week, he said India must add 35-40 fighters per year to fill existing gaps and phase out older aircraft.
Indian officials have said that Hindustan Aeronautics could deliver up to 24 aircraft powered by a General Electric engine in the coming fiscal year, which begins in April.
The company was unable to deliver any of the 83 fighters on order in the current fiscal year, in part due to the slow arrival of engines from GE, which has been facing supply chain issues.