Tricolour on tallest flag mast installed near Attari border

• A 360-foot- high (110 metres) flag post, said to be the country's tallest, was inaugurated at the Indo-Pak Attari Border, just a stone's throw from Pakistan.
• Punjab Minister Anil Joshiinaugurated the country's largest tricolour on the tallest flag post - measuring 110 metres in length, 24 metres in width and 55 tons in weight.
• At present, the tallest flag is in Ranchi (300-foot high).
• Built at an approximate cost of Rs 3.50 crore, the post was a project of the Amritsar Improvement Trust Authority of the Punjab Government.

Government clears revival of 50 unserved airports

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the proposal for revival of 50 unserved/under-served airports/airstrips of state governments, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and civil enclaves in three financial years starting from 2017-18.
• "The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 4,500 crore. Fifteen airports/airstrips each would be revived during 2017-18 and 2018-19 each while 20 airports/airstrips would be revived during 2019-20," said a government statement.
• "As an outcome of the approval, small cities/towns shall be connected on commencement of operation of flights to under-served/unserved airports.

North Korea missiles 'drill for strike on US bases': State media

• Nuclear-armed North Korea's launch of four missiles was a training exercise for a strike on US bases in Japan and supervised by leader Kim Jong-Un, Pyongyang.
• Under UN resolutions, Pyongyang is barred from any use of ballistic missile technology, and the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said on Twitter that the world "won't allow" North Korea to continue on its "destructive path".
• "The four ballistic rockets launched simultaneously are so accurate that they look like acrobatic flying corps in formation, he said," the agency added, referring to Kim.
• Pyongyang regularly issues threats against its enemies, and carried out two atomic tests and a series of missile launches last year, but yesterday was only the second time its devices have come down in Japan's EEZ.

26/11 attack carried out by Pakistan-based terror group: Durrani

• The Mumbai attacks of 2008 were carried out by terror groups based in Pakistan, according to former Pakistani National Security Adviser Major General Mahmud Ali Durrani (retd.)
• But the government of Pakistan or the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was not involved. I am 110% sure of it,” he said at the 19th edition of the Asian Security Conference on ‘Combating Terrorism: Evolving an Asian Response,’ organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
• Responding to questions on the Jamaat-ud- Dawa chief, Mr. Durrani said Hafiz Saeed had no utility for Pakistan. “He should be punished.”
• The only way to end terrorism was by ending cross-border terrorism, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, National Security Adviser of Afghanistan, said in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

Reliance Capital sells Paytm stake for Rs 275 crore

• Reliance Capital has sold its nearly 1 per cent stake in popular digital payments  firm Paytm for Rs 275 crore to China’s Alibaba Group in a deal reaping huge  gains for the Anil Ambani-led group firm.
• The financial services arm of Reliance Group had invested Rs 10 crore for this stake in Paytm.
• The deal gives a valuation of over $ 4 billion to Paytm, which is already backed by Alibaba group as a strategic investor.
• Sources said that Reliance Capital has retained a stake in Paytm e-Commerce, which it had got free of cost by virtue of the investment in the parent firm. In the latest fund—raising round, Paytm e-Commerce was valued at USD 1 billion.