'These ladies have sacrificed their husbands so that you can celebrate your birthday parties and anniversaries.' 'It is your moral duty to treat them right and with respect.' 'When they visit a bank or a hospital, they should not be made to stand in queue, but treated like Presidents or prime ministers.'
In New Delhi's corridors of power, debate continues on whether the navy even needs a third aircraft carrier.
Sources said India will not lower its guard and will maintain the current state of very high-level of combat readiness in eastern Ladakh till there are visible changes in the ground situation.
"Rafale's induction in the air force is an important and historical moment and it is a matter of pride for us to be witness to this moment. I congratulate the Armed Forces, and all countrymen on this occasion. The induction of Rafale in IAF's fleet shows the strong relations between India and France. India and France have been economic, cultural and strategic partners since long. Our faith in strong democracy and a wish for world peace are the basis of our relation," Singh said at the induction ceremony being held at the IAF airbase in Ambala.
Officers responsible for preparing budgets say their detailed costing projections are mostly ignored. The defence ministry simply takes the previous year's budgetary allocations for each service and adds a small percentage to those.
The meeting was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General M M Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria.
Rawat said India was looking forward to procuring Kamov helicopters and other weapon systems and technology from Russia.
Army chief hints at retaliation for soldiers' beheading by Pakistan.
However, the pellet guns will continue to be used as the last resort in the non-lethal category.
Army sources indicate the first Integrated Battle Groups would come up in the plains of Jammu, Punjab, and Rajasthan, providing New Delhi instruments of retaliation in the event of grave provocation by Pakistan, such as a 26/11-style terrorist attack.
The time has come to recommend Field Marshal Cariappa for the award of Bharat Ratna. If others can get it, I see no reason why he should not,' the army chief said.
Gogoi was detained by police in May following an altercation when he was allegedly trying to enter a Srinagar hotel with an 18-year-old woman.
Talking about the Line of Actual Control, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said as it is not completely demarcated, there are differing perceptions about it by both sides.
'There is no such area that we have left unguarded. Our surveillance team is keeping a tight watch and regularly patrolling the areas'
The military is 'totally prepared to stand up to the demands made by the government and the people.'
As she walked near the tricolour-wrapped coffin, tears welled up in her eyes. She then, carefully touched the surface of the wooden coffin, and then laid her head on it, and cried, "Bhai (brother)", multiple times.
Vice Admiral Singh is scheduled to take charge as the new Navy chief from incumbent Admiral Sunil Lanba, who is set to demit office on May 31.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India is committed to resolve all issues through dialogue, noting the way ahead to address the issue is negotiations.
The sources also said another round of military talks between the two sides on Wednesday to defuse tensions in the area remained inconclusive. The talks lasted nearly seven hours.
Prime Minister Modi felt there were too many silos with no arrangement to take a comprehensive view on national security. The PM has entrusted NSA Ajit Doval to evolve a comprehensive roadmap and get it implemented, reveals Nitin Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Strategic News International.
'Pakistan thinks it is winning this low intensity conflict.' 'It is a serious observation. Half the battle is convincing your adversary that he cannot make headway.' 'A lot depends on how the internal professional management of the army and the handling of situations that are bound to rise sooner than later in his command, are done.'
The team of 21 Rashtriya Rifles had entered the house of a civilian to prevent a hostage situation when they came under attack from the terrorists who had already reached there. While the four army personnel and the police Sub Inspector lost their lives in the encounter, the civilians trapped in the house were safely evacuated.
The agenda of the talks will be to firm up a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh, the sources said.
This will be the first instance since Independence that two of the three service chiefs will be the government's chosen men.
The thanks-giving activities will start with laying of wreaths at the police memorial in Delhi and in several other cities on Sunday morning to honour the police personnel deployed in enforcement of the nationwide lockdown, officials said. It will be followed by fly-pasts by fighter and transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, covering a sizeable number of cities and towns across the country between 10 am and 11 am, officials said.
The GoM was apprised that as of now, the death rate is around 3.1 per cent while the recovery rate is more than 20 per cent, which is comparatively better than most of the countries and may be taken as a positive effect of the lockdown in the country, along with the cluster management and containment strategy.
Who took the decision for the prime minister, the nation's single most popular leader, to take the road route when they should have already known about the farmers' protests and also the grave risks involved, when and how, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Defence Minister's reply came in response to a question on whether satellite images have revealed that China has constructed seven helipads in Doklam besides deploying tanks and missiles in the area.
The CDS will be senior to the service chiefs and his primary role will be to work towards increasing operational coordination among the army, the navy or the air force and deal with India's national security with a comprehensive approach.
This will also be his first August 15 address after coming back to power with a huge mandate.
CRPF Inspector General (Operations) Zulfiquar Hasan asserted that the forces have been acting with restraint in crowded areas to check any collateral damage and the residents should not succumb to the threats of the militants.
Boeing is pressing hard to win the Indian Navy contract for 57 aircraft carrier-borne fighters. It could offer the Super Hornet in the ongoing IAF procurement of 114 medium fighters; its upgraded F-15EX fighter also on the list.
The military brass is learnt to have apprised Modi about the evolving situation in eastern Ladakh, though officials maintained that the agenda of the pre-scheduled meeting was to discuss the ambitious military reforms and ways to boost India's combat prowess.
As the border standoff entered the sixth month, an early resolution to the row appeared dim with close to 100,000 Indian and Chinese troops remaining deployed in the high-altitude region and showing readiness for a long-haul. There is no official word on the talks yet but sources said the agenda was to finalise a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points.
Both the Indian and Chinese armies have brought in more troops in sensitive locations like Demchok, Daulat Beg Oldie and areas around Galwan river as well as Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh, the sources said. The area around Galwan has been a point of friction between the two sides for over six decades.
In 2005, the Border Road Organisation was asked to construct 73 roads in the strategically important regions along the Sino-India border but there has been huge delay in implementation of the project which has apparently left the army unhappy.
American armaments dominated the defence services's show of weaponry.
But the regulator has dropped the proposal of asking flyers to maintain 30 seconds of silence.
The Indian Air Force is monitoring the developments along the western front, he said.
Addressing a press conference, Gen Naravane said the focus of training will be on preparing the army for future wars which will be network-centric and complex.
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