Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday reviewed the preparations for Cyclone Yaas including the evacuation of people on the high seas as well as in vulnerable coastal areas and the safety of COVID-19 facilities.
Two courts in Tamil Nadu have ordered the release of 61 Sri Lankan fishermen arrested between July and November last year.
Tropical storm 'Tauktae' (pronounced as Tau'Te) which had intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm, lies close to the Gujarat coast, the India Meteorological Department said. "The landfall process has started and will continue during next two hours," the IMD said.
Sri Lanka's Navy has praised India for its help in countering the LTTE, and said the militant group's "backbone has been broken" after the destruction of several rebel vessels.
The flood situation in Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh showed signs of improvement on Sunday with most rivers receding even as heavy rains lashed parts of Goa, Rajasthan and Orissa.
Speaking at the silver jubilee function of the Indian Coast Guard Aviation at Daman, Antony emphasised the need for faster modernisation of the Coast Guard in view of emerging seaward threat.
Coming down heavily on Congress for asking the government to come clean on the Pakistani boat incident, Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday accused the principal opposition party of touching a "new low" and doing politics over terror.
Indian Coast Guard officials and their counterparts in Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency, after two-days of talks, finalised a Memorandum of Understanding that would be signed after endorsement by the respective governments.
The 18 crewmembers, consisting of 13 Iraqi nationals and five Indians, took the help of an onboard rescue boat and reached the nearby Creek.
The new vessel is the fourth of its type used by the Coast Guard.
The commissioning of these ships is of great significance for the Coast Guard, that is the nodal agency for oil spill response in India's Exclusive Economic Zone under the National Oil Disaster Contingency Plan.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force started landing in Gujarat with the help of the Indian Air Force to undertake preventive evacuation of people living on the west coast, an IAF official said.
At least 12 Pakistani nationals were arrested along with their two boats by the Border Security Force for illegally entering Indian waters near Padala creek in Koteshwar off Kutch in Gujarat.
Sri Lankan Navy, who on Saturday surprised Indian fishermen trawling near Katchatheevu by offering them soft drinks and sweets, attacked eight fishermen in the Indian territory off Dhamushkodi coast early on Monday, fisheries department sources said.
India has proposed direct communication between the coast guards of both countries to address issues relating to fishermen and operational difficulties.
Singh will succeed Admiral Sunil Lanba who retires on May 31.
The body of Lt Kiran Shekhawat was on Thursday recovered from the fuselage of the ill-fated Dornier aircraft of the navy.
The cyclone, according to an IMD report early Sunday, is developing into a severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal and can potentially become a very severe cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours, S N Pradhan, the chief of NDRF said in New Delhi.
Even as Tauktae's intensity weakened, it left behind a trail of destruction with as many as 13 people losing their lives in different parts of Gujarat, including Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Patan, Amreli and Valsad, officials said.
The Indian Navy said it was in a high state of readiness to "deter, prevent and defeat" any "misadventure" by Pakistan in the maritime domain.
With the latest arrest, the number of Tamil Nadu fishermen in Sri Lankan custody has risen to 61.
The storm is likely to impact Mumbai, Thane and other coastal districts of Maharashtra like Raigad and Palghar along with Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Bhavnagar and Bharuch districts of Gujarat and Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Preparations for the impending cyclone were discussed at a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, a home ministry statement said.
The alarm raised at the naval base turned out to be a hoax after nothing was found.
The boat was probably washed away due to rising water level in River Ravi in Pathankot sector, the BSF said.
It is a historic moment as Pakistan has released boats after a gap of 11 years.
Pakistan Maritime Security Agency arrested the fishermen and seized the boats off Jakhau coast in Kutch district.
From ice-capped Siachen, the highest battlefield in the world, to the warships off South Korea, Indian armed forces on Tuesday joined the International Yoga Day celebrations.
Sixty-six Tamil Nadu fishermen set free by a Sri lankan court after being arrested recently by the island navy, arrived in Rameswaram on Wednesday with the Indian Coast Guard repatriating them.
Expressing dismay over reports of Indian Coast Guard participating in naval exercises with Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to recall the two ships and Coast Guard personnel participating in the event in the island nation.
The Indian Coast Guard on Friday seized a Pakistani boat and arrested seven fishermen for crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line near Jamnagar.
An Indian Coast Guard Ship, designed and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, was commissioned here on Monday by Flag Officer, Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba.
Eight crew members were rescued from a sinking ship off Beypore in Kerala on Saturday by the Coast Guard.
As Navy chief, Admiral Singh's immediate priority will be to expedite the long-delayed modernisation of the Indian Navy, including by inducting new warships, submarines and aircraft.
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 total cost for procurement of 41,000 LMGs will be Rs 3,000 crore while over 3.5 lakh Close Quarter Battle Carbines will be bought at a cost of Rs 4,607 crore respectively, defence ministry officials said.
Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday commissioned four Indian Coast Guard vessels at port town of Vasco in Goa, which will be mainly used for patrolling and interception.
With questions over Coast Guard's 'boat' operation persisting, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said those travelling in the Pakistani vessel were suspected terrorists as per the "given circumstances".
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