For the first time, the government on Wednesday delegated financial powers for capital procurement projects worth up to Rs 200 crore to armed forces officials below the level of vice chiefs to help them meet emerging security challenges, officials said.
Aviation security regulator BCAS on Wednesday slapped fines totalling Rs 1.80 crore on IndiGo and Mumbai airport operator MIAL over the incident of passengers having food on the airport's apron. The apron is the area around the aircraft where it has finally parked for deboarding.
'With continued focus on votes, upcoming by-polls and purchasing politicians, the political hierarchy has little time for national defence.' 'They would do well to heed a veteran scholar, who says, "There will be war with China in the next few years. The next full scale war will have the involvement of Pakistan and terror elements, insurgents and intelligence assets operating inside India",' warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The clashes broke out this morning when protesters attending a non-cooperation programme to demand the government's resignation faced opposition from the supporters of the Awami League, Chhatra League, and Jubo League activists.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to call another high-level meeting later today, they added.
Failure to reinstate salary even two years after the drastic cuts has landed the airline industry in a massive industrial relation crisis. While employees of Air India had organised a strike back in 2011, it is for the first time that private airlines are facing serious stress related to workers. IndiGo witnessed two of them, back to back. In the first instance, around 50 per cent of the IndiGo flights were delayed as a large number of crew members went on mass sick leave, apparently to participate in a rival airline's walk-in job interview.
Morarji Desai was 81 when he was elected prime minister and ruled India for two years, from March 1977 to July 1999.
Seeking to further democratise air travel with dependable and affordable services, airline Akasa Air is aiming to start flights in late May or early June after getting its first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in April. Bullish on the long term growth potential of the country's civil aviation sector, ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed carrier is looking to have 18 planes in its fleet by the end of March 2023. Despite COVID clouds continuing to cast a shadow on the airlines, Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube is more than optimistic as he asserted that "if you look at the long term future of commercial aviation in India, it is as exciting as anywhere in the world".
'A ferry flight is scheduled to operate to GDX (Magadan) from Mumbai, at 1300 hours IST on June 7, subject to necessary regulatory clearances, which would take passengers and crew of AI173 onward to San Francisco,' the airline said in the statement on Wednesday.
The CDS will be a four-star general and his salary will be equivalent to that of service chiefs.
That such a deal can be greeted with celebration in the camps of both buyer and seller speaks volumes about the airline and its recent history, explains T N Ninan.
Recent disclosures allege large scale corruption, nepotism and kickbacks by Pakistan air chief Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhuin housing land deals in Islamabad and in buying of new aircraft, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria flew a Tejas single-seater light combat aircraft MK1 FOC fighter during his visit to IAF and flight test establishments and facilities of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru.
India on Tuesday said the evacuation of its embassy staff from Kabul has been completed and the focus now would be to ensure the safe return of all Indian nationals from the Afghan capital in view of the prevailing situation in the country.
Pollution levels in the national capital entered the "severe" zone for the first time this season on Thursday, with scientists warning of a further spike over the next two weeks.
It said Delhi is facing an unprecedented heatwave with temperatures hovering around 50 degrees Celsius in some parts for the first time in the city's history.
'Training was incredible and thrilling, be it firing weapons, drill or 10 km runs and push-ups. It gave us unforgettable memories and inculcated soldier like qualities.'
India's tactical and operational response demonstrated its ability to prosecute tri-service operations, even without a formal tri-service doctrine or the higher command structure needed to coordinate it, points out Ajai Shukla.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, along with all the Commander-in-Chief rank officials from the three services will be attending the conference.
'Unlike on the western and eastern borders where there is an enemy at the gate, here there is an invisible enemy which is building its own capability and can come into play at a time and place of his choosing.'
They say better late than never. For the Tatas, the original owners of Air India, bringing back the airline to its fold is worth the wait even if the attempt to privatise the bleeding national carrier by successive governments has taken over two decades. While many airlines have come and gone from the Indian skies since the time when the first move was made to privatise Air India to date, the salt-to-software conglomerate has never let the love affair with aviation, more so with Air India that its former chairman Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (JRD) had, to go off the radar. It is said that Tata group executives used to complain in private that JRD -- the pioneer of the Indian aviation industry -- spent more time worrying about Air India than the Tata group when he was heading both the entities.
Among the impacted flights, Air India's flight AI 185 from the national capital to Vancouver that was to depart early in the morning was rescheduled.
A special aircraft of the Indian Air Force was sent on Saturday to bring back the Indian diplomats, officials and other staff members including a group of Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel.
The central government has agreed in-principle to Air India employees' main demands. It fears an industrial dissension now could impede the process of privatisation. It has agreed to bear the cost of liquidation loss on account of transfer to the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from company-owned trusts, inclusion of employees in the central government health scheme (CGHS), and encashment of leaves. The template of the Air India process will be followed for other public sector undertakings up for privatisation at a later date.
Barnes School, Devlali, is famous for its dal. But everything tastes good in the hill station air and vintage locale.
The flight from Dubai with 190 people, including a six-member crew, overshot the tabletop runway during landing at the Kozhikode airport in heavy rain on Friday, killing 18 people, including both the pilots.
'It conveys the impression that there is not enough talent available among the serving officers.' 'That does not reflect well on the professionalism of officer corps.'
The scheme allows a permanent employee to take leave for up to two years without pay or allowances and return to join at the same level where he or she left. The decision comes a few days after the unions suggested several schemes, including leave without pay to cut costs while maintaining the interests of the employees. In Mumbai, the airline announced it has set up a committee comprising representatives of the management and the unions to turn around the airline.
Kerala on Friday said a tearful goodbye to most of the 23 victims from the state who died in the Kuwait fire tragedy -- one of the biggest incidents to ever affect the state's expatriate community known for their dedication and hard work.
A bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna issued notice on the petition by the former wing commander, who was posted as engineering officer at the relevant time, and granted the Centre six weeks to file its response.
However, even as the ACEU claimed there would be disruption of flights during that time, the A-I management made it clear they had not backed out on their commitments and had told unions they would pay the salaries by July 3 or 4. However, even as the ACEU claimed there would be disruption of flights during that time, the A-I management made it clear they had not backed out on their commitments and had told unions they would pay the salaries by July 3 or 4.
IAF's four fighter pilots undergoing rigorous training for the landmark Gaganyaan mission, and who earned the 'astronaut wings' on Tuesday, have a stellar resume. They have a flying experience in the range of nearly 2,000-3,000 hours and two of them are recipients of the prestigious 'Sword of Honour'.
'We were against politicisation of the defence acquisition process. It was a question of capability of the air force'
With Delhi recording air pollution levels seven to eight times above safe standards on Monday, the city government announced the return of its flagship odd-even scheme after four years anticipating further deterioration of air quality post-Diwali.
'On October 12-13, he started shivering from fear in his tent.' 'That was the time he wrote a letter to my mother to conduct Ganeshji's Atharvashirsha.' 'The moment he finished writing that letter, he told us, he felt serene calmness.'
'Since each chief single-mindedly pursues his service's interests in the competition for turf and in core matters such as budget share. The CDS, therefore, must act as an "honest broker" whose decisions serve the broader national purpose, rather than narrow service interests,' says Ajai Shukla.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Agnipath scheme is an example of necessary reforms undertaken by the Army and accused the opposition of playing politics over the recruitment process aimed at keeping the average age in armed forces young.
The IAF chief also said that raising the upper age limit to 23 for induction under the Agnipath scheme for the year 2022 would permit a larger section of youths to enrol under the new model of recruitment.
Full service carrier Vistara expects to add a total of 10 planes as well as hire more than 1,000 people in the current financial year and has shelved plans to fly to the US, according to a top executive. Currently, Vistara, which is set to be merged with Air India, has a fleet of 61 aircraft and a staff strength of over 5,200. During an interaction in Istanbul this week, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan said there has been a ready pool of talent, especially pilots and cabin crew members, with the collapse of Go First.
'Being a serving officer or wearing a uniform does not make an officer more competent than one who has retired.'
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