Even as Union ministers allay misgivings over Agnipath, figures show a meagre 2.4 per cent of the ex-servicemen who applied for a government job could get one as the Centre and the states have been unable to recruit against the reserved quotas. Public sector undertakings (PSUs), ministries, and officials of Sainik Boards have blamed it on the lack of skill among ex-servicemen. They say veterans' inability to qualify in selection exams is one of reasons for this. Also, non-recognition of qualifications obtained from the military are reasons why their recruitment has remained significantly low, pushing them towards low-skill jobs.
The officials said the suspected drone returned to the Pakistani side when the border guards fired half a dozen rounds to bring it down.
A coordinated multi-agency search operation is underway to locate the two, even as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered setting up a three-member committee to probe the incident and submit a report in a week.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday extended condolences to Polish President Andrzej Duda after the explosion in the east of the country, adding that the alliance is 'monitoring the situation'.
The horrific attack on the Peshawar school is the terrorists's retaliation for the Zarb-e-Azb military operation in North Waziristan.
Legal battles initiated by 1,000-odd former employees of the Talegaon plant continue to present a challenge for the acquisition process.
The plane was found scattered at an altitude of 4,200 metres, a four-hour uphill hike from the centre of Thasang Village Municipality.
The Pakistan Army initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing from small arms and intense shelling of mortars along the LoC in the Mankote and Krishna Ghati sectors on Wednesday night, a defence spokesperson said.
Unless Punjab has a chief minister who is able to look beyond community/vote bank politics, carry all sections of society, stop appeasing while addressing genuine concerns and break the stranglehold of the SGPC over Sikh affairs, my beloved home state is bound to die and conversions will be rampant, warns Sanjeev Nayaar.
A woman, who was injured when security forces opened fire in Handwara town of north Kashmir to quell a stone-pelting mob, succumbed at a hospital in Srinagar on Wednesday.
Days after a Pentagon report said Beijing built a large village in a disputed territory in the Arunachal Pradesh sector, India on Thursday said it has neither accepted any illegal occupation of its territory by China nor has it accepted unjustified Chinese claims.
Meanwhile, the Sanatan Sanstha alleged that Tawde was being 'implicated' by the probe agency on the basis of false allegations levelled by a witness, who himself is facing criminal charges.
At least eight persons were killed in a cloudburst near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas on Friday evening, damaging 25 tents and three community kitchens, officials said.
'We should not allow ourselves to be surprised in any manner in future on the border.'
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria asked the air warriors to maintain a very high-level of alertness considering the evolving situation in Pangong lake region in eastern Ladakh following China's unsuccessful attempts to occupy certain strategic points in the area, the officials said on Thursday.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has claimed the movie portrays half truth and only shows violence without conveying any message.
A home ministry spokesperson, however, said the decision does not imply that the AFSPA has been completely withdrawn from the three insurgency-hit states but will continue to be in force in some areas of the three states.
China on Monday continued its unprecedented military drills around Taiwan, extending the schedule of war games launched in retaliation to the visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the breakaway island which Beijing claims is part of its territory.
A few people held a protest against the Punjab Police in Mansa for allegedly stopping them from entering the Moosa village by deploying heavy security ahead of Mann's visit.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official asserted that it is known that China used these balloons for surveillance.
'Come, join this army. This is not an army of hatred, this is not an army of violence, this is an army of truth and this is an army that will defend the idea of India'
Officials said gunshots were heard as the joint search parties of the Army and the police resumed the operation in Poonch's Mendhar area. However, it was not immediately clear whether it was speculative firing by the search parties or fresh contact was established with the terrorists, they said.
In Kanpur, that witnessed stone pelting and violence on June 3, people from the Muslim community participated in the prayers in all major mosques while the police personnel remained on alert.
They said the Quick Reaction Team came under indiscriminate firing by two-three ultras, who were travelling in a van, at a crowded area in Khushipora of Parimpora.
Gandhi has been posing some tough questions to the government and seeking answers from the Prime Minister on the stand-off with China on the LAC in Ladakh and allegations of Chinese incursions into Indian territory.
India on Thursday said it desires normal relations with Pakistan and it was for that country to create a conducive atmosphere by taking 'credible, verifiable and irreversible' action against cross-border terrorism.
India on Thursday announced that its charge d'affaires in the Beijing embassy will not attend the opening or closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in the Chinese capital over China honouring a military commander involved in the Galwan Valley clashes as its torchbearer for the mega sporting event.
The talks took place in a beach resort in Benaulim on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the aircraft had crashed into the mountains after it swerved to the right, instead of turning to the left due to inclement weather.
'I will give the evidence when the Indian Army constitutes an inquiry. I have given you my statement. Has the army initiated any inquiry?'
While the Bharatiya Janata Party already has a good presence on social media platforms, the Samajwadi Party and others are putting in efforts to strengthen their digital army and chalking out strategies to boost their support base.
The clear assertion by New Delhi came ahead of a fresh round of Lt General-level talks between the Indian army and the Chinese PLA which government sources said is set to take place within the next two days.
Pakistani security forces on Thursday raided the house of the father of the woman suicide bomber from Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) who blew herself up in Karachi University that killed three Chinese teachers and injured another.
This is the seventh consecutive day that Pakistan has targeted forward posts along the Line of Control (LoC).
Cries of 'Jai Hind' rent the air as a large number of people bid a final adieu to Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his wife and five-year-old son, who were killed in a terrorist attack in Manipur two days ago, in their hometown Raigarh in Chhattisgarh on Monday.
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.
'It seems the action against Nupur was because the vice president was in Qatar and officials in his secretariat did not want any embarrassment.'
The condition of the injured is stated to be stable, the officials said.
Asked about the reports of the troops on both sides disengaging and moving back to their previous positions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing that both sides are taking steps to ease the situation along the borders.
The Indian mission has already taken up the issue strongly with the Pakistani authorities.
