Sidharth Roy Kapur, president of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, Vivek Oberoi, Anupam Kher, Madhur Bhandarkar and producer Boney Kapoor were also a part of the event, held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
He also assured the nation that the borders are fully secured.
The PM will pay homage to fallen soldiers at the newly-built National War Memorial in New Delhi on the Republic Day instead of Amar Jawan Jyoti beneath the India Gate arch.
The retaliation also comes after an Indian Army solider was killed in Pakistan firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on last Saturday.
'I realised what a great leader he was by the way he took decisions to undertake the most-risky of missions.'
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.
Donald Trump, accompanied by US First Lady Melania Trump, was received by Kovind at the forecourt of majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan along with his wife Savita.
"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.
The Indian Armed Forces will express their gratitude to all "corona warriors" by conducting fly-pasts, showering petals on hospitals treating COVID-19 patients and illuminating naval vessels, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said on Friday.
As the bugle was sounded for the retreat, the Raisina Hill complex lit up in a riot of colours, the illumination provided by LEDs rather than the traditional incandescent bulbs.
Accuses foreign-funded competition of 'capital dumping' to capture market, bats for stronger regulations for sector.
Rs 111,294 crore has been allocated for army salaries. The Rs 113,278 crore allocated for army pensions surpasses that. Army planners are worried about this drain on funds that could otherwise go towards equipment modernisation.
Unless each attack drone can be neutralised, India will be literally deploying elephants to stamp out ants -- and the ants may still survive! points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
'Having fared not too successfully in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the BJP can't afford to disappoint its supporters in Delhi,' says Amulya Ganguli.
Operations in the Valley would continue as earlier, Rawat said.
"I request the government to take steps so that he continues to be an Indian," Ali told a news channel.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria was at the Leh IAF base on Wednesday where he reviewed operational preparedness of the force in effectively guarding the sensitive border areas in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese armies have been on a nearly six-week standoff.
The sources said Indian Army had finalised contracts to procure ammunition worth Rs 11,000 crore after the Uri terror attack in September 2016, and it has received 95 per cent of the total order.
President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations at the Defence Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday. Here's a glimpse of some of our brave hearts being honoured.
'The army is using its might to teach them a lesson'
As defence minister, Singh's most crucial challenge will be to speed up the long-delayed modernisation of the three services besides ensuring overall coherence in their combat readiness.
"I had clearly said that any case of moral turpitude and corruption will be dealt with in a very stern manner. The Court of Inquiry has recommended that we should go in for court martial proceedings. Last month, an Army Court of Inquiry indicted Maj Gogoi for "fraternising" with a local woman at a Srinagar hotel and being away from his place of duty.
We invited you, dear readers, to share your BEST photographs of 2013. Check out these amazing photographs!
Lt Gen Naravane is currently serving as Vice Chief of the Army. In his 37 years of service, Lt Gen Naravane has served in numerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly active counter-insurgency environments in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.
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.
"There was no overdose, nor any poison. Her condition could have worsened as she had briefly stopped taking medicines and was suffering from weakness," said Inspector General of Prisons Bipin Kumar Singh.
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.
In his fresh petition, Verma said he had filed a statutory complaint with the defence ministry, challenging appointment of Vice Admiral Singh as the next navy chief, and asked it to respond within 10 days.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs will be briefed on Indo-Pak relations with specific reference to recent surgical strikes.
A high-level committee set up to examine the gaps in the country's security system in the wake of the Kargil War in 1999 had called for appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff as a single-point military adviser to the defence minister.
The government, he said, was speaking from a "position of strength" on the Kashmir issue.
The move came after a series of videos were posted online by personnel from the army, Indian Air Force and central police forces regarding various conditions that they work under.
'When a criminal assumes a new identity he think everybody knows them by that name only.' 'Criminals forget that the police are always hunting for them to put them in jail.'
After completion of Summary of Evidence against Major Gogoi and his driver in early February followed by the initiation of court martial proceedings, the two men have been held guilty on two counts -- "fraternising" with a local in spite of instructions to the contrary and "being away from the place of duty while in operational area", the officials said.
The army chief's comments on Wednesday, at the Raisina Dialogue, on engaging with Taliban were first such public remarks by a senior functionary of the government.
"The message we want these children to go back with, is that if terrorist activities and stone-pelting stops in Kashmir, it too can prosper like Delhi or other big cities, and perhaps even better," Gen Rawat said.
Sitharaman, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa and Vice Chief of the Indian Navy Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P laid wreaths at the Amar Jawan Jyoti in India Gate, paying respect to the fallen heroes of the war.
Aurangzeb's family had made an emotional appeal to the PM to avenge his death.