The 17 rare earth elements that are at the centre of the current crisis are critical components of everyday products -- from cars to jet engines to electronics like smartphones and flat-screen TVs.
The plaintive strains of bugles sounding the last post broke through the hush, men in uniform clicked their heels and a 17-gun salute rang out as Gen Bipin Rawat and his wife were cremated on Friday evening -- the sun setting on a day written into India's military history and on the life of its most senior military officer.
In his condolence message, Modi said he was deeply anguished by the helicopter crash in which Rawat, his wife and other personnel of the armed forces died.
Official sources said the black box was retrieved in the wake of authorities expanding the search area from 300 metres to 1 km from the accident spot.
'People in Punjab put their opinion very strongly there and it looks like they will fight. But, there is nothing like that, and they find solutions to their problems'
Gujarat Titans eye top-two finish as struggling LSG look to salvage pride
Rawat, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1990 batch and regarded as a China expert, will succeed Vikram Misri.
Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan was the pilot of the crashed Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17V5 helicopter, carrying Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and 13 others, informed sources.
In the video clip, Gen Rawat paid glowing tributes to the Indian armed forces personnel killed in the 1971 war with Pakistan and appealed to the citizens to join the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the victory.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand. The bypolls, however, will not have any direct impact on the respective legislative assemblies. The results will be declared on November 23. In Uttar Pradesh, polling will be held in Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki. Ninety candidates are in the fray in these seats with the maximum of 14 in Ghaziabad. This will be the first electoral test of the INDIA bloc as well as the NDA in the politically-crucial state after the Lok Sabha elections. In Punjab, bypolls will be held in four assembly seats - Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala. The bypolls were necessitated after MLAs representing them were elected to the Lok Sabha. Polling will also be held for the Palakkad seat in Kerala and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
But in their pursuit of glory, both leaders must find a way to address the issues at hand.
Members of the Karnataka legislative assembly on Monday demanded a thorough probe into the death of chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on December 8.
Condolences over the demise of chief of defence staff Gen Bipin Rawat poured in on Wednesday from various countries, including the US, Russia and Pakistan.
In a composed and clear presentation, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi announced that nine terrorist facilities had been destroyed in the tri-services operation.
'Even though Sanjay sir had prepared me, seeing Bumrah come in still gave me a bit of a jolt.'
Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar told PTI that the accident took place above the forests of Gaurikund amid poor visibility due to bad weather.
The CDS will have a significant role in higher defence planning and operational aspects of India's nuclear arsenal.
Former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had to face the ire of teerth purohits in Kedarnath as he arrived at the Himalayan temple on Monday to offer prayers.
Dominic Xavier wonders why politicians always seem to have a problem with the way our women dress
'He has been made CM of Uttarakhand because everybody thinks he is not a challenge to anyone.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited the Palam airbase in New Delhi and paid his last respects to Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and other 11 armed force personnel who lost their lives in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
Huge crowds of mourners gathered outside as armed forces personnel took the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat inside the Brar Square crematorium in the Delhi Cantonment on Friday.
General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others were killed in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, the Indian Air Force said.
Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene on Friday said star pacer Jasprit Bumrah was still recuperating from a back injury and that the team was waiting for him to be cleared by the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
Their mortal remains are expected to arrive in the national capital in a military plane by Thursday evening, the sources said.
'We remain in touch with the Chinese side, in Beijing as well as in Delhi, to bring predictability in the supply chain.'
I don't want to hide that some questions are still being resolved, Rawat said.
Known as a simple and down-to-earth leader, Tirath Singh Rawat takes over the rein of power in Uttarakhand at a time when the BJP is preparing for the state assembly polls due early next year.
Aam Aadmi Party Councillor Geeta Rawat in a scuffle at an East Delhi Municipal Corporation special house meeting.
The Punjab spearhead cleaned up skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (5) with a ripper before inducing an edge from Siddhesh Veer (0) to the wicketkeeper in the very next over.
The mortal remains were brought to the Madras Regimental Centre where people paid floral tribute to General Rawat and other personnel.
Opinion polls by a section of the media channels have stated that Harish Rawat is the most liked politician for the post of chief minister, way ahead of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Gurindervir, Kujur, Manikanta, Amlan set new 4x100m relay national record
The top eight swimmers from the two heats made it to the final.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday informed the Lok Sabha that IAF Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor in the military chopper crash in Tamil Nadu, is on life support in the Military Hospital at Wellington, Tamil Nadu.
A quintessential military commander, Gen Bipin Rawat possessed an uncanny understanding of geopolitical upheavals, calibrated a tri-services military doctrine to make India face myriad security challenges, and is largely credited with bringing down militancy in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.
China has protested to India over Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat's reported remarks about Beijing constituting the "biggest security threat", the Ministry of Defence here said on Thursday.
Gujarat Titans will aim to tighten their grip on the top spot and move closer to securing a play-off berth when they take on a faltering Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Monday.
In Karnataka, home minister Araga Jnanendra directed police to track down the 'anti-national' persons who posted objectionable comments about the late chief of defence staff, and 'punish them befitting their distorted minds.'
Shaken by the abrupt suspension of their previous match due to the India-Pakistan conflict, a struggling Delhi Capitals will look to regroup and address bowling concerns when they face table-toppers Gujarat Titans in a reverse-leg IPL clash in Delhi on Sunday to keep their play-off hopes alive.
