The appointments committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared Bhalla's appointment as OSD in the ministry with immediate effect.
'Overlying his idealism was a hatred of war and of all things military. He gave no deep thought to politico-military matters and this prevented him from making sound security decisions.'
With the Navy ruling out deploying indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas on its aircraft carriers, Aeronautical Development Agency on Saturday said it was restricted only to Mark I which was a technology demonstrator and pinned hopes on Mark II for use by the Navy.
'This is a historic juncture when the US is in great need of an alliance with India to strengthen its hands in the fierce struggle with China in the Asian theatre,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Till the time the MSM and Modi don't trust one another, expect more Nirmala Sitharamans springing out from nowhere,' says Sudhir Bisht.
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The opposition Congress could muster only 16 votes against the government with one of its legislators absenting from the crucial floor test.
Income will be higher as spectrum in 2,100-MHz band will also be auctioned
The debate on the Rafale jet fighter deal saw a head-on collision between the government and the Congress in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
According to convention, Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi should be named as General Dalbir Singh Suhag's successor as army chief
Still, there remains a worrying shortfall of frigates, which are the navy's workhorses. 'We need to have at least 24 frigates,' says a senior admiral. 'Currently we are 10 short.'
Treading a cautious path on the Telangana issue, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said in Hyderabad on Thursday that the Centre should address the complicated issues concerned with the bifurcation of the state first before it embarks on the process.
'The non-implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, almost a year after it was implemented for civilians, is gradually beginning to hurt morale in the armed forces,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The central government has made Intelligence Bureau's clearance mandatory for appointment of a private person as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to a minister.
'It is almost certainly wrong in assuming that the Modi government will use its strong mandate to undertake some serious reform measures.' 'For it is fairly clear that the government's priorities lie elsewhere, in the powerful home minister's domain,' notes T N Ninan.
Pranab Mukherjee's stewardship of the economy will stand out as much for the manner in which he managed controversies as for creating quite a few of them, says A K Bhattacharya.
The Indian Navy is constrained by its lowest budgetary allocation since 2011-2012, reveals Ajai Shukla.
Agriculture, social services, education, defence and so on will be brought into the digital fold and every gram panchayat will be connected to the internet.
Most of the parties supported 'one nation one election', says defence minister Rajnath Singh.
'Let no one doubt our determination or question our resolve, Brexit is happening.'
The Narendra Modi government is understood to have ruled out changes in the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir and favoured its continuation in the present form in the state.
It is worrisome that salaries are consuming as much expenditure as equipment.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has asked the Indian Air Force to focus on safety and conservation of available resources as he interacted with top commanders in New Delhi just days after India decided to buy 36 Rafale jets.
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Wednesday expressed concerns over the delays in delivery schedules of 'Tejas' Light Combat Aircraft and intermediate jet trainer 'Sitara', both being developed indigenously, and their impact on operational capability.
Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) lists why India must not do away with AFSPA, but ensure enough transparency to avoid confrontation with human rights.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitions abroad may run the risk of foundering on constraints at home.
The telephonic talk between Modi and Xi came a day after Modi congratulated Xi on Chinese social media.
The Central bureau of Investigation on Tuesday filed a closure report in a seven-year-old case of alleged bribery in the Rs.1,150 crore Barak missile deal in which former Defence Minister George Fernandes and the then Naval Chief Admiral Sushil Kumar were accused.
Rediff.com gives you a look at newbies in the Council of Ministers
The court order is seen as a major embarrassment for the AIADMK as Palaniswami will be the first chief minister in the state to face a CBI probe over corruption charges.
"Our party has decided not to attend the meeting with the GoM. Our main demand is that the GoM engage all stakeholders, including the Joint Action Committees, from different regions of the state in talks on the issue and address all concerns," TDP senior leader Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu said in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
About Rs 12,000 crore are stuck in India's first hotel district, Delhi's Aerocity, because of red tape.
India's plans to relax foreign direct investment (FDI) rules across a broad spectrum of industries have received the final approval from the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA).
Boosting the army's war fighting capabilities along the Line of Actual Control, the government on Wednesday given a go ahead to the creation of a corps including deployment of 50,000 additional troops along the China border at a cost of around Rs 65,000 crore.
Taking potshots at the prime minister, Gandhi said he should stop talking about the past and start doing his work.
Against the backdrop of objections by some MPs, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Tuesday strongly defended the Rs 2,058 crore (Rs 20.58 billion) Jet-Etihad deal, saying those opposing it were "long on politics and short on facts".
"Here, you have to answer to the country. You are not to make accusations here...," he said.
Rejecting Rajya Sabha's five amendments and opposition's appeal not to make "haste", the Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the legislation that aims at better targeting of subsidies through the Aadhaar unique identity number within hours of the Upper Housing returning it.
India was fooled into believing that Communist China wanted a 'negotiated' settlement with the Tibetans; it was never the case, says Claude Arpi.
Sujatha Singh is the third senior official to have been dismissed by NDA.
