Defence Minister A K Antony expressed his displeasure to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in presence of their Cabinet colleagues on Thursday, for permitting 51% Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail.
The defence ministry is in the final stages of preparing the new procurement policy, which will 'aggressively' pursue indigenisation, Defence Minister A K Antony said in Kochi on Monday.
"We have to provide better salaries and incentives to people joining the defence forces to enable the forces to compete with the other sectors," he said.
Border incursion, the finalisation of the Border Defence Coordination Agreement (BDCA), a new mechanism suggested by China last year for improving security at the borders, pending the final settlement of the territorial dispute, top Antony's agenda for talks.
With the country's armed forces and defence establishments making strides to become network-centric, Antony said cyber attacks would pose a major threat. He said with terrorist and non-state actors clandestinely acquiring sophisticated cyber technology, this threat could be more ominous.
No new deal on the modernisation of the Kiev class aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov will be signed during Defence Minister A K Antony's three-day Russia visit beginning Tuesday, the Indian envoy in Moscow said.
Union Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday said it would be difficult to have "permanent cooperation" in Indo-Pak relations without Islamabad dismantling terrorist camps functioning in Pakistan.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday said all members of the Union cabinet are equal, comments that come in the midst of a stand off between the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress on issues including the Number 2 slot to Sharad Pawar.
There was a clear difference in the welcomes for Lloyd Austin and Antony Blinken.
Senior Congress leader and former defence minister A K Antony on Sunday alleged that disengagement in both the Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso Lake areas and the creation of a buffer zone was a 'surrender' of India's rights.
A Cabinet minister tells Sheela Bhatt that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has taken a gamble on the FDI in retail issue and insists that the Congress party is with him.
A Cabinet minister tells Sheela Bhatt that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has taken a gamble on the FDI in retail issue and insists that the Congress party is with him.
"The minister has taken a serious view of such reports and wants Army Headquarters to probe these charges in depth," defence ministry officials said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday demanded Defence Minister A K Antony's resignation, upping the ante against the government over the controversy surrounding the army chief's allegation that he was offered a bribe for the clearance of Tatra truck contracts. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, BJP leader Prakash Javadekar asked whether the minister was patronising corruption as no action has been taken against anybody though a probe was ordered two years ago.
Former Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday acknowledged "corruption" in the AgustaWestland chopper deal.
Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Wednesday targeted Defence Minister A K Antony and Arvind Kejriwal, calling them "agents of Pakistan and enemies of India" and speaking its language.
Ruling out joining any military pact or alliance with other countries, Defence Minister A K Antony made it clear that India will not tone down or give up its growing engagements with major powers like the United States, Russia and others as these were aimed at increasing the capabilities of the Indian armed forces. He also said that the country's armament programmes were going at a steady pace.
Taking serious note of the incident where a merchant vessel M V Pavit ran aground at Mumbai coast on Sunday, Defence Minister A K Antony has asked Navy and Indian Coast Guard to submit a report as to how the abandoned ship entered Indian waters undetected.
the defence minister on China, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In the backdrop of the recent storm over alleged corruption in defence procurements, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said the country's interests were paramount and there will be "no cover up and no vendetta".
China, on Thursday, hosted Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Defence Minister AK Antony.
Against the backdrop of a terror attack on a Karachi naval base, Defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday asked the forces to maintain operational readiness as India is living in a "volatile neighbourhood".
Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday described the maiden test flight of the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile Agni 5 as an "immaculate success" and a "major milestone". "The nation stands tall today. We have joined the elite club of nations (to possess the ICBM capability)," Antony told Defence Research and Development Organisation chief Dr V K Saraswat on the phone after the test flight of the missile was declared successful today.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir during his day-long visit to the Valley.
India is capable of facing any threat to its security coming from any quarter, Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday said in the wake of a warning from a top al-Qaeda commander.
Defence Minister A K Antony has sacked a senior Navy officer for having sexual relations with a Russian woman in Moscow as head of the Indian team overseeing the refit of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov there.
In a new twist to the politically sensitive graft case in which he is an accused, CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan today filed a petition in a special court in Kochi seeking direction to the CBI to question Defence Minister A K Antony, the then chief minister of the state.
The "stern stand" and intervention of the Supreme Court and the Centre helped bring back the two Italian marines charged with killing two Indian fishermen, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Sunday.
"CBI has not investigated into the defence deal concerning the procurement of aircraft carrier Ex-Admiral Gorshkov," Defence Minister AK Antony told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. The minister's remarks assume significance as the deal is deadlocked with India still considering the Russian demand for a considerable price hike for the carrier, whose delivery has been delayed by over four years.
The government carries out a review of the defence procurement process every two years to make changes gained from experience and to incorporate new contract clauses for probity.
Speaking at the silver jubilee function of the Indian Coast Guard Aviation at Daman, Antony emphasised the need for faster modernisation of the Coast Guard in view of emerging seaward threat.
India on Wednesday said the terror attack on a naval base in Karachi was a cause of serious concern, particularly with regards to the safety of nuclear arsenal in Pakistan, but it does not want to overreact.
The Indian Navy has been hit by yet another alleged sex scandal as the wife of a senior officer has charged her husband with forcing her to get "sexually involved" with his colleagues, prompting Defence Minister A K Antony to order a probe.
The India-US strategic partnership is characterised by mutual trust and both sides are increasingly in agreement on key issues, such as countering China's aggression, promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific and addressing regional security challenges, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.
Taking note of the "complex security matrix" in the Indian Ocean region and "political developments", Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday asked the Indian Navy to maintain high levels of preparedness in the area.
Union Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday said India was building its defence capabilities just as China did.
With Intelligence inputs warning of a possible aerial terror attack, Defence Minister A K Antony today said the armed forces were ready to take on any future threats against the country. "We are ready for any eventuality," Antony told reporters while replying to a question on the sidelines of a function to honour war widows in New Delhi.
India's Future Main Battle Tank, the backbone of the army's strike power into the mid-21st century, languishes while the army continues an extended debate over its specifications.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday admitted that "somebody has taken money" in the AgustaWestland chopper deal that is mired by bribery allegations.As the Central Bureau of Investigation probes the bribery allegations into the controversial Rs 3,600 crore deal for the supply of VVIP choppers by the Anglo-Italian firm, Antony vowed that no mercy would be shown to anyone who has taken bribes. It is alleged that the deal involved Rs 362 crore in kickbacks.
