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 AK Antony on Monday asked the top brass of the Armed Forces to work in unison and make cyber systems as secure and as non-porous as possible, adding that cyber-warfare is becoming a serious threat to security.
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.
The Indian Military is facing a shortage of around 13,000 officers and 53,700 personnel below officer rank with the army accounting for bulk of vacancies, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Monday.
For Indo-Pak talks to succeed, Islamabad will have to put an end to cross-border terrorism, Antony said, while addressing top army commanders here for their bi-annual conference.
His background as an Indian Institute of Technology graduate and as a chief minister with an excellent track record as an administrator equipped him to initiate defence industry and policy reforms that are only now beginning to bear fruit.
Defence Minister A K Antony ruled out any plans for offensive action against Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden despite an increase in piracy- related incidents.
Sonia asked CWC members "to begin deliberations towards the process of transition to relieve her from the duty of party chief"
Union Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday reiterated that the terror camps located in Pakistan, which are close to the Indian border, pose a threat to the nation's security. Antony's statement came close on the heels of the statement by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who warned chief ministers from across India on Monday that Pakistan based terror outfits are planning further attacks in India.
Amid protests over killing of a youth in firing in Bandipora district of Kashmir, the Army on Thursday said the recovery of weapons alongside the deceased indicated that he was a militant and ruled out any inquiry in the matter.
Defence Minister A K Antony fainted during the passing out parade ceremony at the National Defence Academy in Kharag Vasla, Pune on Saturday morning.The minister first fainted at the commencement of the ceremony. A chair was brought for him. Antony then took the salute and addressed the cadets. He fainted a second time when the cadets were marching off. Taken to his car, the defence minister observed the conclusion of the ceremony from his vehicle.
"Defence officials should adopt a humane approach towards the requirements of ex-servicemen to highlight the fact that while the country acknowledges the sacrifices being made by the jawans when they are in active service, it does not forget them after their retirement," Antony advised.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday warned that security forces will experience a 'hot summer' this year as those hostile to India's interest are trying to infiltrate more and more terrorists into the country."Those inimical to India's interest are sending more and more terrorists across the border and the summer is going to be a hot summer as far as security is concerned," Antony told reporters.
Downplaying reports of India losing territory to China in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said there was 'no change' in the Line of Actual Control.Antony said the issue was raised at a meeting he had with Jammu and Kashmir government officials and Army officers in Jammu on Tuesday, where the Army Corps Commander for Ladakh had categorically reported that there was not much change in the situation along the LAC.
The government on Monday warned of strict action against anybody found guilty of irregularities and malpractices in arms deals as the vigilance authorities of the defence ministry have unearthed wrongdoings in some ongoing deals.
Antony asked the commanders to be more vigilant and to take appropriate steps in the light of Sunday's developments in Afghanistan which saw a series of suicide bomb attacks, defence ministry officials said.
Defence Minister A K Antony, on Thursday, carried out an in-depth review of coastal security mechanism put in place post-26/11 and ordered Navy and Coast Guard to quickly integrate all maritime agencies into the security grid to plug "gaps" in the apparatus.
Defence Minister A K Antony said on Friday that the truce between Pakistan and Taliban has added to India's "worries" over the security scenario in the region.
Taken by surprise by the decision of an Italian judge to include Defence Minister A K Antony as a possible witness in a trial relating to corruption in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, India on Monday night ruled out his appearance in the court.
India, on Thursday, said infiltration from Pakistan has declined in the recent past, but the threat from terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir is "real" and there is no question of lowering the guard. "Of late, there has been a decline in infiltration in the borders but we cannot say it is an improvement," Defence Minister A K Antony told media-persons after addressing the Unified Commanders' Conference in New Delhi.
Giving his assessment of the situation in Kashmir, General Singh complimented the army for bringing down the level of violence in the state.
Amid the raging controversy over his statement on the Poonch killings, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the situation on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, where five troops were recently killed in an ambush.
Defence Minister A K Antony Wednesday downplayed as an "internal family matter" the spat after Union home ministry raised serious questions over Indian Air Force personnel allegedly abandoning an injured policeman and an armed chopper which made an emergency landing following Maoist fire.
"We hope to introduce the new Defence Production Policy as well as the Defence Procurement Policy from January 20100. We are going to take some drastic steps to achieve our goal of speedy indigenisation," Defence Minister A K Antony announced in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The Defence Ministry is likely to complete the computerisation of records of all the land under it by the end of this month, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. "Computerisation of land records is already going on and is likely to be completed by March 2011. Steps have been initiated to streamline proper management of defence land and its protection," Defence Minister A K Antony said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
Was the defence minister kept in the dark with the PMO directly dealing with the then defence secretary in the matter of General V K Singh's birth date? Was the trust deficit between the government and the then army chief so wide that instead of communicating directly with General Singh and the defence minister, the PMO and other arms of the government were depending on half-baked inputs from the Intelligence Bureau?
A total of 162 soldiers of undivided India have been laid to rest in 17 locations in Germany. Of these, 50 have been commemorated in the Berlin War Cemetery. These soldiers belong to Indian Armoured Corps, Indian Artillery, Infantry, Royal Indian Army Service Corps, Madras Sappers and Miners, Indian Army Remount Corps and Indian Army Ordnance Corps.
The region already faces a problem from sea pirates and the terror threat had dimensions of bringing in non-State actors as well as agents of transnational crimes, Antony said while inaugurating an 'International Maritime Search and Rescue Conference 2008' in New Delhi. There should be a continuous vigil by the organisations like Coast Guard as well as maritime forces in the region, he said, adding that cooperation with other countries, including China, was vital.
Expressing concern over Chinese military infrastructure buildup, Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday said India was working to match it to protect the country's territory and build an effective deterrence.
Preliminary investigations have indicated that blasts on submarine INS Sindhurakshak were caused by "possible ignition" of armament, Defence Minister A K Antony said.
China on Monday said cooperation between countries should not undermine regional peace and stability and target any third party, as it reacted to a host of defence and commercial pacts recently signed between India and the US including joint production of jet engines in India to power military aircraft and a deal on armed drones.
Against the backdrop of recent suicides and fratricides by jawans and stand-offs between them and officers, Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday asked the armed forces to adopt a liberal approach to jawans' pleas for leave and respond promptly.
Defence Minister A K Antony will co-chair the commission meeting with Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to hold talks on a wide-ranging agenda of military technical cooperation, covering key spheres, including timely delivery of contracted military systems, in the light of the reported settlement of the cost-escalation issue and supply of defence systems.
Upset over the poor infrastructure along the Sino-Indian border in Sikkim, Defence Minister A K Antony on Sunday said he would "vigorously" pursue for taking urgent steps to develop the frontier areas to match China.
Veena Kohli, mother of Captain Sumit Kohli who died under mysterious circumstances in 2006, on Saturday met Defence Minister A K Antony and demanded an independent probe into her son's death. Kohli, who was accompanied by her daughter Namrata and her advocate Major Guneep Chaudhary, appealed to Antony to provide justice to the family as she believes her son was murdered at the Army residential complex in Jammu and Kashmir by his fellow officers.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Sunday said there was no question of any compromise with regard to the case relating to the two Italian marines who had allegedly shot dead two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast in February 2012.
During the nearly two-hour meeting that lasted almost till midnight at 10 Janpath, Mukherjee, the government's pointsman on the deal with United Progressive Alliance allies and the Left parties, and Antony apprised Sonia of the talks they had with leaders of the constituents of the ruling alliance and the Communist Party of India-Marxist and CPI in the last two days. Emerging from the meeting, neither Mukherjee nor Antony spoke to the media.
As Antony talked to army officers and journalists accompanying him, several camera flashes went off on the Pakistani side.
"The scientists have produced results. It is excellent...up to the point," he said.
The Congress leader also raised questions over the security along the Line of Control with Pakistan, saying the incident has affected the prestige, respect and morale of the Indian Army.
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