'We failed as a country because those who should have been there to say goodbye did not show up.'
In an unprecedented move, Defence Minister A K Antony has granted one-time special sanction to the Indian Air Force to grant commission to a flying cadet from Manipur paralysed below the waist due to injuries in an air crash.
"As per a report published in March 2012 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India has become the largest importer of arms during 2007-11 and accounted for 10 per cent of global arms import as compared to to Chinese share of five per cent", Defence Minister A K told the House in a written reply.
The dust over the controversy around foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector appears to have settled.
Indicating that all 18 crew members in the ill-fated submarine INS Sindhurakshak have died, Defence Minister A K Antony today said treating it as a "special case", compensation would be given to their families.
'Narendra Modi knows how to calculate and remain pragmatic. Take the unexpected Rafale deal - perhaps the first time a PM has considered the country's defence procurement as a priority, over the considerations of the babus... and over his own pet project 'Make in India',' says Claude Arpi.
United States President Joe Biden is not travelling to India next month to grace the Republic Day celebrations as the Chief Guest, and New Delhi is looking at holding the next Quad summit later next year instead of its earlier plan to host it in January, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
'It is time India calibrated a policy of what Indira Gandhi called equi-proximity rather than equi-distance between the US and Russia.'
Defending his move to initiate disciplinary action against former military secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash in the Sukna land scam, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor said it was the 'best course of action' he took after analysing the facts of the case and on the advice of Union Defence Minister A K Antony.
Congress may give a privilege motion notice against the prime minister and Sitharaman.
The Biden administration has reaffirmed its commitment to support India's permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council and New Delhi's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group.
'Even at Galwan Valley, our soldiers are now not allowed to patrol at the point at which they used to patrol earlier. In the Pangong area, in a more than eight-kilometre area they are not allowing us to patrol, the area which we used to patrol. Previously, we used to patrol till Finger 8 and now we are not being allowed to patrol till Finger 8'
The Indian Air Force has been asked to speed up its inquiry into an incident in Chhattisgarh where its security guards had allegedly abandoned an injured policeman and an armed chopper, Defence Ministry A K Antony said on Wednesday1.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on 'CNN This Morning' that 'the President still believes that a reoccupation of Gaza by Israeli forces is not good. It's not good for Israel; it's not good for the Israeli people'.
The conservative bureaucracy that influences the political masters is clearly not concerned with the vision documents prepared by defence chiefs to bring India's military into a state of preparedness, says Seema Mustafa
Sitharaman said the weapon systems, avionics and other key add-ons to the Rafale aircraft, will be 'much superior' than that negotiated by the UPA.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday hosted a farewell dinner for Army Chief General V KSingh who retires on May 31.
India is developing a 5,000 km-range Agni ballistic missile, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Monday.
Warning against the danger of weapons of mass destruction falling into wrong hands, Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday said nations will need to work together to defeat such challenges.
The virtual meeting comes in the midst of some disquiet in Washington over India's position on the Ukraine crisis as well as its decision to procure discounted Russian oil.
The squadron, named INAS 303 Black Panthers, will be commissioned on May 11 by the Defence Minister at INS Hansa Naval base in the state, Indian Navy PRO said.
Nearly 700 scientists have resigned from India's premier military research body Defence Research and Development Organisation in little less than six years from 2007, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Wednesday.
The 2+2 was attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and their Indian counterparts S Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh respectively.
'It was Parrikar's sharp insights into finance and international systems that stood out when India --at his suggestion -- decided to procure the Rafale combat jets from France.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said the Tatra scam was the second biggest after the Bofors scam and demanded immediate resignation of Defence Minister A K Antony for allegedly patronising corruption. "This (Tatra) is the second biggest scam after the Bofors scam and it has exposed the fact that the weapons of our soldiers are not up to standard," BJP national spokesperson Prakash Javdekar told a press conference.
From the seas to the stars, this partnership will now be deepened by the defining role of technology, the statement said.
A top military official, Lt Gen Awadesh Prakash, allegedly involved in the Sukna land scam faces court martial with the Union Defence Minister A K Antony asking army chief General Deepak Kapoor to initiate disciplinary action against the officer.
'Countries like Israel said openly that they will hunt people down. We have no such policy.' 'We have always been following the legal process of getting them (people wanted by India) through extradition.'
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has opposed a Group of Ministers' recommendation to set up the long-awaited National War Memorial at the India Gate complex, saying it will affect the ambience of the area and restrict people's movement at the popular hangout zone. In separate letters to Defence Minister A K Antony, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, she said an alternative site should be found for the memorial.
'Vote banks will change affiliations and the BJP will come out with good success in Kerala.'
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday sought to downplay the battle of attrition between Indian Army chief General V K Singh and the government.
With Defence Minister A K Antony rejecting her opposition to build a national war memorial at the India Gate, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has sought United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi's intervention on the issue.
'This incident offers ammunition to those inside the US government and elsewhere who question the wisdom of trusting India, so it will have a lasting consequence no matter how it is managed.'
The United States on Wednesday promised to initiate measures to provide access to dual use technology to India which has been contending that American norms were leading to denial of export of such sophisticated items.
US authorities have been scrambling to establish how many Americans have been killed or taken hostage in the conflict.
The government is looking into the complaints about the procedure to determine the winner of the multi-billion dollar combat aircraft deal, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Thursday while admitting that there was no money to sign such a big deal in this fiscal.
The demand for action by Pakistan was made through a joint statement issued after the 2+2 ministerial attended by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The long wait for the global arms industry is drawing to a close. Top sources in the Ministry of Defence have confirmed to Business Standard that a revamped policy for defence procurement and production is almost finalised.
Intelligence agencies have reported that Kashmiri youngsters, including former militants, from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Pakistan are attempting to enter India via Nepal, Defence Minister A K Antony said today.
The over Rs 50,000-crore deal for supplying 126 Rafale combat aircraft and the security situation in the Af-Pak region are understood to have been discussed during the Defence Minister-level talks between India and France in New Delhi on Friday.
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