India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has arrived in Beijing for a two-day visit during which he will hold talks with Chinese officials. The visit comes amid ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and to resume bilateral cooperation in various fields, including the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
In order to review the security situation and the state of preparedness of the armed forces, Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday held a meeting with the three service chiefs and senior defence ministry officials. "The minister held a meeting with the chiefs of the three services and the defence secretary to review the overall security situation and to take stock of the state of preparedness of the armed forces," a defence ministry official said.
The country's deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova said that Ukraine 'regrets' the defence ministry's depiction of goddess Kali in a 'distorted manner' and that the European country 'respects unique Indian culture and highly appreciates support from India'.
The statement of the Russian Defence Ministry comes after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed to have taken control of military facilities in two Russian cities.
The government on Tuesday decided to set up a committee of secretaries to fast-track implementation of infrastructure projects along the border with China.
India and Qatar on Tuesday agreed to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership and double bilateral trade to USD 28 billion over the next five years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani signed agreements and MoUs to strengthen economic cooperation, including a revised double taxation avoidance agreement. The strategic partnership will cover the "entire spectrum" of the bilateral relationship, including trade, energy security, and regional and international cooperation. Both leaders also discussed ways to further strengthen and broaden the energy partnership, including "exploring mutual investments." The Amir's visit provided an "excellent opportunity" for the top leadership of the two countries to discuss and "cement a strategic partnership for enhanced future cooperation."
A strategist and a quintessential political leader with grassroots connect, Rajnath Singh is credited with expanding the Bharatiya Janata Party's organisational network in the Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh in the 1990s and the subsequent decades.
As Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi, United States President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met at the Kantei palace in Tokyo on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, to give the Quad a boost, Chinese and Russian warplanes on Tuesday conducted joint air patrols over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the West Pacific Ocean.
In a major development, India is planning to buy 26 Rafale fighter aircraft and three Scorpene class conventional submarines from France.
The defence minister has 20 months to learn the military's ethos, culture and to publicly bat for an organisation that feels increasingly marginalised and underappreciated.
The tensions between the two countries continue to remain high as several suspected drones launched from Lebanon were shot down by Israeli air defences on Sunday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.
The Battle of Lhagyala on November 23, 1962, fought by the 4 Rajput Regiment against the Chinese PLA, remains a forgotten chapter of heroism, with no survivors left to tell their story.
The defence ministry is considering the demand made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha to send back two Sri Lankan officers training in the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington in the state.
'This was a decision taken and executed by Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottu Amman. Both were convinced that the assassination would not be linked to them.'
The Indian Diaspora has been able to carve a niche in their adopted countries as a result of their talent, perseverance and hardworking nature, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
India is working with the US on an "early" visit to Washington by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to further deepen the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the two countries, the External Affairs Ministry said on Friday. Following a phone conversation with Modi this week, US President Donald Trump said the Indian prime minister "is going to be coming to the White House, over next month, probably February". It would be Modi's first bilateral visit to Washington after Trump became US president for a second term. While confirming discussions between India and the US on the proposed visit, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal did not mention any possible time-line for the trip. In their phone conversation on January 27, Modi and Trump vowed to work towards a "trusted" partnership with a focus on boosting India-US cooperation in areas of trade, energy and defence. "PM Modi and President Trump had a telephone conversation recently. The two sides are working on an early visit of the PM to the US to further deepen India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing while replying to a question. "Specific dates for the visit would be announced at the appropriate time," he said. It is learnt that both sides were initially looking at the window between February 12-14 for Modi's visit but there has been no finality on it yet. The prime minister is set to travel to Paris to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action summit on February 10 and 11. Though the US president has also been invited to the summit, his participation is not yet confirmed.
'Defence does not new 'planning commissions'; it needs an implementation commission.'
The Chinese military on Thursday said the situation along the India-China border 'at present' is 'generally stable' and both sides have maintained 'effective' communication to resolve the military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
China on Monday signed a defence cooperation agreement with the Maldives to provide free military assistance to foster "stronger" bilateral ties with Male, weeks after President Mohamed Muizzu set a deadline for the withdrawal of the first group of Indian military personnel from his island nation.
A critical drug developed on a DRDO technology for radiological and nuclear emergencies has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), the defence ministry said on Tuesday.
The defence ministry said the test-flight was carried out on Wednesday evening and it met all the trial objectives, validating the reliable performance, as confirmed from the data captured by a number of range sensors deployed at different locations.
The new minister must commit himself to supporting long-term defence plans or else defence modernisation will continue to lag and the growing military capabilities gap with China will assume ominous proportions, warns Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The United States has approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, to India. The decision was announced by President Donald Trump during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House. India is currently working on the logistics of Rana's surrender and extradition, with several final steps to be completed before he is sent back to India. The joint statement issued by India and the US during Prime Minister Modi's visit reaffirmed their commitment to fighting terrorism and eliminating terrorist safe havens. The leaders also called on Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently lodged at a metropolitan detention center in Los Angeles. He is associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
The Airbus C-295 can carry up to 71 troops, or 50 paratroopers with battle loads. It can ferry supplies to locations inaccessible to the IAF's heavy transport fleet.
Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) make public its findings from the "box of evidence" received from Switzerland regarding the Bofors payoffs. Subramaniam, author of 'Boforsgate: A Journalist's Pursuit of Truth', expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the evidence, questioning who opened the box, when it was opened, and what it contained. She also raised doubts about the official narrative regarding the alleged bribe in the Bofors case, suggesting the sum of Rs 64 crore may not reflect the full extent of the corruption. Subramaniam also alleged that the CBI planted stories about Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan to derail the investigation and launched a political vendetta against the Bachchans. She recalled that Bachchan had come to her home and asked if she had seen his name. The CBI has recently requested assistance from the United States in the case, seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who claims to have crucial details about the scandal. The Bofors scandal, a major bribery case involving the Indian government and the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in the 1980s, pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers.
The contracts for the procurement of the platforms and weapons systems were signed in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and defence secretary Giridhar Aramane, under whose guidance these deals fructified, an official readout said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into allegations of Pakistan links of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi's British wife Elizabeth Colburn. Sarma alleged that Colburn had visited Pakistan after her marriage and that there are apprehensions of ISI infiltration into the Chief Minister's Office when Gogoi's father, the late Tarun Gogoi, was the chief minister. Sarma also shared screenshots of social media posts by Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, an advisor of the Pakistan Planning Commission and a former colleague of Colburn, claiming that the relationship between the Gogois and Sheikh appeared to be "deeply rooted." Sarma's allegations have been rejected by the Congress as "laughable and entertaining."
A 37-year-old man accused of raping a woman inside a bus at Swargate bus station in Pune was arrested after a days-long manhunt. The accused, Dattaray Ramdas Gade, was hiding in a paddy field in his native Shirur tehsil. Police used drones and sniffer dogs to track him down.
The Taliban regime has appointed Ikramuddin Kamil as the acting consul in the Afghan mission in Mumbai, Afghan media has reported. This is the first such appointment made by the Taliban set up to any Afghan mission in India. The appointment, announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, is seen as an effort to strengthen diplomatic ties with India and enhance its presence abroad. Kamil, who holds a PhD degree in international law, is expected to facilitate consular services and represent the interests of Afghanistan in India.
Presenting the Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal also said Rs 35,000 crore has been given under the One Rank One Pension scheme in the last three years.
The father of Shariful Islam, the Bangladeshi man accused of stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan, claims his son was framed and is seeking help from the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry and the Indian High Commission for his release. He alleges that Shariful was living in India illegally without proper documentation and was in fear of arrest. Ruhul claims his son was not the person seen in the CCTV footage and believes there might be a conspiracy. He says Shariful left Bangladesh after the re-election of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, fearing for his safety.
'With the new DPP, there will be greater transparency and faster clearances.'
Lebanon's health ministry said that women, children and medics were among those who were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, according to CNN report. Earlier, the Israeli army announced it struck about 300 targets across Lebanon on Monday.
The advisory has asked government staffers to delete such an e-mail if received in their inbox.
The outlay for defence sector almost remained unchanged compared to what was allocated in the interim budget on February 1.
The Indian government has refused to accept recommendations for a 10% pension increase for retired regular Army captains under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme. The Supreme Court heard an appeal by the government challenging an Armed Forces Tribunal order that mandated a decision on pension for retired captains. The government's decision not to accept the recommendations has led to a delay in resolving pension anomalies for these officers. The case will be heard again on December 12, 2023.
The key platforms that India has been exporting are Dornier-228 aircraft, 155 mm Advanced Towed Artillery Guns (ATAGs), Brahmos missiles, Akash missile system, radars, mine protected vehicles, armoured vehicles, Pinaka rockets and launchers, ammunition, thermal imagers and various components of avionics and small arms.
The IAF had signed a contract for five squadrons of the S-400 air defence missile systems of which three units were received in time but two squadrons have not yet been supplied.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on the sidelines of the SCO defence ministerial conclave in Delhi, people familiar with the matter said.
For the first time, the government on Wednesday delegated financial powers for capital procurement projects worth up to Rs 200 crore to armed forces officials below the level of vice chiefs to help them meet emerging security challenges, officials said.
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