'Indian Army officers always lead their men into battle or combat. Pakistani officers are seldom seen at the front.'
The centre is working towards gradually bringing down the import content in the defence sector.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that India and the United States have set a $500 billion target for bilateral trade by 2030 and added that the teams of two nations will work together to finalise a mutually beneficial trade agreement.
'For the Indian economy to maintain a growth rate of 7 to 8 per cent, it needs large foreign direct investment coming in, and that's mainly coming from the US.'
In an eventful week ahead, stock market investors will take cues from major events like the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, the upcoming Union Budget and Q3 earnings, analysts said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have vowed to move forward with plans to work together to build US-designed nuclear reactors in India. The decision was made during their meeting at the White House, where they also agreed to significantly expand energy cooperation. The move comes after India announced plans to amend its nuclear liability law and the Atomic Energy Act, which had previously been obstacles to the implementation of the US-India civil nuclear deal.
Singh made the remarks while addressing a "CEOs' Roundtable" at the 14th edition of Aero India at the Yelahanka Air Force station complex on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
The move drew criticism from the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad. Its president Mahant Ravindra Puri said that Mulayam Singh Yadav had always been "anti-Hindu and anti-Sanatan".
'We not only have to secure our national interests but also prepare for new national security challenges like cyber warfare and terrorism.'
India has its share of both large tech companies and large national laboratories, but why is it that these don't seem to be at the forefront of any innovation news headlines? asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
China on Tuesday announced that its Defence Minister General Li Shangfu will visit India this week to attend the meeting of SCO defence ministers from April 27 during which he is expected to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on ending the prolonged eastern Ladakh standoff which has severely strained bilateral ties.
The defence and aerospace sectors have seen at least over Rs 10,000 crore worth of MoUs being signed during the summit.
Anil Ambani will take over as the chairman of Pipavav Defence
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.
In less than two months since the announcement in March, the state has mobilised an armada of small and medium enterprises keen on making components for large equipment manufacturers.
The government on Tuesday decided to set up a committee of secretaries to fast-track implementation of infrastructure projects along the border with China.
Defence Minister A K Antony has shot down Commerce Ministry's proposal to raise Foreign Direct Investment in defence from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, saying it will be a "retrograde" step and "stymie" the growth of the domestic industry while increasing dependence on foreign manufacturers.
The industry ministry on Monday proposed foreign direct investment up to 74 per cent in the defence sector from the present 26 per cent, stating urgent upgrade of equipment in the armed forces was needed as a bulk of them suffered from obsolescence.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday released the third list of over 101 military systems and weapons that will come under an import ban over the next five years and be developed indigenously, in a fresh impetus to the Indian armament industry.
Access to India's defence market must be made conditional -- available only to those who are ready to make a long-term commitment in India, argues Ajai Shukla.
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.
'Trump administration wanted a positive tone at this summit, but there was still some anxiety that there could be some awkward moments -- and there were not.'
'While my generation carries with it the memory of the Chinese perfidy of 1962, this generation will carry the memory of Chinese perfidy in Galwan.'
Clearly, he is in the right place, at the right time.
Trump spoke approvingly of his recent telephone conversation with Xi Jinping. This could indicate the possibility of America and China reaching some level of tactical accommodation, which would not be good news for India, points out Ambassador Shyam Saran, a former foreign secretary.
The India-United States relationship is set to expand under the Donald Trump administration, but there could be some unease on issues like imports, tariffs and immigration, strategic affairs experts said after the Republican leader won the fiercely contested presidential election.
A piece of slightly negative news can cause a serious setback, warns Debashis Basu.
To boost Make in India in defence production, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said foreign direct investment limit in defence manufacturing will be hiked to 74 per cent from 49 per cent while some weapons and platforms will be banned for imports.
'80% of start ups fail because they don't have a support system to help them in the very early phase.' 'It's not just an idea that takes an entrepreneur through the initial three years of journey.' 'What plays a definitive role in making a start-up successful is idea+team+capital+mentors+access to a larger ecosystem.'
In a major liberalisation, the government on Thursday allowed manufacturing of several hundreds of equipment and products in the defence sector without licence.
The opposition on Sunday asked the Centre to allow discussions in the Parliament on the United States prosecutors' bribery charges against the Adani Group even as Union minister Kiren Rijiju made it clear that the matters to be taken up in the two Houses will be decided by their authorised committees with the consent of the respective Chair.
Thousands of police personnel and CCTV cameras were deployed and traffic regulated across states on Tuesday to ensure public safety and prevent any untoward incident as the country geared up to welcome 2025.
'Investors looking at the next 6-12 months can be certain that the Fed will maintain its easing cycle, and we expect the overall environment to be conducive for fixed income investments for portfolio diversification.'
The defence budget was increased to Rs 5.94 lakh crore for 2023-24, up from last year's allocation of Rs 5.25 lakh crore.
In the Union Budget presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a total of Rs 1,52,369 crore has been set aside for capital expenditure that includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.
The dust over the controversy around foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector appears to have settled.
'While criticising India's high tariffs, Mr Trump stated he would impose reciprocal taxes on Indian products if re-elected.' 'However, since India's tariffs follow WTO rules, Mr Trump's actions would violate these rules,' Ajay Srivastava points out.
A powerful senatorial committee on Wednesday is set to consider a bipartisan resolution to recognise Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India, pushing back against China's military aggression to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control.
The defence sector is seeing renewed interest by Indian corporates, says Jyoti Mukul
According to the original timeline, the ships were to be delivered by 2022, they said, attributing the delays in the delivery to Russia's war in Ukraine.
