Ahead of Republic Day, the Indian Army announced on Thursday the addition of two new features to this year's parade: battlefield surveillance systems and a Defebce Research and Development Organisation tableau showcasing Pralay, short-range ballistic missiles.
One hopes in his next term, Narendra Modi will take up the mission of inculcating respect for following rules in Indians as a mission. Therein lies the chance for India to become a developed country, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
India on Saturday announced plans to amend its nuclear liability law and set up a nuclear energy mission, a move that came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to the United States.
Describing the mission as a "major milestone" in the development of BrahMos, the sources said that the air version of the missile was test-fired from supersonic fighter aircraft Sukhoi 30 MK-I at 10.30 am.
Government sources said that since the allegations were of a serious nature, the CBI has been asked to probe.
The vehicle can be used as an aerial target for evaluation of various missile systems.
'Our politicians solely depend on bureaucrats who are unaccountable and follow their own agenda.' 'Our politicians would dare not dream of establishing a DOGE,' argues Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The test was carried out by DRDO against a high-speed unmanned aerial target which was successfully intercepted by the missile.
Experts said India has possessed the anti-missile technology for several years but needed the political go-ahead to actually test it in live conditions.
We have nothing to gain by raising our concerns internationally as our narrative has got entangled with several controversial concepts in the United Nations, asserts Ambassador T N Sreenivasan.
Eminent scientist S Christopher was on Thursday appointed as the director general of the Defence Research and Development Organisation for a two-year term.
'The procurement cycle still consumes too much time; little has changed.'
Its 'failure not just affects the military's effectiveness but could also be politically vulnerable for the BJP,' observes Ajai Shukla.
On both the occasions, the missiles intercepted the simulated targets with pinpoint accuracy. The missiles were tested for minimum and maximum range.
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.
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 missile was fired from a ground mobile launcher at launch pad number-1 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) near here at 3.55 pm, and it hit the target with accuracy, the sources said.
This firing is a significant step towards achieving self-reliance in niche missile technology. Navy said.
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.
Like the Shourya and Prahar missiles, the Pralay is powered by conventional solid fuel, and its payload is designed to carry only a conventional warhead.
A land-attack version of the missile was test-launched from Launch Pad-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR). An air force variant was fired from an IAF fighter jet over Bay of Bengal.
Of the total proposed allocation, over Rs 1 lakh crore is meant for BSNL and MTNL-related expenses, including Rs 82,916 crore infusion in BSNL for technology upgradation and restructuring at BSNL.
The BrahMos export order would be the biggest for the country in this field and is likely to propel India amongst arms exporting countries as more orders for the missile are expected from other friendly countries.
'With India's growing capabilities in the space sector, this creates promising opportunities for enhanced collaboration and market access.'
Free provision of food, cash transfers, and jobs in villages see enhanced flow of funds despite a precipitous fall in revenue. Till May, defence spend was nearly 30 per cent less than the previous year.
As India and the United States are set to begin negotiations on two transformational deals -- Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) and Reciprocal Defence Procurement Agreement (RDP) -- the Pentagon has said that the defence industries of the two nations will come together once the negotiations conclude.
Coming down heavily on the Maharashtra government, the apex court castigated it saying the state has huge amount to "waste on freebies" but does not have money to compensate to a private party which lost land to it "illegally".
Experts reckon that the group, linked to terrorist outfit, stole DRDO scientists' profiles to look for potential candidates.
'If businessmen should be included in the political process -- which is essential in my opinion -- they need to have the freedom to express themselves and to take stands against the government of the day, without fear of reprisals and attacks on their business.'
"The amended second draft (known as DAP) has since been finalised by the review committee driven by tenets of defence reforms announced as part of the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' and has been placed in the public domain," the ministry said.
Aero India, the largest air show in Asia and one of the world's most important military aviation exhibitions, is all set to kick-start at Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bangalore, from February 6 to 11.
The nuclear nonproliferation lobby has urged the United States administration to ensure that America's dual-use technology is not diverted by New Delhi to its nuclear weapons programme.
The United States has set in motion regulatory changes to lift the ban on India's frontline technology establishments Indian Space Research Organisation and Defence Research and Development Organisation and their removal from the entities list could come soon, top American officials have indicated. A formal notification of the US Department of Commerce for this is in the advanced stage, they said.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will hold crucial talks with the top US leadership, including his counterpart Jake Sullivan, on the first high-level dialogue on Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET).
The end goal of defence procurement should be not import or indeginisation but securing the country through able and ready armed forces, says Air Marshal P V Athawale (retd)
'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.'
Once deployed and operational, it will be used to support the satellite imagery requirements of various agencies within the government of Singapore.
While Pakistan enjoys rough parity with India in legacy weapon systems, it is beginning to enjoy superiority in drone warfare, thanks to the RPVs supplied by China, explains Ajai Shukla.
'A veiled secret of India's defence and strategic culture is the lack of a serious interest in them by the political class. The Indian National Defence University would fill this void,' feels Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd).
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
