In a strong response to China's objection to development of infrastructure on the Indian side of the LAC, New Delhi also asserted that Beijing has no locus standi to comment on India's internal matters.
The epicentre of the tremor, which occurred at 12.30 am, was at Rangapara in central Assam's Sonitpur district.
Video footage showed 'Himveers' dressed in white uniforms and chanting slogans of -- Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram as the tricolour flies high. Two of the soldiers were seen holding the tricolour as they marched in the snow.
The defence budget was on Thursday increased to Rs 6.21 lakh crore for 2024-25 in a modest hike of 4.72 per cent from last year's allocation of Rs 5.25 lakh crore amid India's continuing border row with China in eastern Ladakh as well as concerns over evolving security situation in the strategic waterways.
'It is only when Beijing sees a country with an infirm political will such as India that it acts up as the PLA has done in eastern Ladakh.'
The government is set to clear a proposal to raise a dozen battalions and induct close to 12,000 fresh personnel in the Indo-China border guarding force ITBP to bolster the force's presence along this strategic frontier.
The two sides held diplomatic talks through video conference on the border standoff in midst of fresh details emerging that China has strengthened its position in several areas in eastern Ladakh including Galwan Valley where a violent clash on June 15 left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
He also declared that 34,000 posts of paramilitary constables were upgraded as head constables.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Arunachal Pradesh on Friday, February 20, irritated the Chinese government so much that it summoned the Indian ambassador to register its protest against Modi visiting a territory China claims as Southern Tibet.
The move, which was approved by the Union home ministry, comes amid a military standoff with China in the eastern Ladakh area.
This is the first such incident along the border with China that Indian armed forces personnel have been killed after a gap of nearly 45 years.
Twenty Indian Army personnel including a colonel were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on the night of June 15 in the biggest military confrontation between the two countries in over five decades.
India and China made progress in five-six friction points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh through talks in the last three years and efforts are underway to resolve the remaining issues, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.
Two days after four Maoist leaders were killed in Sadiya in eastern Assam bordering Arunachal Pradesh in first ever major operation against Maoists in the state, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said that the Maoists have already set up bases in all upper Assam districts and were expanding towards other parts of the state.
Front-line bases of the Indian army and the air force along the nearly 3,500 km de-facto border with China were Wednesday put on high alert in view of the worst border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh that left 20 Army personnel dead, official sources said.
The development comes after the army said India lost an officer and two soldiers during the violent face-off, while there were casualties on the Chinese side as well in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the first such incident in the last 45 years that reflected massive escalation in the five-week border row.
The next general elections will be held in constituencies redrawn by the delimitation exercise, as per a decision taken by the Union Cabinet on Thursday. The Cabinet adopted an ordinance to defer the delimitation exercise in Jharkhand and four north eastern states-- Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh
India and Chinese troops on Saturday exchanged sweets and greetings at 10 border posts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) including in eastern Ladakh to mark the New Year, officials said.
Angry over the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, China on Tuesday said it was 'strongly dissatisfied' with India for allowing the Tibetan spiritual leader to travel to the state, over which it lays claim. On the third day of the Dalai Lama's visit to Tawang, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China 'firmly' opposed the trip, which was 'separatist' in nature. "We firmly oppose the Dalai Lama's visit to the region," said a senior official.
Observers say China should re-address its policies towards India or else it will continue to face flare-ups increasing the tensions between the two countries at a time China's increasing tension with the US over Taiwan and the South China Sea besides the downturn in the Chinese economy which is hit hard by the zero-covid policy.
"The season averaged maximum temperatures in Himachal Pradesh, West Rajasthan, Konkan, Goa, Coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh are likely to be higher than normal by 0.5-1.0 degree Celsius," the Met department has said in its forecast.
A group of shepherds were asked to vacate the land by troops of the PLA.
Having the ITBP and the Army at the same operational location will resolve these issues as well, the sources said.
A new report compiled by the WWF titled 'Eastern Himalayas -- Where the Worlds Collide' mentions the discovery 244 plants, 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, 2 birds, 2 mammals and at least 60 new invertebrates.
After a gap of over three months, India and China on Wednesday are holding another round of high-level military talks to resolve the 20-month-long military standoff in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, sources in the security establishment said.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria was at the Leh IAF base on Wednesday where he reviewed operational preparedness of the force in effectively guarding the sensitive border areas in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese armies have been on a nearly six-week standoff.
The central government on Monday appointed Army Vice Chief Lieutenant General Manoj Pande as the next chief of Indian Army.
'The Bharat Ratna should have been given a long time ago. Not just to irk the Chinese, but to recognise His Holiness for what he is and how we have benefited immensely from his presence in India.' 'I don't think there's been a better ambassador for India's philosophical and cultural past than the Dalai Lama.'
More than six hotel chains are looking at either building properties or expanding their presence in these states. ITC's WelcomHeritage brand, for instance, is scouting for properties in Nagaland and Kaziranga, Assam. The hotel, however, is already there in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya.
Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retired) will assume charge as India's new Chief of Defence Staff on Friday, an appointment that is expected to bring the focus back on the implementation of the ambitious theaterisation drive to bring synergy among the three services.
Dai Bingguo, who served as the China's boundary negotiator with India from 2003 to 2013, told Chinese media, "If the Indian side takes care of China's concerns in the eastern sector of their border, the Chinese side will respond accordingly and address India's concerns elsewhere."
The "caution level" among the troops has also been raised.
Designer Yana Ngoba has teamed up with fabric designer Nabam Aka to bring to life the loin loom at the upcoming London Fashion Week.
The Congress on Friday questioned the silence of the government on the veracity of a video which purportedly shows injured Indian soldiers in captivity of the Chinese and said if it is genuine, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi must ensure that China is held globally accountable for indulging in war crimes.
The seventh round of military talks between India and China held on Monday was "positive and constructive", and both sides agreed to earnestly implement the understanding reached by their leaders to not turn differences into disputes, a joint statement by the two armies said on Tuesday.
Throughout its standoff with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Chinese officials sought to downplay the severity of the crisis, emphasising Beijing's intent to preserve border stability and prevent the standoff from harming other areas of its bilateral relationship with India, the Pentagon said in a report on Tuesday.
the security sources said the banned group's leadership had shifted many of its cadre based in eastern Assam areas to its camps inside Myanmar.
16 Indian Army divisions face China, 20 face Pakistan and two divisions are reserves. This powerful signal can hardly be missed in China or Pakistan, notes Ajai Shukla.
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