The ITBP guards the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control between India and China, along with the Indian Army.
Besides attending the SCO defence ministers' meeting, Singh will hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu and several other top military officials with an aim to expedite the implementation of several defence procurement programmes, they said.
India and China have held several rounds of talks at the diplomatic and military-level to resolve the standoff that erupted in early May.
At least two previously unknown incidents of skirmishes between the Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have come to light with citations for gallantry awards conferred on Indian Army personnel mentioning them.
The military brass is learnt to have apprised Modi about the evolving situation in eastern Ladakh, though officials maintained that the agenda of the pre-scheduled meeting was to discuss the ambitious military reforms and ways to boost India's combat prowess.
The Chief of Air Staff, addressing a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, asserted that the IAF will continue to remain deployed along the frontier in the region till complete disengagement takes place in the remaining contested areas.
The disengagement of troops of the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army from the Line of Actual Control was reached after sustained negotiations at the military and diplomatic level, said the ministry of external affairs last week.
"Discussions are on; what is going on is something confidential between us and the Chinese," he said when the moderator at the Bloomberg India Economic Forum pressed the minister to give a clear status of the border situation.
The two sides agreed that the next round of military dialogue should be held at an early date.
China and India have maintained "candid and in-depth communication and coordination" to promote disengagement in areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after the eighth round of talks to resolve the current standoff, the Chinese military said on Thursday.
The advisory said that "terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and government facilities."
'We hope the Indian side will work with the Chinese side towards the same goal, keep up close communication through military and diplomatic channels, and ease the situation and reduce the temperature along the border'
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal rainfall for the upcoming monsoon season in India (June to September). The cumulative rainfall is estimated to be 105 percent of the long-period average. The IMD has also ruled out the possibility of El Nino conditions during the entire season. The monsoon is crucial for India's agriculture sector, which supports the livelihood of a significant portion of the population and contributes substantially to the country's GDP. However, while the prediction of normal rainfall brings relief, climate change is expected to cause variations in rainfall distribution.
China on Thursday said Chinese and Indian troops have taken "effective measures" to disengage at the Galwan Valley and other areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and the situation is "stable and improving," days after the two sides agreed on an expeditious withdrawal of soldiers from all the standoff points.
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
The talks between the two sides near Galwan Valley ended in a stalemate on Tuesday as well as Wednesday, the sources said.
In a major boost to its fire power, the Indian Army has deployed a sizeable number of upgraded L70 anti-aircraft guns in the high mountains along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh in addition to its existing M-777 howitzers and Swedish Bofors guns, officials said on Wednesday.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards the Line of Actual Control with China, has posted its first officer to head the newly-created Guwahati-based eastern command that oversees deployment of border battalions in that region.
The resolution was introduced by Senator John Cornyn, Republican Senate Majority Whip, and Senator Mark Warner, ranking member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
On the shopping list: Light tanks, anti-tank guided missiles, UAVs, assault rifles, fighter aircraft.
India and China failed to make any breakthrough, but agreed to maintain dialogue to arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution at the earliest.
'The one aspect which no Indian military thinker would wish to see emerge is a LoC type of posture at the LAC.' 'The LoC is manned for 750 km and terrorist infiltration has led to the creation of a virtual fortress along its entire length.' 'Something mirroring this at the LAC is going to be expensive although deployment everywhere is not warranted there.' 'However, given the complete trust deficit, there appear few alternatives,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
The Indian Army had said the Chinese soldier had "strayed" across the LAC in Demchok sector.
The two sides have already held at least 12 rounds of talks between local commanders and three rounds of talks between major general-rank officials but no positive outcome came out from the discussions, they said.
The DG of the ITBP said his troops have been provided with special winter clothing and nutritious food as they brave the severe chill in eastern Ladakh where the armies of India and China are locked in a tense standoff for over six months. He said 'strains in bilateral relations are already evident but we are confident these will be sorted out peacefully very shortly'.
The IAF commanders held detailed deliberations on the border row with China in eastern Ladakh, key short-term and long-term security challenges facing the nation and on the complex geo-political power play in India's neighbourhood.
Jaishankar said so far there was no "visible expression" of the talks on ground.
'This was Indian land the PLA advanced on and occupied.' 'The Chinese then 'negotiated' a pullback of their troops a small distance on Indian territory even as Indian jawans draw back further into India from the forward position.' 'An apparently satisfied Indian government says this is a great move for peace! How great is that for China!'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday asserted that India's relationship with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas and there is no ambiguity in New Delhi's signalling to that country.
The joint statement said Jaishankar and Wang agreed that both sides should take guidance from the series of consensus reached between leaders of the two countries on developing India-China relations, including not allowing differences to become disputes.
'If our troops on the frontlines were sleeping for two hours, they can perhaps now sleep for 2.5 hours because when the adversary is right in front, then you can't even blink your eyes, you have to be absolutely alert.'
The authorisation to increase the weapon and ammunition reserves to minimum 15-I levels from the earlier existing 10-day stocking is to prepare the defence forces for a two-front war with both China and Pakistan.
On July 2 or July 6, the Dalai Lama will reveal his mind on his successor. This makes Beijing extremely nervous as the Communist regime fully realises the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama, points out Claude Arpi.
Even after the one month of the incident, China has still not disclosed how many of its soldiers were killed in the incident.
The major general-level meeting discussed ways to implement the disengagement of troops from Galwan Valley as agreed during high-level military talks between the two sides on June 6. The Indian delegation at the talks was led by Leh-based 3 Infantry Division commander Major General Abhijit Bapat. The two sides held Major General-level talks on Tuesday as well.
The ministry of external affairs said both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement arrived at earlier at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.
The former Congress president has been questioning the government over the martyrdom of Indian soldiers and has demanded answers from the prime minister.
Colonel Santosh Babu who hailed from Suryapet district in Telangana, was serving in the 16 Bihar regiment as Commanding Officer.
At least a couple of Chinese military helicopters were spotted flying close to the un-demarcated Sino-India border in the area after the fierce face-off on May 5 following which a fleet of Sukhoi-30 jets of the Indian Air Force too carried out sorties there, the sources said.
"China's position on the Zangnan region (South Tibet) is consistent and clear. We never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing while responding to a question.
