Vajpayee had always felt that India must act with conviction and panache. He decided that, irrespective of the attendant risks, he would undertake what many felt was a precarious course. A fascinating excerpt from N K Singh's Portraits Of Power: Half A Century Of Being At Ringside on Atalji's 96th birthday, December 25.
Severely critical of China, Pompeo, cited killing of Indian Army personnel in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in a clash with the Chinese military, and asserted that both India and the US are taking steps to strengthen cooperation against all threats and not just those posed by the Chinese Communist Party.
The only thing that may salvage Narendra Modi's trip to the US is his meetings with CEOs, such as those of Blackstone, First Solar, Qualcomm, Adobe, and General Atomics, asserts Rajeev Srinivasan.
'Landmark developments herald the end of two decades of stagnation in the army's modernisation plans,' notes Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Some believe she should no longer be the face of the struggle to free Myanmar from the new military dictatorship, observes Prakash Bhandari.
Blinken and Indian leaders on Wednesday will discuss a plethora of pressing issues such as the fluid situation in Afghanistan, regional security concerns, COVID-19 response and ways to boost Indo-Pacific engagement, people familiar with the agenda of talks said.
A scribe who reported government-army rift had barred from leaving Pakistan.
However, Denmark said it is difficult to conclude on the real intention behind this.
United States Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin arrived in India on Friday on a three-day visit, aimed at further boosting bilateral defence and security ties in the wake of China's growing military assertiveness in the region including the Indo-Pacific.
The Trump administration has been very clear that the acquisition of advanced Russian technology sends the wrong message to Russia at a time when it continues its aggressions, the official said.
There is considerable discomfort within the defence ministry about the Rafale deal.
In an apparent snub to India, a Russian ground forces contingent on Friday arrived in Pakistan to participate in the first-ever joint military exercises starting from Saturday.
We get tangled up in our own crooked web on purchases, and the murky arms bazaar knows it, says Shekhar Gupta.
The amendment urges the US to enhance India's military capabilities in the context of combined military planning, and promote co-production/co-development opportunities.
'Implementation of the US-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative is as much a test for the Modi government to direct its bureaucratic processes, as it is of US commitment,' says Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd).
Aircraft manufacturer Embraer has agreed to pay over $205 million (over Rs 1,371 crore) as settlement with American and Brazalian authorities for resolving corruption charges in India and three other countries.
'An economic slowdown affects a country's ability to modernise its defence capabilities as rapidly as possible.'
The Modi government has been put on notice.'Will it buckle under such pressure? These are times when the moral fibre of the leadership makes all the difference, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Two lessons from the closure of the Barak investigation: be careful with investigations, and buy from the US or Russia through transparent protocols. Premvir Das examines
The Indian government has requested a sale of 145 M777 155mm light-weight towed Howitzers with laser inertial artillery pointing systems (LINAPS), warranty, spare and repair parts, maintenance, and training equipment, the Department of Defense said in a notification.
'India's real concern is that cash-strapped Pakistan is keeping its military hardware well oiled on American money,' says Rajeev Sharma.
In his maiden address to the employees of the State Department, the US president said he has come to the building to send a clear message to the world: America is back. America is back. Diplomacy is back.
Since the Pulwama terror attack the international community has stood by India, the MEA spokesperson said.
An undeterred Chief Executive Officer of NSO Group, Shalev Hulio, in an interview to Israeli Channel 12 on Saturday, strongly defended the company's operations, though he also conceded that some 'mistakes' may have happened over the years.
As the United States prepares to sell F-16s to Pakistan, the country's former top diplomat has warned the Congress that such fighter jets would end up being used against India and not against terrorists.
'The attacks made clear to all the Gulf States that Pakistan was the nursery and sanctuary of extremist violence and that this violence threatened all the countries in the region.'
The nation has the fifth largest defence budget in the world, at $52.5 billion in 2017 ($51.1 billion in 2016), overtaking the UK whose defence budget fell from $52.5 billion in 2016 to $50.7 billion in 2017.
The US is learnt to have asked Israel to sever ties with China, especially in areas with security risks.
China has been trying to build lobbies of influence and mould public opinion in India since at least 2017, and large sums have been invested in the effort, reveals former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wrote a personal letter to her British counterpart Margaret Thatcher soon after the 1984 Operation Bluestar in an attempt to justify her decision to send army to flush out militants from the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine.
Between 2008 and 2015, India purchased defence equipments worth $34 billion, which is a distant second after Saudi Arabia's $93.5 billion, said the report 'Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations 2008-2015' released by Congressional Research Service.
'Flattering press, nice photos, no major gaffes.' 'Both sides will be very happy as they are clearly measuring 'success' by a different yardstick than the world used in the past.'
'This is a historic juncture when the US is in great need of an alliance with India to strengthen its hands in the fierce struggle with China in the Asian theatre,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Describing India as a long-standing strategic partner in fight against terror, Israel has said that it will "not do anything that could undermine India's security" in a strong bid to re-assure New Delhi that reports of arms sale to Pakistan were incorrect.
'Our sensors allow the missile to locate and identify the target even if it's on the move.'
Embraer cannot escape Indian laws just because it has struck a settlement with American authorities, Parrikar said.
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
The deal was hailed by the White House as 'a significant expansion of (the) security relationship'.
