The political row over the Rafale deal intensified on Tuesday with the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party trading barbs over it.
The final deal may be clinched by May-end.
The fighter jet conducted Eklavya formation by flying at a height of around 300 meter along with two Jagaur and two MIG-29 aircraft. The five jets resembled a V shape with Rafale leading the pack.
Addressing a joint media event with Macron, Modi said the two countries have robust cooperation in the fields of defence and security.
Britain's Cairn Energy Plc has dropped lawsuits against the Indian government and its entities in the US and other places and is in the final stages of withdrawing cases in Paris and the Netherlands to get back about Rs 7,900 crore that were collected from it to enforce a retrospective tax demand. As part of the settlement reached with the government to the seven-year old dispute over levy of back taxes, the company - which is now known as Capricorn Energy PLC - has initiated proceedings to withdraw lawsuits it had filed in several jurisdictions to enforce an international arbitration award which had overturned levy of Rs 10,247 crore retrospective taxes and ordered India to refund the money already collected. Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said Cairn on November 26 withdrew the lawsuit it had brought in Mauritius for recognition of the arbitration award and took similar measures in courts in Singapore, the UK and Canada.
India has over 4,000 medium tanks, but not a single light tank. It remains to be seen whether the Ladakh face-off with China galvanises a change, observes Ajai Shukla.
Terror shook the world for the second time in less than a week on Sunday, with a suicide bombing that killed at least 65 at a park in Lahore.
The Indian government has asked a federal court in Washington to dismiss Britain's Cairn Energy suit seeking enforcement of a $1.2 billion arbitral award, saying it had sovereign immunity under US law. Cairn had in May asked a US federal court to force Air India to pay a $1.26 billion arbitration award the firm had won in December. The government on August 13 filed a 'Motion to Dismiss' petition in the US District Court for the District of Colombia, saying it lacked subject matter jurisdiction in the dispute between Cairn and the Indian tax authority, according to a filing seen by PTI.
The ministry had on Friday decided to replace Chatterjee as joint secretary and acquisition manager (Air), in-charge of handling the chopper deal, which is facing cancellation in view of bribery allegations, and the multi-billion dollar 126 combat aircraft deal of the Air Force.
'Amid the frequent cries that the defence budget falls short of what is needed, we tend to ignore the reality that any enhancement in the allocation is just not possible, and the armed forces have no option but to operate within this constraint.' 'So, unless deadwood -- especially manpower -- is identified and eliminated, we simply cannot have a modern military of the type that India needs,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
Japan could soon be the second country after the US with which India has a logistics support agreement. Besides the LSA, India and Japan may also sign a maritime domain awareness agreement which would enable the two navies to share information. For example, if a Japanese P-1 maritime patrol aircraft detects a Chinese submarine in the Indian Ocean, it would pass on the information to the Indian Navy, reveals Ajai Shukla.
Over 600 people including more than 130 university students and an old French couple were taken to safety on Friday by a coordinated team of defence and NDRF personnel.
He has termed the deal 'a case of arbitrariness'.
A beautiful documentary from Delhi. A shocking satire that spares no one. A thriller about a serial killer in Iran. A Pakistan film about family secrets... Aseem Chhabra lists the best films he saw in Cannes.
'The India-France relationship has been that of the elites of two countries, who appreciate each other's philosophical traditions -- whether it is ancient Indian civilisation and Sanskrit texts or the French tradition of Rene Descartes, Albert Camus, (Jean-Paul) Sartre... This is a drawback. It doesn't create the buzz, the excitement necessary for a relationship. We need more people-to-people contact, especially among students,' says former Ambassador to Paris, Rakesh Sood.
'At this point, neither the army or the IAF has that immediate, punitive deterrent power against Pakistan.' 'Forget a three-week war; on the LoC, where the action is, Pakistan has until now fielded better infantry weapons, body armour, sniper rifles, and matching artillery' points out Shekhar Gupta.
As Washington, DC, prepares to celebrate July Fourth with a military "Salute to America" that will feature military bands, a parade and flyovers from the US Navy's Blue Angels and Air Force One, here's a look at other countries that hold military marches.
'It is not clear how the NDA government -- including Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, backed by senior IAF officials -- claimed that the 36 Rafale contract with Dassault in 2016 cost the IAF 20% less than Dassault's 126 Rafale offer,' notes Ajai Shukla in the first of a three-part series.
The French sources also said that the country will insist on maintaining Pakistan on the 'grey list' of countries at the ongoing meet of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Paris.
The BJP alleged that former French president Francois Hollande is part of the "nexus" to sabotage the procurement.
Congress chief urged Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to answer the questions raised by the Congress on the multi-million dollar fighter jet deal.
Former Defence Minister A K Antony also demanded making public the inter-governmental agreement with France. He wondered how India would bridge the gap with respect to China and Pakistan by acquiring just 36 aircraft when the original plan was for 126.
'Although he was bed ridden most of the time he was in the vessel and unable to move on the upper deck, his condition is stable.'
While the Saudi drone strike has put the focus back on anti-drone measures, caution also stems from the fact that India has a number of large oil refining assets close to India-Pakistan border.
After Air India, Britain's Cairn Energy PLC plans to target assets of state-owned firms and banks in countries from the US to Singapore as it looks to ramp up efforts to recover the amount due from the Indian government after winning an arbitration against levy of retrospective taxes. A lawyer representing the company said Cairn will bring lawsuits in several countries to make state-owned firms liable to pay the $1.2 billion plus interest and penalties that are due from the Indian government. Last month, Cairn brought a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York pleading that Air India is controlled by the Indian government so much that they are 'alter egos' and the airline should be held liable for the arbitration award.
Congress may give a privilege motion notice against the prime minister and Sitharaman.
The police said that Stone was stabbed multiple times in the torso.
The IAF is down to 34 squadrons. This will dip to 30 squadrons by the end of this decade, as nine squadrons of MiG-21 and MiG-27s retire.
There's wisdom to be found in an unfairly treated man's short and sweet concluding words -- a nation is only as great as our appreciation of the people who make it great, notes Sukanya Verma.
Trump abruptly rejected the text of the consensus statement and bitterly insulted Canadian PM Trudeau.
Sports bodies moved quickly to strip Russia of events,
'Make in India' will be central to Mr Modi's visit to Europe and Canada. It is difficult to predict what will happen with the Rafale deal, but if it goes through, it will undoubtedly become the 'Mother' of all 'Make in India' projects,' says Claude Arpi.
The deal which is worth 7.87-billion (Rs 58,363 crore) comes with a saving of nearly 750 million (Rs 5,611 crore).
Sitharaman criticised the news report for raising issues 'selectively' and ignoring the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar's reply.
In 2013, India had displayed the Inter Continental Ballistic Missile Agni V during the Republic Day Parade. The chief guest at that time was Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
On the shopping list: Light tanks, anti-tank guided missiles, UAVs, assault rifles, fighter aircraft.
Armed with rockets and missiles, these helicopters can rain fire on the enemy in rarefied altitudes.
A summary of Saturday's action at the US Open.
The year ended with the launch of the PSLV's 50th mission.
'The defence minister needs to focus on human resources-related issues at the same pace in 2017 as he did on acquisitions in 2016,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances