Both the Indian and Chinese armies have brought in more troops in sensitive locations like Demchok, Daulat Beg Oldie and areas around Galwan river as well as Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh, the sources said. The area around Galwan has been a point of friction between the two sides for over six decades.
In the review meeting, Singh told the top military brass to continue to deal with the situation in eastern Ladakh and other areas with "firmness".
"This is the single reason why the country did not have a CDS so far," the former army chief said.
Group Captain Singh was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra, India's third highest peacetime gallantry award, in August this year for averting a possible mid-air accident after his Tejas light combat aircraft was hit by a major technical problem last year.
The team of 21 Rashtriya Rifles had entered the house of a civilian to prevent a hostage situation when they came under attack from the terrorists who had already reached there. While the four army personnel and the police Sub Inspector lost their lives in the encounter, the civilians trapped in the house were safely evacuated.
The GoM was apprised that as of now, the death rate is around 3.1 per cent while the recovery rate is more than 20 per cent, which is comparatively better than most of the countries and may be taken as a positive effect of the lockdown in the country, along with the cluster management and containment strategy.
'The army major was arrogant with power and considered himself as my creator'
The disengagement plan was discussed between the two sides during the 8th Corps Commander-level talks which were held on November 6 in Chushul.
At the border personnel meeting, China also accused the Indian side of damaging its road building equipment when a road laying party left its gear in Tuting in December last year following a protest by India.
A high-level committee set up to examine the gaps in the country's security system in the wake of the Kargil War in 1999 had called for appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff as a single-point military adviser to the defence minister.
His absence will be felt because of his decision taking ability and rapport with armed forces.
Kovind is the first president to visit the Siachen base camp since the visit of the then president APJ Abdul Kalam in 2004.
'Pakistan thinks it is winning this low intensity conflict.' 'It is a serious observation. Half the battle is convincing your adversary that he cannot make headway.' 'A lot depends on how the internal professional management of the army and the handling of situations that are bound to rise sooner than later in his command, are done.'
In his fresh petition, Verma said he had filed a statutory complaint with the defence ministry, challenging appointment of Vice Admiral Singh as the next navy chief, and asked it to respond within 10 days.
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.
Lauding the bravery displayed by the soldiers, the prime minister said: "The bravery that you and your compatriots showed, a message has gone to the world about India's strength."
Under the provision of Section 92 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, governor's rule is imposed for six months.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar gave this information to the Parliamentary Committee on Exernal Affairs.
The thanks-giving activities will start with laying of wreaths at the police memorial in Delhi and in several other cities on Sunday morning to honour the police personnel deployed in enforcement of the nationwide lockdown, officials said. It will be followed by fly-pasts by fighter and transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, covering a sizeable number of cities and towns across the country between 10 am and 11 am, officials said.
On Tuesday, Pompeo and Esper will hold the 2+2 talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, covering the entire expanse of defence and security ties as well as key regional and global issues.
Verma also sought quashing of a note issued by the defence ministry rejecting his plea against Singh's appointment.
'Earlier the planning process was services specific, with others coordinating. 'Now we shall have an apex leader backed by a structure, who is accountable to provide single-point advice, based on best of all options dependent on geographical and situational intrigue, and that too, after validation,' says General Anil Chait (retd), the former central army commander.
The comments came a day after sources said China maintained a sizeable presence of troops near the site of the Doklam standoff with India and had started widening a road, around 12 km from the area of conflict.
The commanders will also deliberate on a slew of long-pending reform measures like cutting down on ceremonial practices and non-military activities to ensure a rational distribution of resources, they said.
As soon as one lands at the Leh airfield, one can see the Indian Air Force C-17s, Ilyushin-76s, and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft flying in with rations and supplies for the troops deployed on the forward locations opposite the Chinese forces.
The security forces had launched the operation following specific input about the presence of NSCN-K rebels near Votnu village in the district.
A galaxy of dignitaries including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, his French counterpart Florence Parly, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar will attend the ceremony.
They said the Indian Army has further bolstered its presence around the Southern Bank area of Pangong lake by deploying additional troops and bringing in more weaponry including tanks and anti tank guided missiles.
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.
Army Spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said troops from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) 'violated' the consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements on the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh, and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.
Sitharaman said keeping morale of forces at the highest level was among the priorities of the government.
During the visit, she reviewed the security situation in the border region and inaugurated a bridge that will link Leh to Karakoram, providing connectivity on the strategically important Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Olde axis for military transport.
The CDS will be senior to the service chiefs and his primary role will be to work towards increasing operational coordination among the army, the navy or the air force and deal with India's national security with a comprehensive approach.
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 two sides have also agreed for a joint mechanism to verify the progress in the disengagement process through delegation meetings as well as using unmanned aerial vehicles.
Army sources said the CoI has been given one month's time to complete the probe.
Vice Admiral Singh is scheduled to take charge as the new Navy chief from incumbent Admiral Sunil Lanba, who is set to demit office on May 31.
Local commanders of Pakistan also told Indian counterpart that no ceasefire violation was committed by their side.
In a tweet, the IAF welcomed the "new bird" into its arsenal.
Adjutant General of the Army Lt General Ashwani Kumar said it planned to induct about 800 women in the military police with a yearly intake of 52 personnel.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances