The Padma Bhushan was conferred on 17 personalities including N Chandrasekharan, chairman of Tata Sons, Krishna and Suchita Ella of Bharat Biotech, Cyrus Poonawalla, Satya Nadella, chairman of Microsoft, Sunder Pichai, chairman of Google.
The government is set to begin the process soon to appoint the next Chief of Defence Staff with Army Chief Gen MM Naravane emerging as the front-runner for the top post that fell vacant following the demise of Gen Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash.
Rawat said India was looking forward to procuring Kamov helicopters and other weapon systems and technology from Russia.
The army chief said India wants peace along the borders but Pakistan was continuously violating the ceasefire, which caused loss of life and property.
In continuation of a tradition that started in 1950, Nepal Army chief Gen Prabhu Ram Sharma was conferred with the honorary rank of 'General of the Indian Army' by President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday.
On his first day as CDS, General Rawat paid tribute at the National War Memorial in the heart of New Delhi near India Gate. He wore the uniform representing his parent service.
Gen Naravane also said the Army will enhance combat capabilities along the border with China so that it is fully prepared to deal with any security challenge.
Admiral R Hari Kumar said while addressing those who completed their four month rigorous training here at INS Chilika, "I assure you (Agniveer), wherever you go, you will be fully prepared with confidence and motivation to face any challenge in the life."
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held two-back-to-back meetings with top military brass on Tuesday deliberating on the situation in eastern Ladakh after an Indian Army officer and two soldiers were killed in a violent clash with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley.
Referring to the border with China, he said the armies of both India and China have issued new guidelines to their respective forces.
The army chief deflected a question about whether there was tension along the Line of Control, saying people were facing trouble because of Tuesday's earthquake in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Air Marshal Manvendra Singh who headed the tri-service investigation into the crash apprised Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the findings of the probe on Wednesday.
The inquiry teams had started their work on the very next day the incident took place. The statements are being recorded and in one or two cases, some people have changed their account of the incidents, they said.
In a slew of new reforms related to manpower in the armed forces initiated by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, the retirement age of officers and jawans from technical branches is proposed to be increased.
Gen Rawat said the world looks at India as a country that can balance the rise of China in the region as it was showing its 'assertiveness'.
The proposal is also important as it comes at a time when the Indian forces are working on the creation of a rocket force which has been in discussion at the highest levels in the Defence Ministry.
The Indian Army's human rights record is above board, and people of India, army personnel and countries worldwide know the truth, he said.
"The DAC accorded approval for procurement of equipment worth over Rs 5,100 crore from indigenous sources. These include sophisticated Electronic Warfare Systems for the Army designed by DRDO and manufactured locally by the Indian industry," the defence ministry said.
Chiefs of Army Staff in India have not been tactful about politicians. But they have stayed clear of politics, reports Aditi Phadnis.
Gen Rawat said, while addressing a gathering at a health summit, leaders emerge from crowds but are not those who lead people in 'inappropriate directions'.
This was the first time General Rawat flew in the home-made fighter jet, known for its agility, being the smallest and lightest multirole supersonic fighter jet in its class.
Gen Naravane said the entire nation is proud of the soldiers deployed in Siachen, defending the territorial integrity of India.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday called on President Ram Nath Kovind and briefed him about the chopper crash near Coonoor that killed Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 armed forces personnel.
Military affairs experts said his key challenge will be to build consensus among the three services for the theaterisation plan as the Indian Air Force has some apprehensions about its roll-out.
Singh, who was accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, visited the North Hill post and was apprised about the situation at the border by senior officials.
Over the past two decades, six of the eight army chiefs have been from the infantry and the other two from the artillery division. The appointment of either General Bakshi or General Hariz would interrupt the infantry's prolonged domination of the army command, says Ajai Shukla, a retired army officer himself.
The Army chief has said that the condition in Kashmir will be normal soon.
The Indian Army conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control on September 29 two years ago.
Official sources said all the injured people on board the Mi-17V5 helicopter have been evacuated from the spot of the accident.
Defence ministry says the focus was on suitability and merit for the selection of the new Army chief.
Singh said in a statement in the Lok Sabha that all efforts were being made to save IAF Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, who was on life support at the military hospital in Wellington.
It is learnt that the probe team led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh examined all likely scenarios for the crash including possible human error or whether it was a case of disorientation by the crew when the helicopter was preparing for landing.
A resident of village Betadur in Dharwad district of Karnataka, the Madras regiment soldier was pulled out alive from under 30 ft of ice-and-snow debris where he lay buried for six days on the unforgiving Siachen glacier.
The commander said the situation in the region has been stable and no major "changes or palpable shift of stance has been noted" even as the Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a stand-off in Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh.
The 15 choppers that met with accidents included four Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), four Cheetah, two ALH (weapon system integrated) versions, three Mi-17V5, an Mi-17 and a Chetak.
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.
Singh's last rites will be conducted at the Mahatma Gandhi Government School ground in his Ghardana Khurd village and thousands are expected to gather to bid him farewell.
The armed forces personnel whose bodies were identified in the last few hours are Junior Warrant Officer (JWO) Pradeep, Wing Commander P S Chauhan, JWO Rana Pratap Das, Lance Naik B Sai Teja and Lance Naik Vivek Kumar.
Around 75 drones of the Indian Army carried multiple mock operations, including kamikaze attacks, first-aid delivery and parachute payload delivery exercises, at the event.
'Chinese soldiers don't have much experience of fighting in these kinds of areas and operating in this kind of terrain'
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