'The simultaneous fire from so many guns rained down on the enemy and pulverised them, a sight I can never forget till my last breath.'
'Why have we focused mainly on the question of women becoming fighter pilots? Why have women never asked for induction as Airwomen, Security Guards or Enrolled Non-Combatants? Is it that these jobs at lower levels demand far greater hardships without being glamorous?' asks Air Marshal P V Athawale (retd).
Sangam refers to the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers.
Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, assistant chief of Air Staff, said, "We see it as a gesture in consonance with the Geneva Conventions."
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.
American armaments dominated the defence services's show of weaponry.
India has already mobilised fighter jets and sent thousands of additional army troops to forward locations along the border with China after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a brutal attack by Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley on June 15.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati termed PM's programme 'ridiculous and a betrayal of national sentiments'.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has sent a letter to the Indian embassy in Italy seeking details on the arrest of Guido Ralph Haschke, the alleged middleman in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, by Swiss authorities.
"We are carrying out physiological studies. We also have to examine certain psychological issues involving the women and the job. Only when these are done, can the women officers be cleared for the new roles," Major said.
Both have been asked to furnish a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh and one surety of like amount as pre-requisites.
The family members of 26 people from Madhya Pradesh, who were killed in the Uttarakhand accident, cannot believe that the pilgrimage met with a tragic end.
Senior officers admit the BJP's revival, and the mainstreaming of the Hindutva narrative that has accompanied this political shift, have complicated communal relations within the army.
In the latest standard operating procedures (SOP) regarding flying drones, the Central government has given powers to the local police to book a person under 121 and 121A apart from other IPC sections, depending on the nature of offence/threat and distance from the prohibited vital installation/area.
"Numerous rounds of talks have taken place with the Chinese counterparts to deescalate the situation without compromising on India's stand of 'complete disengagement and immediate restoration of status quo ante'," the defence ministry said.
The two sides held talks on Tuesday as well but it could not produce any tangible outcome, the sources said.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com tracks Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi's project-launching spree with just about three months to go for the assembly election in India's most populous state.
The IAF has demanded five new capabilities in the Mark 1A that would give it a clear combat edge over Pakistan's entire fighter fleet, and most of China's as well.
The first women pilots in the fighter stream of IAF will be selected from the current batch at Air Force Academy.
IAF is focused on Rafale; argues the fifth generation fighter aircraft would not meet Indian expectations
The navy has significantly expanded its deployment in the Indian Ocean Region deploying a plethora of warships and submarines to create pressure points on China as the maritime space around the Malacca Strait is very critical for its supply chain through sea routes.
Pump manufacturing company Kirloskar Brothers Ltd and Coal India on Friday are jointly moving 18 high-powered pumps to the mine, officials said.
While its operating radius remains secret, a back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates it can easily strike targets 1,000 kilometres away and return to base.
HAL is poised to sell the Philippines at least seven Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters and eight Dornier 228 aircraft for Rs 30 billion, reports Ajai Shukla.
China has blocked a proposal by the US and India at the United Nations to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and the deputy chief of the Pakistan-based terror group, in the second such move by Beijing in less than two months.
General Bipin Rawat, India's first Chief of Defence Staff who died in a tragic helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu, was an exceptional leader, a valued partner and a strong proponent of US-India defence ties and helped deepen the bilateral strategic partnership, top US officials have said.
The sortie had to be executed in good weather and in sub-zero temperatures, which meant it was to be accomplished by mid or third week in May before the earth heated up and the monsoon clouds made things difficult.
President Pranab Mukherjee condoled the death of personnel of the IAF, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and National Disaster Response Force in a helicopter crash during rescue operations at Kedarnath in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.
'The most ambitious part of the BAE-HAL agreement involves building an advanced version of the Hawk, which could be used as a light, manoeuvrable, fighter that could operate in the narrow valleys of India's Himalayan frontier, where high-performance fighters cannot turn,' reports Ajai Shukla.
RInstead of disengagement, the Indian and Chinese armies have deployed an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 soldiers each along the LAC. The PLA has deployed S-400 air defence missiles to neutralise the IAF's advantage in air power
The Raksha Mantri was unable to address media queries about how much the Modi government was paying for 36 Rafales compared to what the UPA government had negotiated.
The government's briefing is expected to focus on its evacuation mission from Afghanistan as well as its assessment of the situation in the war-torn country in the wake of the Taliban seizing control of almost all key Afghan towns and cities, including Kabul.
India is keen to conduct joint exercises with China, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik said on Tuesday, amid growing tensions between the two neighbours over the visit of the Dalai Lama to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh."We are keen to do joint exercise with China and also with other nations. We have already done so with the United States, United Kingdom, France and few other nations," Naik told reporters at Gwalior when asked whether India is ready to conduct a joint exercise.
The parade began after President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Ashoka Chakra -- India's highest peacetime gallantry award -- to Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, a militant-turned-soldier who laid down his life fighting a group of terrorists in Shopian in Kashmir in November.
With the globe marking International Women's Day on Tuesday, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha announced that the nation will see its first batch of female fighter pilots on June 18.
Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam lists the major operational takeaways from the 1971 War in his new book 'India's Wars, A Military History, 1947-1971'.
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