'India enjoys the maneuverability of a coming big power.' 'It is this possibility that has persuaded Moscow to humour India and stayed Washington from getting punitive about India's neutrality on the Ukraine issue.'
The former Union minister said the population debate is 'utterly misplaced' and half a century out-of-date as a large majority of Indian states have achieved replacement levels of fertility.
Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria said that the IAF is prepared to deal with a two-front war along the northern and western borders if such a scenario arises.
China has started the construction of at least 13 entirely new military positions including three air bases, five permanent air defence positions and five heliports near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the aftermath of the Doklam standoff in 2017, according to a report by global security consultancy Stratfor.
Cutting down competition as of now to just two fighters -- F-16 by Lockheed Martin and Gripen by Saab -- Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said India will select one more single engine aircraft other than Tejas for indigenous manufacture under 'Make in India' route.
'Who sent Masood Azhar back to Pakistan? Who bowed down to terror and released him? Not the Congress, but it was the BJP government'
He also accused Pakistan of wanting to destabilise and weaken India through terrorism.
In the early hours of Tuesday, 12 Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter jets entered Pakistani airspace and dropped 1,000-kg laser-guided bombs on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror launch pads across the Line of Control.
The media report said Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau has sent a request to the ministry of home affairs seeking legal assistance in its probe into the alleged kickbacks.
Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria's plan includes building 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft in quick time to fill the light fighter vacancies left by the retirement of MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighters.
Addressing the joint session of Parliament at the beginning of the Budget Session, President Ram Nath Kovind said, "The government has been working to fulfill hopes and aspirations of all sections of people."
He was a leader who enjoyed acceptance from all sections of the BJP and beyond.
The Opposition accused the government of bringing a populist budget.
An impressive flypast consisting of four Rafale, five MiG 29-Ks and one Hawkeye was witnessed by Vice Admiral P Ajit Kumar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, Alexandre Ziegler, the French Ambassador to India and nine French Navy dignitaries on board the French Carrier Charles De Gaulle.
But it does not mean we will let our self-esteem be hurt, Rajnath said in the message to the armed forces on the eve of Independence Day.
The National Democratic Alliance government has adopted half measures instead of moving decisively on defence.
In a first, the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) officers reached out to several ministries in the last week of April as part of a confidence-boosting measure. The meeting brought the CAG officials and those from the ministries across the table to discuss the pain points in their relations. CAG of India Girish Chandra Murmu took this novel step because of growing tensions between those audited and the auditor.
He also sought to know if Modi, during his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, asked the latter about the 2017 Doklam standoff.
"It is about time that India and its institutions are protected from these 'institution wreckers'," said Jaitley.
'Once positions are hardened and troops start building defences, it is difficult for soldiers to step back.'
In the early part of the Kargil operations, the army opted to more or less go it alone, sacrificing large numbers of men and officers in almost superhuman struggles against an enemy on higher ground. Some generals seem to think their predecessors would have succeeded better if they had had air resources at their disposal, points out David Devadas.
His background as an Indian Institute of Technology graduate and as a chief minister with an excellent track record as an administrator equipped him to initiate defence industry and policy reforms that are only now beginning to bear fruit.
'Has the Supreme court even remotely said that PM Modi is not chowkidar?'
>The Indian Navy wants 'day and night capable, all weather multi-role deck based combat aircraft which can be used for air defence, air-to-surface operations, buddy refuelling, reconnaissance, electronic warfare missions' from its aircraft carriers.
Inaugurating the Defence Expo in Thiruvidanthai in Tamil Nadu, Modi said the Defence Procurement Procedure was revised with many specific provisions for stimulating growth of the domestic defence industry.
The Air Chief Marshal, who is set to retire on December 31, also rued that the tender for the much needed "force multiplier" mid air refuellers had to be withdrawn. He said a fresh tender is in the offing and the procurement will be speeded up.
Boeing expects the IAF to soon place an inquiry for twin-engine fighter jets to bridge a 200-aircraft gap in its armoury. And the Super Hornet is ready to fly in.
Lauding the contribution of non-resident Indians in the development of the country, he said, 'Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, B R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru were all NRIs. They travelled the world and helped India with new perspectives.'
The Opposition on Wednesday hardened its stand on the Pegasus spyware issue with 14 parties unitedly demanding a debate in Parliament in the presence of the prime minister or the home minister and a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.
'He gets scared when he faces someone who says I will not back off, he backs off,' Rahul said about Modi.
Around four lakh people who attended the event were treated to a spectacular flying display of fighter, civilian aircraft and helicopters.
"I want to know from the Congress as to why it is agitated and telling lies repeatedly. Is it because there is no Quattrocchi mama or Christian Michel in defence deals done by the BJP government," Modi said.
India's doctrinal policy shift in combating terror by carrying out the Balakot air strikes inside Pakistan, appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff and hastening work on military modernisation marked a new beginning in 2019 in dealing with complex security challenges.
'Prior to Pulwama, the BJP appeared to be on the defensive, uncertain of its stop-and-go development programmes, fearful of growing discontent among agriculturists and unemployed youth, and nervous of gathering steam among Opposition parties across regional and caste alliances,' says Sunil Sethi.
'While fighter pilots must not be sent into combat in inferior aircraft, an obsessive quest for outright combat superiority will leave an air force short of numbers,' says Ajai Shukla.
>Putin's last-minute intervention with PM salvages $5.43 bn pact.
'I was not really aware that this movement was slyly being propped up by the BJP and RSS.'
Swedish defence major Saab has offered to manufacture its fifth generation Gripen fighter aircraft in New Delhi with technology transfer to India.
In the light of India's increasingly 'darkening' threat environment and the convergence of strategic interests between China and Pakistan, the IAF's declining combat capabilities are a cause for concern, says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The Rafale deal issue and the Kashmir situation also came up during the Congress president's 30-minute-long interaction.
