Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung deserves to be complimented in telling his life story and that of his people, as subaltern communities within this vast and diverse nation of ours clamour for recognition and a plea for their voices to be heard and their aspirations to be met, notes Lieutenant General Gautam Moorthy.
He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the newly created Unified Andaman and Nicobar Command in October 2001 and served in that capacity till taking over as Flag officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command on December 31, 2002.
'Defence does not new 'planning commissions'; it needs an implementation commission.'
Recent reports of Chinese incursions and Beijing's claims over chunks of Indian territory notwithstanding, Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday said that India will follow a non-confrontationist approach towards its neighbours.Over 150 incursions into Indian territory by China's Peoples Liberation Army troops have been reported in the last one year, apart from claims over Indian territory, including the recent controversy over the Finger Area in north Sikkim.
Last week, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said buying 90 less Rafale fighter jets than the 126 planned earlier would save him money to buy more Tejas Light Combat Aircraft for the India Air Force.
Hari Kumar lauded Adani's efforts in aligning their roadmap to the requirements of the Indian Navy and establishing an ecosystem of partners and capabilities to enable Aatmanirbharta in defence and security.
The Human-rated LVM3 vehicle, the Crew Escape System and the Crew Module and Service Module are all in final stages of testing and integration.
With jointness in operations among the three Services still far from perfect, the Indian armed forces along with top commanders from the Integrated Defence Staff will debate and fine tune their joint war doctrine at a two-day meet beginning in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar will head the Strategic Forces Command thereby ending the monopoly hitherto of the Indian Air Force over the tri-service defence arm
The dust has barely settled after General VK Singh's Supreme Court battle to be army chief for another year when another senior general is approaching the court with a petition which, if accepted, could make him the next army chief, instead of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh, the eastern army commander who is currently in line.
The Command has successfully evolved in the last 20 years into an operationally efficient template for theaterisation of the armed forces, Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat said.
The idea, according to a strategic expert who has worked with the IDS, is: "to develop joint capabilities to ensure that an optimum balance is achieved which would provide the Indian Armed Forces and the nation the capability to shape the environment and create dependencies in our area of interest."
In yet another provocation, China has denied visa to a senior IAF officer hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, who was to travel as part of a military delegation, after which India put the visit on hold.
The CDS will have a significant role in higher defence planning and operational aspects of India's nuclear arsenal.
Nepal's claim on Lipulekh and Kalapani reopens a 200-year-old border dispute, while historical maps and treaties show the area belongs to India, asserts Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung (retd).
Three countries share a common interest in warding off cyber attacks from various agencies PLA is developing and training in China.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and firmed up the responses to the terror attack.
The Indian government has dismissed claims of a suicide attack on an Army brigade in Jammu and Kashmir and a drone attack in Punjab as "fake news." The Press Information Bureau's Fact Check Unit found the claims to be false and attributed the spread of disinformation to coordinated efforts by certain social media handles and mainstream media in Pakistan. The government urged citizens to rely on verified sources and refrain from sharing unverified content.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan on Tuesday underlined the evolving nature of warfare and said a combat has always been between humans but now the world is going to enter an era in which it may be between a machine and human being and later between machines.
As India progresses towards formulating its own model of theaterisation, the public must get involved in the debate because in the end, it affects the well-being of the entire nation, asserts Biswajit Dasgupta.
Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Thursday took over the baton of the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee from outgoing IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha even as the government plans to create a new post to focus exclusively on inter-services issues and acquisitions.
It challenged the Indian Parliament's decision on Jammu and Kashmir that abrogated the special privileges of the state and carved out two union territories and sought a compensation of USD 100 million from Modi, Shah and Lt. Gen. Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon.
'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 Indian Army has released a booklet on Operation Sindoor, which was launched to avenge the April 22 ghastly Pahalgam attack in which Pakistan-backed terrorists brutally killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists, and left many injured.
'We not only have to secure our national interests but also prepare for new national security challenges like cyber warfare and terrorism.'
'It conveys the impression that there is not enough talent available among the serving officers.' 'That does not reflect well on the professionalism of officer corps.'
"Today there is a government in the country which cannot compromise even on one inch of the country's borders," the prime minister added.
India's Navy has commissioned its new Russian-made guided missile frigate, INS Tushil, in the Russian coastal city of Kaliningrad. The ship, part of a $2.5 billion deal for four stealth frigates, is expected to significantly enhance the Indian Navy's capabilities in the Indian Ocean. The commissioning ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, and other senior Indian officials. Singh described the commissioning as a testament to India's growing maritime strength and a milestone in its long-standing ties with Russia. The INS Tushil, an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of Project 1135.6, boasts advanced stealth features and stability characteristics, and incorporates 26% indigenous content thanks to collaboration with Indian naval specialists and Severnoye Design Bureau.
The defence ministry has signed off on a national security plan that it cannot fund. Ajai Shukla reports
The agency had registered a preliminary enquiry in 2017 on the basis of allegations that 13 faculty members of the academy were appointed in spite of being ineligible.
The synergised demonstration of indigenous defence capabilities during 'Bharat Shakti' is a "testimony to its commitment towards modernisation through indigenisation," the sources said.
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.
Major Khathing was the first man to hoist the Indian flag in Tawang. He also brought Bum La under Indian control.
Gen Bipin Rawat's appointment, first as army chief superseding two other army commanders, and then as CDS, was the consequence of his close personal rapport with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Now, with General Rawat gone and nobody named to replace him as CDS, it is evident that no other top military officer enjoys that relationship with Doval, observes Ajai Shukla.
As China begins rejuvenation of its military power, there is an urgent need for transformation of the Indian military, says Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd).
"Under the CO-JEET" plan, personnel of the three wings of the armed forces -- the Army, the Indian Air Force and the Navy -- have been pressed into service to help restore oxygen supply chains, set up COVID beds and provide help to the civilian administration in its fight to control the pandemic," said the Lt General, whose post of deputy chief integrated defence staff (medical) comes under the Chief of Defence Staff.
Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday made it clear that the Indian Air Force is not opposed to the tri-services theaterisation plan but asserted that the doctrinal aspects of the force should not be compromised by the proposed structures.
The Indian Navy on Monday unveiled a 15-year plan to boost maritime infrastructure even as Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said the force is working with the Army and the IAF to ensure tri-services jointness and integration to meet future challenges.
The defence ministry will review all cases of blacklisted firms as it prepares a new list of such entities following the new policy unveiled by it which is a mixture of heavy fines and graded banning.
