Passengers coming from 'at-risk' countries to six major Indian airports have to compulsorily pre-book for the on-arrival RT-PCR test from December 20 onwards, the civil aviation ministry said on Tuesday.
The successful test firing of medium range surface-to-air missiles is welcome news for the IAF.
The IAF has insisted it hit its targets. If that is indeed true, then the lack of obvious damage could mean it has used a different bomb -- possibly procured secretly from Israel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to the United Arab Emirates in the first half of next month has been postponed, people familiar with the development said.
An American woman who was rescued by the Indian Air Force from Nepal recalled her horror at being stuck in the devastating earthquake which has killed over 5,000 people.
Negotiations are underway to have a "more practical and effective" mechanism to prevent face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops on the Line of Actual Control and efforts are being made to have confidence building measures, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Monday.
Hours after three suspected Islamic State group suicide bombers targeted the international terminal of Istanbul's Ataturk airport, killing at least 36 people and wounding many others, Rediff.com brings you some of the deadliest attacks at airports, which have left several dead and hundreds injured.
'IAF is expanding at a rapid pace'
'The entire idea behind the serial bomb blasts was to strike fear in the minds of Indians.' 'I don't think the blasts were targeted to derail the Indian economy; the idea behind the blasts was retribution.'
General Naravane's UAE and Saudi Arabia visits communicate India's long awaited arrival in the domain of integrated foreign policy where the diplomatic and the military domains both complement each other much more substantially, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
The coordinated assaults in the morning set off fierce fighting between the army and the militants that is currently ongoing, with soldiers and police chasing the attackers using ground and air force, security sources said.
By deeming October 31, Sardar Vallabhai Patel's birthday as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, the BJP has rightly made amends for the short shrift that the great leader received at the hands of the Congress. By the same token, the BJP cannot be seen as being petty towards Indira, a leader who despite her flaws, did render yeoman service to the nation, says Vivek Gumaste.
While the Saudi drone strike has put the focus back on anti-drone measures, caution also stems from the fact that India has a number of large oil refining assets close to India-Pakistan border.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday questioned former Indian air force Chief S P Tyagi and two others in connection with alleged irregularities in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal.
In the audio clip, he is heard directing the attack on Chabad House during Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks.
The guidelines released on Friday come into force from January 11 and will remain effective till further government orders.
'China's opaque defence allocation processes are shrouded in mystery and have triggered security dilemmas among its neighbours and others,' notes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
Pakistan is believed to have 140-150 nuclear warheads this year, 10 more than last year. In contrast, India is said to have 130-140 nuclear warheads, according to the annual nuclear forces data by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Israel on Friday pressed ahead with its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, killing at least four Palestinians, even as the militant group executed 18 suspected informers for the Jewish state following the killing of its three top commanders.
The contracts with Israel Aerospace Industries will condemn the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft to a marginal presence in the IAF's future fleet.
'At 1.58% of GDP, the defence budget is one of the lowest since the Chinese aggression of 1962.' 'The government of the day has lost sight of the fact that defence of the country is as important as its growth,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'NSA Doval and the PM are known to admire Israel's tough response to cross-border terrorism.' 'However, New Delhi's situation is far more complex than Tel Aviv's, which enjoys military superiority over all its neighbours,' says Ajai Shukla.
Indian policymakers must incorporate in their nuclear doctrine a realistic response to tactical nuclear warheads, says Ajai Shukla.
Unless each attack drone can be neutralised, India will be literally deploying elephants to stamp out ants -- and the ants may still survive! points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Cyberspace is a battleground as important as the traditional domains of air, land, sea and space, says US Defence Secretary Ash Carter, who visits India next week.
Top 20 images of all the events of the week that was.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday mooted the idea of raising an all women battalion and stationing of women on warships besides opening the doors of the National Defence Academy and Sainik schools for them.
On November 9, Germany will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Two missiles were fired on Tuesday and on Wednesday on high speed targets, during naval exercises being undertaken in the Arabian Sea, a Defence spokesperson said, adding that this was a significant step towards Indian Navy's transformation into a force capable of projecting power in its area of interest.
'Biden's promise of returning to 'normalcy' after Trump appears to mean that the same old politicians, who are responsible for the 'endless wars' in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, are being brought out of the woodwork after four years,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
American help in defending our independence will send a strong signal to the Chinese, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
We bring forth to our readers the list of nations sitting on a nuclear stockpile, based on the study findings:
'It appears that Prime Minister Modi has to undo 50 years of State monopoly in the defence sector during which public undertakings like HAL or DRDO monopolised defence production and development with disastrous consequences.'
At least five Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza on Saturday as the war entered its 47th day following the collapse of a fragile truce, even as Israel's hawkish foreign minister said that the offensive would continue until "Hamas waves the white flag".
The political-electoral calculus favours spending thousands of crores on vanity projects like Sardar Patel's statue and the Central Vista over building up our military to handle the confrontations and conflicts that loom large, points out Ajai Shukla.
Amid escalating violence, at least 22 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed as Israel intensified military operations in the Gaza Strip.
'Modi's visit is path breaking in the sense that India has come out of the closet and is prepared to deal with Israel openly and in a host of fields, military as well as civilian,' says P R Kumaraswamy, one of India's leading experts on the Middle-East, currently in Israel.
Currently women are allowed in a number of select areas including in medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the army.
'The Chinese are only about 160-170 km behind.' 'It will not take much time for them to bring their troops back, considering that they have better infrastructure -- and the weather is now favourable.' 'They can move in much faster as the terrain favours them.'
Slated to be in India on December 8, Carter would travel to Japan, Bahrain, Israel, Italy and Great Britain before returning to the US on December 16. This is for the first time that an outgoing American Defence Secretary has included India in his itinerary for the final overseas trip.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances