Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday said it would be difficult to improve ties with Pakistan unless it made "serious" and "sincere" efforts to dismantle terror camps operating from its soil.
The Army has been hit by yet another incident of face-off between jawans and officers in a unit in Jammu and Kashmir, prompting an upset Defence Minister A K Antony to seek a detailed report from the force even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh downplayed the matter.
The government on Monday said it has denied a recent assertion made by US Pacific Command Chief Admiral Robert Willard regarding the presence of United States special forces in India.
The government on Tuesday said the attack and killing of five Indian soldiers was carried out by "terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniform" and India will take all necessary steps to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control.
Sending a strong message to "wrongdoers" in the armed forces, Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday warned of "strictest possibile action" against those indulging in acts of corruption.
Amidst the anti-corruption campaign by civil rights activists, Defence Minister A K Antony, on Wednesday said politicians, bureaucrats and others holding key positions are not ready for the "transition to transparency" and contended that this was creating problems.
Defence Minister A K Antony said on Monday that the "unfortunate controversy" over Army Chief General V K Singh's age had come to an end with the Supreme Court judgement and asked his colleagues to close the chapter.
Dismissing as "rumours" reports about shortage of tank ammunition, Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday said there will always be "shortcomings", but the country was in a much stronger position as compared to the past. "These are all rumours. I can assure you that the country is fully prepared. India is in a much stronger position as compared to the past. There will always be some shortcomings and that is also in the process," he said.
While party leaders have welcomed Sonia Gandhi's decision to ask A K Antony to get feedback from the cadres, they are sceptical the exercise might end up like the committees set up in the past. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports
'Somehow, Rahul Gandhi is not able to connect with the youth of the country.' 'While Modiji is 72, Rahul is only 52.' 'But the popularity of the prime minister among the young population is a lot more than Rahul's.'
However, the minister said the government was making serious efforts to end the menace and this was illustrated by the implementation of the Right to Information Act which will "make the walls of secrecy crumble and help in eradicating corruption".
Army chief General Bikram Singh on Thursday briefed Defence Minister A K Antony on the Chinese incursion issue in Ladakh and the present situation there. After reviewing the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the Ladakh area with military commanders in the Northern Command, General Singh briefed the defence minister on the incursion issue on Thursday, army officials said.
Against the backdrop of efforts to increase indigenisation to avoid defence scams, Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday asked the Indian Air Force to reduce its dependence on imports and work towards achieving self reliance in military weapon systems.
There is no change in India's Pakistan policy after general elections in the neighbouring country, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Saturday. "There was no change in our policy towards Pakistan," he told mediapersons at the Hindustan Aeronautics complex in Nashik.
India on Friday voiced concern over the 'danger and threat' of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of terrorists and said it is closely monitoring the situation in the neighbourhood.
The indigenisation programme of the Ministry of Defence has been an illusion, wrapped in a fallacy, cloaked in deception, writes Ajai Shukla
The indigenisation programme of the Ministry of Defence has been an illusion, wrapped in a fallacy, cloaked in deception, writes Ajai Shukla
We have been fine-tuning and improving the Defence procurement Procedure based on periodical reviews," he said while inaugurating the 5th International Land and Naval Systems Exhibition in New Delhi. "The current procurement procedure is also under review to make it more transparent and user-friendly," Antony said.
Defence Minister A K Antony will head a seven-member high-level group constituted by Congress chief Sonia to give suggestions to revive the party against the backdrop of series of debacles including in Karnataka and Gujarat Assembly elections.
Defence Minister A K Antony emphasised the upcoming five-nation naval wargames, which will include the US, were not aimed at any third country, but to help Indian forces enhance their fighting capabilities.
The navy's sole aircraft carrier INS Viraat can continue its service for another three years, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.
The Indian Army is short of over 11,387 officers, Union Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Meanwhile, one of the constituents of the Kerala government has said it is not averse to a leadership change.
"Indian armed forces' exercise and interaction with foreign forces are for upgrade of skills and providing them a chance to get acquainted with hi-tech weapons," Defence Minister A K Antony said on the sidelines of the Naval Commanders conference in New Delhi.
Not willing to give up on the age issue, General V K Singh has filed a statutory complaint with the defence minister seeking a reexamination, in a first by an army chief.
Ruling out the possibility of deploying the army in anti-Naxal operations, Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday said the real answer lies in strengthening local and central police forces.
Congress circles have started speculating about who could possibly be Rahul Gandhi's prime ministerial choice in the remote possibility that the UPA gets the numbers to form a government for the third time in 2014. The three names which are being mentioned in this connection are Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram and A K Antony. Sunita Moga reports.
For a man revered for his probity, Defence Minister A K Antony was caught napping when bribes were paid over the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal. With the UPA government staring at another scam, nothing it seems will change, writes Sheela Bhatt.
The defence minister told the Rajya Sabha that at the moment, "We cannot say conclusively about the exact cause of the incident. Our armed forces work on a war footing on these aspects and they are also anxious over this issue."
Defence Minister AK Antony leaves New Delhi on Thursday on a 4-day official visit to the People's Republic of China.
Under fire over allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, government on Wednesday asserted that nobody found guilty will be spared and if wrongdoings were found by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the contract can be scrapped.
Blinken is the highest-level American official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office and the first secretary of state to make the trip in five years.
Antony on the security scenario in the immediate neighbourhood and beyond.
Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council will be taken only after a discussion with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi.
Defence Ministry A K Antony has asked AgustaWestland to explain within one week its linkages with software companies allegedly used as a cover for paying kickbacks in the VVIP chopper deal.
Maharashtra's beleaguered Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Saturday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi after his name cropped up in a controversy surrounding the Adarsh housing society in Mumbai. Earlier, Sonia met Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, political secretary to the Congress president Ahmed Patel, All India Congress Committee general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi and Union minister Prithviraj Chavan over the issue.
History has not seen a cricketing rivalry as fierce as this this century, every ball bowled every run taken, coming with no quarter given. Ahead of India's five Test tour of Australia, Norma Astrid Godinho/Rediff.com takes a walk down memory lane, recounting India's sojourns Down Under from 1947 to 2021, in a 4-part series.
Defence Minister A K Antony voiced concern over increasing ceasefire violations and infiltration attempts from across the border and said they cannot take place without the "tacit support" of the Pakistan army.
July has some interesting content on OTT, with quite a few original shows and movies premiering in the digital space.
It's a downfall for the powerhouse that produced some iconic names such as PT Usha, Shiny Wilson, Anju Bobby George, Rosa Kutty, Mercy Kuttan and Bobby Aloysius among others."
