A separate Union Territory has been a long-standing demand of locals, many of who have alleged that the Ladakh region had been neglected by leaders of Jammu and Kashmir.
Restoration of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir's statehood as well as implementation of the autonomy resolution passed by the erstwhile assembly in 2000 are among the National Conference's 12 guarantees announced in its manifesto for the upcoming polls.
The confrontation, which happened on January 2, saw the shepherds reportedly throwing rocks at the Chinese personnel.
The sources also said both the Indian and Chinese troops are firmly holding on to their respective positions at the Line of Actual Control.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said India is a peace-loving nation that never resorts to any kind of aggression but is always prepared to give a befitting reply if provoked or threatened.
The tunnel would reduce the travel time to the Ladakh region by 15-20 per cent and would come up close to the Atal tunnel near Rohtang Pass, reports Megha Manchanda.
Kargil observed it as a 'black day' and leaders in Leh seeing it as an opportunity for development.
Rahul Gandhi's questions on Chinese aggression in Ladakh, in tweets directed at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, have drawn a response from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's MP in Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.
A total of 78 Muslims were in the fray in the Lok Sabha elections this year, a significant drop from the last polls when 115 Muslim candidates were fielded by various parties.
People familiar with the situation in the region said the two sides were engaged in trying to resolve the dispute, but there was no indication of a positive outcome yet as both the armies continued to bolster their positions in disputed areas of Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley and Demchok.
In the last couple of weeks, the Chinese forces have brought in heavy air superiority aircraft like the Sukhoi-30 and its strategic bombers to the rear locations which have been detected flying near the Indian territory maintaining the 10 km plus distance from the boundary.
Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) was one of the top Sensex gainers in trade on Monday, ending with gains of nearly 9 per cent. The stock has gained about 42 per cent year-to-date. For the March quarter, the company reported a revenue of Rs 12,000 crore, which was down 3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) but up 4 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q). The drop was on account of one-time arrears related to the Nagapattinam tariff bid competitive bidding (TBCB) project in Q4 FY23.
The 59-year-old Vikram Misri assumed charge of the key position at a time India is looking to navigate various geo-political challenges, including its frosty ties with China following the lingering eastern Ladakh border row and the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Asserting that sovereignty and territorial integrity of China are "sacred and inviolable", the country's national legislature has adopted a new law on the protection and exploitation of the land border areas, which could have bearing on Beijing's border dispute with India.
The Indian Army has occupied several key heights in the strategically located Rezang-La and Reqin-La areas on the southern bank of the lake since the end of August.
People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti and several other regional party leaders on Monday claimed that they have been placed under house arrest on the fifth anniversary of the reading down of Article 370 of the Constitution that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The chief was also briefed extensively about the air maintenance operations in support of the Indian Army and the paramilitary troops there.
Jaishankar said diplomacy is a work of patience and India continues to discuss the issues with the Chinese side.
The sources said both sides held extensive deliberations on modalities for disengagement of troops from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh at the talks.
The frequency of day and night operations by frontline fighter jets is a signal that India will continue to put pressure on China until the status quo ante is restored in all the areas in eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso, Gogra and Hot Springs, government sources said.
DRDO's latest tank will face trial in Rajasthan's summer which will be followed by 'user trials' ahead of facing battle in high-altitude deserts of eastern Ladakh and Sikkim, reports Ajai Shukla.
All of India welcomes the Light Combat Helicopter into the Armed Forces arsenal and wishes it a safe tenure and happy shooting. May it rule the skies and ensure that the enemies are given a fitting reply when the need arises.
The Chinese side has particularly bolstered its presence in the Galwan Valley, erecting around 100 tents in the last two weeks and bringing in heavy equipment for construction of bunkers, notwithstanding the stiff protest by Indian troops. There have been reports of multiple incidents of transgressions by Chinese troops in several areas in Eastern Ladakh.
"I still have not heard a credible explanation as to why they chose to bring that size of forces to that sector of our border. Now, if peace and tranquility is disturbed and attempts are being made to change the LAC status quo unilaterally and large forces are brought to the border in contravention of written agreements, then obviously the relationship will be impacted," he said.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
In his first engagement outside the national capital, the President confers a rare honour on a brave, young, regiment.
The visit comes a week after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a brutal assault by the Chinese military in Galwan Valley which escalated the border tension.
The talks between India and China on the border row in eastern Ladakh have helped 'build trust' and the situation in the region has been normal since the disengagement in the Pangong Tso areas in February, Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane said on Thursday, exuding confidence of resolution of the 'remaining issues'.
Singh and Esper also deliberated on ways to further boost bilateral defence and security cooperation, they said, adding the telephonic conversation took place at the request of the US side.
The visit by the MPs comes nearly two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met top leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on June 24.
The actor has used the platform to make a few revelations about his personal life. Namrata Thakker lists them out.
The two countries reviewed the situation in the region during a fresh round of online diplomatic talks under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday asserted that the government will not allow India's pride to be hurt under any circumstances even as he said bilateral talks were on at military and diplomatic levels to resolve the row.
Singh said the Modi government has changed the approach adopted by previous governments that the border areas are buffer zones between the plains and the potential adversary.
India on Tuesday outrightly rejected as 'senseless' China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, and asserted that assigning 'invented' names does not alter the reality that the state 'is, has been, and will always be' an integral part of India.
The poll authority noted that in the past these cities have "suffered" from urban apathy in voting.
In a statement, the ministry of home affairs said the UT of Ladakh consists of two districts of Kargil and Leh while the rest of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir is in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
In the next few days, Indian Army will carry out a detailed verification to check actual implementation of the disengagement process, he said. It is learnt that the mutual disengagement in Gogra (patrolling point 17A) is expected to be completed by Thursday.
The clear assertion by New Delhi came ahead of a fresh round of Lt General-level talks between the Indian army and the Chinese PLA which government sources said is set to take place within the next two days.
The main focus will be on the situation in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball face-off in sensitive areas like Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie
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