The Indian Navy has been hit by yet another alleged sex scandal as the wife of a senior officer has charged her husband with forcing her to get "sexually involved" with his colleagues, prompting Defence Minister A K Antony to order a probe.
With the army chief's allegation of bribe offer kicking up a storm, Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday said he had asked General V K Singh to take action but he did not want to pursue the matter for unknown reasons.
After the October 7 attack by Iranian-backed Hamas forces on Israel, the United States military has blamed other Iranian-backed proxy groups for near-daily attacks against its forces in Iraq and Syria.
Noting that land scams such as Sukna and Adarsh Society have projected armed forces in a "bad" light, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Wednesday that policies would be framed to bar local military authorities from directly issuing 'no objection certificates' to private realtors.
The issue was raised by Secretary of State Tony Blinken during his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Washington, DC last week.
Defence Minister A K Antony will on Monday inaugurate an airbase in Thanjavur to house squadron of IAFs lethal Su-30 MKI combat aircraft, making it the first fighter squadron in south India that will help maintain vigil over the Indian Ocean region.
The writer and producer died "peacefully" on Sunday evening surrounded by his wife and family, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Two days after constituting a 10-member Group of Ministers on Telangana, the government reorganised the panel, dropping Minister of Human Resource Development M Pallam Raju and bringing in Defence Minister A K Antony. The number has also been brought down to seven.
United States President Joe Biden is not travelling to India next month to grace the Republic Day celebrations as the Chief Guest, and New Delhi is looking at holding the next Quad summit later next year instead of its earlier plan to host it in January, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Taking serious note of the incident where a merchant vessel M V Pavit ran aground at Mumbai coast on Sunday, Defence Minister A K Antony has asked Navy and Indian Coast Guard to submit a report as to how the abandoned ship entered Indian waters undetected.
The United Democratic Front government in Kerala has finally decided not to go in for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the conspiracy angle behind last year's violence in Marad in Kozhikode district that claimed nine lives
The much talked about report of the AK Antony panel, which went into the reasons of worst-ever poll debacle of Congress, was today submitted to party President Sonia Gandhi.
"We have to constantly upgrade our military and economic capabilities," the minister told army commanders while referring to relations with China as he opened the five-day top army commanders bi-annual conference in Delhi. His remarks are significant as the minister has just undertaken a major tour of the Sino-Indian frontier in Arunachal Pradesh.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said the government and the armed forces will not spare any person found guilty of wrongdoing in the Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai.
A memorandum of understanding between the defence and telecom ministries for vacation of spectrum was signed two years ago.
Increase in number of ceasefire violations across the Line of Control is a matter of concern and is constantly being reviewed by the government, Defence Minister A K Antony said.
Fifty-four defence personnel, including a BHorder Security Force trooper, missing since the 1965 and 1971 wars are believed to be in the custody of Pakistan, Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday said.
Claiming that the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala had little to show as its achievement, Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday said the state would become the 'second Bengal' if the Left alliance returned to power.
The tussle for No 2 position in United Progressive Alliance-II has put the spotlight on the political careers of A K Antony and Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar, which show striking similarities.
The suspense over the fate of embattled Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan continued on Sunday night with a high-level Congress committee tasked to give a report on the housing scam in Mumbai saying it would need 'more time' to do its job. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is heading the two-member committee, met fellow panel member Defence Minister A K Antony on Sunday night shortly after his arrival from Kolkata.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday held wide ranging discussions with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran and their discussion focused on the long term framework for India's involvement with the strategically vital Chabahar port and the North-South connectivity project.
However, there were conflicting reports about the number of blasts as state ministers VN Vasavan and Antony Raju said there were two blasts, while Congress MP from Ernakulam, Hibi Eden, said there were multiple blasts according to one of his friends who attended the convention.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders led by L K Advani on Wednesday raised with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh their objections to Defence Minister A K Antony's statement on the killing of Indian soldiers along the LOC, terming it as a "goof-up", and pressed for a clarification on the serious matter.
China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang has not been seen in public since June 25. Is he unwell, or has he been purged?
Amid demands by the armed forces for a war memorial in Delhi, Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday said things were progressing in a "comfortable" manner on the issue. "I can tell you that things are now progressing very well. Things are progressing very well," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function to pay homage to the martyrs of defence forces on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas.
India and the US agreed to continue their cooperation in the areas of defence, space and clean energy as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary of State Antony Blinken here, amid a simmering diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.
Attacking the government over defence preparedness and shortage of equipment, the Bharatiya Janata Party specifically targetted Defence Minister A K Antony in Rajya Sabha saying his "no work, no mistake and clean image" was a dangerous policy.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Defence Minister A K Antony has recommended a CBI probe into an alleged recruitment scam in DRDO where several senior officers including two of its former chiefs are under the scanner.
Giving his assessment of the situation in Kashmir, General Singh complimented the army for bringing down the level of violence in the state.
India has conveyed its concern to China over the presence of Chinese personnel in Pakistan- occupied Kashmir (PoK) and asserted that it was consistently strengthening its capabilities in the eastern sector to meet any challenge.
The Hamas terror group has over 240 hostages captivated in Gaza, according to Israeli officials, adding that a little less than half of them are civilians, and the larger deal negotiated would involve the release of all of those civilians.
He said though law and order was mainly a state subject the Centre was prepared to extend any support, including providing paramilitary forces, to deal with any internal security problem.
The youngest in the CWC is 31-year-old Neeraj Kundan, who is an ex-officio member of the body as the president of the National Students Union of India, the students' wing of the party.
The procedure for purchasing 126 multi-role combat jets for the Indian Air Force is in the final stage and will be completed shortly, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Wednesday.
'They hate him so much that if PM Modi says the Sun rises in the east the Congress will say the Sun rises in the west.'
A worried army chief, General Deepak Kapoor, has protested to Defence Minister A K Antony about the derailing of vital defence purchases by allegations of corruption. On June 10, General Kapoor complained about the cancellation of army trials on the Pegasus ultra-light howitzer, after the manufacturer, Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK), was suspended on suspicion of links with a discredited Ministry of Defence official.
Ridiculing the claim by Pakistan navy chief Admiral Noman Bashir that there was no evidence to show that Mumbai attackers had taken the sea route, India on Saturday said its investigation has conclusively proved that they came from the neighbouring country through the maritime route. Commenting on his counterpart's claim, Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, also said that the 'full and complete' probe by the investigating agencies have proved that the attackers came via sea.
The Quad summit to be hosted by India in 2024 is likely to enhance New Delhi's strategic intent.
