Amid Delhi's worsening air quality, which has plunged into the severe plus category with an AQI consistently above 450, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday called for immediate intervention from the central government.
India is working with the US on an "early" visit to Washington by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to further deepen the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the two countries, the External Affairs Ministry said on Friday. Following a phone conversation with Modi this week, US President Donald Trump said the Indian prime minister "is going to be coming to the White House, over next month, probably February". It would be Modi's first bilateral visit to Washington after Trump became US president for a second term. While confirming discussions between India and the US on the proposed visit, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal did not mention any possible time-line for the trip. In their phone conversation on January 27, Modi and Trump vowed to work towards a "trusted" partnership with a focus on boosting India-US cooperation in areas of trade, energy and defence. "PM Modi and President Trump had a telephone conversation recently. The two sides are working on an early visit of the PM to the US to further deepen India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing while replying to a question. "Specific dates for the visit would be announced at the appropriate time," he said. It is learnt that both sides were initially looking at the window between February 12-14 for Modi's visit but there has been no finality on it yet. The prime minister is set to travel to Paris to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action summit on February 10 and 11. Though the US president has also been invited to the summit, his participation is not yet confirmed.
On Thursday, the Chinese military published its ICBM launch photos, shedding its secrecy.
The attack occurred hours after Home Affairs Adviser, retired Lieutenant General M Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, in a pre-dawn press conference reiterated the government's commitment to maintaining law and order.
The government needs to answer the critical question of whether it has accepted any restrictions on its infrastructure creation activities, asserts Ajai Shukla.
Almost five years later, the three services have still not fully understood that joint/theatre commands are not a discussion point; they are the prime minister's diktat on a military reform measure that is in line with what armed forces around the world have implemented, points out Ajai Shukla.
Three personnel, including two of major-rank and one naib subedar, have been conferred the Kirti Chakra, the ministry said.
The participation of the three vice chiefs in the Tarang Shakti exercise demonstrated the growing focus on cross-domain cooperation, with land, sea, and air forces working together to face modern challenges, an official said.
A panel led by the secretaries of the DEA and the DIPP would conduct a quarterly review on the pending proposals.
It will be the first visit by a top US official after the Joe Biden administration took charge.
The father of Shariful Islam, the Bangladeshi man accused of stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan, claims his son was framed and is seeking help from the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry and the Indian High Commission for his release. He alleges that Shariful was living in India illegally without proper documentation and was in fear of arrest. Ruhul claims his son was not the person seen in the CCTV footage and believes there might be a conspiracy. He says Shariful left Bangladesh after the re-election of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, fearing for his safety.
It is baffling how the PM chose the LCH as an indigenous product to celebrate on Rashtriya Raksha Samarpan Parv, even while his Cabinet holds up manufacturing clearance for 15 LCHs on the grounds that they are not Indian enough.
'This was a decision taken and executed by Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottu Amman. Both were convinced that the assassination would not be linked to them.'
The IAF contingent participated in the exercise from June 4 to 14.
"Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects," he said.
The United States has approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, to India. The decision was announced by President Donald Trump during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House. India is currently working on the logistics of Rana's surrender and extradition, with several final steps to be completed before he is sent back to India. The joint statement issued by India and the US during Prime Minister Modi's visit reaffirmed their commitment to fighting terrorism and eliminating terrorist safe havens. The leaders also called on Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently lodged at a metropolitan detention center in Los Angeles. He is associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
In the last four months, the Centre has been reviewing all the "Buy-Global" cases that are in the contracting phase right now, Jaju said.
Defence experts want defence expenditure to be at 3% of GDP, which they consider minimum to counter the two-front threat from China and Pakistan, internal insurgencies, and dominating a 7,500 km coastline and the Indian Ocean beyond. What Arun Jaitley has given India this Budget is 2.16% of GDP, observes Ajai Shukla.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into allegations of Pakistan links of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi's British wife Elizabeth Colburn. Sarma alleged that Colburn had visited Pakistan after her marriage and that there are apprehensions of ISI infiltration into the Chief Minister's Office when Gogoi's father, the late Tarun Gogoi, was the chief minister. Sarma also shared screenshots of social media posts by Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, an advisor of the Pakistan Planning Commission and a former colleague of Colburn, claiming that the relationship between the Gogois and Sheikh appeared to be "deeply rooted." Sarma's allegations have been rejected by the Congress as "laughable and entertaining."
Naval Group's announcement comes a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris where he is scheduled meet recently re-elected French President Emmanuel Macron.
L&T chairman and managing director A M naik has written a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan ingh saying there is a conflict of interest in the way the defence ministry is organised.
New ministry will bring much-needed transparency in the functioning of the cooperatives, which so far have been riddled with allegations of political interference and mismanagement.
China has also announced that it would hold six live-fire military drills in waters around Taiwan.
'Our politicians solely depend on bureaucrats who are unaccountable and follow their own agenda.' 'Our politicians would dare not dream of establishing a DOGE,' argues Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Five Army personnel were killed and as many injured on Monday when a group of heavily-armed terrorists ambushed a patrolling party in Badnota area in Kathua.
He also asserted that ease of living and ease of doing business were behind the spirit of the work being done under the Central Vista project.
A 37-year-old man accused of raping a woman inside a bus at Swargate bus station in Pune was arrested after a days-long manhunt. The accused, Dattaray Ramdas Gade, was hiding in a paddy field in his native Shirur tehsil. Police used drones and sniffer dogs to track him down.
Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) make public its findings from the "box of evidence" received from Switzerland regarding the Bofors payoffs. Subramaniam, author of 'Boforsgate: A Journalist's Pursuit of Truth', expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the evidence, questioning who opened the box, when it was opened, and what it contained. She also raised doubts about the official narrative regarding the alleged bribe in the Bofors case, suggesting the sum of Rs 64 crore may not reflect the full extent of the corruption. Subramaniam also alleged that the CBI planted stories about Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan to derail the investigation and launched a political vendetta against the Bachchans. She recalled that Bachchan had come to her home and asked if she had seen his name. The CBI has recently requested assistance from the United States in the case, seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who claims to have crucial details about the scandal. The Bofors scandal, a major bribery case involving the Indian government and the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in the 1980s, pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers.
Pawar was amenable to increasing the height of the boundary walls of his house in Delhi as part of the enhanced security measures.
The Enhanced Pinaka has demonstrated a range of 75 km and an ability to strike within 10 metres of where it is aimed. This allows a Pinaka battery to destroy a terrorist camp, or an enemy post, logistics dump or headquarters, without sending soldiers across the border.
Top Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Mohammed Kobeissi was killed in the Israeli strike on Beirut on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.
The Indian government has initiated the process of procuring All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) for deployment along the northern borders for the Indian Army. The Ministry of Defence has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking vendors who can supply the vehicles. The RFI outlines operational and technical specifications for the ATVs, including a minimum seating capacity of four personnel, disc brakes, automatic transmission, and heliportability by Chinook/Mi26 helicopters.
The Battle of Lhagyala on November 23, 1962, fought by the 4 Rajput Regiment against the Chinese PLA, remains a forgotten chapter of heroism, with no survivors left to tell their story.
Students from de-notified tribes, nomadic tribes and semi-nomadic tribes will receive coaching fees of up to 1,20,000 and additional benefits for preparing for entrance examinations such as JEE, NEET, CLAT and the NDA.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President-elect Donald Trump have 'reaffirmed their commitment' to working together to further strengthen bilateral ties across a range of sectors, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
The development assumes significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last month announced 10 lakh government recruitments in the next 1.5 years.
The ministry of defence in September 2021 signed a Rs 21,935-crore contract with Airbus Defense and Space SA, Spain for supply of 56 aircraft.
The defence ministry has lost sight of what it intended to achieve -- which was to nurture private defence firms that would compete on equal terms with the 9 defence PSUs and the 41 Ordnance Factory Board factories.
The CDS will be a four-star general and his salary will be equivalent to that of service chiefs.
The Delhi High Court has set aside the Centre's order cancelling the Overseas Citizen of India card of a US-based professor, saying the notice lacked specific details or evidence supporting the allegations of "anti-India activities." The court ruled that the professor was deprived of a fair chance to present a defense, violating procedural fairness and principles of natural justice. The court has directed authorities to issue a fresh notice with specific grounds and allow the professor to respond before making a decision on his entry into India.
