The MiG-21 episode demonstrates that procurement is always strategic.
Choices about what aircraft to acquire, who builds them, who supplies the spares, who trains the pilots and technicians are decisions with political consequences lasting for decades.
Low-level lightweight radars; very short-range air defence systems (launchers and missiles); remotely piloted aerial vehicles; loitering munitions, including vertical take-off and landing systems; different kinds of drones; bullet-proof vests; ballistic helmets; quick-reaction fighting vehicles -- heavy and medium; and night sights for rifles (aiming devices that are visible in low light).
In the past 10 years, over 500 PSB officers have died by suicide. When targets are overwhelming, senior management and customers are both impatient, and there is constant fear, not every banker has the resilience to survive and thrive, warns Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed petitions from the Ministry of Defence challenging disability pension orders for armed forces personnel, emphasizing that such pensions are a right, not an act of generosity, and should not be denied based solely on the location of disability onset or claims of lifestyle diseases.
'And then the people who call themselves great nationalists, I can bet you that 99 per cent of them are dodging taxes, have sent their kids to America, or are doing everything to make sure that what goes on in this country doesn't affect their personal wealth or their whatever bull*&$%.'
The last decision by Jairam Ramesh as environment minister was to ban the use of bulls as performing animals. This means that bulls can no longer be used in jallikattu, a bull-taming sport played in Tamil Nadu during Pongal celebrations.
China defends its construction of a dam on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet, addressing concerns from India and Bangladesh about its potential impact on water flow and the environment.
'There is a clear relationship between the Char Dham road widening and these landslides.' 'The situation has further worsened with the massive influx of tourists whose number are running into several lakhs per month.' 'No parameters have been laid down to control tourist inflow and the result is that the Char Dham yatra has seen a sharp escalation in accidents and loss of lives.'
Generative AI is transforming workplaces but at a cost -- there are fewer jobs for young workers just entering the workforce, reveals a Goldman Sachs report.
'It concerns the sea and the security of the nation. What has happened is a big tragedy.'
After registering a positive growth for two months, India's exports slipped into negative territory again, contracting 2.17 per cent year-on-year to $38.73 billion in May due to a fall in global petroleum prices, while trade deficit narrowed at $21.88 billion during the month.
We propose an expert group be set up to form a national strategy on digital fraud. This group would bring together skills in financial regulation, security economics, cyber defence, and public communications, and an understanding of the Indian financial and security systems. It should lay the foundations of a coordinated approach by the Indian State in fighting digital fraud, suggest Ajay Shah and Nandkumar Saravade.
'Non-BJP state governments and their leaders, navigating today's political landscape, know well they have no clue what awaits around the corner.' 'The chances of charges pressed and oneself getting parked in custody play out on an uneven playing field,' points out Shyam G Menon.
Citing poor attendance at the International Yoga Day event on June 21, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) issued a warning on Monday, saying this month's salaries of the employees who skipped the programme without prior intimation would be withheld, but withdrew the order within hours.
India and China have announced a series of measures aimed at improving their relationship, including maintaining peace along the border, reopening border trade, and resuming direct flights.
It was a meeting at the official level, not at the political level, Hossain said, adding that there was no element of formation of any alliance.
The slippage in the delivery schedule for the LCA Mk-1A variant of the jet had become a major issue with Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh raising the matter publicly.
The ministry also said it remains committed to full transparency relating to the ongoing investigation and will follow all mandated protocols and norms in the larger interest of the highest standards of passenger Safety and convenience.
Ministry sources told Business Standard that necessary action would be taken to amend the Act to include penalty for non-compliance and modify the procedure to decide the penalty and punishment under the Act.
'I am not an aspiration-oriented politician.' 'This is the time to redefine politics.' 'Politics of power is not real politics.'
India's merchandise exports to the US rose by 16.93 per cent to $8.83 billion in May, while imports dipped by 5.76 per cent to $3.62 billion during the month, according to the commerce ministry data. During April-May, the country's exports to the US increased by 21.78 per cent to $17.25 billion, while imports rose by 25.8 per cent to $8.87 billion, the data showed.
The sealing of the mega deal came three weeks after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the procurement.
'AAIB preliminary report was more detailed than most people were expecting.'
'...they always address problems superficially, never tackling root causes.' 'Currently, the policy response will focus on immediate relief -- getting people to safety, providing facilities, clearing debris.' 'This is necessary, but once immediate relief operations end, everything returns to 'normal' without addressing underlying vulnerabilities.'
The prospect of protracted uncertainties in the global economic landscape not only pose a risk for India's growth outlook in 2025-26, but are also likely to dent the private sector's capital raising and investment plans, the finance ministry averred on Tuesday, cautioning the country's corporates that the era of 'easy pickings' was over.
The court observed that protection of the floodplains aimed to secure the fundamental human right to a clean and healthy environment for Delhi residents and future generations.
The Bharat Mata controversy in Kerala shows how political and symbolic fights between the state and the Centre have taken attention away from education, throwing the state's oldest university into confusion and disorder, observes Shyam G Menon.
It further said that the owners, master and crew of the vessel handled the ship in a negligent manner despite being aware of the dangerous cargo it was carrying.
The frequency of short-duration, heavy rainfall events over central India and long-duration heavy rainfall events over the north-western coasts of the country has risen considerably in the last few decades.
'The government is actively engaging with EU to ensure that concerns of Indian companies and hard-to-abate sectors are adequately addressed under CBAM'
In the letter issued, considering the last night attacks by Pakistani forces in Jammu and Jaisalmer regions, the provision also authorises the use of local authority funds for such emergency measures, giving them precedence over other financial obligations.
The project will involve scanning lakhs of pages into electronic format, the official said. At present, all sections of the ministry headquarters at Paryavaran Bhawan were full of records. A single wing of Vigyan Sadan at R K Puram has been converted into a record room for files of various divisions.
Aasked to specify such projects which are passing through tiger corridor or forest areas, Jairam Ramesh said that one is in Madhya Pradesh and the other is in Assam.
'Even one accident can cause problems for the entire coastal system.'
'If you don't fulfil whatever they ask, you are in trouble.'
A total of 750 pilgrims have been selected through a computerised draw for the upcoming Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in Tibet, marking the resumption of the pilgrimage after a five-year gap. The Yatra's resumption is seen as an attempt to normalize India-China relations, which were strained by the eastern Ladakh border standoff. The pilgrimage will begin in June and continue until August, with pilgrims traveling in five batches via the Lipulekh route and ten batches via the Nathu La route. The selection process was deemed "fair, computer-generated, random, gender-balanced" by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which organized the pilgrimage.
Geopolitical tensions, trade policy uncertainties, volatility in international commodity prices and financial market uncertainties pose considerable risks to India's economic growth in the coming year, the finance ministry cautioned on Wednesday. "Global trade continues to be affected by uncertainty in the policy environment... tariff-related developments in multiple countries have heightened trade-related risks, affecting investment and trade flows globally.
The recent helicopter crash near Kedarnath, in which seven lives were lost, has proven yet again that aviation regulatory authorities have not learnt lessons from similar air mishaps in the challenging Kedar valley and have done little to improve flying conditions.
The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a petition filed by an NGO challenging the construction of a renewable energy project at the Jayakwadi Dam in Maharashtra. The court criticized the NGO for opposing the project, stating that it would be detrimental to the country's progress if every project was resisted. The court also raised questions about the NGO's bona fides and funding, suggesting that it may have been influenced by a company that lost the tender for the project. The project, a floating solar power plant, was approved by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. The NGT had previously dismissed the NGO's plea, stating that it could not find any law prohibiting such activities in the eco-sensitive zone. The Supreme Court upheld the NGT's decision, finding no grounds to interfere.
Stating that Adarsh Housing Society had brazenly violated the law, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on Monday ruled out the possibility of regularizing the 31-storey building, at a hearing before the Bombay High Court.