The defence budget was on Thursday increased to Rs 6.21 lakh crore for 2024-25 in a modest hike of 4.72 per cent from last year's allocation of Rs 5.25 lakh crore amid India's continuing border row with China in eastern Ladakh as well as concerns over evolving security situation in the strategic waterways.
The trigger that led Japan and the Philippines to ink the deal was because of the deteriorating security situation in the South China Sea. China's coast guard increased the frequency and intensity of incursions into Philippine waters, provoking the Philippines to take countermeasures to deter China, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
Over seven years after an IAF AN-32 aircraft went missing in 2016, scientists at the Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) stumbled upon its debris when they were testing the instruments of their newly-acquired autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for seabed mapping in December.
Russian authorities on Wednesday resumed search operation for 10 missing sailors, including four Indians.
India and Iran on Monday signed a 10-year contract for the operation of a terminal at the strategically important Chabahar port in Iran, a move that will boost regional connectivity as well as trade ties. This is the first time India will take over the management of an overseas port that will also have a multiplier effect on trade among India, Iran and Afghanistan as efforts continue to directly tap the potential in Central Asia, bypassing neighbouring Pakistan.
All the six diesel-electric attack submarines will be equipped with the anti-ship missile, which has a proven record in combat, the defence ministry said.
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant controversial US ship Oriental Nicety, earlier known as 'Exxon Valdez' and involved in one of the worst US oil spills off Alaska in 1986, an immediate permission to anchor off the Gujarat coast.
At war, the Jalashwa can carry and launch a full infantry battalion in a single wave. At peace, the Jalashwa can evacuate 1,000 people in a single trip. Ajai Shukla explains why the Indian Navy's new tender for more ships like the Jalashwa must be treated with special urgency.
The trials were initially planned for February 27-29 but got postponed
12 persons have so far been rescued from the sea. Nine sailors are still listed as missing.
Nearly a month after MV Seam Guard Ohio, a ship owned by an American security firm and headed to Sierra Leone, was intercepted in Indian waters, authorities are no closer to finding answers to any of the questions they have about the ship and its mysterious crew members.
Despite discounts on Russian crude oil - which fell to the lowest since the Ukraine war began - and the rising sanctions, import volumes from the country will remain stable for now or at least till July, said refinery officials. "There is an appetite for Russian crude, and shipments are not expected to taper off beyond this point unless something major happens. "Talks are on, and buying will continue," an official at a major refinery said.
The compulsion behind India and Japan to deepen security cooperation is in response to China's growing political and economic clout and its assertive behaviour in disputed areas. This has been the key driver for bringing both India and Japan closer in the domain of security cooperation, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
The mega procurement proposal will shortly be placed before the Defence Acquisition Council, the defence ministry's top body on procurement, they said.
Pant, a 1991-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Rajasthan cadre, is currently secretary in the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways.
The country's exports edged up 1 per cent to $38.45 billion in December 2023 while the trade deficit narrowed to a three-month low of $19.8 billion, official data released on Monday showed. Imports declined by 4.85 per cent to $58.25 billion in December last year due to a dip in crude oil shipments. The previous low in trade deficit - the difference between imports and exports - was recorded in September at $19.37 billion.
The hull of INS Agray, which is part of the Navy's anti-submarine warfare squadron, was damaged resulting in flooding of the ship's engine room.
The government on Thursday banned exports of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply and keep retail prices under check during the upcoming festive season. There would be no change in export policy of par-boiled non-basmati rice and basmati rice, which forms the bulk of exports, the food ministry said in a statement. Non-basmati white rice constitutes about 25 per cent of total rice exported from the country.
Russia's Moskva missile cruiser, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet has been hit by heavy fire and the following detonation of ammunition, the Russian defense ministry said on Thursday.
The drills kickstarted on Saturday (April 8) right after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen returned from the US where she met House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a meeting to which China strictly showed opposition to.
A Turkish oil-chemical tanker with an all Indian crew of 24 has been hijacked by pirates off the coast of the West African nation Gabon.
The pilot ejected safely and a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident, the IAF said in a brief statement.
The timing coincides with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu's recent state visit to China, aimed at strengthening ties.
'The first duty of the government is to learn lessons from a bad experience and course correct. It's a pity that the government is making policy without looking at evidence and differentiating between immediate and urgent.'
Warship building projects worth at least Rs 630 billion have ground to a standstill. The defence ministry has halted tendering in wait for a government decision on whether to allow, or to exclude, Anil Ambani's shipbuilding firm from those contracts.
China in Monday dismissed as "groundless" a media report that its navy had confronted an Indian naval ship in the South China Sea while returning from a goodwill visit to Vietnam.
100-day agenda: Commerce ministry pushes for separate logistics department
The government has asked Indian ships sailing in the Malacca Strait and South East Asia to be 'extra cautious' and take necessary security steps in view of rising incidents of hijacking and robbery
While Narendra Modi spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor -- 275 days versus Dr Singh's 306 - he has travelled more widely than any other Indian PM.
The navy's need for shallow water anti-submarine craft stems from the peculiar nature of the Arabian Sea bed, which is extremely shallow even tens of nautical miles from the coast.
Taking a serious view of the suspicious movement of an American ship in Indian waters, the Centre on Monday sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government on the vessel which was detained for carrying arms and buying diesel unauthorisedly.
As tensions prevailed with Philippines over the disputed South China Sea, China on Thursday asked Manila to remove its naval vessels "immediately" from a contentious lagoon where ships of the two countries were locked in an uneasy standoff.
In a move that may cripple the nation's oil and gas production, the shipping ministry has issued new norms for operation of vessels in the Indian waters that will force leading operators like Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Reliance Industries to shut offshore operations.
A day after an FIR was filed against 35 persons on board US ship 'M V Seaman Guard Ohio,' detained for straying into Indian waters carrying weapons and ammunition, a multi-agency investigation, including officials from Research and Analysis Wing and Intelligence Bureau, has begun, sources said on Tuesday.
If the concerns over risking political capital are overcome, the long-term gains for the Indian economy will be immense, asserts A K Bhattacharya.
In the 'Additional guidelines for quarantine of returnees from abroad/contacts/ isolation of suspect or confirmed cases in private facilities', released on Thursday evening, the ministry said there are large number of facilities such as hotels, service apartments and lodges which are "unoccupied due to impact of COVID-19 on travel and tourism".
The Indian government on Friday said it has sought detailed information from all ports associated with DP World to assess the impact of Dubai debt crisis on Indian shipping sector.
The evacuation came days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Saudi Arabia counterpart and Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Sudan.
The Central probe team, which inspected the controversial United States ship Platinum-II anchored at the Alang shipyard in Gujarat, has given a clean chit to it, saying there were no toxic materials on board. The report has been submitted to the Environment Ministry, which will take a final decision on the fate of the US liner ship next week, after taking into consideration all aspects, sources in the ministry said. Meanwhile, environment groups have threatened to approach SC
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