"The firemen who have participated during the terror attack will be rewarded. The number has not been calculated yet but they will be given one increment," Chief Fire Officer Anil Sawant told PTI, adding the number of men to be rewarded would be around 250.
A scare was created on Wednesday after a man with a bag was spotted moving in a suspicious manner outside the Pathankot Air base.
On Friday, Home Minister P Chidambaram will visit the 'anti-terrorist hub' established by the Army in Bengaluru, a quick reaction team to handle 26/11 Mumbai type of attacks.
Prime Ministers Modi and Abe enjoyed a close and empathetic relationship and this certainly gave a sustained momentum to the India-Japan strategic partnership. It is necessary for India to reach out and engage with his successor as early as possible, advises former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
In a step closer to the operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal, US President George W Bush has formally certified to the Congress that the 123 agreement is consistent with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Addressing the Congress working committee meeting in New Delhi, Gandhi said it was "imperative for us to debunk the false propaganda being spread by the BJP, the Left parties and other political opponents."
Faced with criticism for delay in showing respect to slain NSG commando Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Sunday called on the soldier's family members here, but a depressed father of Sandeep declined to accept his condolences.
Family members, friends and army personnel besides thousands of ordinary people came out in the streets to pay homage to the martyr who laid down his life during the unprecedented anti-terror operation.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's allegation that he was not allowed to visit Maharashtra on Thursday and barred from visiting terror attack spots on Friday is politically motivated, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has said.Reacting strongly to Modi's charge that although he wanted to visit Mumbai on Thursday, he was not allowed to do so, Deshmukh said, "Modi need not be told that there is no point visiting places where police, NSG and the army is engaged."
The operation mounted by security personnel, against the terrorists holed up inside Nariman House in south Mumbai, finally came to an end on Friday night.The operation, involving personnel from the National Security Guard, the Rapid Action Force, the Black Cats and the Mumbai Police, had started on Thursday night.Addressing the media after the Nariman House operation, NSG Director General J K Dutt said that they have secured the building.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday afternoon soon after a meeting to decide on the modalities of withdrawal of support, Community Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat said with the prime minister announcing his decision to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency over the nuclear deal, no useful purpose will be served by continuing to support the government. The Left will be releasing documents to show that the government has lied to people.
The National Security Guard's fight against terrorists is 'almost coming to an end' and the commandos were locked in battle with the last batch of the ultras on Thursday night.Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor said all hostages inside the Taj Hotel have been evacuated but refused to comment on whether the terrorists inside the hotel have been killed.Regarding terrorists holed up in the Oberoi Hotel and Nariman House, Gafoor said NSG commandos are leading the operation.
India has received the first consignment of 60 tonnes of uranium from France for use as fuel to power its nuclear reactors following clearance by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group
Notwithstanding the NSG waiver for New Delhi, Japan on Wednesday appeared non-committal on civil nuclear cooperation with India even as the two countries agreed that atomic power could play an important role as a sustainable and non-polluting source of energy in meeting the growing global demands.
According to a study by the Centre for the Study of Science, Technology and Policy based in Bangalore, there is a good chance of nuclear power contributing about 57,000 MW by 2030 through LWRs and FBRs. By building more PHWRs too -- with totally indigenous technology, but run on imported uranium fuel -- the level could touch 70,000 MW or higher
The Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and the go-ahead for atomic commerce obtained by India from the NSG will help address world's shared interests in energy security and climate change, Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.
Nitin Gokhale reports on how quick decisions saved a repeat of a Mumbai-like carnage at the key Punjab air force base.
All this makes nonsense of the idea of India's professed "credible minimum deterrent", which is understood as a few dozen weapons. (After all, how many bombs does it take to flatten five Chinese or Pakistani cities? 15, 20, 50?) India already has an estimated 100 to 150 nuclear weapons. Adding to the stockpile can only encourage a vicious nuclear arms race with Pakistan and, more ominously, with China, further destabilising already volatile South Asia
Against the backdrop of Beijing's negative role at the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting in Vienna, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jeichi on Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and held talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Dr Singh told Yang that India was pleased to get the NSG waiver last week, official sources said.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon left for Washington Saturday morning after the two-day Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting in Vienna ended inconclusively on Friday with another round scheduled early next month for considering India's case for an exemption to do nuclear commerce with other countries.
Acceptance of the draft waiver in its current form could fuel a nuclear arms race in the Asian subcontinent, Edward J Markey, a critic of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal said, as the 45-member grouping yesterday held discussions over the matter as part of a two-day meet in Vienna.
Pakistan said that the incipient United States-India nuclear deal has spelled concerns in Islamabad over maintenance of strategic stability in the region, but that it will keep the balance despite its opposition to arms race.
Asking the Indian government to take a "courageous" decision on the civil nuclear deal considering the "short timelines", the Bush administration has cautioned it against attempting such an arrangement with other nations ignoring the United States..
Days after the standoff between terrorists and NSG commandos at the Taj Palace hotel came to an end, Hemalatha Kasi Pilai, a Malaysian, is still missing.
'Crores are spent on Martyrs Day and on lighting candles, but people don't respect living soldiers who are heroes.'
'If it had not been (Major) Sandeep's house, not even a dog would have glanced that way.' This was how Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan heaped scorn on Monday on the family of NSG Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan slain in the Mumbai terror attack during commando operations, igniting a controversy after smarting under the snub from the father of the angry officer's when he went to Bangalore to offer his condolences.
The terrorists achieved what they wanted to and have managed to send out panic waves across the country though they were defeated at the end.
As the terror drama unfolded in Mumbai, social networkers and bloggers rapidly posted pictures of the ongoing events and sent sms-es over phone to whet the growing hunger for information and reports of live unedited action.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was welcomed in Dublin by the voices of Irish children reciting Sanskrit shlokas, took a jibe at the opposition parties back home saying that if this was done in India then it would have raised questions about 'secularism'.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left here for home on Tuesday night at the end of his nine-day visit to the US and France, during which the landmark nuclear cooperation agreement was signed with the latter.
The recent NSG waiver, which has opened a new window for nuclear commerce in India, will benefit over 600 domestic and international firms and help draw over Rs 180,000 crore (Rs 1,800 billion) in foreign investment over the next 10-15 years, according to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (Ficci).
During their talks, the two prime ministers agreed on expanding bilateral cooperation in civilian uses of nuclear energy, an issue which has figured during high-level exchanges between the two Asian giants.
The European Union is following with great interest India's discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the civilian nuclear agreement and will take a decision on supporting India at the Nuclear Suppliers Group after studying all the developments.
During the talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Francois Hollande reassured reliable, uninterrupted and continued access to nuclear fuel supply throughout the entire lifetime of the plants while acknowledging India's need for the same.
This comes at a time the domestic industry is gearing up to enter the nuclear arena. On Monday, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industries set up a lobby group comprising 40 Indian companies, including Jindal Power and Tata Power, to promote private participation in nuclear power generation.
Ahead of the crucial Itentaional Atomic Energy Agency meeting on Friday, a group of arms control experts has urged both the atomic watchdog and Nuclear Suppliers Group to look at the Indo-US nuclear deal 'very carefully and remove all ambiguities'.
An authoritative and well-connected strategic affairs journal in China has come out with a prompt independent comment on the progress in the N-deal.
Noting that the session is taking place just ahead of the 70th Independence Day, Modi said he was confident that discussions of the highest standard will be held.
A day after National Security Guard Lt Col Niranjan Kumar and Garud Commando Gursewak Singh were slain in the Pathankot air base attack, their remains were brought home for the last rites. Locals, family members and politicians gathered to pay their respects to these heroes.
Menon is expected to press India's case for allowing it to have civil nuclear cooperation with the international community. He is likely to cite India's impeccable track record on the non-proliferation front despite being a non-signatory to the NPT.
