The bribery scandal involving AgustaWestland's VVIP helicopter deal threatens to corner the Congress party and cast a shadow on India's latest $10 billion defence deal with Dassault for 126 Rafale fighter aircraft. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, chief of the air staff, flew a sortie in an IAF Rafale fighter while FASF Chief General Stephane Mille flew in an IAF Su-30MKI fighter.
One hopes the new Lok Sabha will mark a break from a dismal tradition -- lack of interest in defence and security policies, argues Colonel Anil A Athale.
The People's Daily, the Chinese Communist newspaper, says the sale of the Rafale fighter plane 'encourages, excites and spurs India's appetite and ambition to become a great military power.' Does India have a choice, considering the People's Liberation Army's frantic speed of development, wonders Claude Arpi.
With alertness very high post the surgical strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Uri attack, Indian Air Force is aggressively upgrading infrastructure in the eastern sector specially in Arunachal Pradesh.
The bitter war between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Rafale deal on Tuesday saw more name-calling with the opposition party dubbing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as a "babble blogger" and dismissing his "clown prince out-clowning himself" barb at Rahul Gandhi as "hollow rants of a court jester".
The Congress on Sunday kept up its attack on the Narendra Modi government over the Rafale deal with France and questioned why the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited was kept out of the agreement for the purchase of the fighter jets.
Which of the two aircraft will India chose? Let's take a closer look at the two aircraft.
Taking a dig at Pakistan without naming it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said a country which was a supplier of aatank (terror) is struggling for aata (flour) these days.
Politely decline to be prime minister, and hand the baton to someone else in the BJP -- like Sonia did to Manmohan Singh -- advises Krishna Prasad.
Modi said the House did not witness any earthquake, an apparent reference to claims of Rahul Gandhi that his revelation on Rafale would create tremors.
The trio said the top court had relied upon 'patently incorrect' claims made by the government in an unsigned note given in a sealed cover in the court.
The Congress's new treasurer Ahmed Patel has been meeting industrialists and businessmen. He met one of the biggest industrialists of the country last week, but the assurance of any significant donation was half-hearted from the other end. Business houses aren't exactly queuing up to offer donations, reports Archis Mohan.
India plans to sign the $11 billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft deal with French Rafale by the end of August and September, a senior Indian Air Force official said on Saturday. "I find no reason why it shouldn't be signed by the end of this month or next month", said Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, IAF, Air Marshal Rajinder Singh.
The city is in garba and dandiya practice mode.
There was no word on the much-anticipated procurement of 26 naval variants of Rafale fighter jets by India from France.
'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
HAL has integrated the ASRAAM (advanced short range air-to-air missile) for the Tejas Mark 1A. The Tejas Mark 1A will carry twin ASRAAM missiles with a range of 60 to 70 kilometres.
Ending months of speculation, India has finally selected Rafale as the best aircraft tailor-made to meet its requirements for at least the next decade and replace its ageing fleet of MiGs. But is it what India needs now to safeguard its skies?
Officials hint the visit could finally see a formal defence industrial road map being adopted by both nations.
Enhancing cooperation in the key areas of defence, nuclear energy, counter-terrorism and trade will be focus of French President Francois Hollande's first visit in New Delhi but USD 10-billion deal for Rafale fighter aircraft will not be inked during his two-day stay starting Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Abu Dhabi on July 15.
Contract negotiations for the multi-billion dollar deal will resume soon, government sources have told PTI in New Delhi
Marking a breakthrough in the protracted talks in the French Rafale jet deal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Friday that India will purchase 36 of these fighter planes that are ready to fly, citing critical operational requirement of the Indian Air Force.
Dominic Thiem, U.S. Open winner in 2020, has secured a place in the main draw of the Australian Open after the withdrawal of Reilly Opelka, the tournament organisers confirmed on Friday.
"Now, Rahul Gandhi calls the entire OBC community thieves. He gets flak in the courts but he refuses to apologise thus showing how deep-rooted his hatred for OBCs is. The people of India did not forgive him in 2019. In 2024 the punishment will be more severe," he said.
The opposition made it clear during the meeting that it will press for a joint parliamentary committee to probe the Rafale jet deal and raise several issues, including the "misuse" of probe agencies and the autonomy for Reserve Bank of India.
Is it is necessary to play divisive politics to succeed in the next general elections? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
The speech he gave in which he accused the Congress of getting black money in tempos from Ambani and Adani is remarkable.' 'It is a self-goal for sure, but indicates someone who has lost control, someone who is rattled.'
Operation Meghdoot was launched on April 13, 1984, when the Indian Army and IAF advanced to the Siachen Glacier to secure the heights dominating the northern Ladakh region
The HAL and GE from the US would be producing these engines jointly in a facility in India.
The mesmerizing march included elite marching contingents, missiles, warplanes, surveillance gadgets and lethal weapon systems, with French President Emmanuel Macron gracing the occasion as the chief guest.
"They probably ran the Defence Ministry with a lot of brokers and 'dalals' in between," she said.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, the first top-level dignitary from France to meet the new Indian government, on Monday pushed for early purchase of the multi-billion dollar Rafale combat aircraft during his meetings with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, the first top-level dignitary from France to meet the new Indian government, on Monday pushed for early purchase of the multi-billion dollar Rafale combat aircraft during his meetings with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.
As part of the Cope India 2023 exercise, five top-notch fighter jets of the two air forces took off in quick succession from the air force base.
The ceremonial arch, inaugurated in July 1836, in a rather austere ceremony, stands proudly at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle with 12 grand avenues radiating outward from the commemorative landmark.
Several aircraft such as Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, Sukhoi, Jaguar, Rafale, IL-76, C-130J, and Hawk displayed their skillful manoeuvres, amid a thundering applause from the gathering.
Quantity has a quality of its own. That is why the USAF and the Israeli air forces have large fleets of single-engine F-16 fighters. That is also the logic for India's MiG-21 fleet and for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft that will replace it, writes Ajai Shukla
The most important lesson is that you have to build your political proposition, and sell it yourself. You can't leave it to the courts, media, NGOs and civil society and expect them to play the role of the Opposition. That's precisely what Mr Modi's challengers have been doing and we know the results, notes Shekhar Gupta.
