Xi ordered the military to think about worst-case scenarios, scale up training and battle preparedness, promptly and effectively deal with all sorts of complex situations and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, without mentioning any specific issues that posed a threat to the country.
The 101 Squadron is the second IAF squadron to be equipped with the Rafale fighter jets. In September last year, the Rafale aircraft were inducted into the 17 'Golden Arrows' Squadron.
The Chinese action followed 'India's recent, illegal construction of defence facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region', a write-up in the state-run Global Times tabloid said, quoting unnamed military sources.
The COVID-19 vaccination drive was successfully conducted on the first day, Additional Secretary in the Union health ministry Manohar Agnani said during a press briefing. Giving an update on COVID-19 vaccination, the health ministry said 3,352 vaccination sessions were held and 1,91,181 beneficiaries vaccinated.
The further distribution of vaccine to the districts will be done as per the registered beneficiaries, for which a separate communication will be done shortly, the letter stated.
In a thrilling match in Surat, Gujarat defeated Rajasthan "by one over eliminator" after the two teams ended with identical scores in 20 overs and the match was tied.
The country's total vaccination coverage has surpassed 6 crore on Sunday.
India will maintain territorial integrity in Doklam, the Raksha Mantri said.
Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat are reporting a surge in daily COVID-19 cases and the five states together account for 77.44 per cent of the new infections, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.
Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh have emerged as the poorest states in India, according to Niti Aayog's first Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report. As per the index, 51.91 per cent population of Bihar is poor, followed 42.16 per cent in Jharkhand, 37.79 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. While Madhya Pradesh (36.65 per cent) has been placed fourth in the index, Meghalaya (32.67 per cent) is at the fifth spot. Kerala (0.71 per cent), Goa (3.76 per cent), Sikkim (3.82 per cent), Tamil Nadu (4.89 per cent) and Punjab (5.59 per cent) have registered the lowest poverty across India and are at the bottom of the index.
Chinese military has also deployed a sizeable number of its troops in Galwan Valley, the site of the violent clashes on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
85 rescue and relief teams have been pre-positioned in 'vulnerable' states and all its 12 battalions across the country have been alerted and asked to be prepared to tackle any flood situation caused by heavy rains.
Maharashtra alone accounts for 61.8 per cent of the daily new cases with 17,864 cases. It is followed by Kerala with 1,970 while Punjab reported 1,463 new cases, the ministry said.
Power lines were snapped in Darjeeling and Kalimpong where Sunday evening's tremor was mainly felt and administration has been instructed to take necessary steps, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
The Centre on Tuesday permitted 20 states to raise Rs 68,825 crore through open market borrowings to bridge the GST revenue shortfall.
"It is learnt that Covid-19 positive cases have been detected in India and the numbers have been increasing. It is also learnt that the spread of the coronavirus in India is primarily from visitors who had history of travelling abroad recently or through tourists who have visited India," the government order said.
China and India have agreed to work to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control and resolve the border standoff through talks while implementing the consensus reached between the two countries' leadership that 'differences' do not escalate into 'disputes', a top Chinese official said.
The new judges of the top court include Justice B V Nagarathna, who will be in line to be the first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) in September 2027, Justice Bela M Trivedi, Justice Hima Kohli, Justice C T Ravikumar, Justice M M Sundresh, and senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha.
The MEA spokesperson did not reply to questions like whether the US had approached India with the offer, whether New Delhi has communicated its response over it to Washington, DC or whether the Trump administration has been briefed about the current standoff between Chinese and Indian soldiers in eastern Ladakh.
The Indian Army will continue to maintain its aggressive posturing in all disputed areas in eastern Ladakh and will not back off till status quo is maintained, sources said.
'Whether Kashmir or anywhere else, whether in peace or in war, pay commissions or no pay commissions, hollowness and shortages notwithstanding, the Indian Army -- and Sekin Fif -- will always be there to keep India together.'
Indian football hero of '80s, Chibuzor dies
Rediff.com takes a look at record-setting wins in Indian politics.
Sandesh Jhingan will become the first India international footballer to play in the Croatian top-tier league Prva HNL after completing a move from ATK Mohun Bagan to HNK Sibenik.
The Centre on Tuesday promised to take action on the report of a fact-finding team which claimed that there were 15,000 incidents of post-poll violence in West Bengal in which 25 people were killed and 7,000 women were molested.
Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling has promised to make every Sikkimese a 'crorepati' if he or she votes for his Sikkim Democratic Front in the April 12 Lok Sabha election, inviting criticism from his opponents.
A round-up of results from the Ranji Trophy matches played on Sunday.
The gun is unique in its ability to fire a five-round burst, while no other contemporary The gun is unique in its ability to fire a five-round burst, while no other contemporary gun exceeds three-round bursts. This brings down a greater quantity of explosive onto the target before enemy soldiers can take cover
This would be the prime minister's sixth round of consultation with the chief ministers, the last being on May 11.
Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have topped an index that ranks states on food safety parameters for the 2020-21 year, according to an FSSAI report unveiled by Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday. The index ranks states on five parameters of food safety: human resources and institutional data, compliance, food testing facility, training and capacity building besides consumer empowerment. Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have topped in the list of large states on the index.
India received 41 per cent more rainfall than normal from October 1-21 with Uttarakhand alone recording more than five times its normal precipitation, IMD data showed on Thursday.
'The wise men learn lessons in war.' 'The smart men learn lessons from others, it's only the foolish who learn the wrong lesson.'
The Election Commission is in the process of deciding the number of phases and the months in which polling would be held, sources said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said racism should be condemned "unequivocally" after a contestant from Guwahati on a dance reality show was subjected to racist rhetoric.
For Tuesday, the IMD said heavy to very heavy rains, with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places, are likely over Assam and Meghalaya.
However, Beijing expresses readiness for talks to reopen the Nathu La pass for the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria was at the Leh IAF base on Wednesday where he reviewed operational preparedness of the force in effectively guarding the sensitive border areas in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese armies have been on a nearly six-week standoff.
A round-up of Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have recorded an 'upsurge' in daily new cases of COVID-19, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.
The counsel appearing for Arunachal Pradesh said that 80 per cent of the state was covered by forests and, out of a total revenue of Rs 441.61 crore, Rs 210 crore came from liquor sale.