Vipin Vijayan/Rediff.com witnesses the passing out parade at the Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala, Kerala, and comes away with mixed emotions.
India on Thursday approved proposals for purchasing 26 Naval variant of Rafale jets from France and procuring three French-designed Scorpene class submarines, a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wide-ranging talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
Last year, China held a meeting with some South Asian countries on COVID-19 vaccine cooperation without the participation of India.
Under the contract, Zvyozdochka shipyard will service 4 Indian submarines till 2009.
India's defence sector presents an ordering opportunity worth $138 billion between fiscal years 2023-24 (FY24) and FY32, said a latest note by Nomura, which has initiated coverage on two defence-related players - Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and Bharat Electronics (BEL) - with a 'buy' rating. The research and broking house sees an upside potential of 28 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively in these two stocks from the current levels.
Pride was writ large on the faces of naval staff at Arakkonam Base that is playing a stellar and critical role in carrying out the rescue and relief operations for people affected by the torrential rains in Chennai.
In a projection of India's growing maritime prowess, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday addressed the top naval commanders onboard the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in the Arabian Sea and witnessed a mega wargame, amid China's increasing military posturing in the Indian Ocean region.
A Pakistani Naval officer, involved in the probe into the Mehran air base attack, was shot dead outside a mosque in Karachi after he was caught in a "crossfire".
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.
In his remarks, Admiral Singh complimented his force for continuously maintaining 'peak combat-readiness' and 'high tempo' of operations over the past few months, they said.
Indian Navy on Saturday commissioned a new base, INS Sardar Patel, in Porbandar, Gujarat.
The Indian Navy, which regards itself as the 'net security provider' in the Indian Ocean Region, has also stepped up to the plate, with a warship stationed at all times off the Gulf of Aden for counter-piracy tasks. 91 Indian warships have been deployed in the region since 2008, patrolling high risk areas where piracy was rampant.
According to the local reports, three people have been injured, two of them critically in the shooting incident in which the suspect gunman took his own life.
The negotiations on cost and techno-commercial details relating to India's proposed procurement of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets and three Scorpene submarines from France are not yet concluded, sources said on Tuesday.
Gaza based channels reported spotting IDF tanks at the Netzer intersection in Gaza City, a strategic point deep inside the enclave.
The file 'Swan Amended 04 May 05.doc' was created on May 16, 2005 at 1748 hours and was last accessed on the same day, the chargesheet said.
Earlier it was claimed that the MP committed suicide by shooting himself after he opened fire at two members of the group which had surrounded his vehicle on Monday.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has sought documents related to the escrow account of New York-based firm, an alleged front company of naval war room leak case accused Abhishek Verma, from a United States-based attorney who had run this account for several years.
Against the backdrop of a terror attack on a Karachi naval base, Defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday asked the forces to maintain operational readiness as India is living in a "volatile neighbourhood".
Given the long distance from the closest land, the Indian Navy has deployed its state-of-the-art Boeing P-8I Poseidon long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, which have the endurance to reach the location of the incident.
The Navy's Maritime Aerial reconnaissance capacity had been depleted recently after its Russian acquired IL-38 aircraft crashed and the longer range TU142 was dispatched to Russia for upgradation.
The hapless voters fervently hope that they get to make a more equal choice in the next election and political discourse in the country becomes positive and more enlightened. One wonders if the masses would become more politically aware to discern good intent and performance from gimmickry, notes Biswajit Dasgupta.
India on Wednesday said the terror attack on a naval base in Karachi was a cause of serious concern, particularly with regards to the safety of nuclear arsenal in Pakistan, but it does not want to overreact.
Defence aircraft as also a couple of civilian ones ferried people to Delhi and Hyderabad since morning even as the Indian air Force flew sorties to bring more people to the naval base that has played a critical role in the overall operations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday embarked on INS Vikramaditya, India's largest warship aircraft carrier. This is first outing on a military asset.
India is increasingly a willing participant in the evolving US' Indo-Pacific strategy. While these developments are related to the perception of a growing Chinese security challenge, their implications for India's much-vaunted strategic autonomy should be a matter of deeper and closer reflection, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
There was no word on the much-anticipated procurement of 26 naval variants of Rafale fighter jets by India from France.
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's Navy wants to join hands with India to maintain security of the Indian Ocean
Admiral Sunil Lanba, the Chief of Naval Staff, on Tuesday commissioned the Marine Commandos (MARCOS-East) unit as 'INS Karna' at a function at INS Kalinga in the district.
In a bid to promote Make In India defence systems, the Indian Navy will hold its senior commanders' conference on board the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Goa.
As India progresses towards formulating its own model of theaterisation, the public must get involved in the debate because in the end, it affects the well-being of the entire nation, asserts Biswajit Dasgupta.
United States President Barack Obama has appointed Cliff Sloan, a high-powered lawyer with extensive experience in all three branches of the government, as his special envoy for the closure of the much-criticised terrorist detention centre at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.
The Indian Navy will formally induct the Russian-made MiG-29K naval fighter jets for deployment on Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier on February 19 in Goa.
A Delhi court on Friday framed charges against five persons, including three former naval officers and an ex-IAF Wing Commander, in the 2006 Naval War Room leak case.
Navy said the landing demonstrated India's capability to design, develop, construct and operate indigenous aircraft carrier with indigenous fighter aircraft.
The anti-government protests near the presidential secretariat in Colombo resumed on Sunday after the authorities lifted the nation-wide curfew to celebrate the Vesak -- what we call Buddha Purnima in India -- festival.
It is the first mega exercise involving the two aircraft carriers after induction of the indigenously-built INS Vikrant in September.
On December 31 this year, a "leap second" will be added to the world's clocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time, the United States Naval Observatory has announced.
Pakistan and China are disagreeing over whether Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has given the Chinese a gift, an entire naval base at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.
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