The decision to procure the fleet was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
'Previous governments in India had reservations about working with Israel.' 'Modi has shed this tag.' 'Disengaging itself from its traditional and ideological foreign policy approach in the Middle East shall serve India's long-term interests.' Rajaram Panda explains why the significance of Modi's visit to the Jewish nation goes beyond markers like the first-ever visit to Israel by an Indian PM and 25 years of diplomatic ties.
'I felt sorry the handsome woman had to spend her birthday in a war zone, away from her eight-year-old kid and her drifting husband, both in the US.'
'He destroyed many of our tanks, and finally, it was just the two of us left facing each other with our tanks just 200 m apart.' A tale of valour excerpted from Rachna Bisht Rawat's 1971: Charge Of The Gorkhas And Other Stories.
Britain's Prince Harry is considering leaving his career in the British army later this year, media reports said on Friday.
Pakistan's outgoing government has acknowledged that it provided grants of Rs 687 billion to the powerful military for security-related spending that were in addition to the annual defence budgets.
In addition to the attack helicopters, the contract also includes fire control radars; Hellfire Longbow missiles; stinger Block I-92H missiles; night vision sensors and inertial navigation systems.
Britain's Prince Harry officially left the army on Friday after more than a decade of full-time military service, including two stints in war-torn Afghanistan.
The Western powers appear to regard Delhi as the most logical destination in the region in these extraordinary times -- as a counterpoint to the ascendance of political Islam and a rising red star over Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The defence minister has 20 months to learn the military's ethos, culture and to publicly bat for an organisation that feels increasingly marginalised and underappreciated.
The RSS chief's comment that if war broke out, the military would not be ready for at least six to seven months is correct as it faces a shortfall in training and alertness and an even greater lack of funds for defence preparedness, notes Ajai Shukla.
'In the next three decades up to 2050 there will be three important players at the world level.' 'India, US and China will be playing a very important role globally as the largest economies in the world.' 'These three countries will have to interact with each other much more closely because what they do and what they decide will impact the entire world.'
United States President Donald Trump has warned Iran of "major retaliation" if Tehran carries out any attack against America to avenge the killing of top military commander Qasem Soleimani and hinted at striking its cultural sites. His statement came hours after Iran announced it will no longer abide by the limits contained in the 2015 landmark nuclear deal.
'The government has said it has kept its powder dry to fight the true battle against the debilitating influence of the pandemic.' 'The release of the shocking economic data this week should act as the fuse for using that powder now.' 'Further delays will make the battle that much harder,' notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Awais Ali Shah, a lawyer himself, was abducted last month from Karachi. He was found in Tank.
The Bush administration had originally requested 300 million dollars in military aid to Islamabad, but lawmakers cut 50 million dollars until the time secretary of state Condoleezza Rice can certify that Pakistan is restoring democratic rights, including an independent judiciary.
'The Chinese mindset and approach to India is far different from that in Pakistan.' 'This reality makes it possible for us to follow an engagement policy with one, while militating against engagement with the other.'
...but are we chasing yesterday's dreams, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
The India-Japan joint naval exercises are a strategic signal for China, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
'The travesty of recent Indian strategic thought is it emerges not from our brains, but from whatever part of the anatomy that secretes the prickliest hormones,' says Shekhar Gupta.
"They probably ran the Defence Ministry with a lot of brokers and 'dalals' in between," she said.
Indian ranks fifth in the world according to a report that ranks the strength of 20 countries according to weaponry, including tanks, aircraft, helicopters and submarines.
The sources said India may be building small libraries as part of the community development initiative, but most of its investments in Afghanistan were on mega infrastructure projects including the 218 km road from Zaranj to Delaram, the Salma Dam and the new Afghan Parliament building.
'Unless you capture territory and plant your flag, the war is never won.'
The navy wants to spend Rs 40,000 crore on INS Vishal, a choice the army and air force oppose. This is as much about turf as about funding. explains Ajai Shukla.
Trump had blasted Pakistan, saying that they only gave us lies.
The Global Hawk can carry out surveillance of a stretch of land or ocean for over 30 hours continuously, physically scanning up to 100,000 sq km each day.
A host of top Congress leaders wished him on his birthday, with former prime minister Manmohan Singh among the first to send his best wishes through a letter in the morning.
Sports fans attending the London 2012 Olympics can expect airport-style security screening at venues, the policeman in charge of safety at the Games said on Thursday.
India isn't Israel, nor can it, or should be, says Shekhar Gupta.
The US House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump by 232 to 197 votes for his role in last week's Capitol Hill riot, making him the first president in American history to be impeached twice.
'We cannot win peace among our people by treating them like the enemy,' says Mitali Saran.
'He could relate to strategic and security issues almost instantly.' 'He had the ability to grasp, absorb and come out with actual rectification.'
Its 'failure not just affects the military's effectiveness but could also be politically vulnerable for the BJP,' observes Ajai Shukla.
'The danger today is that out of sheer fatigue and exasperation, the US might cut loose and exit from Afghanistan leaving it to the region to cope with the debris, which it is ill-equipped to handle,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'India serves itself poorly with its latter-day discovery of Pakistan as an instrument in domestic politics,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
China and India, it says, will register the world's biggest increases in defence spending through 2030, measured by percentage, says Washington-based 'Defence News'.
Rajapaksa is the first president to be sworn in outside Colombo.
Instead of ramming through change, Mr Parrikar has tied his own hands by placing reform at the mercy of numerous committees, says Ajai Shukla.
'During the aerial engagement, one MiG 21 Bison of the IAF shot down an F-16 in Nowshera sector,' the IAF said in a statement.
