The Indian Air Force on Monday reiterated that it shot down an F-16 jet of Pakistan Air Force during the February 27 aerial combat and showed radar images of the engagement to assert that it has 'irrefutable evidence' of downing the enemy jet.
An agreement to expedite the Jaitapur nuclear plant was expected to be signed.
Nirmala Sitharaman has a God given opportunity to orchestrate a transformation in India's defence capabilities. One hopes she has her own counsel and does not overly let the PMO run her ship, says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
'What does Bhagwat think his militia will do once it is at the border?' 'What does Bhagwat imagine his Sangh followers will do that will protect Mother India?' asks Aakar Patel.
United States President Barack Obama has signed into law the $618 billion defence budget for 2017, which enhances security cooperation with India and conditions nearly half of the funding to Pakistan on a certification that it is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network.
The White House said it has 'a large body' of evidence indicating that the Assad regime was responsible for the April 7 chemical attack in Duma.
The Modi government has not lived up to the muscularity the prime minister promised while campaigning, says Ajai Shukla
Defence experts want defence expenditure to be at 3% of GDP, which they consider minimum to counter the two-front threat from China and Pakistan, internal insurgencies, and dominating a 7,500 km coastline and the Indian Ocean beyond. What Arun Jaitley has given India this Budget is 2.16% of GDP, observes Ajai Shukla.
'I never fail to remember those spirited men of the 390 Field Company who moulded me into an army officer worthy of being their commander.'
In a 59-41 vote, 12 Republicans joined every Senate Democrat on Thursday in a rare move to block the president's effort to divert billions in funding to build his long-promised border wall without congressional approval.
Five Tamil youth were killed and two injured in a grenade explosion in the eastern port city of Trincomalee Monday evening, causing tension in the area.
'The army is using its might to teach them a lesson'
The rapid outbreak of coronavirus pandemic across Italy has been linked to the UEFA Champions League match between Italian club Atalanta and Spain's Valencia at the San Siro stadium in Milan on Feburary 19. The first cases of the virus were reported in northern Italy in the week that Atalanta enjoyed one of the finest nights in their history, beating visitors Valencia 4-1 in the Champions League last-16, first-leg match.
Most of the scanty 6.35% rise in the defence budget is accounted for by manpower and running expenses.
'If the series of instances in the recent past are taken into account -- guns falling silent on the border; vastly reduced cross-border infiltration into J&K; positive approach to meeting Indian demands on the Kartarpur Sahib pilgrimage; resumption of overflight for Indian aircraft; visible disinterest in rhetoric and so on -- Commander Jadhav may see better days in a conceivable future,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Why did your generals try to grab a few square kilometres of Indian territory in Ladakh?' 'And what happened to the hard work that you and Prime Minister Modi put into the Wuhan and Mamallapuram meets?' Claude Arpi writes a letter to Xi Jinping, China's self-styled supreme leader, who turns 68 today, June 15.
'Manthara wants Kaikeyi to make her son Bharat king of Ayodhya, instead of Rama.' 'She fuels hate and mistrust in her queen, much like what many modern-day viziers are doing, whipping up venom and frenzy among an entire nation,' notes Arundhuti Dasgupta.
Monica Sindhwani left Rangoon for India at 20. Married to a retired Indian Army officer, she relives her memories of the pagodas, greenery and the home she left nearly 40 years ago.
Currently women are allowed in a number of select areas including in medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the army.
'He spoke about 20 jawans in Ladakh, but he couldn't even name China.' 'He said the world had seen what had been achieved, even though we Indians don't know because Modi has himself said that nothing had happened and nobody had come,' points out Aakar Patel.
Top moments from around the world in the week that was.
Major Gogoi might well have saved protesters' lives by opting for a human shield to force his way through the mob. But he incalculably damaged the army's reputation, not just in Kashmir, but anywhere that video is seen.
'The defence minister is stuck in the trivial and frivolous with a clerical mindset merely to prove his so-called 'honesty" overlooking the primary aim of adding sufficient military muscle and firepower to the defence services,' says Bharat Verma.
The GST Council, headed by Jaitley and comprising representatives of all the states, is scheduled to meet in Srinagar on May 18-19 to finalise tax rates on different goods and services after unifying at least 10 indirect taxes into the Goods and Services Tax.
Remember the trees that bend during the storm will survive; the ones that try to defy and stand straight tend to get damaged and uprooted, points out management guru Virender Kapoor.
Raksha Bandhan festivities were little subdued this year owing to the coronavirus pandemic, with siblings having to rely on technology to wish each other.
The US president alleged that the countries were not doing enough in the war-ravaged country and that they were taking advantage of the United States.
'We're not going to give up hundreds of billions of dollars in orders and let Russia, China and everybody else have them. It's all about -- for me -- very simple, it's America first'
Kirlosker Brothers' Limited sent teams from its offices in India, Thailand and the United Kingdom to the site.
Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala explains why he thinks Modi should be at the helm of India.
The defence ministry has signed off on a national security plan that it cannot fund. Ajai Shukla reports
"The era of 'lalten' is gone. In the last six years consumption of electricity has increased 3 fold in Bihar," PM Modi said. "Voters of Bihar have taken a resolve that they won't let those who have a history of making the state 'Bimaru' come near them," he added.
The capital outlay to cover the modernisation programmes have got a hike of 10.05 per cent.
Given the importance of equipment modernisation, the overall defence budget should rise at least at the same pace as salaries and pensions, so that equipment modernisation is not hit.
Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong says the country will spend 20 million dollars to host the summit.
'Interns, fresh MBBS graduates, nursing students, young doctors and nurses have brought pride to their degrees and their oath by courageously donning the PPE and caring for patients.' 'They are the foot soldiers of this war.'
'Even if your soldiers are Sunny Deol and Vicky Kaushal, Pakistanis are no Johnny Walkers.' 'The one lot who never takes them lightly is India's professional soldiers.' 'That's why they keep winning the real wars,' says Shekhar Gupta.
India has been the single biggest beneficiary of the decades-old US Generalized System of Preferences programme, allowing the country to export $ 5.7 billion worth of duty-free goods in 2017, according to figures from US Congress.
Juventus rehire Allegri.
