While people voted in a fifth round that will set the tone as this election rounds into the straight, and while Modi on the stump chews the cud of personal grievances and hackneyed promises that have long since passed their use-by date, there is a rogue wave rising -- what damage it will do, we will know 16 days from today, observes Prem Panicker.
TROPEX-23 this year witnessed the participation of approximately 70 Indian Navy ships, six submarines and over 75 aircraft.
Modi called for timely evacuation of those involved in off-shore activities.
Modi called for ensuring maintenance of all essential services such as power, telecommunications, health and drinking and their immediate restoration in the event of damages caused to them.
The central and western parts of India, which form the core monsoon zone, may face challenges in coping with the drying effects due to inadequate rainfall early in the season, Skymet Weather said.
'The navy and coast guard have not even come one nautical mile near the islands in distress.'
Here are some photographs of how the state is gearing up for cyclone Nisarga.
Relief Commissioner Alok Pandey told reporters that the government is constantly working to ensure that there is no loss of life due to the weather phenomenon.
India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
The India Meteorological Department has said that the landfall process of Cyclone 'Biparjoy' has started in Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat. The landfall process will carry on till midnight with wind speeds reaching a maximum of 140 kilometres per hour, the IMD said.
It is time the political leaderships in this country arrived at a common ground over issues of foreign and security policy concerns. There has to be a greater communication between the government and the Opposition leaderships for the nation to present a unified face against the rest of the world, advises N Sathiya Moorthy.
According to the Pentagon report, the PLA is creating options for dissuading, deterring, and defeating external intervention in the Indo-Pacific region.
A company official said work stopped temporarily only at two rigs and the remaining 34 in the offshore were operational. He added there was no impact on the company's production.
Speaking at a video conference to take a stock of damage caused by the cyclone in the coastal district which is adjacent to Mubai, Thackeray also directed that electricity supply be restored quickly.
'Very severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy at 2330 hrs IST of 9th June over east-central Arabian Sea near lat 16.0N & long 67.4E. Likely to intensify further & move north-northeastwards during the next 24hrs,' the IMD said in a tweet.
Very light rains and thundershowers occurred at isolated places in Uttar Pradesh though, and a fresh warning of heavy showers was issued in Himachal Pradesh as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in several parts of the country, including the northern region, over the next six-seven days.
By now, monsoon should have reached the central India, including parts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, but it is yet to reach Maharashtra.
The inking of the commercial contract to build and run the strategic port will help India win access to Afghanistan, Russia and Europe
'You need to have enough funds to maintain the primacy of public transport and it should not suffer because of lack of funds.'
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has directed its rescue teams to ensure that the country's major medical oxygen generation plants based in Odisha and West Bengal are 'running and alive' during Cyclone Yaas that is developing in the Bay of Bengal, a senior officer said.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rainfall in August is predicted to be below normal (less than 94 per cent of LPA), but the situation is expected to improve comparatively in September, the IMD said.
Australia pacer Lance Morris, the leading wicket-taker in the Australian Sheffield Shield this season, believes he has the 'best chance' to make his debut in the opening Test against India.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
The world needs to wake up to this new dimension of war at sea and be prepared to face the 'unknown enemy' who have the advantage of attacking at their choice of location and time, cautions Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
According to IMD, the cyclonic storm weakened into a 'deep depression' at 11:30 pm on Friday over Southeast Pakistan.
The Indian Navy is fully capable of defending the nation against any form of threat, Sitharaman said.
Kerala's election discourse operates surreptitiously. Its explicit face focuses on important national and local issues. At the same time, it seeks to secure apt communal equations to ensure votes, notes Shyam G Menon.
Australia's state of Victoria will not host the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to projected cost overruns.
India on Thursday approved capital acquisition of a plethora of indigenously-developed military hardware including indigenous BrahMos missiles, marine diesel engine, artillery gun system, electronic warfare suits and utility helicopters at a cost of Rs 70,584 crore as part of a mega procurement plan.
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.
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Gujarat, have been left out, despite a strong start to the monsoon in June
'The idea of a 'Hindu Rashtra' only emerged in the 1920s and 1930s.' 'The context at that time was the clear British attempt at 'divide and rule' between Hindus and Muslims and within Hindus on caste lines,' argues military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Spread out over 1000 acres, INS Vajrakosh, Indian Navy's latest establishment which was commissioned by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday, would be the home base for a bulk of the Indian Navy's strength on the western coast.
On the sixth anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, the government said the overall coastal and maritime security along the entire coast is 'much stronger than before' as several steps have been taken in this direction.
Cyclone 'Biparjoy', the first storm brewing in the Arabian Sea this year, has rapidly intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, with meteorologists predicting a 'mild' monsoon onset over Kerala and 'weak' progress beyond southern peninsular under its influence.
'Shivaji was among a handful of Indian rulers to realise the importance of sea power... Not much attention is paid to his remarkable achievement: Building a modern navy and the revival of Indian maritime power.'
Any miscalculation and miscommunication are fraught with the risk of a major catastrophe, warns Rup Narayan Das.
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