Ajai Shukla presents an action plan for Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to fix the systemic weaknesses in defence.
The report said that Pakistan will retain its capabilities for the foreseeable future as a necessary deterrent against perceived existential threats from India.
'India should pledge that it will only target those provinces of Pakistan where nuclear weapons are located,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
North Korea is unlikely to strike first, but its response in retaliation, if attacked, could be massive even at the expense of its own destruction, says Rajaram Panda.
'The military aim in a future conflict, if it can't be avoided, should be to cause maximum damage to the adversary's war waging capability and capture limited amount of territory as a bargaining counter,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'China's growing nexus with Pakistan and the two countries' unresolved territorial disputes with India continue to pose a formidable national security threat to India,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The status of the current submarine force level is alarming and we need to address the threat perceptions expeditiously. Critical decisions pertaining to national security cannot be delayed any further due to the rapidly changing maritime threat perceptions and growing strategic importance of the Indian Ocean region, asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
'Tehran senses that the Modi government is inexorably gravitating toward the US-Israeli-Saudi axis, jettisoning India's traditional independent Gulf policies,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
United States President Donald Trump has said that he will have a "very, very great relationship" with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as the two leaders met in the Florida resort of Mar-a-Lago for the first time.
'Seen in the context of world turmoil in face of the pandemic and the Chinese 'miracle' of being the only country in the world to control it, this is not merely a 'Sputnik' moment, but a 'Sputnik Plus' moment,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
As a percentage of the military budget, the navy's share has fallen from 19 per cent in 2010-2011 to just 15.5 per cent this year. With the Indian Navy's annual budget declining steadily, security planners are reluctant to green light crucial projects, discovers Ajai Shukla.
'Any conventional conflict could trigger a nuclear war with results that neither India nor Pakistan could survive easily.' >A revealing excerpt from Shuja Nawaz's The Battle For Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship And A Tough Neighbourhood.
Referring to Kim Jong-Un, Trump said 'Rocket Man', is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last month, in 20 images.
The new minister must commit himself to supporting long-term defence plans or else defence modernisation will continue to lag and the growing military capabilities gap with China will assume ominous proportions, warns Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'India must close the missile technology gap with both China and Pakistan as early as possible, or else the credibility of India's nuclear deterrence will remain suspect,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
A general in-charge of Russia's ballistic arsenal has said that the military could target the bases in Poland and the Czech Republic which will host the missile-interceptor shield if America insists on building them, The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday.
The External Affairs Ministry on Thursday discarded the article titled 'India's embarrassing North Korean connection' by Nilanjana Bhowmick in Al Jazeera, a Doha-based broadcaster, saying the insinuation regarding New Delhi's assistance to North Korea in United Nations proscribed activities is 'baseless and without any merit.'
Meanwhile, the test drew strong criticism from North Korea's neighbours and the West which warned of a robust response to its "grave provocations".
Kim did not rule out diplomacy with the Biden administration despite that Pyongyang called Biden a 'rabid dog' after Biden labelled Kim a 'thug'.
China is pursuing a major military build up in a "secretive manner" developing survivable nuclear delivery system, a 1,500-km range anti-ship missile to hit aircraft carriers and has the most active land based ballistic and cruise missile programme in the world, Pentagon has said.
The announcement of McMaster's ouster, who the White House said had a "good working relationship" with Trump, is the latest in a string of high-profile White House departures since President Trump took office in January 2017.
The agreement would divert China's attention and keep them busy in the Pacific theatre, probably resulting in a reduction in threat perception in our area of interest in the Indian Ocean, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
The US had lost communication with nearly 50 intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles, one-ninth of its arsenal for 45 minutes over the weekend, even as defence officials said that there were no chance of an accidental launch or foul play, a media report said on Wednesday.
'No matter how severe sanctions the UN security council imposes on North Korea, the impact of the sanctions would depend on how faithfully they are enforced by China,' says Dr Rajaram Panda.
The chaos on its stock markets, a fierce battle between the old and new guard in the Communist Party and the restive border provinces of Tibet and Xinjiang forebode tough times ahead for China, says Claude Arpi.
Since 55 per cent of Indian trade passes through the South China Sea, and with over $5 billion investments in the energy sector in Vietnam, it is imperative India actively pursues its national interests in the region, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
Mahindra's LSV is an extremely agile combat vehicle with all round protection against small arms fire.
Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India has stopped importing oil from Iran after the United States refused to extend exemption from sanctions earlier this month.
'Xi Jinping is keen that the second Trump-Kim summit happens soonest.' 'Kim is reported to have told Xi that he expects to achieve a result from a second summit that the international community would welcome,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
Officials said the addition shows the measure was set on the basis of security and was not a 'Muslim ban'.
Prime Minister Modi needs to call Biden next month and clearly say: 'Mr President, the threat from China is clear and present. We, in New Delhi, have determined it to be an urgent national priority to outfit our submarines and aircraft carriers with nuclear propulsion and we want to cooperate with America on this programme",' advises Ajai Shukla.
Estimated to have more nuclear weapons than India, Pakistan is rapidly developing and expanding its atomic arsenal, spending about $2.5 billion a year to develop such weapons, a report has said.
The India-Japan joint naval exercises are a strategic signal for China, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
'Once the military starts to draw up plans for using nuclear weapons, then nuclear weapons could be used earlier in a crisis than otherwise.'
Pompeo will travel to India, Sri Lanka, Japan and South Korea from June 24 to 30. His four-nation is aimed at deepening US partnerships in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
Indian Navy Chief Admiral R K Dhowan enumerated a three-pronged strategy to counter the country's minified submarine fleet.
Trump said military action against a defiant North Korea is certainly an option, but hoped that he does not have to use it.
Ahead of the G-20 summit in Osaka this week, Xi has reasserted China's role as a global player, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
The reimposition of sanctions on Iran will have major impact on countries like India, with which it has traditional and historic trade relationship.
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