Naval assets take years to build, and therefore, not only is futuristic force planning essential, but indigenous projects must also be put into the pipeline, technologies developed and contracts for assets signed regularly so that the Indian Navy always remains a future-focussed force, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
It's a strategic approach in which the country's military and defence mechanisms evolve continuously in tandem with emerging threats. The new strategy anticipates events and prepares to counter those proactively.
'Pakistan is no longer a front-burner issue for America.'
However, the tender criteria demands that an entity must be eligible to conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations in order to become eligible. Currently, no drone companies are eligible to do BVLOS operations, reports Arindam Majumder.
'The message that we intend to leave with at the end of this trip is one of real gratitude for the friendship and the close partnership that President Biden and Prime Minister Modi have enjoyed over the last four years, but also one of tremendous optimism because we see a lot of opportunity in the future.'
From the drones show to projection mapping show, this year's ceremony also presented quite a few firsts.
Zerodha and True Beacon co-founder Nikhil Kamath, along with Abhijeet Pai, has invested in Omnipresent Robot Tech through their investment arm Gruhas Proptech. This round also saw co-investments from Kavin Shah, and other individual high networth individual (HNIs), according to a statement released on Thursday. However, the amount invested by Kamath and Pai has not been disclosed.
In a first, a grand drone show will dazzle the sky above the national capital during the Beating the Retreat ceremony to be held at Vijay Chowk on Saturday as part of the country's 73rd Republic Day celebrations.
'If UAV technology is used by the adversary to target VIPs or strategic targets it would be a different ball game altogether,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
'The terrorists are using better technology to secure their communication.' 'It does appear that excessive reliance on technology led to a weakening of human intelligence.'
The sources said the talks are focused on sorting out certain issues relating to cost component, weapons package and technology sharing.
Addressing an event in New Delhi, Gen Pande also said the recent global developments have underscored that the security of the nation can neither be outsourced nor be dependent on the largesse of others.
These unmanned aerial vehicles can fly at high speeds, detect intruders, do aerobatic maneuvers like loops, rolls, spins, and hammerheads effortlessly and communicate with each other intelligently.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is deploying drones to monitor its vast network of pipelines across the country as it doubles down on the use of technology to thwart attempts to steal fuel, helping not just save the commodity but also avoid accidents. The country's top oil company already uses a combination of sophisticated technology and patrolling to detect any leakage from the pipeline network spanning over 15,000-kilometers. And now, it is adding drones to monitor the vast network, officials said. Use of technology helped throttle 34 attempts to pilfer fuel and arrest 53 persons in the 2020-21 fiscal year, they said adding the latest incident was in Sonipat, Haryana on August 17.
Unless each attack drone can be neutralised, India will be literally deploying elephants to stamp out ants -- and the ants may still survive! points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
He said the security forces would ensure any infiltration attempt is thwarted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday identified agriculture, education and health as three sectors where he believes technology can play a big role, and highlighted efforts of his government.
Drones are being used for carrying out a host of tasks like surveillance to ensure that people are maintaining social distancing, spreading awareness about COVID-19 in densely populated areas, spraying disinfectants and checking people's temperature
The Centre will promote Kisan Drones, chemical-free natural farming, public-private partnerships for the delivery of digital and high-tech services to farmers across the country during the financial year 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. Presenting the Budget 2022-23 in Parliament, Sitharaman said the inclusive development is one of the four priorities of the government moving forward. As part of the inclusive development, the government will promote the use of 'Kisan Drones' for crop assessment, digitisation of land records and spraying of insecticides. The government will also facilitate a fund with blended capital raised under the co-investment model through Nabard to finance agri start-ups and rural enterprises, she said.
'They only bring pieces. Dialogue is the only way forward.' 'We should get people who have influence to bring the community leaders to sit across the table and talk.' 'Otherwise, our adversaries across the borders will add fuel to the fire. Let's not give them a chance.'
'I am sure our DRDO will surely be on the job towards building similar capability to counter the threat posed by this Chinese helicopter,' observes Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
Hari Kumar lauded Adani's efforts in aligning their roadmap to the requirements of the Indian Navy and establishing an ecosystem of partners and capabilities to enable Aatmanirbharta in defence and security.
Easy availability of drones has increased the complexity of security challenges and the Indian military is developing capabilities to effectively deal with the threats, be it from State-sponsored elements or by states themselves, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane said on Thursday.
Rediff.com takes a look at drones as they engage in activities you'd never thought you'd see.
French aerospace major Thales Group is eyeing major expansion in India. The group has started planning to set up a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) organisation in India to support Indian airlines - many of which are its customers for avionics support. "We are looking to set up an MRO, so that they don't have to travel to West Asia or Singapore. "Final decision is yet to be taken, but this is a clear intent showing the growth potential in India that we are looking to set up a sub-centre here," said Yannick Assouad, executive vice-president, avionics at Thales, who was on her maiden visit to the group's India office at Bengaluru since taking charge.
The record challenge featured a new UAV, weighing just 280 grammes and electrically operated with a rotor for flying, specifically designed for putting on dramatic lightshows.
Drones have added a new dimension to security threats from terror groups and investigations into the attack on the Jammu IAF station last month show the involvement of "non-State actors" supported by State actors such as the ordnance factory of Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said on Tuesday.
Pakistan's military on Monday deployed an indigenously-made armed drone to attack a militant compound, killing at least three "high-profile" terrorists.
If all goes well, from December, drones can be used for purpose like mapping, surveying and photography, which till now was illegal due to absence of any guidelines.
'It is the first technology in history which is not just a tool, it is an agent.' Yuval Noah Harari on the dangers on AI.
Drones flew handbags down the runway at the Dolce & Gabbana show.
On Thursday, the prime minister is scheduled to hold one-on-one meetings with top five American CEOs. Two of them are Indian Americans -- Shantanu Narayen from Adobe and Vivek Lall from General Atomics. The three others are Cristiano E Amon from Qualcomm, Mark Widmar from First Solar, and Stephen A Schwarzman from Blackstone.
The nature of war and its purpose remains unchanged. The change is in the character of war in terms of a man-machine mix, domination of sensors and certain automation of the tactics and methods of war, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
It sustained fatal bullet injuries on Monday while attempting to protect the troops from the terrorist assault.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for the setting up of a high-power police technology mission under the leadership of the Union home minister to adopt future technologies for grassroot policing requirements.
For Yogi Adityanath the successful management of the fair is a crucial part of building 'Brand UP' and making the state a $1 trillion economy.
The Aquila drone is being created to widen the range of internet connectivity around the globe.
Everybody talks of China as the real threat, but we aren't even building a decisive capability against Pakistan, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Goods and services tax (GST) collections from mobile device companies, amounting to Rs 1.82 trillion between 2020-21 (FY21) and 2023-24 (FY24), have already generated more than five times the revenue for the government compared to the Rs 34,149 crore allocated under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile devices over six years ending 2025-26 (FY26). Currently, the GST on mobile devices stands at 18 per cent.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
