The Army has been hit by yet another incident of face-off between jawans and officers in a unit in Jammu and Kashmir, prompting an upset Defence Minister A K Antony to seek a detailed report from the force even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh downplayed the matter.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday described the maiden test flight of the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile Agni 5 as an "immaculate success" and a "major milestone". "The nation stands tall today. We have joined the elite club of nations (to possess the ICBM capability)," Antony told Defence Research and Development Organisation chief Dr V K Saraswat on the phone after the test flight of the missile was declared successful today.
Demanding an impartial inquiry into the controversy surrounding Army, Team Anna on Tuesday alleged that the probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence Bureau will not bring out the truth as the bodies are "under the control of government".
Cautioning that modernisation of the force cannot be done in "fits and starts", government on Tuesday said it will provide all assistance to the Indian Air Force to meet its growth plans and decrease its dependence on foreign companies for major aircraft and equipment.
Targeting Defence Minister A K Antony for "inaction" in the Tatra truck deal even after he was alerted about it through a letter in May 2008, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday wondered if the minister was "under pressure" at that time and sought an explanation from the prime minister. "What prompted Antony to become inactive on this issue? Whose pressure was it? At whose behest were these sudden changes in procurement criteria made? The govt owes an explanation," BJP said.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday arrived in Srinagar on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir during which he will review the security situation in the Valley and also interact with troops deployed in forward locations.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday said India has sought details from the United Kingdom in connection with corruption allegations in the VVIP helicopter deal with Italy and "strong action" would be taken in case any foul play is detected in the procurement process.
The more things change, the more they remain the same! That certainly appears to be the dictum by which the Congress party and its leadership lives and works.
Amid protests over killing of a youth in firing in Bandipora district of Kashmir, the Army on Thursday said the recovery of weapons alongside the deceased indicated that he was a militant and ruled out any inquiry in the matter.
India is considering a proposal to induct another nuclear submarine built in Russia and has plans of indigenously building two more Arihant Class underwater vessels to guard its maritime boundaries, Defence Minister A K Antony said.
The defence ministry is not very hopeful about getting an additional Rs 40,000 crore for modernisation of the armed forces, with Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday saying he was struggling to get even the Rs 1.93 lakh crore allotted by the government in the budget. "Now I am struggling to get the budgetary amount," he told reporters when asked if he was hopeful of getting the additional Rs 40,000 crore sought by his ministry for the modernising of the three services.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said the Tatra scam was the second biggest after the Bofors scam and demanded immediate resignation of Defence Minister A K Antony for allegedly patronising corruption. "This (Tatra) is the second biggest scam after the Bofors scam and it has exposed the fact that the weapons of our soldiers are not up to standard," BJP national spokesperson Prakash Javdekar told a press conference.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday said all members of the Union cabinet are equal, comments that come in the midst of a stand off between the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress on issues including the Number 2 slot to Sharad Pawar.
Terming the recent leak of Army Chief General VK Singh's March 12 letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as "anti-national," Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday said he and the defence ministry would take the strongest possible action against those responsible for the leak under Indian law.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday said that expenditure on defence is bound to increase as the armed forces need to have access to the latest technologies and equipment to counter any threat. "With the projected growth of the Indian economy expected at a trajectory of 8-10 per cent for the next two decades, expenditure on defence in absolute terms is bound to increase," Antony said.
Army chief General V K Singh's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the state of affairs in the service on Wednesday rocked the Rajya Sabha with opposition members forcing two adjournments during the Question Hour.
Army chief General V K Singh's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the state of affairs in the service on Wednesday rocked the Rajya Sabha with opposition members forcing two adjournments during the Question Hour.
The government on Monday denied media reports that the army had unauthorisedly deployed phone tapping equipment in the capital and said that such stories are being spread by some retired officials.
Indication to this effect came as Antony was allocated the seat next to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at cabinet meeting in New Delhi on Thursday.
The National Investigation Agency has prepared a template for interrogation of suspects of terror funding, which has been circulated to the concerned authorities in all states and Union territories.
With the exit of Pranab Mukherjee from the Council of Ministers, Sharad Pawar's name was listed after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the official website of the Prime Minister's Office, triggering speculation on Thursday as to whether he was now the number two in the government.
India has strengthened its military power since the 1962 China-Indian war and is now fully capable of defending itself, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Thursday. "Infrastructure in the northeast is not up to our satisfaction but it has improved a lot as compared to the past. India of 2012 is not India of that period. We are now capable of defending every inch of our country," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference of the Indian Navy.
Three days after denying that Defence Minister A K Antony's office was bugged, army on Monday admitted that "some abnormality" was noticed which it claimed later turned out to be malfunctioning of an instrument.
The issue between the Army and the Indian Air Force for controlling attack helicopters was a "family problem" and the government was in the final stages of finding a solution for it, Defence Minister A K Antony said in New Delhi on Tuesday.
"The Letter of Request (LoR) for procuring 145 Ultra Light Howitzers for the Indian Army through the Foreign Military Sales route would be issued in October," a Defence Ministry official told PTI on Friday.
The government accords top priority to secure the international border in Arunachal Pradesh that has borders with China, Bhutan and Myanmar.
Adarsh Society's members have approached the defence ministry and the Central Bureau of Investigation, seeking quashing of the FIR filed in the alleged multi-crore scam in the housing society, in the wake of a judicial probe of the Maharashtra government which had stated that the land belonged to the state and not the defence forces.
Ahead of the talks next week with Pakistan on Siachen, Defence Minister A K Antony on Friday sought to lower the expectations, saying that no "dramatic announcement or decision" should be anticipated. He said India will stick to its stand on the issue at the defence secretary-level talks in Islamabad on June 11-12
Amidst the anti-corruption campaign by civil rights activists, Defence Minister A K Antony, on Wednesday said politicians, bureaucrats and others holding key positions are not ready for the "transition to transparency" and contended that this was creating problems.
India has conveyed its concern to China over the presence of Chinese personnel in Pakistan- occupied Kashmir (PoK) and asserted that it was consistently strengthening its capabilities in the eastern sector to meet any challenge.
"China has increased their military capabilities and spending more on defence," Defence Minister A K Antony said at a Security Forum in Singapore
The defence minister will also be on board the country's latest indigenous stealth frigate INS Shivalik and witness the live firing of lethal missiles including the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, Defence Ministry officials said in New Delhi on Monday.
A day prior to his retirement, Army Chief Gen V K Singh on Tuesday sought to downplay the controversies surrounding him, saying there is "no misunderstanding" between him and the defence ministry. He also said Defence Minister A K Antony was "very clear headed" in supporting the armed forces.
After he failed to get any relief from the high court before army chief's retirement, Lt Gen Tejinder Singh on Tuesday approached Defence Minister A K Antony for taking disciplinary action against Gen V K Singh for issuing an alleged defamatory press release against him.
Union Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday said it would be difficult to have "permanent cooperation" in Indo-Pak relations without Islamabad dismantling terrorist camps functioning in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assets worth around Rs 10.73 crore, double that of last year, but a number of his cabinet colleagues are much richer than him.
In a written reply to the House, Defence Minister A K Antony said, "As per the Defence Acquisition Council decision of October 2011, Ordnance Factory Board is to manufacture 155mm Howitzers."
Breaking his silence on the age controversy surrounding Army chief Gen V K Singh, Defence Minister A K Antony on Friday said he was "sorry and sad" over it and left it to the Supreme Court to decide the matter.
Unhappy over the initial report, Defence Minister A K Antony has asked Army to take immediate "corrective" steps to see that incidents like the clash between jawans and officers at a firing range near the India- China boundary in Nyoma, Ladakh do not recur.
For the first time ever, the government has announced the number of Indian soldiers who have laid down their lives in the Siachen sector, ever since the Indian army made its first headlong rush to secure that strategic area in the summer of 1984.
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