Nobody bothered to articulate the upsides; instead, the four-year tour of duty and denial of life-long pensions got played up.
Job-seekers for government and related opportunities found that their future was at risk, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
He praised the PLA's combat readiness.
The report also revealed that the United States was still king with its expenditure representing about 40 per cent of the total Global Defence budget. India overtook Saudi Arabia and Russia to become one of the top five defence spenders globally.
China was a major focus during talks between United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Indian political leadership during his two-day visit.
"In an unprecedented move, the ministry of defence (MoD) has decided to delegate substantial financial powers to the Armed Forces for undertaking works for perimeter security of sensitive military installations," the ministry said in a statement.
The song, called 'Battle Declaration' focusing on winning wars, was posted on the People's Liberation Army daily's website last Thursday. It is the first PLA-made hip-hop video, the state media reported on Tuesday.
'Let us not, with all our drive for modernisation of the armed forces, send the forces to battle this time with second rung leadership,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
In an address to the air warriors on the occasion of the 89th Air Force Day, the Chief of Air Staff also said that the IAF must demonstrate to the nation that external forces will not be allowed to violate its territory.
A source in the Russian military-industrial complex told Russian information agency RBC that Russia and India are now reaching an agreement on changing the conditions of the 2004 contract for the carrier's overhaul, the paper said.
When China protested strongly over the August decision on J&K -- not once but twice -- we ignored it. And to compound matters, we simply turned our back and walked over to the 'Quad' alliance with the US, upgrading it to ministerial level, and thereafter began following the American footfalls on Taiwan and COVID-19 to taunt and humiliate Beijing, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Military sources said the research ship Shi Yan 1 forayed into Indian waters in September but was forced to retreat after it was suspected to be involved in spying.
Presenting the Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal also said Rs 35,000 crore has been given under the One Rank One Pension scheme in the last three years.
'Once the military starts to draw up plans for using nuclear weapons, then nuclear weapons could be used earlier in a crisis than otherwise.'
The president said China would never allow "any people, organisation or political party to split any part of Chinese territory out of the country at any time, in any form."
The Trump Administration's consideration in this regard comes months after a successful meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump at the White House on June 26.
No one really knows what proportion of the nation's wealth and income are available for defence
'In the Balakot operation, we had technology on our side, and we could launch precision stand of weapons with great accuracy.'
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday indicated that the post of Chief of Defence Staff could be a reality soon, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked defence reforms as a priority and stressed that "jointness at the top" was a need long overdue.
French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, with about 12 Rafale jets on board, will arrive in India this week to take part in the 10-day naval exercise 'Varuna'.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday said the government is planning to legalise representatives of various foreign arms companies in the country, for speedy purchase of military hardware.
'In the case of an India-Pakistan confrontation, the Chinese may undertake more than just posturing, thereby constraining us from deploying adequate forces for decisive results,' warns Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
He asserted that India has never been an aggressor and the Indian Armed Forces are perceived as defenders of humanity and peace across the world.
Boeing said the first batch of the Apaches arrived in India and an additional four choppers will be delivered to the IAF next week.
If the initial analysis of this YJ-21 is correct, then China becomes the first country in the world to operationally field such a missile from a naval vessel.
He also participated in the 1947-48 war against Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir. He was a founder Instructor of the National Defence Academy during 1949-51.
China on Wednesday announced a 12.2 per cent increase in its defence budget taking the military spending for this year to $132 billion, far above India's $36 billion.
Xi, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, called the progress China had made under his watch "truly remarkable
Indian elections are won and lost on 'negative' imageries and campaigns - but not certainly on 'negativity' as a political trait and electoral creed, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The capital outlay for the three services, for modernisation, stood at Rs 78,586.68 crore
'Amid the frequent cries that the defence budget falls short of what is needed, we tend to ignore the reality that any enhancement in the allocation is just not possible, and the armed forces have no option but to operate within this constraint.' 'So, unless deadwood -- especially manpower -- is identified and eliminated, we simply cannot have a modern military of the type that India needs,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
President Xi Jinping has called for better international communication, urging the bellicose official Chinese media and 'wolf warrior' diplomats to adopt a tone that displays openness and conveys modesty, in what observers see as a rare admission of Beijing's growing isolation exacerbated by COVID-19.
Before migrating into the theatre command concept, it would be worthwhile to study the shortfalls experienced by the Tri Services Command in the Andaman and Nicobar islands and make good the deficiencies, suggests Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Unimaginative increments, persistent refusal of funds have turned the military into an underfed child scared to ask for a full meal.
Parrikar also released the revised strategic guidance document in view of the prevalent geo-economic and geo-strategic scenarios.
Lauding the bravery displayed by the soldiers, the prime minister said: "The bravery that you and your compatriots showed, a message has gone to the world about India's strength."
'The potential of one such LAC engagement going out of control and leading to heavy casualties cannot be ruled out,' warns Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Dr Seema Rao has trained over 20,000 Indian soldiers. And has never been paid for it. Here's her super-inspirational story.
'There will be much for President Trump and Prime Minister Modi to discuss including growing Chinese military cooperation with Pakistan, which heralds a new attempt by China and Pakistan to neutralise India's influence in its Indian Ocean neighbourhood,' notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy.
