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.
Armed forces veterans have expressed mixed reaction to the Agnipath scheme under which soldiers will be recruited in the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, largely on a short-term contractual basis, with an aim to cut the ballooning salary and pensions bill.
To threaten China and Pakistan, and then to sharply cut back on military funding, bespeaks a remarkable trust in Beijing and Islamabad that is not borne out by anything they say or do, notes Ajai Shukla.
'The families of those who die during operations are looked after very well by the army, but those who die in non-combat situations do not receive the same attention.'
China will use airpower to support Pakistan from the start of a war. China will use the opportunity to at least take Ladakh. Its growing navy will prevent India from blockading or attacking the Makran Coast. And thanks to Chinese weapons, Pakistan keeps expanding its forces, observes Ravi Rikhye.
Ehud Barak was once the man most feared by terrorists in the Arab world.
'The next war will be fought by China-Pakistan against India and we have to fully be prepared. We must read the writing on the wall.'
'While all would agree on the need to be ready to launch cross-border strikes on terror camps, there is sharp disagreement on how best to do it.' 'Through IAF fighters, or surface-to-surface missiles?' 'Or should army Special Forces be created to do the job?' 'If air strikes are the agreed priority, additional funding must be made available for the purchase of fighters and missiles.' 'If it is to be Special Forces, the army must be facilitated in raising a Special Forces Command,' notes Ajai Shukla.
Glimpses of the destruction in Ukraine caused by Putin's senseless war.
The defence budget was increased to Rs 5.94 lakh crore for 2023-24, up from last year's allocation of Rs 5.25 lakh crore.
As protests against the Agnipath military recruitment scheme intensified, the Army, Navy and the Air Force on Friday announced that they will start the enrolment process under the new model by next week while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to the youths wanting to join the armed forces to start preparing for the induction.
The government should keep the interest of unemployed youth paramount and bring out various policy aspects of this initiative, Varun said.
'Sepoy K Ashuli displayed nerves of steel, exemplary courage, fearlessness under enemy fire, unparalleled devotion to duty and camaraderie of the highest order in keeping with the finest traditions of the Indian Army.'
Sources said Tewari, who has publicly lauded the Agnipath scheme and termed it as a much-needed reform in the armed forces, has taken a stand contrary to that taken by his party.
In the Union Budget presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a total of Rs 1,52,369 crore has been set aside for capital expenditure that includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.
'Military is too serious a matter to be taken as a tour for a few years.'
In his second term in office, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has retained 34 portfolios.
It is a question that his supporters must ask of the prime minister. It may be enjoyable for them to pass through this phase of going after other Indians. But once this has been achieved to satisfaction, then what?, questions Aakar Patel.
Wordsmiths and artists of different parties are working overtime to deliver punches and counter punches in their bid to reach out to voters through different platforms ranging from Facebook to YouTube.
Excerpts from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Combined Commanders Conference on board the INS Vikramaditya at sea, off the coast of Kochi.
The scheme is aimed at slashing the salary and pension bills of the three services, which have been increasing rapidly.
The defence budget was increased to Rs 3.37 lakh crore for 2020-21 against last year's Rs 3.18 lakh crore.
Protests at this time when efforts are underway to strengthen the PLA and keep morale high would be worrying for the military leadership, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
That would result in the military under-spending about Rs 80,000 crore over the financial year.
On a mission to visit the families of soldiers who have died in action, Vikas Manhas has met over 1,000 families whose loved ones made the supreme sacrifice for the country.
Industry leaders, including Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra, RPG Enterprises chairman Harsh Goenka and Biocon Ltd chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Monday came out in support of the Agnipath scheme, saying it has large potential for employment of youth in the corporate sector. Mahindra also expressed dismay over the violence against the scheme while asserting that the farm equipment to aerospace conglomerate welcomes the opportunity to recruit trained, capable and young people under the programme. The Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14, provides for the recruitment of youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years to 21 for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.
Shehbaz, the younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, received 174 votes -- two more than the simple majority of 172.
'India is ahead only of Pakistan in the amount spent on each soldier a year.' 'The Indian military is a manpower-heavy throng that is poorly armed, equipped, and trained,' observes Ajai Shukla.
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.
China on Friday hiked its defence budget to $209 billion, maintaining a single-digit growth for the sixth consecutive year with a 6.8 per cent increase in 2021.
"The women officers were re-considered as per directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and fresh results have now been de-classified. Consequently, 147 more women officers are being granted PC, taking the total PC granted to 424 out of the 615 officers considered," the ministry said in a statement.
"Only time will tell us about that but I am quite sure that if a youngster who has, as you said, got brainwashed (into terrorism), joins the services under the scheme and stays with us for four years, I am sure he will be a different person and probably more of an Indian than a radical as you brought out," the air marshal told reporters.
The military will now demand further pay and promotion parity with civilians
'These ladies have sacrificed their husbands so that you can celebrate your birthday parties and anniversaries.' 'It is your moral duty to treat them right and with respect.' 'When they visit a bank or a hospital, they should not be made to stand in queue, but treated like Presidents or prime ministers.'
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.
Prime Minister Modi made a strategic blunder of Nehruvian proportions -- presuming no war can happen now, and the Chinese won't be a military threat and risk their economic interests, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'Political parties have appropriated our military victories -- the Kargil war is the BJP's and the Bangladesh war is the Congress's -- what is going on?' As Uttarakhand -- where faujis number nearly 40% of the state's population -- prepares to vote, Rediff.com's Archana Masih discovers what upsets retired soldiers in Uttarakhand the most is a forgotten protest in the heart of Delhi.
Money will be earmarked for the social sector - especially rural districts that house three-fifths of voters
The outlay for defence sector almost remained unchanged compared to what was allocated in the interim budget on February 1.
Cash on credit card and upfront money in exchange for future pension might sound tempting, but they carry enormous interest rates.
