'The additional Rafales will be from a vastly improved version compared to the 36 acquired for the IAF under the 2016 deal.'
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has recently approved procurement proposals worth Rs 79,000 crore across three services and it has cleared AoN (Acceptance of Necessity) of Rs 3.3 trillion in financial year 2026 (FY26).
'No, India and China were not about to go to all-out war over a few rocks of Galwan.' 'The full picture of what went on at the highest level between two heads of State will not be known for a very, very long time and rightly so,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
'If you go by the capital expenditure, this is a good defence budget. But we will have to see if the government can keep defence spending at 2 per cent or higher in 2027-2028.'
In a strategic move to boost offshore energy exploration and operational efficiency, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) and Reliance Industries Ltd have signed an agreement to share resources such as supply vessels used in finding and producing oil and gas.
How does the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation's budget compare with the budget of other Indian cities?
'Why are IPKF martyrs not being officially recognised and appropriately honoured? And is the government really changing its mind on this now?', asks Aditi Phadnis.
The Indian Army has raised concerns in the Supreme Court regarding the construction of a multi-speciality hospital near the Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam, citing potential security risks from drone movement and long-range sniper rifles. The court is seeking a balance between public health needs and national security.
A Delhi Police SWAT commando died after allegedly being brutally assaulted by her husband, who reportedly announced the killing during a phone call with the victim's brother. The family alleges prolonged torture and dowry harassment.
According to the police, the entire Kartavya Path area has been placed under constant electronic surveillance through an extensive network of CCTV cameras integrated with advanced facial recognition system (FRS) technology.
British and French air force jets conducted intelligence-led strikes to destroy an arms bunker occupied by the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group in Syria.
Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi announced that India is considering raising a 'rocket-cum-missile' force in response to the evolving regional security situation and similar units in China and Pakistan. The move aims to enhance India's combat capabilities and long-range strike potential.
The deployment of the army in all sectors along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border between India and China, is 'robust, well poised and prepared to deal with any emerging contingency'.
During the financial year 2025-2026, the defence ministry has signed a total of 182,492 crore capital acquisition contracts, highlighting the government's push to modernise the armed forces and promote indigenous defence production.
The project is aimed at enabling faster movement of security forces and military equipment during exigencies, while also improving connectivity to Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and other north eastern states.
If Xi Jinping can establish control over the PLA Ground Force, relations between India and China will settle down to an even keel. The next few weeks will show whether Xi has finally succeeded in gaining control over the PLA Ground Force. That could bring about the substantive shift in India-China relations that both our leaders have been working for, observes Ambassador Prabhat Shukla.
'The tools of warfare are changing. The MoD must deepen its engagement with technology thinkers that can present compelling visions of where warfare may be heading.'
'Some success has been achieved in raising the costs of terrorism for Pakistan.'
Ukraine's capital Kyiv came under a large-scale missile and drone attack overnight on December 27, with multiple explosions reported across the city and surrounding regions, one day ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as diplomatic efforts continue to end the four-year-long war.
The largest tranche came in July, in the wake of Operation Sindoor, with the DAC according acceptance of necessity -- or initial approval -- for 10 capital acquisition proposals amounting to approximately 1.05 trillion through indigenous sourcing.
The Army is also looking at strengthening the existing Pinaka regiments and had recently placed orders for buying the area denial ammunition for these rocket regiments.
The sources declined to specify the number of drones the Navy plans to acquire but said the focus is now on manufacturing the MK-II in India through partnerships with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Elcom.
The bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry disposed of the petition filed by the Sanyukt Ahir Regiment Morcha and others seeking a stay on the release of the movie, which is based on the 1962 Battle of Rezang La.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Centre to decide on a representation challenging the certification and release of the film '120 Bahadur'. The petitioners allege historical inaccuracies in the movie's portrayal of the Battle of Rezang La.
The DRDO conducted the test in collaboration with the Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Russia, being bogged down by the Ukraine war and prioritising the requirements of its own armed forces, along with India's consistent diversification policy, will remain a major challenge to the bilateral partnership, note Harsh V Pant and Aleksei Zakharov.
The Delhi High Court has allowed the recording of evidence of a US-based prosecution witness through video conferencing in a 2012 case related to the Official Secrets Act involving arms dealer Abhishek Verma and his wife. The court outlined safeguards to protect sensitive material during the proceedings.
The Russians have termed Putin's visit to India, his first to this country since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, as 'Druzhba Dosti', which means 'friendship' in Russian and Hindi respectively.
This is seen as the first concrete opportunity to break HAL's monopoly in combat aircraft manufacturing, potentially opening the door to a private-sector fighter jet producer.
India and the UK have announced a series of defence cooperation initiatives, including a USD 468 million deal for the supply of lightweight multirole missile systems to enhance India's air defence capabilities.
HAL's order book amounts to Rs 2.45 trillion by end of Q2FY26, implying a book-to-bill ratio of 32 times based on FY25 revenue.
The airspace ban was extended after ties between the two countries deteriorated due to the four-day conflict as India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 and destroyed terror infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan.
Defence Procurement Manual 2025 lays down the guiding principles for revenue procurements in the defence ministry worth around 1 trillion in a financial year.
The MiG-21 episode demonstrates that procurement is always strategic.
Choices about what aircraft to acquire, who builds them, who supplies the spares, who trains the pilots and technicians are decisions with political consequences lasting for decades.
Lieutenant General Vinod Khandare (retired), former principal adviser to the Ministry of Defence, discusses the implications of Operation Sindoor, including its impact on India's diplomatic relations and the need for improved civil defense.
The weapon system is customised to operate in altitude above 4,500 metres and has latest upgrades including indigenously developed Radio Frequency seeker, as per the release.
It is considered one of the most crucial appointments within the Indian Army, according to an official statement from the Ministry of Defence.
The central government has empowered the Army Chief to call out 'every officer and every enrolled person' of the Territorial Army (TA) to provide for essential guard or to be embodied to support or supplement the regular Army.
The bilingual -- Hindi and English -- invitation cards for I-Day anniversary celebrations carry this image on the top right corner of the invite, while the silhouetted image of the Chenab bridge, the world's tallest railway arch bridge, sits at the lower side of the cards, which have largely being issued online via 'Aamantran' website of the Ministry of Defence.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed petitions from the Ministry of Defence challenging disability pension orders for armed forces personnel, emphasizing that such pensions are a right, not an act of generosity, and should not be denied based solely on the location of disability onset or claims of lifestyle diseases.
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