A parliamentary panel on Monday discussed resettlement policies, healthcare facilities and avenues for ex-servicemen and sought to know details about post-retirement employment prospects of former soldiers.
This is the fourth peacetime crash of an IAF jet in 2025 so far.
The death of a young pilot and three fighter jet crashes prompt the question -- should there be more simulation training?
Minesweepers are small naval warships that detect and destroy underwater mines and are considered vital for keeping the critical sea lanes safe for movement of essential cargo, including crude oil.
Union minister Narayan Rane on Friday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party will form a government in Maharashtra in March 2022.
B C Khanduri was removed last year as chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on defence.
Recommending creation of necessary infrastructure for inducting female officers in defence forces and allowing their entry in National Defence Academy courses, a Parliamentary Panel has suggested formulating a new policy for admitting girls in Sainik Schools as a complementary process.
The government on Monday clarified that the controversial movement of troops towards Delhi in mid-January was a "routine" exercise, for which no permission was required from the defence ministry. Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, who appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, told the panel that the movement of troops towards Delhi was a routine drill and no standard operating procedures were violated as it did not require permission from the govt.
With several government agencies, including Railways, seeking its land for their use, the Defence ministry has made it clear that it has no surplus land to share with others and needs additional land to keep up with the demands of the armed forces.
Against the backdrop of Army Chief Gen V K Singh raising the issue of shortage of equipment, a Parliamentary panel has decided to carry out a "comprehensive" review on the issue of defence preparedness and bring out a report.
Terming the movement of two army units towards Delhi in mid-January as a routine drill, Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma on Monday said no permission was required for the same from the government.
Chairman of the Parliamentary standing committee on defence Satpal Maharaj on Sunday sought to downplay the controversy over the alleged unnotified movement of two Army units towards the capital in mid-January, saying such exercises are routinely held.
Members of Parliament on Wednesday quizzed Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and Army Vice Chief S K Singh on a media report of suspicious movement of troops near national capital New Delhi in January, but they dismissed it as baseless.
Top military officers, including Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, had been summoned to make presentations on military uniforms.
In an extraordinary step, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence on Monday decided to call the three service chiefs to give an account of the state of preparedness of the forces against the backdrop of Army Chief Gen V K Singh speaking of shortages and deficiencies.
The disengagement process between India and China in eastern Ladakh is in final stages and on the brink of completion, top officials of the country's defence establishment on Thursday told a parliamentary panel during a meeting, which sources said turned 'stormy' amid several questions asked by opposition members including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
His word of caution came against the backdrop of demands that the government should present proof about the cross-LoC raids to counter the smear campaign by Pakistan.
Young Bharatiya Janata Party leader Varun Gandhi has been nominated as a member of the key Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence in order to groom him as a future leader of the party and give valuable parliamentary experience.
The committee noted that Indian export market was at present confined to neighbouring nations like Nepal, Myanmar\nand Maldives, besides catering to the replenishment market.
This is probably the first time Rahul Gandhi is attending this committee's meeting since being nominated to the panel last year after Lok Sabha elections.
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday said there should be a presentation by the government on what is happening on the India-China border, particularly in Ladakh, where the armies of the two countries are involved in a face-off. Pawar, who is in the national capital to attend a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, said there are other defence-related issues on the table for discussion, but he will make a request that a presentation is made on it.
Former Union minister and Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party strongman Madan Lal Khurana Monday accused party chief Rajnath Singh of working under the influence of a "coterie" close to senior leader Lal Kishenchand Advani.
A committee would be set up by the finance ministry to consider the long-pending demand of ex-servicemen for a 'one-rank one-pension' scheme.
The 30-member committee, chaired by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Jual Oram and of which Rahul Gandhi is also a member,wishes to visit the eastern Ladakh region in the last week of May or in June.
'When armies start attacking with clubs and batons, then at some point this can take an escalatory spiral and spin out of control.'
'The standing committee on defence was flagging what the services had said.' 'As a soldier, General Khanduri might have felt that it was his duty to point this out in the greater good of India,' points out Aditi Phadnis.
'A brief statement was made by the Army on the sensitive issue. But no questions were taken,' a member said.
The defence minister said that the expenditure has been highest in 2017-18. In the same manner, it was second highest in 2016-17 and third highest in 2015-16. The fourth highest defence expenditure since 2004-05 was in 2014-15.
Coming down hard on the government for meagre increase in allocation for armed forces in the last few years, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence said the outlay cannot even fulfill the basic requirements of the armed forces.
With no let up in ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that India should "respond in kind" if these persist and BSF asked its men to retaliate strongly while Army said it is prepared to deal with any situation.
King Salman and Narendra Modi will find common ground to intensify cooperation against jihadi terrorism, says Tarun Vijay, MP.
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