In 28 months, Manohar Parrikar as defence minister developed easy relationships with the top brass of the three Services as was rarely ever witnessed before. He threw caution to the winds and managed to pull the forces out of a downward spiral in operational capabilities.
Arun Jaitley has clarified his custodianship of 3 ministries - finance, corporate affairs and defence.
India and China on Monday decided to deepen bilateral defence ties and maintain peace and tranquillity at the Line of Actual Control besides strengthening cooperation against terror, including at the international level.
Defence sources had said possible 'action plan' was also discussed about how the Army can respond to the attack.
'The Modi government's greatest blunder is to exploit sensitive external relations in its domestic politics,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Marking the culmination of the 67th Republic Day celebrations, the military on Friday held the beating retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk in Delhi with patriotic fervour.
We mourn the passing of Admiral J G Nadkarni, who passed into the ages on Monday. The admiral -- one of the finest officers to head the Indian Navy and a most remarkable human being -- was one of Rediff.com's earliest columnists. His assessment of why India won the 1971 War is a classic and we republish the column today to celebrate his brilliant mind and salute an office and gentleman, the likes of who we will not see again.
'I was present at a meeting where he decided to permit the IAF to strike at Pakistan positions in Kargil, with the caveat that they should not cross the LoC.' 'Confident that the Indian Army would succeed, Mr Vajpayee was positioning himself to tell the world after the Kargil conflict was won that India did not violate the 'sanctity' of the LoC,' recalls Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's envoy in Islamabad in that eventful year, 1999.
The President may not have agreed with the government on many occasions. Not once was this ever made public -- though he told off ministers in private.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry met for nearly 90 minutes, during which sticky issues -- including probe into Pathankot terror attack, 26/11 trial and Samjhauta Express blast investigations -- figured.
Voicing "grave concern" over the recent sinking of a torpedo recovery vessel off Visakhapatnam coast, Navy Chief Admiral R K Dhowan on Monday rued that the force cannot induct new platforms as quickly as it wants to.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar's worldview sets him apart
'Pakistan's security establishment, despite its appallingly immoral approach to conflict, has worked with limited resources to maximise its national defence resources to continue bleeding India,' says Ajai Shukla.
This is the first time since the Pathankot terror attack that the country's top security czar has spoken about India's strategy in dealing with terror, says Rajeev Sharma.
The 71-year-old MP may have time to pursue her other interests, but many believe that she will continue to play the role of a mentor.
'ISI-backed jihadi groups like the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Tayiba are now prepared to cross the International Border and attack targets in Punjab at will,' says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner to Pakistan.
Ties with Pakistan and China which were on the centre stage of Indian diplomacy saw a "deterioration" in the year gone by, according to foreign policy experts who feel that the relationships are unlikely to see any forward movement in the new year.
Jaitley has made it a habit of giving soundbytes to the media like his predecessors on why RBI should cut interest rates
'The Modi government knows that much cannot be expected of Pakistan till the Kulbhushan Jadhav issue is resolved,' says Rajeev Sharma.
'Overlying his idealism was a hatred of war and of all things military. He gave no deep thought to politico-military matters and this prevented him from making sound security decisions.'
Even as India gears up for election results on May 16, a group of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have taken up an informal initiative to see how a 'Modi ministry' will look like, in case the party forms the government at the Centre.
'We appreciate his positive evaluation of the relationship and share his optimism about its future directions.' 'We look forward to welcoming him in India next week for detailed discussions on further strengthening of our partnership,' the MEA said on Friday.
Does the Union government or the RBI see itself as Krishna beheading Shishupal and what will constitute the 101st or indeed the past many sins for which a Sudarshan Chakra will have to be used? More importantly, what are those sins?
The Deadlock over 'One rank, One Pension' persisted on Thursday with agitating ex-servicemen accusing the government of "constantly shifting goalpost" and "wasting time" even as a fresh round of back-channel talks were held.
Neerja Pandey's Baby, one must say, wouldn't have been as interesting without the lead troika.
'If we had sent a few airplanes (into Tibet), we could have wiped the Chinese out.' 'And everything could have been different in the 1962 War.' 'They did not believe me there was no Chinese air force.' 'Can you imagine what would have happened if we had used the IAF at that time?' 'The Chinese would have never dared do anything down the line.'
If India is to follow a smart cultural diplomacy, it has unmatched advantages over both China and Pakistan, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Ashley J Tellis, a leading authority on Indo-US relations, tells Archis Mohan in an emailed interview that it is time Washington and New Delhi agreed on the contours of their 'strategic partnership', and that India's elite could learn from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in how he has put India's interests first and his own sentiments about the Americans second.
In a first of a 12-part series, we list out all the places you should visit and all the festivals you should celebrate through the New Year!
Lt Gen Bakshi announced 'full support' to the new chief and made it clear that he won't resign.
From Swachh Bharat to spearheading the Make in India campaign, the PMO seems to be at the centre of all policies, writes Nivedita Mookerji.
AAP leaders, accused of violating prohibitory orders in New Delhi and obstructing public servants in discharge of their duty during an agitation were on Monday directed to appear before a Delhi court on May 15.
It is believed that the attack was the handiwork of a freshly-infiltrated group of terrorists who could have entered along the Salamabad Nallah into the town.
Former RA&W chief A S Dulat, who served as Atalji's adviser on Kashmir, gives us an insider's glimpse of a prime minister he has hailed as the 'greatest after Nehru'.
'Today you have 30 to 40 per cent of bureaucrats who are not parrots of the government, but what happens if you change the system?' 'If implemented, this can disrupt the system, which will have more adverse consequences than demonetisation.'
Former army officer Tejinder Singh, who was arrested on Monday, was on Friday granted bail by the Delhi high court in the case relating to his alleged offer of Rs 14 crore bribe to the then Army Chief Gen V K Singh for clearing file for procurement of Tatra all-terrain vehicles.
Modi asked Delhiites not to repeat the "mistake" of voting for AAP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have secured a rare concession from Pakistan that 'terrorism' and not the issue of Kashmir be the central theme of the India-Pakistan dialogue.
'The non-implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, almost a year after it was implemented for civilians, is gradually beginning to hurt morale in the armed forces,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'Make no mistake, depriving water deliberately to a nation of 190 million people is a repugnant idea.' 'The world community won't forgive us.'
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