The defence ministryh has "initiated efforts" to join the sixth-generation fighter aircraft development programme, Future Combat Air System (FCAS), spearheaded by the French government, and sought from it the roadmap to acquire such aircraft, a parliamentary panel has said.
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?
A parliamentary panel report has attributed the December 8, 2021, helicopter crash that killed India's first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, and his wife, to "human error." The report, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, also revealed that 34 Indian Air Force aircraft accidents occurred during the 13th Defence Plan period, including nine in 2021-22 and 11 in 2018-19.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has seen a reduction in fighter squadrons due to the phasing out of ageing MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircraft. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence acknowledged the "shortage" and highlighted the multi-pronged approach being taken to address it. This includes the induction of indigenous Tejas fighters and the procurement of additional LCA Mk-1A aircraft. The report also addresses concerns over "incidences of spying" within the IAF and details the action taken against those involved.
The Army has now fallen behind the other two services for four years in a row.
'China is playing the big global game.' 'Their ambitions lie far beyond the Line of Actual Control.'
India has allocated Rs 1.72 trillion, or 27.67 per cent of the total defence budget to cater to modernisation of the country's arsenal. Modern militaries spend up to 50 to 60 per cent of their total defence budget so that they go into combat with superior weaponry and equipment.
"Rahul Gandhi does not attend a single meeting of Standing Committee on Defence. But sadly, he continues to demoralise the nation, question the valour of our armed forces and do everything that a responsible opposition leader should not do," the BJP president said.
Top military officers, including Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, had been summoned to make presentations on military uniforms.
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.
Union minister Narayan Rane on Friday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party will form a government in Maharashtra in March 2022.
'When armies start attacking with clubs and batons, then at some point this can take an escalatory spiral and spin out of control.'
The QRSAM system is unique in its ability to operate on the move, searching for and tracking enemy targets; and then fire on a short halt.
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.
'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.
B C Khanduri was removed last year as chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on defence.
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.
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.
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.
Three navy officers are being terminated from service for divulging secret information on social networking websites such as Facebook and the primary reason for these cases of indiscipline was "moral turpitude", the Union defence ministry has informed a Parliamentary panel.
According to the latest report of the standing committee tabled in Parliament on Monday, the defence ministry says it is alive to the threats and is taking whatever steps that are required to secure the nation
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.
The revelation was made by ISI officials during a three-hour briefing behind closed doors for the Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production on Thursday.
After Gen V K Singh pointed out critical shortage of tank ammunition in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a parliamentary panel on Monday pulled up the government saying it was alarmed over the way deficiencies were allowed to continue leading to such a situation.
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.
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.
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 three service chiefs are unlikely to be called before Parliament's standing committee on defence to give an account of the state of preparedness of the forces. This has become clear with sources in the committee and outside saying that the move has been given up as it would unnecessarily send a wrong signal at a time when the talk of a trust deficit between government and defence forces is being raked up.
The terrorist attack on a key Pakistani naval airbase last month during which 10 security personnel were killed and two maritime surveillance aircraft destroyed was carried out with "inside support", senior Pakistani military officials told a Parliamentary panel.
India's per capita expenditure on defence is less than $10, while the average expenditure of the top ten spenders in Asia is $800 approximately.
India is pursuing sales to South East Asian countries that are wary of Chinese aggression, including Vietnam and the Philippines.
Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said that the Pakistani forces are fully prepared to give a befitting reply to any 'misadventure' from India.
