Pune: Holding that a "peaceful and stable" Pakistan was in India's interest, Defence Minister AK Antony on Tuesday said that the neighbouring country must initiate strong action against terrorist groups operating from its soil, in order to improve Indo-Pak ties.
"We are concerned about terrorist groups in Pakistan. They should take strong action against them which will help improve our relations," he told reporters here when asked whether change of government in Pakistan could spell a better relationship between the two countries.
Describing Pakistan as "our closest neighbour", Antony said Indian government wanted friendly relations with it as a "peaceful and stable" Pakistan was in India's interest. On Indo-China relations and border situation, the defence minister said, "the recent problem has been solved to the satisfaction of both the countries. We have a mechanism to sort out occasional irritants," adding, that there was a "highest level decision" to maintain peace and tranquillity along the border.
Both countries would also have joint exercises, he noted. Antony said notwithstanding the long standing border dispute, there were major areas of cooperation between India and China, also India's "largest trading partner". He hoped his forthcoming visit to China would further improve the bilateral relations and defence cooperation between the two countries....
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05:50 PM, Jun 18, 2013
New Delhi: Army's top secret details about operational plans and deployment along the India-China border could have been compromised and around six military personnel have been indicted by a Court of Inquiry (CoI) in this regard. Sources said the indicted personnel are in the process of facing disciplinary action on various counts in the incident which happened around a couple of years ago. The sensitive information could have been compromised...
09:39 PM, Jun 12, 2013
Thanjavur: Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday will inaugurate an airbase here to house squadron of IAFs lethal Su-30 MKI combat aircraft, making it the first fighter squadron in south India that will help maintain vigil over the Indian Ocean region. The Indian Air Force (IAF) will base a squadron of agile Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft in Thajavur, making it the first fighter squadron in southern India, with a view...
09:10 AM, May 27, 2013
Milan: The former CEO of the Italian defense giant Finmeccanica was released on Saturday from jail pending his trial on corruption charges in June. Giuseppe Orsi, who was held for some 80 days in pre-trial detention, faces charges for his alleged involvement in the payment of bribes to secure a 560 million euro ($670 million) deal to sell 12 helicopters to India. A speedy trial for Orsi, who was head...
12:56 PM, May 05, 2013
Rome: The 'instant trial' in Rome against ex-CEO of the Italian state-controlled defence giant Finmeccanica, Giuseppe Orsi and the CEO of its helicopter unit AgustaWestland, Bruno Spagnoli for alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal with India will begin on June 19. A judge in the northern Italian town of Busto Arsizio granted a prosecutor's request for the instant trial, which eliminates preliminary hearings, Italian news agency...
08:09 PM, May 03, 2013
New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony on Tuesday discussed ways of resolving the Chinese incursion issue with the top security brass of the country and emphasised that India will take every step to safeguard its interests there. Addressing the Unified Commanders' Conference, he said the current situation in Ladakh where Chinese Army troops have camped for over two weeks is "not one of our creation" and India wanted a peaceful...
10:35 PM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: Rejecting the Defence Ministry's view on foreign direct investment, a Parliamentary committee has recommended enhancement in FDI limit to attract foreign companies as it would benefit the Indian defence sector in the long run and save precious foreign exchange. The Standing Committee on Defence took note of the divergent views within the Ministry over the issue. While the Department of Defence Production opposes FDI, the DRDO favours it,...
02:45 AM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: 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 Defence Ministry has informed a Parliamentary panel. It also told the Standing Committee on Defence that in three cases of face-offs between troops and officers in the Army, the forces have taken action against 219 officers,...
09:11 PM, Apr 29, 2013
New Delhi: Observing that deployment in counter-insurgency operations was straining the resources of the Army, a Parliamentary panel on Monday said the force should be relieved from these tasks to focus on undertaking its regular conventional duties. In its report tabled on Monday, the Standing Committee on Defence expressed concern for saving lives of soldiers in counter-terrorist operations and slammed the Defence Ministry for its "lackadaisical attitude" for doing away...
06:50 PM, Apr 29, 2013
New Delhi: Anglo-Italian defence firm AgustaWestland has participated in bids to procure choppers for Indian Navy and Coast Guard as no decision has been taken by the government to debar it from the procurement process, Defence Minister AK Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday. In a written reply to the House, he said the Request for Proposal (RFP) for procurement of the Naval Utility Helicopter (NUH) was issued before...
05:11 PM, Apr 29, 2013
New Delhi: BJP members of a Parliamentary Committee have demanded that officials of the Defence Ministry and the Army be called before it. They are seeking explanation on the issue of Chinese incursion, to get a clear picture of the situation and on how the government is handling it. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Prakash Javadekar, members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, have written to Chairman Raj Babbar, seeking...
04:00 PM, Apr 25, 2013
New Delhi: Embarrassed by allegations of wife-swapping, the Navy has dismissed another senior officer from service after he was found guilty of sending lewd messages to several women by a General Court Martial (GCM) in Mumbai. The issue of dismissal of the officer deployed on the country's only aircraft carrier INS Virat comes soon after Defence Minister AK Antony dismissed another officer who was found guilty of having illicit relations...
08:12 PM, Apr 15, 2013
New Delhi: Seeking to avoid allegations of favouritism and scams in acquisitions, the Defence Ministry is planning to put an end to single-vendor tenders and is expected to issue directions to the Services headquarters soon in this regard. The Ministry is considering formulation of a policy in this regard and it is expected to be reflected in the forthcoming new version of the Defence Procurement Procedure, which will be given...
09:21 PM, Apr 14, 2013
New Delhi: For the first time, Indian private firms can bid for making artillery guns. An Indian Express report says at the last meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the Ministry of Defence decided to allow Indian private entities to participate in a bid for making artillery guns. In the past, private firms have made ancillary equipment for the Pinaka missile. It is learnt that while approving the Army's...
02:17 PM, Apr 12, 2013
French troops patrolling the international airport in the capital of the Central African Republic killed two Indian citizens when three vehicles tried to enter the facility, France's defence ministry said on Monday. ...
09:34 AM, Mar 26, 2013
Buoyed by its recent success in civic polls in Karnataka where it is keen to wrest back power, Congress on Wednesday formed a high-powered co-ordination and monitoring committee headed by Defence Minister AK Antony for the May 5 assembly elections in the southern state. The election process in the state starts with the issue of notification on April 10 when candidates can start filing their nominations for its 224-member state...
09:57 PM, Mar 20, 2013
With focus on indigenisation to avoid scams in foreign acquisition, Defence Ministry on Wednesday said it will be pumping Rs 15,000 crore to augment domestic military production for systems such as the indigenous 155mm artillery guns. ...
07:42 PM, Mar 20, 2013
Facing the threat of cancellation of its helicopter deal, AgustaWestland has claimed that there was no wrongdoing in its links with the two software firms, which were allegedly used to pay kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore chopper contract. The Anglo-Italian firm has written to the Defence Ministry, and attached along with a report of an auditor to support its claim. ...
08:20 PM, Mar 15, 2013
Former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief SP Tyagi has named former Special Protection Group (SPG) chief Bharat Vir Wanchoo as being one of the men responsible for making alterations to the terms of the AgustaWestland deal. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to question Wanchoo who enjoys constitutional immunity, as the current Goa Governor. ...
07:21 AM, Mar 09, 2013
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday questioned cousins of former Air Chief SP Tyagi in connection with alleged kickbacks in VVIP helicopter deal. ...
03:06 PM, Mar 06, 2013
