New Delhi: Prime minister Manmohan Singh today hosted a farewell dinner for Army Chief General VK Singh who retires on May 31. The dinner was attended by several senior ministers including Defence Minister AK Antony. Earlier, Antony too had hosted a dinner for General VK Singh and his wife Bharati Singh on May 23. Gen Singh's last major function would be the National Defence Academy passing out parade on May...
09:59 PM, May 26, 2012
New Delhi: In a tell-all interview given to CNN-IBN, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General VK Singh said that Defence Minister AK Antony could have done much more in the Tatra-BEML deal controversy, adding that the minister could have moved against Lt General (retd) Tejinder Singh. "I have faith in the Defence Minister... However, he could have moved against Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh... He relies heavily on advice from...
07:49 PM, May 26, 2012
New Delhi: Amidst the charge that he was trying to block the promotion of a Lieutenant General, to whom he has issued a show cause notice, Army Chief General VK Singh said that there was no vendetta against Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag. Speaking to CNN-IBN, General VK Singh said it was not right to discuss the notice in public. Gen Singh said, "It is morally unacceptable to publicise the...
04:19 PM, May 26, 2012
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday adjourned till Monday its decision on whether Army Chief General VK Singh should be summoned or not in a defamation case filed by Lt General (retd) Tejinder Singh against him. The court will decide on Monday if more documents are needed to decide on summoning the Chief of Army Staff. The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to direct the Centre to take...
02:06 PM, May 25, 2012
New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony's dinner for outgoing Army Chief Gen VK Singh on Wednesday night was marked by bonhomie but there were no farewell speeches. No speeches were made at the farewell dinner for Gen Singh and his wife Bharati Singh hosted by Antony and his wife Elizabeth, sources said on Thursday, adding it was unusual as generally officials present say a few lines about the outgoing Service...
11:39 AM, May 24, 2012
New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony on Wednesday hosted a farewell dinner for Army Chief Gen VK Singh who is retiring on May 31. The Army Chief attended the dinner by the Defence Minister at the Army Battle Honours Mess at Delhi Cantt and the President will host a banquet for him on Thursday. Gen Singh's last major function would be the National Defence Academy passing out parade on May...
03:03 AM, May 24, 2012
New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony will host a farewell dinner on Wednesday for Army Chief Gen VK Singh who retires on May 31. The Army Chief will be hosted by the Defence Minister at the Army Battle Honours Mess at Delhi Cantt on May 23 followed by a banquet by the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces President Pratibha Patil the next day. His last major function would be the...
02:10 PM, May 23, 2012
New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony will host a farewell dinner on Wednesday for Army Chief Gen VK Singh who retires on May 31. The Army Chief will be hosted by the Defence Minister at the Army Battle Honours Mess at Delhi Cantt on May 23 followed by a banquet by the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces President Pratibha Patil the next day. His last major function would be the...
09:40 PM, May 21, 2012
New Delhi: Pakistani military planes have violated Indian air space 23 times in the past three years including twice in last four months, Defence Minister AK Antony said on Monday. He also noted that all such violations are "taken up" with the country concerned. "During the last three years - 2009-2011 - and current year, 23 incidents of air violation by planes of Pakistan defence forces were reported," Antony said...
06:50 PM, May 21, 2012
New Delhi: The Indian Navy will acquire at least five ships every year for the next 10 years, and deploy two nuclear submarines and its new aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, in 2013. The fast forward mode after a long lull has been mentioned both by Defence Minister AK Antony as well as navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma on different occasions, particularly at the induction of the nuclear-powered submarine INS Chakra...
02:04 AM, May 17, 2012
New Delhi: India has become the largest importer of arms, surpassing the Chinese share of five per cent of global arms imports during 2007-11, government told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. "As per a report published in March 2012 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India has become the largest importer of arms during 2007-11 and accounted for 10 per cent of global arms import as compared to...
03:48 PM, May 16, 2012
New Delhi: Two types of indigenously manufactured howitzers for the Indian Army will be ready for trials by December 2012 and by June 2013, Government told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. In a written reply to the House, Defence Minister AK Antony said, "As per the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) decision of October 2011, Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is to manufacture 155mm howitzers." The OFBs have been asked to manufacture...
03:24 PM, May 16, 2012
New Delhi: Unhappy over the initial report, Defence Minister AK Antony has asked Army to take immediate "corrective" steps to see that incidents like the clash between jawans and officers at a firing range near the India-China boundary in Nyoma, Ladakh do not recur. The Minister is understood to have expressed his displeasure to the Army top brass over the initial report that is said to have attempted a cover...
03:17 PM, May 13, 2012
New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Security is expected to clear a major air force requirement for a basic trainer. The lack of a basic trainer since 2009 has seriously setback pilot training. Although the Swiss Pilatus was selected last year, a competing Korean aircraft maker objected setting off a vicious dogfight. Which Air Force has the dubious distinction of crashing 55 per cent of its frontline MiG fleet -...
06:38 PM, May 10, 2012
New Delhi: India is raising an offensive Corps and taking other steps to gear up its preparedness along China border to meet the challenges, Defence Minister AK Antony said as he pitched for a substantial hike in defence budget to meet this changing threat perception. Terming the growing military ties between Pakistan and China as a "cause of worry", he said the armed forces have been issued a new directive...
02:39 AM, May 09, 2012
New Delhi: India will get aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov and nuclear submarine INS Arihant next year providing a much needed boost to country's naval capabilities. Wrapping up a discussion on the performance of his Ministry in the Rajya Sabha, Defence Minister AK Antony on Tuesday said from 2013, the Navy will get five new warships every year which will help in modernising country's naval fleet. "In the early half of...
08:09 PM, May 08, 2012
New Delhi: The UPA government and the Opposition were involved in a slugfest in the Rajya Sabha over the shortages of arms and ammunition faced by the defence forces. Raising the issue BJP MP and Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley said that the Indian defence forces were moving on imported trucks, which was not a good sign. "The country which aspires to become a superpower has to import trucks for...
03:58 PM, May 08, 2012
New Delhi: No nepotism in distributing tickets, declaring candidates almost a year before polls, easy accessibility of the CM, PCC chief and CLP leaders to party workers and strict enforcement of discipline are some of the recommendations of the Congress committee that went into party's debacle in Uttar Pradesh. The report of the three-member committee, headed by Defence Minister AK Antony, was submitted to Congress President Sonia Gandhi a few...
09:44 PM, May 07, 2012
New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday defended the Tatra deal in Parliament saying that the trucks were bought mainly due to operational needs of the Army and that not a single Tatra truck had been purchased post 2008. Seeking to turn the tables on the Opposition, Antony said the present government had not purchased a single new Tatra truck and the current deliveries were being made as per...
12:04 PM, May 07, 2012
New Delhi: Notwithstanding controversy, Tatra trucks produced by the state-owned BEML are taking part in the summer trials conducted by the Army for procuring heavy trucks to ferry missile and artillery systems. The Army had issued a global tender for procuring over 255 heavy eight-wheeled trucks in 2010 and a few indigenous companies along with BEML are competiting, sources said. The summer trials are being held in desert and hot...
01:39 AM, May 05, 2012
