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The Odisha government on Friday announced a 10 per cent quota and five years of age relaxation for Agniveers in the state's uninformed services. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi made the announcement before leaving for Delhi to attend the governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog on Saturday. "Our soldiers are our pride. Agniveers, who are trained by our defence forces, are qualified to serve the nation in various security-related sectors," he said. "The Agniveer scheme is a historic initiative launched by PM Narendra Modi. This initiative has made our youth able and fearless so that they can face various challenges in life. That is why the Odisha government has decided to recruit Agniveers in the state's uniformed services," he added.
Security forces seized on Friday a consignment of arms and ammunition suspected to have been dropped by a drone from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, officials said. They said a search operation was initiated in the Nowshera area following the sighting of a suspected drone along the LoC in the Mangla battalion area. Army units engaged the drone with gunfire, and a cordon-and-search operation was launched in the early hours of the day, the officials added. During the search, a consignment suspected to have been by the drone was discovered and seized by Army and police personnel in the border village of Sehar in the Nowshera sub-division, they said. The items include a pistol, two magazines and 37 bullets. Search operations in the area are ongoing, the officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Agnipath scheme is an example of necessary reforms undertaken by the Army and accused the opposition of playing politics over the recruitment process aimed at keeping the average age in armed forces young. In his address on Kargil Vijay Diwas here to mark the 25th anniversary of victory in Kargil war, Modi said some people were playing politics over a sensitive issue related to national security and rubbished claims that the Agnipath scheme was launched to save pension money. "The aim of Agnipath is to make the forces young...The aim of Agnipath is to keep the armies continuously fit for war," he said. "Unfortunately, such a sensitive issue related to national security has been made a subject of politics by some people. Some people are playing politics of lies for their personal interests even on this reform of the army," he said. The prime minister said Angipath scheme is an example of necessary reforms done by the army. "For decad
Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year on July 26, it is observed to honour the bravery and pride of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Kargil War of 1999
Ishmeet Singh was recruited by the Indian Army in November 2022 as an Agniveer and was posted in West Bengal but ditched his job to become a gang robber
A deep dive into the defence budget allocations and strategic challenges, kicking off a three-part analysis
The Taiwan Strait, separating Taiwan from mainland China, has been a frequent area of contention, with Beijing viewing Taiwan as a breakaway province and asserting sovereignty over the island.
Krystal, a listed facilities management company, will be keen on hiring Agniveers after their short-term engagement with defence services comes to an end, a top company official has said. Some of the talented Agniveers, who are trained as a part of their induction into the armed forces, can get very good remuneration, Krystal Integrated Services' chief executive Sanjay Dighe told PTI. Firms like Krystal can be a "good bridge" between the exiting Agniveers and the corporate sector looking for right candidates to protect premises in which high amounts have been invested, he said. Stating that the Agniveers will be gainfully employed if they transition into the private sector, Dighe said there is high demand for such talent and added, "They do not have to sit idle even for a week." Moreover, the Agniveers will also be able to get other advantages like being with families and may not be migrating anywhere at all, the CEO of the company, promoted by BJP leader Prasad Lad, said. The ...
The operation was launched on a reliable input about the presence of terrorists, sources said, adding reinforcements have been rushed to the area to strengthen the cordon
The search operations are being done using hi-tech spectrum drones equipped with high-definition cameras that have the ability to capture videos up to several kilometres away
Bihar's Hajipur city, known for its agricultural production, is writing its own story by manufacturing safety shoes for the Russian army, which has an acclaimed international presence
The Army chief appreciated the contribution made by Veterans and VeerNaris during deliberations and directed that continued emphasis be maintained towards their welfare
The Israeli military on Thursday acknowledged a string of errors in its response to the deadly Hamas attacks last Oct. 7, including slow response times and disorganization, as it released the results of its first investigation into failures during the assault that triggered the war in Gaza. The report focused on the border community of Be'eri, where over 100 people were killed and more than 30 others taken hostage by Hamas. It was among the hardest-hit communities in the early morning attack, and it was the scene of one of the highest-profile confrontations of Oct. 7 a standoff in which militants held a group of hostages inside a home. The army failed in its mission to protect the residents of Kibbutz Be'eri, the military's chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said in a televised address. It is painful and difficult for me to say that. During the standoff, a tank fired at the home, raising concerns that the 13 hostages inside were killed by friendly fire. The military conclude
In their most serious rebuke against Beijing, NATO allies on Wednesday called China a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine and expressed concerns over China's nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space. The sternly-worded final communiqu, approved by the 32 NATO members at their summit in Washington, makes clear that China is becoming a focus of the military alliance. The European and North American members and their partners in the Indo-Pacific increasingly see shared security concerns coming from Russia and its Asian supporters, especially China. Beijing has denied that it supports Russia's war efforts and insists that it conducts normal trade with its northern neighbour. In the communiqu, NATO member countries said China has become a war enabler through its "no-limits partnership" with Russia and its large-scale support for Russia's defence industrial base. "This increases the threat Russia poses to its neighbours and to Euro-Atlantic security. We call on the PR
Russia on Wednesday said it is hoping for quick resolution of the issue relating to India's call for return of Indians recruited into the Russian Army as support staff and asserted their recruitment was purely a commercial matter. In first comments on the issue from the Russian government, Russia's Charge d'affaires Roman Babushkin said Moscow never wanted the Indians to be part of its Army and their number is insignificant in the context of the conflict. "We are on the same side with the Indian government on the issue... We hope that the issue will be resolved soon," he said at a media briefing while responding to a question. Babushkin's remarks came a day after Russia promised to ensure early release and return to home of the Indian nationals working in the Russian military as support staff after Prime Minister Narendra Modi "very strongly" raised the issue with President Vladimir Putin. Babushkin noted that the issue should not be politicised. "Let us be very clear, we have nev
At least two soldiers were injured after terrorists opened fire on Army vehicles in the remote Machedi area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, officials said on Monday. The incident took place at Badnota village in Lohai Malhar, 150 kilometres from Kathua town, when some Army vehicles were on a routine patrol in the area, they said. Security forces retaliated and an exchange of fire was going on when last reports were received. Reinforcements have been rushed to the area and further details are awaited, the officials said.
The row over compensation to the next of kin of Agniveer Ajay Kumar intensified on Friday with Rahul Gandhi reiterating that the martyr's family had not got compensation till date and alleged that the Modi government was discriminating against the Agniveers. The Congress leader also shared a video on X purportedly of the father of a deceased Agniveer who stated that his family got Rs 50 lakh as insurance from a private bank and 48 lakh from the Army Group Insurance Fund. Gandhi said in the video that the martyr's family had not got compensation and asked why they have not got ex-gratia payment. He asked why salary arrears have not been received in the bank account of the martyr's family. "The family of martyr Agniveer Ajay Kumar has not received any compensation from the government till date. There is a difference between 'compensation' and 'insurance'. The payment has been made to the family of the martyr only by the insurance company," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. The fa
Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi reviewed the security situation along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, exhorting the troops to remain steadfast to meet all security challenges, officials said. This was his first visit to the Jammu region after taking charge as the 30th chief of the Indian Army on June 30, and it assumes significance in view of the ongoing Amarnath Yatra and massive anti-terror operations underway, especially in hilly districts. The Army chief reached Jammu in the morning and flew to the border district of Poonch to review the security situation and operational preparedness along the LoC, the officials said. In a post on 'X', the additional directorate general of public information of the Army said Chief of Army Staff Dwivedi, along with Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Suchindra Kumar and General Officer Commanding of Jammu-based White Knight Corps Lt Gen Navin Sachdeva, visited forward locations of the 'XVI corps', as known as the White ...
Five Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Tuesday, police said. The gunfight took place in a forest under Kohkameta police station area in Abujhmad, a hilly forest area when a joint team of personnel from different security forces was out on an anti-Naxal operation, a senior police official said. "Five Naxalites have been killed in the action so far. The search operation is still underway in the area and further details are awaited," he said, adding that security personnel were reported to be safe. The operation, involving personnel of the District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force, Border Security Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police from different districts, was launched on Sunday, police said. With the latest incident, the number of Naxalites killed so far this year in separate encounters with security forces in the state has risen to 138. While 136 Maoists were gunned down in the Bastar division, comprising .