Page 51 - Indian Army

With an eye on the Indian Ocean, China planning radar base in Sri Lanka

The radar base will focus on monitoring the activities of the Indian Navy, apart from attempting to evaluate India's strategic assets in South India

'Veer Mata', 'Veer Pita' identity cards for parents of martyrs in Rajasthan

The department of Sainik Welfare of Rajasthan will issue 'Veer Mata' and 'Veer Pita' identity cards to the parents of martyrs, officials said on Thursday. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Sainik Kalyan Board chaired by Governor Kalraj Mishra at the Raj Bhawan here. Also, the procedure involved in naming schools or public places after martyrs and gallantry awardee winners will be simplified. The governor also directed officials to implement various schemes for the welfare of ex-servicemen and their families effectively and in a time-bound manner. "On the initiative of Governor Kalraj Mishra, the Sainik Kalyan department will now issue 'Veer Mata' identity card to the martyr's mother and 'Veer Pita' to the martyr's father. Similarly, simplification will be done in the policy of naming schools or public places after the names of martyred soldiers and gallantry awarded soldiers," a release said. Mishra said the families of martyrs and ex-servicemen should get due respect in

Indian Army Agniveer Admit Card 2023: Everything you need to know

The Indian Army's Agniveer Admit Card 2023 has been made available on joinindianarmy.nic.in

First lot of women officers to join Army's artillery regiments this month

The Centre has approved the Indian Army's decision to induct women officers in the artillery regiments, Minister of State for Defence, Ajay Bhatt informed the Lok Sabha on March 31

CRPF to recruit 130,000 constables with 10% reservation for Agniveers

A total of 1,29,929 posts of Constable (General Duty) which includes 4667 posts for women in General Central Service, Group 'C', Non-Gazetted, (Non-Ministerial Combatant) have been announced

As China renames 11 places in Arunachal, here's a look at recent conflicts

Reacting to the latest move at renaming places, India said that China was inventing names that would not alter reality

PM reviews operational readiness of armed forces at commanders' conference

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reviewed India's security challenges and operational readiness of the armed forces to deal with them at a key conclave of top commanders from the army, navy and air force in Bhopal. The defence ministry said Modi called upon the three services to stay ready to deal with the new and emerging threats, emphasising that all steps are being taken to equip the armed forces with necessary weapons and technologies. It is learnt that India's security challenges along the frontier with China and ways to deal with cross-border terrorism from Pakistan were among the key issues that figured at the annual Combined Commanders' Conference. Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar could not attend the valedictory session as he tested positive for COVID-19, people familiar with the matter said, adding he is asymptomatic. The prime minister was briefed by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan about the various discussions conducted at this year's Combined Commanders'

Guns vs Butter-III: Much of Army's war-fighting equipment remains vintage

The third of a five-part series looks at the state of the Army's weaponry and the need for greater funding to transition to a more state-of-the-art arsenal

Guns vs Butter-I: House panel welcomes larger funds allocation

The first of a five-part series analyses the military's capex demand versus allocation. The recent report of the parliamentary standing committee on defence provides the backdrop

First batch of 2,585 Agniveers graduate after four months of training

The Passing out Parade of the first batch of 2,585 Agniveers took place at INS Chilka in Odisha on Tuesday after the completion of their four-month-long training. Naval chief Admiral R Hari Kumar took the salute from the new recruits in the Passing Out Parade, which was held post-sunset, a first of its kind in the Indian armed forces. Traditionally, Passing Out Parades are held in the morning. Rajya Sabha MP PT Usha, a noted former athlete, and cricketer Mithali Raj were present at the historic programme. Among those passing out were 272 female Agniveers. These Agniveers, who underwent training at the Chilika lake -- Asia's biggest brackish water lake, would be deployed on frontline warships for sea training, officials said. The training at INS Chilka encompassed academic, service and outdoor training, based on the core Naval values of duty, honour and courage, they said. Addressing the programme, Admiral Hari Kumar asked the Agniveers to develop a strong foundation of knowledge,

China's transgressions remain trigger for escalation along LAC: Army Chief

Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande said that China's transgressions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remain to be a potential trigger for escalation and that the Indian Army is firm

Over 155,000 posts vacant in three forces, maximum in Army, says govt

The three armed forces are facing a deficiency of around 1.55 lakh personnel with the Army accounting for the maximum 1.36 lakh vacancies, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday. In a written reply, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said the shortage of armed forces personnel and mitigating measures are reviewed regularly and numerous measures have been initiated to fill the vacancies and encourage youth to join the Services. Bhatt said there is a shortage of 8,129 officers in the Indian Army that includes includes Army Medical Corps and Army Dental Corps. There are 509 vacant posts in the Military Nursing Service (MNS), and 1,27,673 posts of JCOs and other ranks are vacant as well. There are also 252 vacant posts in group A among the civilians employed by the forces, 2,549 vacancies are there in Group B, and 35,368 in Group C, the minister said. In the Navy, there is a deficiency of 12,428 personnel. There is a shortage of 1,653 officers, 29 medical and dental officers, and

Army, Air Force conduct joint multi-domain air-land exercise Vayu Prahar

The Indian Army and the Indian Air force conducted a multi-domain air-land exercise 'Vayu Prahar' in the eastern theatre to validate plans to execute synergised operations, sources said on Thursday. The exercise was held in the second week of March. The sources said the scope of the joint exercise included rapid mobilisation of an earmarked rapid reaction force from the hinterland to undertake air-landed operations at a nominated advance landing ground. The air-landed force further executed contingency tasks according to a realistic exercise scenario in challenging high-altitude terrain conditions. "The conduct of Exercise Vayu Prahar enabled coordination and rehearsal amongst various agencies for quick mobilisation, transportation and deployment of forces within a theatre which can be executed across theatres," a source said. The exercise validated and refined procedures quintessential for synergised joint operations. Army formations, special forces along with the Indian Air Forc

Relevance of hard power reaffirmed with Russia-Ukraine conflict: Army Chief

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has proved false the assumption of future wars being short and swift, and the relevance of "hard power" stands reaffirmed, Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande said and stressed on indigenisation of defence production and technological development. In his address at the 'PHDCCI DEF X TECH INDIA 2023' on Wednesday, he warned about the "legacy of unsettled borders" that India has and highlighted the "grey-zone aggression" concept, saying it is increasingly becoming a preferred strategy for conflict resolution. "The current Russia-Ukraine conflict provides some very valuable pointers. The relevance of hard power stands reaffirmed with land continuing to be the decisive domain of warfare and notion of victory still being land centric," he said while talking about the lessons learnt from the conflict. "The suppositions on duration of war I think needs to be reevaluated. Short, swift war which we have been talking of for some time now may prove to be a false ...

Barring married individuals from applying for JAG in army reasonable: Govt

The Centre on Wednesday defended before the Delhi High Court the policy barring married individuals from applying for Judge Advocate General (JAG), the legal officer in the army, and said considering the "effects of marriage", the bar is a "reasonable restriction placed in public interest and the interest of national security". In an additional affidavit filed in response to a petition challenging the embargo, the Central government said the condition of being unmarried for grant of commission to cadets aged 21-27 years is "restricted only for the period of recruitment and pre-commissioned training" which involves a high amount of stress and rigours of military training and the restriction on marriage before successful commission is in the interest of the candidates as well as organisation. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Datta granted time to petitioner Kush Kalra to file his response to the Centre's stand. Last year, the high court had asked the .

Indian Army's capital budget should be increased: Parliament panel

The capital budget of the Indian Army should be increased to facilitate enhancing its deterrent capacity to ward off challenges from the two "hostile" neighbours, a parliamentary panel has said in an apparent reference to Pakistan and China. The committee appreciated the efforts made by the Defence Ministry towards the indigenisation of military platforms and hoped that the country would see "100 per cent contract value" going to Indian vendors in the years ahead. Referring to the challenges before the Army, the parliamentary standing committee cited proxy wars, in an apparent reference to Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The committee was of the view that funds slated for modernisation of the armed forces should always be incremental. "The committee also desired that there should be a separate allocation for committed liabilities and new schemes, under the modernisation/capital budget," it said. The report of the panel was tabled in the Lok Sabha on ..

Over 7,000 women personnel serving in Indian Army, says Government

Over 7,000 women personnel are serving in the Indian Army at present followed by 1,636 in the Indian Air Force and 748 in the Navy, according to details provided by the government in Lok Sabha on Friday. Replying to a question, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said 7,093 women are in the Army, which included 6,993 in the Army Medical Corps, Army Dental Corps and Military Nursing Service (MNS). Hundred women are serving in other ranks. Bhatt said, currently women are serving in officer's cadre only in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and their strength as on March 1 (excluding medical and dental branches) is 1,636. "As on date, women are employed in the Navy in the officer's rank. The strength of women officers in the Indian Navy, as on March 9 is 748, including medical and dental officers," he said Bhatt said employment in the Indian armed forces is gender neutral. "There is no distinction in the deployment and working conditions of male and female soldiers in the arms and servic

Army rescues over 1,000 stranded tourists in East Sikkim following snowfall

The Army has rescued more than 1,000 tourists, including women and children, who were stranded at Chhangu in the upper reaches of East Sikkim, following heavy snowfall, officals said. Severe snowfall in Natu La, Tsomgo (Chhangu) Lake and adjoining areas on Wednesday afternoon brought down the temperature to sub-zero levels and impacted the movement of travellers, they said. Due to the snow accumulation, driving became dangerous, resulting in over 1,000 tourists along with 200 vehicles getting stranded over a stretch of 15 km, they added. The Army personnel deployed in the area launched a rescue effort, and the tourists were shifted to safety following an over eight-hour operation, an official release said. "All the tourists were provided with accommodation, hot meals, warm clothing and critical medical support," it said.

Army's Cheetah chopper crashes in Arunachal during operational sortie

A Cheetah helicopter of the Indian Army has crashed near Mandala, west of Bomdila, in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday, a defence spokesperson said here. The chopper, which was flying an operational sortie near Bomdila, lost contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) around 9.15 am, Lt Col. Mahendra Rawat said. "It crashed near Mandala, west of Bomdila. Search parties have been sent to the spot," he said, adding that more details were awaited.

Defence start-up Hyper Stealth Technologies bags first order under iDEX

Hyderabad-based HSTPL has got an order from Indian Army for Integrated Mobile Camouflage System