Page 23 - Rajnath Singh

Defence minister Singh begins his UK tour with visit to Gandhi memorial

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh kick-started his UK tour with a visit to Mahatma Gandhi's statue at Tavistock Square in central London on Tuesday. Singh's visit comes after a gap of 22 years, with the last one by an Indian defence minister to the UK dating back to January 2002. Accompanied by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami and members of his delegation, Singh paid floral tributes to the Father of the Nation at the memorial which dates back to the 20th century. The iconic sculpture of Gandhi in a meditative pose is the site of Gandhi Jayanti and Martyr's Day commemorations by the diaspora. The minister then made his way to Whitehall to inspect a ceremonial Guard of Honour at the Horse Guards Parade before a bilateral meeting with his UK counterpart, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps. The two leaders are expected to cover a wide range of defence, security and industrial cooperation issues. Later on Tuesday, Singh will visit the Ambedkar Museum in north London to pa

IAS Samir Kumar Sinha takes over as DG (Acquisition) in Defence Ministry

Senior IAS officer Samir Kumar Sinha has been appointed as Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition) in the Defence Ministry, as part of a bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre. Sinha, a 1994-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is currently working in his Assam-Meghalaya cadre. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment as Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition), Department of Defence, a Union Personnel Ministry order said. Bharat Harbanslal Khera, a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. Chandra Bhushan Kumar will be Additional Secretary as well as Mission Director for the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation's Jal Jeevan Mission. Puja Singh Mandol, currently Joint Director General in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, has been appointed as Additional Secretary i

Rajnath Singh arrives in UK; to discuss defence issues with his counterpart

During his visit, the defence minister will discuss bilateral issues with his counterpart, Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in an official press release.

Rajnath Singh to talk defence production in a two-day visit to London

New Delhi and London are moving closer towards developing marine electric propulsion for the Indian Navy's "second indigenous aircraft carrier", or IAC-2

Rajnath Singh's UK visit first by Indian defence minister in 22 years

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is set to embark upon a three-day visit to the UK from Monday, seen as significant to the bilateral partnership in the sphere of defence and security as the last ministerial level visit took place 22 years ago. Singh's previously planned visit to the UK in June 2022 was called off by the Indian side for protocol reasons, making next week's tour a highly anticipated one. Besides wide-ranging talks with his UK counterpart, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Singh is expected to inspect a ceremonial Guard of Honour and undertake visits to Mahatma Gandhi and Dr B.R. Ambedkar memorials in London. A community interaction with members of the Indian diaspora in the UK is also expected to be part of his three-day itinerary. This visit is significant in terms of both optics and substance. In terms of the former, this is the first visit of India's defence minister to the UK in 22 years the last visit was by then defence minister of a previous BJP-led government, .

Army, Ministry of Defence reviewing former chief Naravane's memoir: Report

The book's publisher, Penguin Random House, has been asked not to share the excerpts or soft copies of the book until the review is over

Rajnath Singh inaugurates first all-girls sainik school in Mathura

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday inaugurated the first all-girls sainik school at Vrindavan and termed it as a beacon of light for girls who aspire to join the armed forces and protect the motherland. According to the defence ministry, Samvid Gurukulam Girls Sainik School, the first all-girls sainik school with a strength of about 870 students, has been inaugurated under the initiative of establishing 100 new sainik schools in partnership with NGOs/private/state government schools in all states/Union territories. These are in addition to the existing 33 sainik schools already functioning under the erstwhile pattern, the ministry said in a statement. "Samvid Gurukulam Girls Sainik School is a beacon of light for girls who aspire to join the Armed Forces and serve the motherland. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government has given women their rightful place in the Armed Forces, which was neglected for years," the defence minister said on th

India making defence ecosystem for self-reliance, says Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said the government is developing a strong base of domestic defence industrial ecosystem to make the country a strategic economy. Addressing the 21st Convocation of Tezpur University here, Singh said his ministry is making all efforts to achieve the target of becoming self-reliant in the defence sector. "Our government is developing a strong base of domestic defence industrial ecosystem to make India a strategic economy", he said. Highlighting the various steps taken by the Ministry of Defence, Singh stressed that for the first time, the import of arms went down while exports rose. "We issued five positive indigenisation lists, under which 509 defence equipment have been identified whose manufacturing will now be done indigenously. "In addition, we have also issued four positive indigenisation lists of Defence Public Sector Undertakings, in which 4,666 items have been identified and these will now be manufactured in our country," he ...

India in 2023 focused on acquiring new military platforms, weaponry

India firmed up defence procurement worth over Rs 3.50 lakh crore in 2023 as the lingering border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh as well as the crises and conflicts around the world kept the military focused on ways to enhance the country's overall combat prowess to firmly deal with any security challenges. India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia. The Indian troops guarding the nearly 3,500 km Line of Actual Control (LAC) maintained an assertive approach as the eastern Ladakh border spilled into the fourth year even as both sides held several rounds of high-level military and diplomatic talks to resolve it. The face-off between the two of the planet's biggest military forces mainly continued in Demchok and Depsang regions though both sides completed disengagement in several other

Rajnath Singh meets families of three slain J-K civilians, assures justice

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday assured justice to the families of three civilians who were found dead last week after being allegedly picked up by the Army following an ambush on two of Army vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. Singh, accompanied by Army chief General Manoj Pande and Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, reached Rajouri district this afternoon, where he met the families of the deceased and also visited the Government Medical College (GMC) to enquire about the health of four other "torture" victims. Several District Development Council (DDC) members, former legislators and civil society members were also present at the meeting between the defence minister, Lt Governor and the families of the deceased civilians. Whatever has happened...there will be justice, the defence minister told reporters at the GMC hospital where he had reached after meeting the families of the deceased civilians at Dak Bungalow. Four soldiers lost their lives and three others were

Have full faith army will wipe out terrorism from J-K: Rajnath Singh

Lauding the troops for their bravery, Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said he had full faith that that the army will wipe out terrorism from the soil of Jammu and Kashmir. "I believe in your bravery and steadfastness Terrorism should be finished from Jammu and Kashmir and you need to move forward with this commitment. I have full faith that you will achieve victory," Singh said, addressing troops in the border district of Rajouri. The Minister reached here on Wednesday on a day-long tour to review the security situation in the wake of a recent terrorist ambush in the border district of Poonch that left four soldiers dead.

Poonch ambush: Security forces initiate fresh searches along IB, LOC

Fresh searches were launched along the border with Pakistan in Samba and Poonch even as cordon and search operations continued for the seventh straight day on Wednesday to track the terrorists involved in last week's ambush that killed four soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has flown to Rajouri to visit ground zero on Wednesday along with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Army chief Manoj Pande to review the security situation following the terror attack. "Security forces are continuing the cordon and search operation to track down the terrorists involved in the ambush on Army vehicles," a senior official told PTI. The operation includes sniffer dogs, surveillance equipment and aerial mechanisms. Additional forces have been deployed to plug seven infiltration routes amid area domination operations in the area. Mobile internet services will remain suspended in Rajouri and Poonch for the fifth day in a row. Security forces and special ..

Rajnath Singh reaches J-K to evaluate security after terror attack

Security has been beefed up in Jammu ahead of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's visit

Defence minister commissions warship INS Imphal into Indian Navy in Mumbai

INS Imphal is the first Indian warship named after a city in the northeast

Rajnath Singh vows to find attackers of navy ships from 'depth of seas'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh promises action against those responsible for the drone attack on merchant navy ship and reassures the public on stringent measures taken to strengthen the Navy

Stealth-guided missile destroyer INS Imphal commissioned into Navy

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony Admiral Hari Kumar said that the INS Imphal is the first warship to be named after a prominent city of the north-east

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Traditions, innovations should be balanced in armed forces: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday stressed the need for maintaining traditions of the armed forces while adopting innovation and said there has to be a balance between both of them. Addressing the Combined Graduation Parade at Air Force Academy at Dundigul near here, Singh opined that following traditions would only make the system like stagnant water in a lake, and if it is coupled with innovation, it will become a river always providing fresh water. Traditions are important in the armed forces, because they are time tested. They served useful purposes for a long time. That's why giving proper importance to the traditions is also necessary. There is one important thing. If we follow traditions without any thinking, there will be stagnation in our system naturally, the union minister said. He emphasised on the importance of innovation in the ever-changing circumstances in the world. Singh also exhorted the newly commissioned flying officers to always keep up their new thinki

Rajnath Singh, BJP observers arrive in Jaipur for party meet to pick CM

Rajnath Singh, Vinod Tavde and Saroj Pandey have been appointed as party observers for Rajasthan

Modi government following footsteps of Father of the Nation: Rajnath

Mahatma Gandhi envisioned a "strong, prosperous and clean" India and the Modi government is following the footsteps of the Father of the Nation and rolling schemes based on his ideas, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday. The defence minister made the remarks after inaugurating a 10-feet tall statue of Mahatma Gandhi near Rajghat in the national capital. "Gandhiji was a great freedom fighter who envisioned a strong, prosperous and clean India. Our government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is following the footsteps of the Father of the Nation," he said. "Schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana and Swachh Bharat are based on his ideas," he said. Mahatma Gandhi continues to live in the heart of every Indian, he said. Singh also recalled the contributions of Gandhi and other leaders such as Babasaheb B R Ambedkar and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, saying they worked for the upliftment of the marginalised