SOURCE: ANI

The Indian Navy has begun trials for building six highly advanced submarines in the country in a Rs 60,000 crore tender, as it is working towards the modernisation of its conventional submarine fleet. Indian Navy has issued a tender to Indian shipyards Mazagaon Dockyards Limited and Larsen and Toubro for building six submarines in partnership with foreign vendors.

The trials began in March this year when a team of Indian Navy visited Kiel in Germany to look at the Air Independent Propulsion system of the German submarine manufacturer ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems at a German Navy facility, defence industry officials told ANI.

SOURCE: ANI

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday received delivery of the second of the 56 C295 aircraft, which are set to replace its ageing Avro-748 fleet, the officials said. In September 2021, India formalised the acquisition of 56 Airbus C295 aircraft to replace the legacy Avro fleet of the IAF at a cost of Rs 21,935 crore.

In a statement, Airbus Defence and Space said that of the total 56 aircraft ordered by the Indian customer, 16 will be produced by Airbus in Seville, Spain. The remaining 40 C295s of the IAF order will be manufactured and assembled–in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL)–at a Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Gujarat’s Vadodara.

SOURCE: REUTERS

Canadian police charged three people on Friday with the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the province of British Columbia in June 2023, Canadian media said, citing court documents.

Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. The news broke days after the White House expressed concern about the reported role of the Indian intelligence service in assassination plots in Canada and the United States.

SOURCE: IANS

They would have been in Colombo in Sri Lanka, their destination, a couple of days ago, and would have been on their way home. But they remain on a cargo ship off the coast of the US port city of Baltimore. The 20 Indian members of the crew of Dali remain on board the vessel 35 days after the container ship brought down a bridge in Baltimore on March 26 in an early morning maritime accident that claimed the lives of six men who were working on the bridge at the time.

A member of the crew who was injured received treatment on shore and returned to the ship the day after.

SOURCE: ANI

Amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday advised Indian nationals travelling to the two countries to “remain vigilant” and stay in contact with the Indian Embassy.

In response to a media query on travel advisory to Iran and Israel, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We continue to closely monitor the situation in the region. We have also noted that Iran and Israel have opened their airspace for several days now. We advise Indian nationals to remain vigilant while travelling to these countries and be in touch with the Indian Embassy.”

SOURCE: IANS

 The Delhi Police along with the National Security Guard (NSG) are conducting security mock drills across several locations including Kashmiri Gate and the New Parliament Building in the national capital, an official said on Friday.

As per sources, the drills to ensure preparedness to thwart any untoward incident are also being conducted at schools.

SOURCE: PTI

A man from Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district was arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence and helping the agency in organising anti-India activities, police said on Friday. The man is accused of aiding anti-India activities by providing sensitive information about Indian Army deployments, and transmitting documents and photos from his mobile phone, they said.

Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended Harpreet Singh near a railroad crossing on Phagwara Road in Hoshiarpur on Thursday night. The man, who hails from the Tarn Taran district, was currently residing in the Vijay Nagar area here.

SOURCE: PTI

Security forces busted a terrorist hideout in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district and recovered arms and ammunition, police said on Friday. “In a joint operation, Indian Army-13 RR, Bandipora police and 3rd BN CRPF busted a terrorist hideout in Changali forest Aragam (in the north Kashmir district),” Bandipora police said in a post on X.

The police said arms and ammunition, including two AK series rifles and four magazines, and other materials were recovered from the hideout.

SOURCE: ANI

Hours after President Joe Biden termed India, Japan and other nations, “xenophobic,” the White House clarified the President’s intentions, emphasising his “respect” for allies and partners.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre asserted that the President’s comments were part of a broader message emphasising the strength derived from America’s immigrant heritage. “Our allies and partners know very well how much this President respects them…He was making a broad comment speaking about this (US) country, speaking about how important it is to be a country of immigrants and how it makes our country stronger.”

SOURCE: PTI

In a sharp retort, India has said Pakistan harbours a “most dubious track record” on all aspects, as it slammed “destructive and pernicious” remarks made by Islamabad’s envoy in the UN General Assembly here.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj’s stern response came after Pakistan’s UN envoy Munir Akram made lengthy remarks against India, including references to Kashmir, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, during his address to the UN General Assembly meeting on ‘Culture of Peace.’

SOURCE: IANS

Pointing out a “glaring instance” of politics destroying an extremely significant piece of intelligence shared between two nations, a security expert on Thursday said that Israel had shared with India certain transcripts about the possible threat to the life of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi that went missing after the assassination of the top Congress leader in 1991.

“In recent history, in the last three-four decades, the most critical information Israel shared with us was certain transcripts relating to possible threat to late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s life. Eventually, as the situation played out, the threat materialised… Once he was no more, the political dispensations were very different.

SOURCE: PTI

Observing that the USCIRF’s recent annual report that criticised India for alleged violations of religious freedom is based on omission and commission of facts utilising partial data, an Indian diaspora think-tank has urged the US State Department to reject it.

In its annual report on Wednesday, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that India be designated as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)”, alleging that the status of religious freedom in the country has worsened.

SOURCE: UNI

The 7th India-Indonesia Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting was held here on Friday, where both sides agreed to enhance collaboration in areas of defence industry, maritime security and multilateral cooperation. The JDCC was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and Secretary General of the Ministry of Defence, Indonesia, Air Marshal Donny Ermawan Taufanto, MDS, a Defence Ministry statement said.

The progress made on various bilateral defence cooperation initiatives deliberated in meetings of Working Groups on Defence Cooperation and Defence Industries Cooperation was also reviewed by the co-chairs.

SOURCE: IITK News

In a significant development aimed at forging strategic partnerships, Lt. Gen. Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM, Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS), accompanied by ADG Major General C.S. Mann and other high-ranking army officers, visited the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur). The distinguished guests were welcomed by Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur, and Prof. Kantesh Balani, Faculty in-charge, Army Cell, IIT Kanpur.

The visit facilitated in-depth discussions between the army officials and IIT Kanpur’s faculty members specialising in defence-related areas, focusing on exploring potential collaborations to develop niche technology solutions for the Indian Army. The institute’s professors showcased IIT Kanpur’s research capabilities by providing an overview of the ongoing defence projects at the institute.

SOURCE: ANI

An encounter broke out between security forces and Naxalites in the core area of the battalion in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, on Friday morning, officials said. According to officials, the exchange of gunfire between security forces and Naxalites occurred two to three times since morning, but all soldiers remain safe and secure.

The District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Cobra soldiers were conducting an anti-Naxal operation in the Raigudam area. “The encounter is still ongoing”, Sukma SP Kiran Singh Chawhan said. More details are awaited.