SOURCE: PTI

A remotely piloted aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in Pithala village in Jaisalmer district, the IAF said on Thursday.

No damage to any personnel or property has been reported, the IAF said. “One Remotely Piloted Aircraft of the Indian Air Force met with an accident near Jaisalmer today during a routine training sortie,’ IAF said in a post on X.

SOURCE: REUTERS

India is in talks with several countries seeking partnerships for technical help on lithium processing, said four sources familiar with the matter, to bolster its nascent lithium mining and electric vehicle industries and avoid relying on China.

Ministry of Mines began discussions with Australia and the United States last year, said the four sources, two from India’s government and two industry participants. The Indian government and some private companies have also sought help from Bolivia, Britain, Japan, and South Korea, said the sources, who did not wish to be identified as the discussions were not public.

SOURCE: PTI

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S. Somanath has said the essence of Chandrayaan-3 extends beyond a mere call to embrace space studies; it urges participation in the broader realms of engineering and science, fostering a dynamic scientific community.

Talking to the PTI here on Tuesday, Somanath highlighted the importance of cultivating a scientific pool that not only fuels space exploration but also explores diverse industrial avenues. He underscored that Chandrayaan-3’s significance lies in catalysing interest not only in space research but also in science and technology domains, attracting the younger generation by presenting the challenges and advancements in these fields.

SOURCE: ANI PR

Tamil Nadu-based space startup, Space Zone India, led by Founder and CEO Anand Megalingam, is on the verge of a significant milestone in Indian space technology. The company, headquartered in Kelambakkam, Chennai, has developing RHUMI-1, This rocket, designed as a demonstrator, will carry three cube satellites and incorporates a reusable mechanism.

The hybrid propulsion system, utilizing both solid fuel and liquid oxidizer technologies, aims to reduce the cost of hybrid rocket operations while ensuring environmental safety.

SOURCE: PTI

The Tibetan government-in-exile and China are holding back-channel talks, signalling signs of willingness by both sides to re-engage over a decade after the formal dialogue process hit a dead end in view of anti-China protests in Tibet and Beijing’s hardline approach towards the Buddhist region.

The Sikyong or political head of Tibet’s government-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, confirmed the holding of informal talks and said his interlocutor has been dealing with “people in Beijing” but there is no immediate expectation of a forward movement.

SOURCE: PTI

Captain Saurabh Vashisht, one of the eight imprisoned Indian Navy personnel released by Qatar following India’s diplomatic efforts, and his father have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convey their heartfelt thanks and laud his leadership.

Vashisht said his heart is brimming with appreciation and reverence, as he praised Modi for his unwavering support and tireless efforts during one of the most challenging phases of his life, officials noted on Wednesday.

SOURCE: PTI

A District Reserve Guard (DRG) constable was killed and another policeman injured due to an accidental discharge of a firearm in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, officials said on Thursday.
The incident took place at around 11 pm on Wednesday when a joint team of the DRG and Bastar Fighter, both units of state police, was out on an anti-Maoist operation in Barsoor police station limits, a statement issued by the police said.

Acting on input about the presence of armed Maoists in Handawada and Hitawada villages along the Dantewada-Narayanpur districts border, the security personnel had launched the operation, it said.

SOURCE: ANI

A one-of-a-kind Army establishment in Pune, the Institute of National Integration (INI), trains religious teachers from different faiths who serve with Army units and formations across the country. This unique training institute has been training religious teachers in various aspects of junior leadership by exposing them to the spiritual, philosophical and psychological facets of religion and training them to be mentors and counsellors for the soldiers of the Indian Army.

They also perform the multidimensional role of Yoga instructors, psychological gatekeepers, mitigators of lifestyle diseases, experts of resource optimisation, and promoters of national integration and religious harmony.

SOURCE: ANI

Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Wednesday said that emergency procurement powers given by the government has helped the force to modernise itself. General Manoj Pande was addressing the Seminar themed “Year of Technology Absorption – Empowering the Soldier”, at the Manekshaw Centre conducted by Centre for Land Warfare Studies.

“Emergency procurement powers given by government over four tranches has helped us to modernise ourselves with contracts worth at Rs 18,000 crore signed under it. These equipment’s are now being used on the border,” General Manoj Pande said in a seminar organised by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), here.

SOURCE: PTI

India will continue cooperation for countering misuse of information and communication technologies by terrorists and criminals, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said on Wednesday as he called for international cooperation for an open, stable, secure, reliable and inclusive framework for ensuring information security.

Speaking at a plenary session on Ensuring Information Security in the Polycentric World in St Petersburg, Doval underscored India’s policy to use digital technology for inclusive economic development.
Doval emphasised that India shall continue cooperation for countering misuse of information and communication technologies by terrorists and criminals, as also for countering terror funding. In that context, the UN Convention on cybercrime will be an important initiative at the international level, he said.

SOURCE: PTI

Evolution of technology has impacted warfare but technological advantage may just be reduced to a tactical level when it is taken away from the larger strategic context and regarded as the “sole driver” of success in a war, Army Chief General Manoj Pande said today.

In his address at a seminar in Delhi, he also said technologies are emerging in new unchartered domains, and “revolutionising and establishing a ‘new normal’ in different fields”. Gen Pande further said technology has also emerged as the “new strategic arena of competition, driving geo-political powerplays and is being leveraged for weaponisation of many domains, ranging from information to supply chains”.

SOURCE: PTI

Pakistan and Iran have agreed that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through “peaceful means based on the will of the people” of the region, said a joint statement issued by the two countries after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s maiden visit on Wednesday.

President Raisi paid an official visit to Pakistan from April 22-24 at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising the Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian, as well as other members of the cabinet and senior officials.

SOURCE: ANI

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a bilateral meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and both sides reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and discussed important issues of mutual interest.

NSA Ajit Doval held the meeting on the sidelines of the XII International Meeting of High Ranking Officials Responsible for Security Matters in St Petersburg in Russia.

SOURCE: ANI

Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane is leading the Indian delegation to Kazakhstan’s Astana from April 25-26, 2024 for the Annual Meeting of the Defence Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States, the Ministry of Defence said in a release on Wednesday. The meeting will review the regional security issues within the SCO, including the defence cooperation initiatives.

Giridhar Aramane will deliver the India statement at the ministerial meeting, the Ministry said in its release. He will also hold meetings with Defence Ministers of the friendly countries of the SCO to discuss issues of bilateral defence cooperation, it added. Earlier this month, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval led a delegation at the 19th Meeting of Secretaries of the Security Council of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana.

SOURCE: PTI

Security personnel on Wednesday recovered three powerful Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) during an anti-Maoist operation launched in the extremist-hit Jimki Ikir village in West Singhbhum district, police said in a statement.

The village falls within the limits of the Tonto police station of the district. The security forces comprising CRPF, Cobra, Jharkhand Jaguar and district armed police were engaged in a combing operation in the core Kolhan area of the district following intelligence inputs on the presence of top proscribed Maoist leaders, including Misir Besra, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of West Singhbhum district, Ashutosh Shekhar, said.