SOURCE: ANI

Taking a jibe at China over its claims on the state of Arunachal Pradesh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that changing names won’t have any effect and the northeastern state was, is and will always be India’s part.

Jaishankar was speaking at the Corporate Summit 2024, presented by the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on Monday. “If today I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be a state of India. Changing names does not have an effect,” he said.

SOURCE: PTI

Mahindra Aerostructures on Monday announced it has signed a multi-year contract worth around $100 million with Airbus Atlantic for the manufacturing and delivery of metallic components for the entire Airbus commercial aircraft family, including the A320 family planes.

Under the contract, the company will supply close to 2,300 varieties of metallic components to Airbus Atlantic in France from its manufacturing base in India, Mahindra Aerostructures Pvt Ltd (MASPL) said in a statement.

SOURCE: PTI

To compete with China on the economic front, India should focus on manufacturing, a key sector which was ignored by governments before Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.

He noted that tension at the border with China has caused “abnormality” in New Delhi-Beijing relations, and added India’s thinking is absolutely clear that unless there is peace and stability in the border areas, the ties between the two Asian powers will not improve.

SOURCE: PTI

A roadside dhaba owner hailing from Punjab was picked up from Assam’s Bongaigaon district on suspicion of being a Khalistani sympathiser, a police officer said on Monday.

According to Bongaigaon SP Mohan Lal Meena, the person kept a poster of Khalistani idealogue Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and others in his line hotel, located near Gerukabari outpost on National Highway-27. “There is a photo of Bhindranwale. In another photo, a person is waving a flag similar to that of a Khalistani one. We are examining it,” he told PTI.

SOURCE: ANI

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju condemned the renaming of several areas in Arunachal Pradesh by China and said that the baseless claims made by China will not change the ground reality. “I strongly condemn China’s illegally ‘standardised’ geographical names given to 30 places inside Arunachal Pradesh. China has been making all baseless claims but that’s not going to change the ground reality and the ‘historical facts’,” he said.

Taking to social media platform X, he wrote, “Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India, and the people of Arunachal Pradesh are supremely patriotic Indians by all standards & definitions.”

SOURCE: PTI

Over 1,000 probationary police officers, including 62 deputy superintendents of police, are undergoing a six-week long training at the Army’s counter-terror White Knight Corps battle school in Doda district, officials said. The integrated training programme — a first of its kind in the Union Territory grappling with over three decades of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism — commenced on March 19.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a recent interview, said the government has plans to pull back troops from Jammu and Kashmir and leave law and order to the Union Territory’s police alone. “We have plans to pull back troops and leave law and order to the Jammu and Kashmir Police alone. Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir Police was not trusted but today they are leading the operations,” he had said.

SOURCE: ANI

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar held a meeting with his visiting Thai counterpart Admiral Adoong Paan-Iam on Monday and discussed measures to further strengthen Navy-to-Navy cooperation. The two sides also held discussions on the present situation in the Indian Ocean region, with emphasis on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and the need for collaborative efforts towards ensuring peace, stability and maritime security.

Admiral Adoong Pan-Iam, Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Navy, is on an official visit to India from April 1-3.

SOURCE: PTI

The Indian crew onboard a crippled container vessel that collided against a key bridge in Baltimore last week is “healthy”, according to a nonprofit organisation that has been in touch with the personnel. The 2.6km-long, four-lane bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore, came crashing down after Dali, a 984-foot cargo ship bound for Sri Lanka, collided against it in the early hours of March 26.

The 21 crew members of Dali, of which 20 are Indians, are still onboard the crippled cargo ship nearly a week after the collision.

SOURCE: ANI

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has strategically stationed additional Hovercraft at Jakhau, near the Indo-Pak Maritime frontier, and a capital ship at Vadinar in the Gulf of Kutch. The ICGS Samudra Pavak, a specialized Marine Pollution Control Vessel, will now operate from the new Coast Guard Jetty at Vadinar, inaugurated on March 1, 2024, by Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Tourism

The Gulf of Kutch is rapidly developing, particularly in the oil and port sectors, handling 70% of the country’s oil through its facilities. The Gulf is also home to rich biodiversity, fisheries, coral reefs, and mangrove vegetation, highly vulnerable to oil spills from surrounding industries. The positioning of the specialist vessel by ICG will enhance its capacity to mitigate environmental threats. The dedicated Marine Pollution Response Unit was established in 2018 at Vadinar to provide a professional and quick response to emerging situations, serving as a coordination hub for all stakeholders in the region.

SOURCE: PTI

Subedar Thanseia, a distinguished World War II veteran of the Indian Army, whose actions at the crucial Battle of Kohima against formidable odds, contributed to a pivotal victory for the Allied forces, has died at the age of 102, officials on Monday said.

The Army veteran, who belonged to Mizoram, breathed his last on March 31. “His remarkable life was defined by his valour at the Battle of Kohima, a crucial confrontation in World War II, and his significant role in establishing the legacy of the 1st Assam Regiment during their critical deployment at Jessami,” a senor official said.

SOURCE: AFI

In a recent Hindustan Times column, Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd.), a former Chief of the Naval Staff, called for an expedited development program for the K-series of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). These missiles, designed to be equipped with Multiple Independently Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs), would significantly enhance India’s nuclear deterrence capabilities.

Admiral Prakash emphasizes the growing importance of a robust underwater leg for India’s nuclear triad – a deterrent system encompassing land-based ballistic missiles, airborne nuclear bombs, and sea-launched ballistic missiles. SLBMs offer a distinct advantage due to their mobility and stealth, making them a critical factor in maintaining credible deterrence.

SOURCE: AFI

The Indian Army has taken a major step forward in modernizing its communication infrastructure by issuing a Project Sanction Order (PSO) to two vendors for the design and development of prototypes for the Tactical Communication System (TCS).

The TCS is set to replace the existing Army Radio Engineering Network (AREN) and will boast significantly enhanced capabilities. It will be able to handle the complex communication requirements of Tactical Command Control, Communication & Intelligence Systems, providing the Indian Army with a critical advantage in the field.

SOURCE: AFI

The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully conducted a trial run of a new emergency landing/take-off strip for fighter aircraft in Bijbehara, Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. This marks a significant development for the region’s security infrastructure.

The construction of this 3.5-kilometer emergency landing strip strengthens the IAF’s operational flexibility in the strategically important region. Previously, fighter jets operating in the area had limited options for emergency landings in case of technical malfunctions or adverse weather conditions.