SOURCE: AFI

Prominent defense journalist Anantha Krishnan M has confirmed that India’s indigenously developed Tejas Mk1A fighter jet achieved a significant milestone on Friday, March 22nd, 2024, with the successful completion of its Low-Speed Taxi Trials (LSTT).

This achievement marks a major step forward for the Tejas Mk1A program, paving the way for its much-anticipated maiden flight. According to sources, HAL Chairman is reviewing all system clearances meticulously. With HAL and ADA teams working tirelessly, the first flight is now expected to take place within the coming week, potentially before March 31st.

SOURCE: AFI

A Kalvari-class submarine of the Indian Navy has etched its name in history with its inaugural visit to Campbell Bay, the southernmost port of India located in the Nicobar Islands. This marks a significant milestone for the Indian Navy, signifying its growing reach and operational prowess.

Campbell Bay’s strategic location far from mainland India makes it a crucial port for bolstering naval presence in the region. The successful visit of the Kalvari-class submarine demonstrates the Indian Navy’s ability to rapidly deploy stealthy submarines in areas of interest, enhancing its flexibility and deterrence capabilities.

SOURCE: ANI

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the people of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) are themselves raising the demand for a merger with India. He expressed confidence that the people of PoK will merge with India.

Asked about Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent remarks about Kashmir, Rajnath Singh said, “Can they ever take Kashmir? They should be worried about Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. I had said almost one and a half years ago that there will be no need for us to attack and occupy because a situation is developing there that people of PoK themselves are demanding merger with India.”

SOURCE: PTI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that Article 370 was a temporary measure and it prevented very progressive laws from being extended to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Addressing the Indian community members in Singapore, Mr Jaishankar said that the benefits of the change are now visible. The minister said that Article 370 was a temporary measure of the Indian Constitution and by extending it, two things happened, which harmed us as a nation.

SOURCE: ANI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasised on India-Singapore ties during his interaction with the Indian community in Singapore on Sunday and said it was a privilege to have been personally involved in this journey for at least a decade and a half.

Jaishankar said, “Today when we speak about India in the Indo-Pacific, the story in many ways actually began with Singapore.”

SOURCE: ANI

International experts and intellectuals hold Pakistan accountable for the war crimes of 1971 in Bangladesh on the eve of Genocide Remembrance Day. A webinar titled ‘Recognition of the Bangladesh Genocide’ was organised by the Bangladesh History Olympiad and Mukto Ashor, a prominent non-governmental organisation from Bangladesh on Sunday.

The event was attended by educators, researchers, social activists, and authors who extensively discussed the atrocities and brutalities faced by the people of East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh.

SOURCE: PTI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday that “a terrorist is a terrorist” in any language and one should not allow terrorism to be excused or defended because of a different explanation of it.

Mr Jaishankar’s remarks came during his interaction with the Indian community members in Singapore. Responding to a question on how Indian officials approach sensitive and linguistically different topics with their global counterparts, the minister said that in diplomacy, different countries bring their own cultures, traditions and sometimes their language or concepts to debate.

SOURCE: ANI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and conveyed his condolences on the loss of lives in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, which claimed 133 lives.

In a post on X, Jaishankar stated, “Spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Conveyed our deepest condolences on the loss of lives in the horrific terrorist attack in Moscow.” On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the terror attack inside a packed concert hall in Moscow, calling it a ‘heinous act’ and expressing solidarity with the Russian government and its people.

SOURCE: ANI

Two individuals have been arrested and a pistol, hand grenade, improvised explosive device (IED), and other war-like stores were recovered in a joint search operation launched by the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, army officials said.

The operation named Lukhbhawan was carried out at the Larkipora area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, they added.

SOURCE: ANI

The jawans of the Border Security Force (BSF) along with its Women’s Wing smeared their fellow comrades with colours as they celebrated Holi at the International Border on Sunday.
The civilians also joined in the celebrations on the occasion.

Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh celebrated the festival of colours, Holi, with soldiers in Leh. He was accompanied by Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande and General Officer Commanding, Fire and Fury Corps Lt Gen Rashim Bali.

SOURCE: AFI

Nearly seven months after the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface, the landing site has been officially christened “Shiva Shakti” by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). This follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on August 26, 2023.

The confirmation comes from the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, a comprehensive record maintained by the IAU that details all officially recognized names on planets, moons, and other astronomical bodies. The Gazetteer describes “Shiva Shakti” as a compound word from Indian mythology, symbolizing the masculine (Shiva) and feminine (Shakti) duality of nature.

SOURCE: AFI

The Indian Army’s Northern Command recently showcased its unwavering resolve in a field firing exercise conducted under harsh winter conditions. The exercise, which involved the use of Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) and rocket launchers, was a testament to the soldiers’ ability to operate effectively in extreme environments.

A video shared by the Army on social media platform X (platform name can’t be specified) depicted the soldiers braving the freezing temperatures as they engaged in precision firing of ATGMs, mortars, and rocket launchers. This exercise served as a critical training opportunity, sharpening their skills to achieve the ultimate goal of “One Missile, One Tank” accuracy.

SOURCE: AFI

Following the Bengaluru cafe blast that injured 10 people near Whitefield, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has made a crucial breakthrough in identifying the suspects. A seemingly ordinary cap has emerged as a key piece of evidence, leading investigators to the potential perpetrators.

Security camera footage captured the suspects entering the cafe near Whitefield, Bengaluru. While their faces were visible, a crucial detail emerged – one of the suspects was wearing a particular baseball cap. However, this cap was missing after the blast, raising investigators’ curiosity.

SOURCE: IANS

It is now well established that China has — with the Sino-Pak axis bolstering its threat potential — emerged as the source of a lasting danger for India’s defence and security and for that reason alone that country needed to be studied in depth on a continual basis from the angles of ideology that governs it, the philosophy that guides its military growth and the advance it is striving to achieve in the sphere of technology of combat.

From what appears in the public domain by way of its proclaimed objectives, President Xi Jinping’s China has been following the strategy of gaining ‘civil-military fusion’, total supremacy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a steady push towards becoming the second superpower through the economic and technological route — apart from pursuing the path of a defence build-up.

SOURCE: IANS

India progressed further in its attempt to realise a reusable launch vehicle (RLV)/ rocket named ‘Pushpak’ by successfully test landing RLV LEX-2 on Friday at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Karnataka’s Chitradurga.

According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the RLV LEX-2 demonstrated the autonomous landing capability from off-nominal initial conditions at the release from a helicopter. The ‘Indian space shuttle’ the winged Pushpak was lifted by an Indian Air Force helicopter and was released from 4.5 km altitude.