SOURCE: ET

The armed forces have received the first batch of 70,000 rifles from Russia as part of a larger contract to manufacture the AK 203 assault rifles in India. The initial batch has been delivered at a fast pace as requested by India, despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sources said that the first batch is likely to be used by the air force, while the rifles to be manufactured at the Amethi factory will be delivered to the army, which is the main customer with a requirement of over 600,000 AK 203s. The rifles are being manufactured with a complete technology transfer clause that will also enable their exports to friendly foreign nations in the near future. The manufacturing will be done by the Indo Russian Rifles Private Limited Joint Venture between Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Ltd (erstwhile OFB) and Russian Rosoboronexport.

SOURCE: PTI

The Indian Army has again signed a contract with ideaForge to procure an undisclosed number of a high-altitude variant of SWITCH1.0 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to strengthen its surveillance along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), military officials said.

The Army had in January 2021 signed the previous contract with the Mumbai-based company to supply an undisclosed number of SWITCH1.0 drones for approximately USD 20 million. In a statement on Monday, ideaForge said it has fulfilled the January 2021 contract by supplying the specified number of SWITCH1.0 drones to the Indian Army within the prescribed time limit.

SOURCE: ANI

Border Security Force (BSF) will soon be procuring handheld ‘Anti Drone Guns’ to prevent Pakistani drones from entering Indian Territory, said an official in the Ministry of Home Affairs. A senior official in the ministry said that a Draft Qualitative requirements (QRS) have been forwarded by BSF in this regard. They have invited comments from vendors and possible manufacturers to ensure market availability of the subject item.

“These handheld anti-drone guns will be useful for patrolling teams in border areas who sometimes see drones flying but couldn’t do more as it is out of their firing range,” said a senior BSF officer. “Anti-Drone Gun should be Hand Held, easily transportable and operable in day and night environment. The system should be easily deployable with ease and should be a lightweight UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) countermeasure solution designed for one hand or two hand operations,” he added.

SOURCE: ET

Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schonbach may have had to step down as Germany’s navy chief for his comments in India on being more accommodating to Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine stand-off. But the faultlines he identified are at the heart of the strategic conundrum that inform a potentially volatile situation that can have serious implications for India – essentially, the future of the Russia-China nexus. Schonbach assessed in what has now been termed as ‘ill-advised’ comments by his government that the West needs Russia in its larger effort to contain China.

Now, even if Berlin rejects this, the truth is that Moscow’s aggressive move on Ukraine is pivoted on the premise that this was the best time to drive a hard bargain with the West, given its strategic preoccupation with countering China. This is no ordinary bargain, but a very high stakes brinkmanship by Putin, where it now appears he is prepared to exercise the military option if a deal is not worked out. In other words, force a hard bargain. New Delhi will undoubtedly feel the impact of any imminent military action.

SOURCE: INDIA TODAY

Indian Navy held a high level meeting with officers from the Army and the Air Force on creating a Maritime Theatre Command to look for threats from the maritime zone. It is aiming to set up a functional joint fighting formation by the end of this year.

A high level meeting headed by Vice Admiral AB Singh was held on Thursday last week to discuss the structure of the proposed command, top government sources told India Today. The proposed command will look after the Indian maritime zone from Andamans in the east to the Lakshadweep in west apart from maintaining strict vigil in the areas of country’s interest in the entire Indian Ocean and Pacific region.

SOURCE: ANI

In an apparent bid to shift responsibility for rising incidents of terrorism, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Monday that India’s intelligence agency RAW is paying local criminals in Pakistan to sabotage peace there. Rashid made these remarks during a Senate briefing, the Dawn newspaper reported. He informed that five to six outfits, including Daesh, Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) Pakistan, and some Al Qaeda offshoots, were operating in the country’s Balochistan province.

“Our security forces are vigilant and will continue to take action against terrorists who want to destabilize the country,” he added. On the issue of talks between the Imran Khan government and proscribed TTP, Rashid said the talks were not being held anymore. “Talks are not possible with those [elements] who are against the integrity of Pakistan,” he emphasized. The minister also stated that Pakistan did not feature directly in the talks, which were held between the Taliban and the TTP.

SOURCE: PTI

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other senior officials are likely to visit India this year as the two countries celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations, Israel’s Ambassador to India Naor Gilon said on Monday.

In a Webinar held for the virtual launch of a special logo to set in motion the year-long celebrations to commemorate the occasion, Gilon said he feels very lucky to be Israel’s Ambassador in India when “relations are exceptional” and “beyond regular”, one of “partnership between ancient civilisations”.

SOURCE: PTI

The Border Security Force (BSF) troops neutralized six intruders and apprehended three while trying to infiltrate through the India-Pakistan border last year, officials said on Monday.

It also seized 17 weapons, over 900 rounds of ammunition, 30 explosive devices and over 38 kg of narcotics in 2021, they said. The BSF has relentlessly carried out anti-tunnel drives along the International Border, during which it detected two tunnels and made a huge dent in the infiltration attempts of militants from Pakistan, they said.

SOURCE: TEHELKA

Haryana state hold 2% share in total population of country, whereas on the other hand youths in Haryana are holding 11% share of people working in army in the country. There is a proposal to set up a Defence University in Gurugram or Rewari district in Haryana state, the first in the country having Sainik Schools at Kunjpura in Karnal district and Rewari and the state is likely to have another Sainik school in Jhajjar district.

Moreover, most of the brave   army men sacrificed their lives for the country at the border usually from Hryana state. A information reveals, nearly 6000 youths in Haryana join army every year. NSG Headquarter to provide ‘Commando’ training too is situated at Gurugram in the state. There are three Air Force Stations in the state situated at Ambala, Gurugram and Faridabad, a CRPF Camp at Gurugram, Army’s 2 Core Headquarter at Ambala, Army’ Western Command Headquarter at Chandimandir in Panchkula district and a Army Camp at Hisar.

SOURCE: DNA INDIA

Israeli envoy to India Naor Gilon has said that “there is no anti- Semitism in India, this phrase just doesn’t exist.” Both sides begin official celebration of the completion of 30 years of establishment of ties. Anti-Semitism, or discrimination against Jews, has been seen in many parts of the world.

The top Israeli envoy in India explained, “Jews have lived in India for over 2,000 years in total equality and peacefully. As someone who arrived after serving a quite extensive period in Europe, I was very much surprised with how much love and appreciation there is in India towards Israel.”

SOURCE: FIRST POST

Each year, India celebrates three national festivals: Republic Day on 26 January, Independence Day on 15 August and Gandhi Jayanti on 2 October. The country will celebrate its 73rd Republic Day on Wednesday albeit with a few changes keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic.

Let’s find out the history of Republic Day, its significance and why we celebrate it:

SOURCE: PTI

Amazon on Monday faced the ire of a section of Indian social media users over merchandising some products, including apparel and food items, that feature images of the Indian flag, with some saying that using the tricolour in such a way was an insult and a violation of the country’s flag code.

Netizens shared pictures of items like apparel, cups, keychains and chocolates that feature images or imprint of the tricolour on Amazon.in website, and sought a ban on these items. Hashtags like #AmazonInsultsNationalFlag were trending on Twitter.

SOURCE: PSU CONNECT

Contract for construction of 50Ton Bollard Pull Tugs was concluded with  M/s Hindustan Shipyard Ltd, Visakhapatnam in Feb 19. The Fourth tug in the series, “Balbir” has been delivered to Naval Dockyard, Mumbai on 24 Jan 22. These tugs have been designed and built under the classification rules of Indian Register for Shipping (IRS) with a service life of 20 years and are capable of assisting large naval ships, including Aircraft Carrier and Submarines in berthing, un-berthing, turning and manoeuvering in confined waters and in harbour.

They also provide afloat firefighting cover/assistance to ships alongside/anchorage and have limited capability for Search and Rescue operations.