SOURCE: APP

The US would welcome “productive and peaceful relationship” between India and Pakistan, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday, but made it clear that the pace, scope, and character of any dialogue was a matter for the two countries to determine.

Miller made the statement while responding to a question from a Pakistani journalist on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message of congratulations to the newly-elected Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on taking the oath of office for his second term.

SOURCE: ANI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday highlighted that if the most populous countries in the world and some of the biggest resource providers for the UN are kept out, it is not good for the United Nations Security Council. Speaking at the Nikkei Forum on India-Japan Special Strategic Partnership, he emphasised the need for the realization to give India and Japan the kind of seats or positions they deserve in the council. “If the most populous countries in the world are kept out, or if some of the biggest resource providers for the UN are kept out, that’s not good for the organization. So we want that realization to really grow,” he said.

Jaishankar is on a visit to Japan from March 6-8 for the 16th India-Japan Foreign Minister’s Strategic Dialogue with his Japanese counterpart, Yoko Kamikawa. EAM Jaishankar stressed that most of us actually understand that there is a great need to reform the United Nations because, when the United Nations was founded, there were roughly 50 countries that were members.

SOURCE: REUTERS

 When Mohammed Asfan from India’s Hyderabad city travelled to Russia to work as a “helper” in the army, his family never imagined he would end up fighting in the Ukraine war, much less die there. Asfan is among several Indian men who, their relatives say, were lured to Russia with the temptation of lucrative job opportunities, only to be forced to fight at the front against their will.

India’s foreign ministry has said that every such case brought to its attention has been “strongly taken up”. “We have an understanding that something like 20-odd people are stuck, we are trying our level best for their early discharge,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last week.

SOURCE: ANI

S Nalini, one of the convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, has filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking an order from the central and state governments to allow her husband Murugan to appear for an interview to obtain a passport to travel to the UK and live with his daughter there.

In the petition filed in this regard, Ms Nalini mentioned that while the Supreme Court has released all seven people, her husband Murugan has been kept in a special camp in Trichy since he is a citizen of Sri Lanka.

SOURCE: PTI

A serving Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Indian Army was abducted from his home in Manipur’s Thoubal district by anti-social elements on Friday, officials said. They said the JCO, identified as Konsam Kheda Singh, a resident of Charangpat Mamang Leikai, was on leave when some people barged into his home at 9am and bundled him in a vehicle and fled. Though the cause of the abduction is not known, initial reports suggest that it was an extortion case as his family had received such threats in the past, the officials said.

On receiving information, a coordinated search operation has been launched by all security agencies to rescue the JCO. Checking of all vehicles plying on National Highway 102 is currently in progress. The cause of the abduction is not known and further details are awaited. This is the fourth incident since the commencement of the conflict in Manipur wherein soldiers while on leave, on duty or their relatives have been targeted for nefarious interests by inimical elements.

SOURCE: IDRW.ORG

In a significant stride towards bolstering India’s indigenous defense capabilities, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has allocated a staggering ?15,000 crore for the advancement of the country’s 5th generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program. This move underscores India’s commitment to fostering self-reliance in defense manufacturing and underscores its ambition to emerge as a formidable player in the global aerospace arena.

The AMCA project marks a pivotal milestone in India’s defense modernization efforts, positioning it as the third Indian fighter jet program, following the successful development trajectories of Tejas Mk1A and MkII, the latter currently under development. With the AMCA, India seeks to establish itself as a key player in the domain of advanced combat aircraft, reducing dependence on foreign imports and enhancing its strategic autonomy.

SOURCE: IDRW.ORG

India’s ambitious AMCA program, spearheaded by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), has received a significant boost with the government’s approval of funds. This unlocks the development of a next-generation fighter jet crucial for the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) future.

The initial tranche of a ?15,000 crore multi-phase funding will be directed towards establishing a new assembly line for the AMCA. This includes acquiring machinery and materials needed for assembly of first few jet. ADA and HAL aim for an aggressive timeline, targeting ground testing of the first AMCA prototype by early 2027. Flight trials are expected to commence in 2028 with one prototype manufactured per year. The final two prototypes will be near or pre-production ready, incorporating many production-standard components.

SOURCE: PTI

Germany has planned a “never before” military deployment to India to underline that its engagement in the Indo-Pacific is “serious and long lasting”. “So what we have planned this year, together with our Indian partners, is something that has never been there before the German Air Force. The German Air Force will send jets to India, but not on our own. We never go alone. We will do it with the French, Spanish and British,” said Sebastian Fuchs, a spokesperson for the German embassy here.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will host the large-scale multi-nation military exercise in southern India in August. Germany will dispatch a significant contingent of military aircraft, including fighter jets, tankers and transport planes, for the exercise.

SOURCE: PIB

The Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and guidance of Home Minister Shri Amit Shah is fully committed for capacity building and strengthening of the Security Forces. In a significant step to further strengthen Security Forces, Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have indigenously developed two different categories of explosive detectors for Indian Security Forces.

The explosive detectors were recently handed over to the Director Intelligence Bureau (IB) by the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood for their deployment with the Security Forces.

SOURCE: ANI

The Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared a proposal for 34 new Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv choppers, of which nine will be inducted in the Indian Coast Guard while 25 of them will go to the Indian Army.

The helicopters would be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The Indian Coast Guard is going to get nine of these choppers, while the Indian Army will be inducting 25 of them into their fleets, top government sources told ANI.

SOURCE: PTI

Taking a dig at China, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said Beijing has not observed longstanding written agreements with India and blamed it for the bloodshed at the borders in 2020, the first in more than four decades.

Speaking at the inaugural Raisina Roundtable in Tokyo, an event by the think tank, Mr Jaishankar also spoke about how he expected a change in Russia’s direction towards the rest of the world and it may likely want multiple options in Asia.

SOURCE: PTI

The Maldivian defence force on Thursday said it will have operational authority over the helicopter given by India to the island nation and the civilian crew that will pilot it. Addressing a press conference, the Principal Director of Plans, Policy, and Resources Management for the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), Colonel Ahmed Mujuthaba Mohamed said that discussions are underway for withdrawing Indian troops from the Maldives.

He emphasised that the government of President Mohamed Muizzu has decided not to permit any foreign troops to remain stationed in the Maldives beyond May 10, PSM News, the state broadcaster reported.