Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday that India needs to cut down dependency on foreign manufacturers in defence production and instead develop indigenous comprehensive capabilities. Singh was delivering the inaugural address at a seminar on ‘Modernisation and Indigenisation of the Indian Air Force (IAF)’ here. He praised the IAF for striking the terrorist hubs in Pakistan. “The recent offensive strikes against terrorist forces in our neighbourhood speaks volumes about the reach and lethality of the formidable armed forces. However, the IAF needs to keep pace with advancement in technology in order to enhance its operational capabilities.” Singh said India…
Author: Our Correspondent
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after Chandrayaan2 was put into the lunar orbit. “Congratulations to Team ISRO on Chandrayaan2 entering the Moon’s orbit. This is an important step in the landmark journey to the Moon. Best wishes for its successful culmination,” Modi tweeted. The space agency on Tuesday successfully completed the orbit manoeuvre and put the Chandrayaan2 spacecraft into the lunar orbit. The Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) was completed successfully at 9.02 a.m. using the onboard propulsion system. Union Minister Rajnath Singh also congratulated the ISRO scientists. “The smooth entry … is…
As Chandrayaan-2 entered the lunar orbit on Tuesday, the scientists of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) heaved a sigh of relief and prepared for the next major step in the moon mission — separation of the lander from the orbiter on September 2. “Now the Chandrayaan-2 is going around Moon with an inclination of 88 degrees. In due course, this orbit will be brought down and at that time the inclination will achieve 90 degrees,” ISRO Chairman K. Sivan told a press conference after the lunar mission achieved the major feat. According to ISRO, the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) was…
Pakistan again resorted to unprovoked shelling against India on Tuesday morning in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, triggering a fierce response from the Indian side. Pakistan initiated the 2003 ceasefire violation at 11 a.m. by firing small arms and shelling mortars in the Krishna Ghati sector. “The Indian Army is giving a befitting reply,” an official source told IANS. On Monday, after a lull of less than 24 hours, Pakistan violated the ceasefire near the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir. the Indian Army hit a Pakistani military post opposite Rajouri after…
Most of the rivers that were in spate saw a decline in water levels. Traffic on a majority of the highways and link roads was restored. “There was no heavy rainfall in the state but precipitation occurred at some places in the state since Monday,” a Met official told IANS. He said the weather conditions would likely to be mostly dry in the state, adding that light rainfall might occur at some places. Shimla got 32.3 mm of rain, while Manali received 16 mm, Dalhousie 9 mm and Una 5.2 mm. A total of 22 people died and two were…
In an unprecedented move, the ruling BJP and opposition Congress leaders, besides the state government, on Monday separately celebrated the 111th birth anniversary of Tripura’s last king Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya (1923-1947). At the end of the 1,355-year rule by 184 kings, the erstwhile princely state of Tripura came under the control of the Indian government on October 15, 1949, after a merger agreement was signed between the regent Maharani Kanchan Prabha Devi and the Indian Governor General. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, along with the state Bharatiya Janata Party President, and Tripura Pradesh Congress President Pradyot Bikram…
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday arrested Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s nephew Ratul Puri, the former Executive Director of Moser Baer, in connection with a Rs 354-crore bank fraud case filed by the Central Bank of India, an agency official said. The agency took the action after filing the money laundering case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Puri and others late Monday night based on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) FIR. Puri was arrested from his Delhi residence early Tuesday morning and will be produced before a special ED court later in the day. The…
Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who was granted permanent residency in Malaysia after he fled India on being charged with giving inflammatory speeches, has been barred from holding religious talks in several Malaysian states. Naik, who has been living in Malaysia for the last three years, is in the limelight for his remarks against non-Muslim minorities, especially the Chinese and Hindus in Malaysia. Seven states – Melaka, Johor, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Sarawak – have decided to bar the controversial preacher from speaking in public. Malaysia’s former police chief Rahim Noor has urged the government to rescind his Permanent…
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has condemned an editorial in The Lancet raising concerns on the “health, safety and freedom of the Kashmiri people” following the government’s measure to scrap Article 370, terming it “interference” in India’s internal affairs. Terming the editorial “Fear and Uncertainty around Kashmir’s future” a “breach of propriety” in commenting on a political issue, the IMA’s President Santanu Sen and Secretary General R.V. Ashokan, in a letter to Lancet’s Editor-in-Chief Richard Horton on Monday, questioned the “credibility” and “malafide intention” behind it. They also said following this “unsolicited intrusion” into Indian affairs, the IMA, on behalf…
India’s second spacecraft to the moon, Chandrayaan-2, will be inserted into the lunar orbit on Tuesday morning, the Indian space agency said. According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), by firing Chandrayaan-2 on-board motors, the space craft will be moved into the lunar orbit. After Chandrayaan-2’s insertion into the lunar orbit, ISRO will carry out four more orbit maneuvers (August 21, 28, 30 and September 1) to enter it into its final orbit passing over lunar poles at a distance of about 100 km from the Moon’s surface. Subsequently, the Vikram lander will separate from the orbiter on September 2,…