Playing with the officer cadre CLAWS 16 Apr 2021 A recent press report stated that the army is considering directly recruiting JCOs to fill vacancies in the officer cadre. They will be eligible for promotion upto the rank of Colonels. To assuage the fear of the current rank and file, the report stated that there would be no impact […]
India-Russia divergences The Excelsior 14 Apr 2021 The recent two-day visit of the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, to India was followed by a similar duration visit to Pakistan. While in India he held discussions with his counterpart, S Jaishankar, however there was no interaction with the PM. In his press conference, post the visit, he stated, ‘We discussed […]
New strategy needed to handle Naxals The Statesman 13 Apr 2021 The ambush on police forces by Naxals in Tekulugudam leaving 23 dead shook the nation. Those who backed, planned and implemented the operation defended their actions. The Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel stated, ‘It was not an attack on (police) camp…We had gone there to corner them. […]
Summer is around the bend The Excelsior 07 Apr2021 The Indian armed forces have gained immense experience, over the decades, on the impact of the weather along its troubled borders. Hence, the army maintains separate summer and winter postures. Summers are periods of heightened activities, when infiltration attempts are made regularly along the LoC and Chinese salami slicing increases […]
Support for Taliban must cease for Afghan peace The Statesman 06 Apr 2021 Afghanistan, as a nation, has only witnessed wars and bloodshed for the past four decades. Its turmoil began with the Soviet invasion in Dec 1979 and continues to date. The US entered after the 9/11 attack. After two decades, the US is now firming its plans […]
Flip flops from Pakistan CLAWS 05 Apr 2021 In end March, the Pakistan Economic Coordination Committee headed by the Finance Minister, Hammad Azar, met and recommended reopening of Indo-Pak trade. It suggested allowing procurement of cotton and sugar from India. Prime Minister, Imran Khan, as the in-charge of the Textile and Commerce ministry, had approved the procurement.[i] The same […]
India’s aggressive stance The Excelsior 04 Apr 2021 Indian response to Pak’s terrorist strikes had always been meek. The nation was used to hearing the words, ‘Kadi Ninda (strong criticism)’, as the standard response by Indian politicians post any terrorist incident. Indians were equally sick of hearing national leaders complain to the world on Pak’s terrorist strikes, while taking […]
Moving towards Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence manufacturing Sainya Sandesh Mar 2021 India has traditionally been amongst the largest importer of defence weapons. As per data, India in 2020, had the world’s third largest defence budget, after the US and China, and was the second largest importer of defence armaments, catering to 9.2% of global weapon imports. This, despite the […]
Is Pakistan serious on peace? (English version) Amar Ujala 01 Apr 2021 Speaking at the India Economic Conclave, General Naravane, the army chief stated, ‘In the whole month of March, not a single shot has been fired on the LoC barring an odd incident. This is the first time in 4-5 years that the LoC has been silent that […]
India and strategic autonomy Bharat Shakti 31 Mar 2021 India’s growing participation in the QUAD as also its increased proximity to the US is being dubbed as India losing its strategic autonomy. India has also been blamed for making other forums, BRICS and SCO, of which China and Russia are members, ineffective. In an editorial last week, the Global […]