THE SPOKESPERSON

  The Indian Air Force is trying to keep up its strength of fighter squadrons as its fleet struggles with the gradual phase-out of existing jets as well as delays in the order and procurement of new jets. It is also placing much hope in indigenously manufactured aircraft.  Against the sanctioned strength of 42 fighter squadrons, we are today at 31 squadrons which won’t go up in the next decade, but on the contrary can go further down by 2029, an Indian Air Force (IAF) representative informed the Parliamentary standing committee on defence as per a report tabled in Parliament last month. This sums up the conundrum faced by one of the world’s largest Air Forces in modernising its fleet which has been beset with unending delays in procurement. “As far as going from 31 to 42 squadrons, I will not be able to say by when it can be accomplished”, the representative added noting that they have been trying for the past many years to move forward, but there are certain procedur...

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Saturday successfully placed two Singaporean satellites, TeLEOS-2 and Lumelite-4, in orbit aboard the trusted Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, while also carrying out experiments with seven payloads attached to its PS4 upper stage, the space agency said. PSLV- C55/TeLEOS-2 mission is accomplished successfully. In a textbook launch, the vehicle placed TeLEOS-2 and LUMELITE-4 satellites precisely into their intended 586 km circular orbit,” Isro tweeted on Saturday evening. The launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Saturday at 2.19pm. The mission marked the 57th flight of PSLV and the 16th mission using the PSLV Core Alone configuration, the lightest version of the launch vehicle as it has four core stages and no strap-on boosters to provide an added thrust, Isro said. Science minister Jitendra Singh congratulated the space agency for another successful mission. “Kudos to Isro for the successful launch of PSLV-C5...

  The DRDO and Indian Navy on Saturday successfully conducted a maiden flight trial of sea-based endo-atmospheric interceptor missile off the coast of Odisha. The  Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)  and  Indian Navy  on Saturday successfully conducted a maiden flight trial of a sea-based endo-atmospheric interceptor missile off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal. According to a statement by the defense ministry, the purpose of the trial was to engage and neutralize a hostile ballistic missile threat, thereby elevating the country into the elite club of nations having Naval Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) capability Prior to this, DRDO has successfully demonstrated land-based BMD system with capability to neutralize ballistic missile threats, emerging from adversaries,” the statement added. Defense minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO and Indian Navy for achieving the feat. DRDO chief Samir V Kamat also complimented the team...

  Residents of Sangiote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district will not celebrate Eid on Saturday. The village was the destination of the ill-fated Army truck that was ambushed on Thursday, leaving five soldiers dead. The vehicle was carrying fruits and other items for an iftar gathering meant to be held in Sagiote later that evening. According to locals, invitations had gone out to several people in the village of 4,000 for the 7 pm event, and arrangements were being taken care of by the Rashtriya Rifles unit. The truck was carrying materials from the RR headquarters at Basooni in Balakote, and had picked up more items en route from Bhimber Gali area, where the RR has a significant presence owing to movement of Army convoys between Poonch and Rajouri. Around 3 pm, when the loaded vehicle crossed Tota Gali, and was just 7-8 km short of its destination, unidentified terrorists who had already laid an ambush attacked it from multiple sides. When Army troops and v...

  NEW DELHI :Offshore Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- the prestigious institutions of India are set to take the demeanor beyond the Indian peninsula following recommendation from the National Education Policy (NEP). These offshore campuses will be mentored by the Indian higher educational institutions. According to news agency  PTI , the institutions are likely to be called "India International Institute of Technology". The report further informed that faculty from the Indian counterpart can be transferred to the branches set up abroad.  Name of offshore IIT According to news agency PTI, the name of the  offshore IIT s would be 'Indian International Institute of Technology'. They further clarified that the ‘international’ bit would be added in the name in order to avoid confusion. The difference in name with sufficient similarity will allow the newly established IITs to evolve their own identity and ethos, while drawing up the strength of existing IIT...

  NEW DELHI  :Back in 1981, when Indian space scientists were gearing up for the launch of its first communication satellite APPLE from the Guiana Space Centre in France, they had loaded the satellite onto a bullock-cart. This was at a time when only telephone and telex (a network of teleprinters) were available for domestic and international communication and one had to book and wait for one’s call to come through. This was a time, when  ISRO  did not even have mainframe computers and setting up Ariane Passenger PayLoad Experiment (APPLE) Mission Control Centre at Sriharikota was posing great challenges. The pioneering mission, which marked an important milestone in India’s space programme and laid the foundation for indigenous development of INSAT and GSAT series, was facing setbacks on various fronts. The satellite’s antenna had to be tested as there were some problems detected in the Telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C) links which are crucial fo...

  Combat Tanks of Indian Army: Knowing country war power is very important, hence this article is regarding the combat tanks that our Army has. Indian Army is one of the largest armies in the world. Below we have listed the combat tanks of Indian Army. 1. T-90M Bhishma Main Battle Tank (MBT) The T-90M Bhishma is a indigenously built Indian Army variant of the Russian T-90 Main Battle Tank. 2. DRDO Arjun (Lion) Main Battle Tank (MBT) The main aim of the Arjun Mk II is to vastly improve the overall capabilities of the original Arjun MBT 3. DRDO Tank EX / MBT Ex (Karna) Main Battle Tank (MBT) Project It is one of the important combat tank of Indian Army 4. BMD-2 (Boyevaya Mashina Desanta) It is also known as Airborne Amphibious Light Tank and Infantry Fighting Vehicle The BMD-2 is air-droppable infantry fighting vehicle. It is next logical evolution of the BMD line of vehicles. 5. BMP-2 (Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty) Infantry Combat vehicle ICV BMP II is amphibious infantry figh...

  Bengaluru, Apr 11 (PTI) L&T Construction on Tuesday said it was constructing India’s first post office building using 3D printing technology in Bengaluru. The project is to design and build the 1,000 square feet Halasuru Post Office using 3D Concrete Printing Technology within 45 days, the company said. It added that the project scope involves structure, MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing), and finishes. “While the technology has been approved by the Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), the structural design of the post office has been validated by IIT Madras. The 3D printing of the post office building is cast ‘in situ’ at the job site in an ‘open to sky’ environment, using a fully automated 3D printer,” L&T said in a statement. According to L&T, an emerging technology, 3D concrete printing has the potential to transform construction practices by quickening the construction process and enhancing overall build quality. Using a ...

  The Embassy of Sweden in Pakistan's Islamabad has been closed for an indefinite period due to security concerns in the country. The Swedish embassy put out a statement on its website and shared it on its social media and said that due to the current security situation in Islamabad, the Embassy of Sweden is closed for visitors.  It added that it is not able to handle, at the moment, any sort of queries that people may have. However, the embassy said the closure of service is 'temporary' "The Migration Section is not, at the moment, able to handle requests of any kind. Also we cannot send any documents to our consulates, Gerry´s, Sweden or your home address. We understand that this will cause inconvenience however, the safety of our applicants and staff members are of highest priority," it added in the statement.The embassy further said, "We cannot answer any questions regarding re-opening at the moment. If you have questions regarding your case ple...

  First Deputy FM Dzhaparova to hold inter-ministerial dialogue and address think tanks in Delhi, to build support for Ukraine in India, and to garner an invite for the Ukrainian president to address the G-20 summit.  In the first such visit since the Russia-Ukraine war began last February, the government will hold talks next week with a senior Ukrainian Minister, who is likely to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Kiev. Diplomatic sources said that the final arrangements are still being discussed, but confirmed that Emine Dzhaparova, the First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, is expected to arrive in Delhi on Monday and hold an inter-ministerial dialogue as well as engage with media and think tanks in the Capital, with a view to building support for Ukraine in India. Ukraine has requested India for more humanitarian aid, including pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and energy equipment, to repair power infrastructure damaged during the war, and both si...

India received a resounding 46 out of 53 votes, ahead of South Korea (23), China (19), and the UAE (15). In a significant victory, India has been elected to the United Nations Statistical Commission for a four-year term. India reportedly received a resounding 46 out of 53 votes, ahead of South Korea (23), China (19), and the UAE (15). "India elected to the highest UN statistical body for a 4-year term beginning on 1 January 2024! Congrats Team @IndiaUNNewYork for coming through so strongly in a competitive election," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted on Wednesday. He added that India's "expertise in the field of statistics, diversity & demography has earned it a seat on the UN Statistical Commission." India was elected by secret ballot while Argentina, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Ukraine, the United Republic of Tanzania and the United States of America were elected by acclamation for a four-year term of office beginning January 1, 2024. Est...

India and Malaysia have agreed to settle trade in the Indian rupees, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on on April 1, 2023. The announcement came in the backdrop of ongoing official efforts to Safeguard Indian trade from the  impact of Ukraine crisis . The shift away from The U.S. dollar which has been the dominant reserve currency for international trade so far has added significance as it indicates India is willing to take concrete steps towards ddollarization of its international trade. “Trade between India and Malaysia can now be settled in Indian Rupee (INR) in addition to the current modes of settlement in other currencies. This follows the decision by the Reserve Bank of India in July 2022 to allow the settlement of international trade in the Indian Rupee (INR). This initiative by RBI is aimed at facilitating the  growth of global trade  and to support the interests of the global trading community in Indian rupees, “ the Ministry of external affair...