Tag: India

Terrorists

Pak Trying To Push Terrorists Across LoC: Northern Army Commander

By LokMarg

Amid ongoing gunfights between the security forces and terrorists in the Rajouri and Kupwara districts of Jammu and Kashmir, Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday said Pakistan was trying to send radicalised gunmen from across the border to disturb peace in the Valley.

Two terrorists were gunned down in the ongoing Rajouri encounter while a soldier also laid down his life on the line.

Kent, a dog from the Army’s canine unit, also died shielding its handler from enemy fire.

Speaking to media persons at the conclusion of the two day North Tech Symposium 2023 in Jammu, the Northern Army commander said, “Pakistan is upto its old tricks of sending terrorists across the border to disturb peace in Jammu and Kashmir. At a time when the Valley has set sights on welcoming 2.25 crore tourists this year, Pakistan is trying to unleash terror in the region yet again. However, we will not led Pakistan succeed in its nefarious designs.”

He was reponding to questions on the gunning down of two terrorists in the ongoing encounter that broke out in the Narla area of Rajouri district on Tuesday.

Officials said earlier on Wednesday that one more terrorist were killed in the Rajouri gunfight.

“Second terrorist has been gunned down in the ongoing encounter in Narla area of Rajouri,” Mukesh Singh, additional director general of police (ADGP), Jammu, said.

A top police official had on Tuesday said one terrorist was gunned down and a soldier lost his life in the ongoing encounter in Narla area. Three security personnel, including a Special Police Officer (SPO), also sustained injuries in the exchange of fire.

“One terrorist neutralised; One Army jawan lost his life, three others including one police SPO injured in the ensuing encounter in Rajouri district,” ADGP, Jammu said in a statement on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, another encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in the the Kukernag area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, according to Kashmir Police Zone.

“Some officers from the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police were injured in the trading of fire with the terrorists,” a police officer said. (ANI)

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Baku-Bound IndiGo Takes Off Without ATC Clearances, Pilot Grounded

AAI Gets Nod To Install Full-Body Scanners At 4 Airports

By LokMarg

To make security checks quicker and error-free at India’s hypersensitive airports, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) received clearance from the Public Investment Board (PIB) to install full-body scanners that will cut down the passenger frisking time by half.

These full-body scanners will be installed at four airports in the country including Kolkata, Chennai, Pune and Goa.

In July, the government had floated a tender to procure 131 full-body scanners– that cut down the average passenger frisking time to 15 seconds from the current 30 and 600 new hand baggage scanners at over Rs 1,000 crore at airports run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) but it was later withdrawn as it needed clearance from PIB.

Given that all the investment plans with an estimated cost of Rs 500 crores and more fall under the purview of PIB, the initial proposal was to install 131 full-body scanners and 600 new hand-baggage scanner machines at 43 airports that include Amritsar, Goa, Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Varanasi, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Raipur, Tirupati, Bhopal, among others at over Rs 1,000 crore at airports run by the AAI.

However, in a recent meeting between stakeholders involved in the safety and security of airports, it was decided that instead of going for the installation in one go as per the original plan, the PIB gave its nod for the installation of full-body scanners in the four airports that witness maximum footfall among all airports owned and managed by the Airport Authority of India (AAI). The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Bureau of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Home Affairs and others.

“After evaluating the success report of full-body scanners at these four airports, other airports in the queue will get the facility at the earliest. In the meeting, various aspects like procurement, installation, training of security personnel and operations were discussed,” said a senior official.

According to officials, these millimetre-wave technology-based full-body scanners work on the principle of body contours, i.e. these are designed to detect objects that could be concealed in the body.  

“As the proposal needs approval of PIB, it was reviewed and now full-body scanners will be installed at four airports including thirteen scanners at Kolkata, twelve at Chennai, eight at Goa and five at Pune airport. These airports fall under the hypersensitive category as per BCAS”, added the official.

The AAI manages 137 airports in India, which include 24 international airports, 10 customs airports, and 103 domestic airports. (ANI)

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C-295 Transport Aircraft

IAF Chief Receives First C-295 Transport Aircraft

By LokMarg

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Wednesday received the first C-295 transport aircraft made for India by global aircraft manufacturer Airbus at a facility in Seville in Spain.

The Airbus officials handed over the keys of the aircraft to the Indian Air Force chief Chaudhari. 

After receiving the delivery of the first C-295 transport aircraft, the IAF chief said that it is a major milestone for the whole country and that it is a stepping stone for Atmanirbhar Bharat. 

“It is a major milestone not only for IAF but for the whole country. This is for two reasons – first, for IAF it improves our tactical airlift capabilities by leaps and bounds. For a nation, it marks the beginning of a new era,” Chaudhari said. 

For Atmanirbhar Bharat, he said, “After the first 16 aircraft roll out from this plant, the 17th aircraft onwards will be made in India. It’s a big step for the Indian aviation industry where we will be manufacturing the first military transport aircraft in the country…”

The aircraft is the first of 16 C-295 that will be produced in Spain and the remaining 40 will be made in an Indian facility in Gujarat’s Vadodara under a joint venture of Tata and Airbus.

The aircraft is expected to be inducted formally into the service at a ceremony in Hindan around September last week.

The Indian Air Force chief was personally involved in the contract at important stages as Deputy Chief of Air Staff where he was leading the contract negotiations.

Indian Defence Ministry and Airbus Defence and Space, Spain signed a contract for procurement of 56 C-295 aircraft for the Indian Air Force in September 2021. C-295MW aircraft is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

The aircraft has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and paradropping of troops and cargo. Sixteen aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months of signing of the contract and forty aircraft will be manufactured in India by TATA Consortium within 10 years of the signing of the contract.

This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company.

All 56 aircraft will be installed with an indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite. The project will give a boost to aerospace ecosystem in India in which several MSMEs spread over the country will be involved in the manufacturing of parts of the aircraft, according to a press release of the Ministry of Defence. 

The programme will provide a major boost to the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ of the Government as it offers a unique opportunity for the Indian Private Sector to enter into a technology-intensive and highly competitive aviation Industry.

The project is expected to augment domestic aviation manufacturing resulting in reduced import dependence and an expected increase in exports. (ANI)

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Special Parliament Session New Uniforms

Special Parliament Session With New Uniforms: Turbans For Marshals, Jackets For Women

By LokMarg

Parliament staff will be seen in new uniforms as the Parliament Session begins next week starting September 18, according to sources.

As per sources, chamber attendants, officers, security personnel, drivers and marshals all will don new uniforms.

Khaki trousers, cream-coloured jackets, cream shirt with pink lotus motifs printed on them, bright coloured sarees with jackets for women and turbans for marshals figure in the new dress code. Security personnel at the Parliament building, instead of safari suits, will now wear camouflage pattern clothes similar to those worn by military personnel.

The special session of Parliament will start in the old building on September 18 and will be later moved to the new building on September 19 on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

The new Parliament building was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28, this year.

The new dress code for Parliament staff has meanwhile sparked a political debate, with the opposition Congress party raising concerns about the inclusion of a lotus motif on the clothes.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore posted on X, “Why lotus only? Why can’t peacock or why can’t tiger? Oh they’re not BJP party election symbol. Why this fall sir @ombirlakota?”

The Centre has called for a special session of Parliament for five days between September 18 and 22.

Meanwhile, 24 parties of the INDIA bloc have agreed to participate in the special session of the Parliament.

The agenda for the special session has however not been revealed yet.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which concluded last month, was held in the old Parliament building. The announcement of the special session came as a surprise in political circles with the parties gearing up for assembly polls in five states later this year. (ANI)

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Army Soldier Of Rajouri Encounter

J-K: Army Bids Sombre Farewell To Soldier Of Rajouri Encounter

By LokMarg

A sombre wreath laying ceremony was held for Army Rifleman Ravi Kumar, who lost his life during an encounter with terrorists at Narla in the Rajouri disrtrict of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

The Army bid a tearful farewell to the slain jawan on Wednesday.

The Jammu-based White Knight Corps of the Army said in a statement, “White Knight Corps salutes the supreme sacrifice of Rifleman Ravi during OP SUJALIGALA in the highest traditions of the Indian Army. His unwavering dedication and service to our nation will always be remembered.”

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, one more terrorist was also killed in the ongoing gunfight with the security forces.

“Another terrorist (second) was gunned down in the ongoing encounter in Narla area of Rajouri,” Mukesh Singh, additional director general of police (ADGP), Jammu, said.

Earlier, on Tuesday, a top police officer said one terrorist was shot dead and a solider, too, lost his life in the encounter that broke out in the Narla area of Rajouri. Three security personnel, including a Special Police Officer (SPO), also sustained injuries in the exchange of fire.

“One terrorist neutralised; One Army jawan lost his life, three others including one police SPO injured in the ensuing encounter in Rajouri district,” Singh was quoted as saying in a statement on Tuesday.

A six-year-old dog (female labrador) from the army’s canine unit laid down her life shielding her handler during the encounter on Tuesday.

The Public Relations Officer, Indian Army, Jammu informed through a statement on Tuesday that Kent, a canine from the 21 Army Dog Unit, was leading a group of soldiers on the trail of fleeing terrorists when it came under heavy fire and succumbed at the scene.

Kent was at the forefront of ‘Operation Sujaligala’, the statement read.

Last week a terrorist was killed in an encounter in a joint operation conducted by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir police last week in the Reasi district.

Officials had said that war-like stores, including one AK series assault rifle with magazines, were recovered during the search following the encounter.

The officials said the Army defused an Improvised explosive device (IED) in the same region on September 3.

Barely two weeks ago, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said it arrested two persons for harbouring the terrorists, who had killed five innocent civilians in Dhangri village of Rajouri district in January this year.

On January 1 this year, five persons were killed and others seriously injured in an attack by unidentified terrorists.

The case was initially registered at Rajouri police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 and Arms Act.

The NIA re-registered the case and took over the probe into the incident on January 13. (ANI)

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Modi Carires No Weightage

Priyanka Slams Centre’s Decision To Reduce Tariff On American Apples

By LokMarg

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday slammed the Centre over its decision to reduce customs duty on apples imported from the US, saying it will make import of American apples easier and the move has come at a time when apple growers were facing problems.  

Priyanka Gandhi, who is visiting rain and flood-affected areas of Himachal Pradesh, said there has been a massive loss.

The Congress leader told ANI that the farmers in the state were suffering due to decisions of industrialists concerning procurement and the central government’s move on tariff reduction on apples coming from US will affect them adversely.     

“…This will make the import (of American apples) easy and they will be sold easily. Prices of procurement of apples in Shimla have been brought down by big industrialists. When the apple growers are suffering here, who should be helped? They, or the farmers in the US?” she asked.

The Congress leader said local farmers should be helped and they should get proper price for their produce.  

She was answering a query about Centre’s decision of 20 per cent reduction in customs duty on apples imported from the US.

In June, the US and India agreed to terminate six outstanding disputes at the World Trade Organization. Also, India agreed to reduce tariffs on certain US products, including chickpeas, lentils, almonds, walnuts, apples, boric acid, and diagnostic reagents, a United States Trade Representative statement said on Friday.

An additional 20 per cent duty was imposed on US apples in 2019 in response to US’ measure to increase tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products. There is no reduction on Most Favoured Nation (MFN) duty on apples which is still applicable on all imported apples including on the US at 50 per cent.

Political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, have also slammed the Centre’s move to reduce tariff on apples imported from the United States.

Speaking about the impact of rain-induced floods in Himachal Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi urged the Central government to declare the situation in the hilly state a national disaster.

She told ANI that the state government is doing what it can and the calamity should not be politicised.

“The situation is very painful. There has been a massive loss…People are suffering…We have been requesting that if the Central Government declares it a national disaster, it will be beneficial to them (locals). The state government is doing everything it can…But some things can be done only with the help of the Central Government. I’m sure they will help… I don’t think anyone wants to politicise such a calamity…,” she said. (ANI)

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VK Singh PoK

PoK Will Merge With India On Its Own: VK Singh

By LokMarg

Union Minister and former Army chief General VK Singh has claimed that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) would merge with India soon “on its own”.

“PoK will merge with India on its own, wait for some time,” the Union minister for State said while responding to a query in a press conference here in Dausa regarding demands of Shia Muslims in PoK seeking opening of border crossing with India.

The minister was addressing a press conference in Dausa during a Parivartan Sankalp Yatra (PSY) programme of the BJP.

The Union minister also spoke about the success of the recently concluded G20 Summit under India’s presidency. He said that that the grandeur of the summit has given India a unique identity on the world stage and the country has proved its mettle in the world.

“The G-20 meeting was unprecedented. It has never been done before nor any other country except India can organise a summit like this. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has proved its mettle in the world. The G-20 group includes all the powerful countries of the world,” Singh said.

Further, coming down heavily on the Rajasthan Government over the law and order situation, the minister alleged that under the current Congress government, the state is troubled by the poor law and order situation.

“This was the reason why the BJP had to organise the Parivartan Sankalp Yatra to go among the people and listen to them. The people want a parivartan (change) and they are coming with us on this yatra and have made up their mind to bring about change,” he said, adding that the yatra is getting immense public support across the state.

On the question about the BJP’s chief minister’s face in the state for the upcoming assembly elections, V K Singh said that the BJP does not declare the chief minister’s face wherever elections are held, but contests elections only on the charisma of the Prime Minister.

“Everyone should assume that the party will give opportunity to such leaders who are good, useful and on whom the public has confidence,” he said. (ANI)

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India Pakistan Asia Cup

Team India Beat Pakistan With Record Margin In Asia Cup Super Four

By LokMarg

Fiery centuries from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul followed by Kuldeep Yadav’s five-wicket haul powered India to 228 runs win over their traditional rival Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash here at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday. 

Kuldeep bagged his second ODI five-for as India clinched a huge 228-run win – Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf didn’t come out to bat in Pakistan’s chase. With this mammoth victory, India clinched the top spot in of Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s table. 

Defending a challenging target of 356, India pacer Jasprit Bumrah breathed fire in the 5th over of the game as he removed opener Imam-ul-Haq, giving Pakistan a big blow. All-rounder Hardik Pandya bamboozled Babar Azam with an absolute ripper in the 11th over of the game. 

Shardul Thakur bowled a peach to get the better of Mohammad Rizwan. It was bowled around off stump but the ball shaped away from Rizwan, who closed the face of his bat and got an outside edge. KL Rahul comfortably collected the ball behind the stumps. Rizwan departed for two runs off 5 balls, leaving Pakistan in great trouble.

The Indian pacers continue to trouble Pakistan batters with some amazing movement on the ball. Fakhar Zaman was getting restless as the required run rate was going high for Pakistan. He tried to take on Kuldeep Yadav and perished in the process. It was a fuller ball from Kuldeep that rattled the stumps. Fakhar departed after scoring 27 runs off 50 balls.

In the 21st over of the game, Agha Salman got seriously injured as he was hit on his face by the ball on the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja. 

The Pakistan batter Salman walked to play a sweep shot but missed the ball completely which caught him plumb in front of the stumps on the delivery of Kuldeep. Salman took a review but ball tracking suggested that would have clipped the leg stump.

Kuldeep picked his third wicket as Shadab Khan was caught by Shardul Thakur in the deep and left Pakistan tottering at 111/6 after 28 overs. 

Kuldeep broke Pakistan’s back as he picked his fourth wicket of the match, removing Iftikhar Ahmed for 23. 

The Indian spinner bowled Faheem Ashraf to complete his fifer and the match ended with India winning by a huge margin of 228 runs as Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, who went off while fielding with niggles, did not come out to bat. 

Earlier, Virat Kohli’s vintage performance and KL Rahul’s unbridled century powered India to 356/2 against arch-rivals Pakistan in their Asia Cup Super Four clash. 

Captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill’s half-centuries laid the foundation for India, while the unbeaten 233-run partnership between Kohli and Rahul added the icing on the cake as the former skipper finished the innings in style with a maximum.

Kohli finished his innings with an unbeaten 122, which came from 94 deliveries, while Rahul smashed a fiery 111 of 106 balls. 

Brief score: India 356/2 (Virat Kohli 122*, KL Rahul 111; Shaheen Afridi 1-79) vs Pakistan 128  (Fakhar Zaman 27, Agha Salman 23; Kuldeep Yadav 5-25). (ANI)

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Kohli Runs In ODIs

Kohli Breaks Sachin’s Record, Becomes Fastest Player To Reach 13,000 Runs In ODIs

By LokMarg

India’s batting talisman Virat Kohli on Monday created a record by becoming the fastest to reach 13,000 runs in the ODI format.

Kohli achieved the milestone during the Asia Cup Super 4 clash against arch-rival Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday.

He broke a long-standing Sachin Tendulkar record during a brilliant ODI knock against Pakistan.

Kohli is the fifth player to reach the landmark in men’s ODIs.

Apart from Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene are the other cricketers to reach the milestone.

Tendulkar took 321 innings to get to the mark and Kohli has reached the milestone in 267 innings. Ponting (341) and Sangakkara (363) also took over 300 innings while Jayasuriya reached the mark in 416 innings.

Kohli is also the only batter among the five to average over 50. With 47 ODI hundreds, Kohli is also just two away from equalling Tendulkar’s record tally of ODI tons. (ANI) 

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Sunak India G20

Sunak Calls India Visit For G20 Important

By LokMarg

As the G20 Summit culminates, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calls the visit to India “important” and shared some glimpses of his two-day visit on social media. 

Sharing the video on his social media ‘X’, he stated, “An important trip to India for the G20, delivering for the UK on the world stage.”

In the video message, he highlighted Russian President Putin’s absence in the G20 Summit, and said that “Isolation is the policy that Vladimir Putin has chosen.” 

“Global issues matter. They impact all of us. We saw that during Covid and we have seen the devastating consequences of Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, both on the Ukrainian people and the rise in global energy prices. But we are under no illusion these issues can’t be solved in isolation. Isolation is the policy that Vladimir Putin has chosen, ripping up the Black Sea Grain Deal, which has provided a lifeline for millions,” the message said. 

Along with the videos of his meeting PM Modi, he added that although Putin was not there at the G20 to face the world but we were there to address some of the biggest issues in the world. 

“Putin wasn’t at the G20 to face the world. But we were, working with our allies, our partners from around the world to address some of the biggest challenges that we face. Stabilising the global economy, isolating Putin and strengthening our international relationships. And by doing that, delivering the jobs, growth and security that the British public rightly expect from their Prime Minister,” he added in the video. 

The video shared on his social media also showed the moments of joy he shared with other world leaders. He further shared a glimpse of his meetings held with global leaders. 

Sunak departed on Sunday after attending a successful G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi. 

Sunak who arrived in the national capital on Friday, accompanied by wife Akshata Murty also offered prayers at the BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham temple before paying his respects to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

Earlier on Friday, Sunak had in an interaction with ANI called himself “a proud Hindu” and said he wished to visit the Mandir during his stay in the capital.

During the G20 Summit, the UK PM has called on leaders to work together ahead of the COP28 Summit this December to both reduce their countries’ own carbon emissions and support vulnerable economies to deal with the consequences of climate change.

The UK has led international efforts to help developing countries tackle climate change, including by pledging to spend 11.6 billion pounds on international climate finance between 2021 and 2026.

In a significant announcement, the UK PM also announced a USD 2 billion to the UN-backed Green Climate Fund – the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to help the world tackle climate change. (ANI) 

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