Category: Defence Services (Air,Land,Sea)

* Karnataka’s Kodagu district becomes only place in India to have three Lieutenant Generals serving in Army

Kodagu is a small and beautiful mountain district of Karnataka and is well known in the world for coffee and its ‘brave warriors’, men and women, serving in all services.

It was a proud moment for the people of Kodagu district when Lt Gen CP Cariappa took command of India’s elite 1 Strike Corps at Mathura on Friday. Lt Gen Cariappa became the Corp Commander and the District boasts of rare distinction of three Lieutenant Generals serving the army simultaneously.

Lt Gen PC Thimmaya and Lt Gen CB Ponnappa are the other two generals. Lt Gen Thimmaya is the Army Commander at the Army Training Command and Lt Gen Ponnappa is the Chief of Staff at the Northern Army Command.  All three officers are a product of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and joined the army at different times. Lt Gen Ponappa is the junior-most who joined the Army in June 1985.

** Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant heads out for next round of sea trials

Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant now sails to undertake complex manoeuvres to establish specific readings of how the ship performs in various conditions

The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant has headed out for the next set of sea trials on January 9, shortly after two high-profile visits — that of the President and the Vice-President of India within a span of about two weeks.

** Captain Harpreet Chandi becomes first Indian-Origin woman to reach South Pole solo in 40 days

Harpreet Chandi completed her solo journey to the South Pole on the 40th day after traveling 700 miles. Captain Harpreet Chandi started her preparations in French Alps where she underwent the crevasse training. She also trekked across Langjökull Glacier in Iceland and spent 27 days on the Icecap in Greenland.

** Lt. Gen. Sengupta takes over as Leh-based 14 Corps commander

As India and China attempt to work out dates for the 14th round of Corps Commander level talks, the Army’s Leh-based 14 Corps saw a change of guard on Wednesday as Lt. Gen. Anindya Sengupta took over as the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Fire and Fury Corps, replacing Lt. Gen. P.G.K. Menon, who led the last few rounds of talks from the Indian side.

Lt. Gen. Sengupta was part of the Indian delegation during the 13th round of talks which ended in a stalemate, with both sides exchanging sharp statements on the outcome.

** V.S. Pathania takes over as Coast Guard Director General

V.S. Pathania took over as the 24th Director General (DG) of the Indian Coast Guard on December 31 from Krishnaswamy Natarajan who retired from service.

“The Flag Officer is an alumni of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He is a qualified helicopter pilot and holds a master’s degree in defence & strategic studies from the University of Madras,” the Coast Guard said. “He has also undergone specialisation in search and rescue and port operations with U.S. Coast Guard.”

Mr. Pathania is the recipient of President’s Tatrakshak Medal for Distinguished service, Tatrakshak Medal for gallantry and DG Coast Guard Commendation.

** Amid Ladakh standoff, India inaugurates world’s highest motorable road: 5 points

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday inaugurated 24 bridges and three roads built by Border Roads Organisation to strengthen strategic capabilities of India. Among these projects is the Chisumle-Demchok road at Umling La Pass.

** Assam Rifles havildar who escorted Dalai Lama in India in 1959 dies, laid to rest

 Naren Chandra Das, the retired havildar of Assam Rifles who escorted the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in India in 1959, was laid to rest on Wednesday in Assam’s Lokra where he lived after retiring from the force. He was 83.

** India gives food aid, defence equipment to Mozambique

India handed over two Fast Interceptor Craft (FIC) and other self defence equipment to Mozambique to assist in its capacity building as the Central African nation battles growing terror threats.

Naval ship INS Kesari entered Port of Maputo in Mozambique to deliver 500 tonnes of food aid as well as the defence equipment, under the eight edition of Mission Sagar by the Navy to assist friendly foreign countries in the region.

** Maiden test of Pralay surface-to-surface missile successful

The solid-fuel, battlefield missile developed by the DRDO is based on Prithvi Defence Vehicle from the Indian ballistic missile programme.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Wednesday successfully conducted the maiden flight test of indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile ‘Pralay’, from Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.