Category: Defence Services (Air,Land,Sea)

** Three Indian companies in Top 100 defence manufacturers grew by 1.7%, says report

Global arms sales increased even as the world economy contracted in 2020, according to a report by Swedish think tank Stockholm Institute Peace Research Institute.

Combined arms sales by the three Indian companies in the Top 100 defence manufacturers worldwide grew by 1.7%, according to the latest report by Swedish think tank Stockholm Institute Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which also said that international arms sales increased even as the global economy contracted by 3.1% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. companies accounted for 54% of the Top 100’s total arms sales in 2020 followed by Chinese firms which accounted for 13%.

The three Indian companies in the SIPRI Top 100 for 2020 rankings are Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Ordnance Factory Board and Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL). “Their aggregated arms sales of $6.5 billion were 1.7% higher in 2020 than in 2019 and accounted for 1.2% of the Top 100 total,” according to the report ‘The SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing and military services companies, 2020’ released on Monday.

** Indian Navy unveils world’s largest national flag in Mumbai

Marking the Navy Day 2021, the Indian Navy on Saturday exhibited the world’s largest national flag at the Western Naval Command here, opposite the iconic Gateway of India, an official said.

The Indian Tricolour made of khadi, measures 225 in length and 150 feet wide, weighing a staggering 1.40 tonnes (around 1,400 kg).

It was designed and manufactured by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission as part of the 75th Anniversary of Indian Independence.

** India ranked fourth most powerful country in Asia

 India is the fourth most powerful country in Asia, as per the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2021.

The annual Asia Power Index — launched by the Lowy Institute in 2018 — measures resources and influence to rank the relative power of states in Asia. The project maps out the existing distribution of power as it stands today, and tracks shifts in the balance of power over time.

India is ranked as a middle power in Asia. As the fourth most powerful country in Asia, India again falls short of the major power threshold in 2021. Its overall score declined by two points compared to 2020. India is one of eighteen countries in the region to trend downward in its overall score in 2021, the report said.

The top 10 countries for overall power in the Asia-Pacific region are the US, China, Japan, India, Russia, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, Lowy Institute said.

** Galwan clash: Colonel B.S. Babu posthumously awarded Mahavir Chakra

Four other soldiers, who also laid down their lives valiantly fighting the Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley clash on June 15 last year, have been conferred with Vir Chakra awards posthumously

Colonel Bikumalla Santosh Babu, the commanding officer of the 16 Bihar regiment who led from the front against the brutal Chinese attacks in Galwan Valley in June last year, was on November 23 posthumously awarded Mahavir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind for displaying “exemplary courage” during the clash.

Mahavir Chakra is the second-highest military award for acts of gallantry in the presence of the enemy. Four other soldiers, Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren, Havildar (Gunner) K. Palani, Naik Deepak Singh and Sepoy Gurtej Singh, who also laid down their lives valiantly fighting the Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley clash on June 15 last year, have been conferred with Vir Chakra awards posthumously.

** Rajnath Singh to open revamped Rezang La war memorial

It now includes names of Army personnel who lost their lives in Galwan clash last year

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the revamped war memorial at Rezang La in Eastern Ladakh next week, a defence source said.

The memorial, dedicated to those who laid down their lives in the Battle of Rezang La during the 1962 war, now includes the names of Army personnel who lost their lives in the violent clash at Galwan last year.

** Rajnath Singh inaugurates U.P.’s first private sector defence manufacturing facility

The facility is run by Aerolloy Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of PTC industries

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday inaugurated the first operationalised private sector defence manufacturing facility in the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC) in Lucknow.

A Defence Ministry statement said: “The facility, run by Aerolloy Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of PTC industries, will manufacture parts for aircraft engines, helicopter engines, structural parts for aircrafts, drones and UAV, submarines, Ultra-Light Artillery guns, space launch vehicles and strategy systems.”

** Woman IPS probationer to lead Dikshant Parade for third consecutive year

Dr. Darpan Ahluwalia, a woman IPS probationer borne on Punjab cadre is the sixth woman in the history of the academy to command the parade. 

Last year, Ranjitha Sharma of Rajasthan cadre and Kiran Shruthi D.V. of Tamil Nadu cadre in 2019 led the Dikshant Parades.

Darpan Ahluwalia is the overall topper of Basic Course Phase-I training and bagged Martyr KS Vyas Trophy for Internal Security and Public Order and Field Crafts and Tactics

** Russia starts delivery of S-400 missile systems to India, says Russian official

In October 2018, India had signed a $5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems

Russia has started the delivery of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India, according to a senior Russian official.

Russia’s Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Dmitry Shugaev told Sputnik news that the deliveries are going as planned.

** Watch | Sela Tunnel, world’s longest bi-lane road tunnel

A video on Sela tunnel, the world’s longest bi-lane road tunnel situated near the Indo-China border in Arunachal Pradesh

This is the Sela Tunnel, the longest bi-lane road tunnel in the world. The Sela tunnel is being constructed by the Border Roads Organisation at an altitude of 13,800ft near the Indo-China border.

It is being built on the 317km long Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road which connects West Kameng, East Kameng and Tawang districts of Arunachal Pradesh to the rest of the country.

The Sela tunnel will provide all weather connectivity to Tawang. It will also ensure better movement of troops and weaponry to various locations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

Arunachal Pradesh