Experts Speak
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September 1, 2022
Exercise Vostok-2022
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)An Indian Army contingent comprising of troops from 7/8 Gorkha Rifles is participating in a multilateral strategic and command Exercise Vostok-2022 aimed at interaction and coordination amongst other participating military contingents and observers
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August 29, 2022
What Type of Light Tank Does India Need?
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)There is no denying the need of Light Tank but is there prudence in going for a 25 tonne with similar firepower as T-90 and capable of floatation? It would compromise on protection and other basic fighting features, no matter how much you may load it with Artificial Intelligence (AI), surveillance drones and/or loitering munition.
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August 16, 2022
India Arises @ 75
By Major General Atanu K Pattanaik (Retd)The gains since 1947 have been massive, keeping in mind that we have also evolved as a strong multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, vibrant and resilient democracy
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August 15, 2022
Indo-Maldives Defence & Security Relations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Close contact and coordination between India and Maldives in defence and security is vital for the peace and stability of the entire region in the backdrop of trans-national crime, terrorism and drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean
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August 15, 2022
India's Hypersonic Cruise Missile
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India became the fourth country after the US, China and Russia to develop and test the hypersonic technology. With this successful test, India will be making its first hypersonic missile in the next five years.
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August 15, 2022
Indo-US Military Jointness
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Bilateral military exercises and defence exchanges are an important facet of deepening bilateral defence cooperation between friendly countries
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August 15, 2022
Indigenous Laser Guided ATGM
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)SAMHO, the all-indigenous laser guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) employs a tandem high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead to defeat explosive reactive armour (ERA) protected armoured vehicles in ranges from 1.5 km to 5 km
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August 10, 2022
The Choppy Waters of Taiwan Straits
By Major General Atanu K Pattanaik (Retd)US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's stop in Taipei is the first time that a US House speaker has visited Taiwan in 25 years and has fueled US-China tensions
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August 2, 2022
Chinese Muscle Flexing
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Chinese fighter jets, including J-11, have been flying close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) over past few weeks, in direct violation of the 10-km Confidence Building Measures (CBM) mutually agreed with India
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August 2, 2022
Meeting China's LAC 5G Challenge
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The need for provisioning of telecom connectivity with high-speed internet capability to the Armed Forces must be given high priority including forward deployments along the LAC because of China's aggressive moves and the era of drones and missiles giving little reaction time
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August 2, 2022
Joint Theatre Commands
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is no escaping the military logic of creating suitably constituted Integrated Theatre Commands and Functional Commands for the Armed Forces as a whole
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August 2, 2022
AI Enabled ATV and QRFV
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Collaborative work done in the field of AI is being done by the three Services, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), iDEX start-ups and the private sector
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July 21, 2022
Leaderless Not Rudderless
By Major General Atanu K Pattanaik (Retd)The 'Janatha Aragalaya' or people's struggle that booted out the Rajapakse's does not have a distinct leadership but has exhibited a distinct direction. The Aragalaya has remained to a great extent, a movement launched by a combination of a large number of youth groups which are independent of party politics.
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July 14, 2022
16th Corps Commander-level Talks in Ladakh
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)While our insistence may make China relent for the 16th or more rounds of talks, we are naïve not to acknowledge that there will be no more pull back of troops by China. China holds all the aces, so why would it pull back? In fact, China is using the talks to consolidate its positions in the intrusion areas.
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July 14, 2022
China's 5G Along The LAC
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China has rolled out a 5G network on their side of the LAC in Ladakh, which has created a problem in radio communications of the Indian Armed Forces deployed in the border areas
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July 14, 2022
The Territorial Army
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)TA units were actively involved in military operations in 1962, 1965 and 1971. The Terriers have also participated in Operation 'Pawan' in Sri Lanka, Operation 'Rakshak' in Punjab and J&K, Operation 'Rhino' and Operation 'Bajrang' in the northeast.
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July 14, 2022
High-speed Expendable Aerial Target
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On June 29, 2022, the DRDO successfully tested an indigenously-designed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) named 'Abhyas' from the Integrated Test Range (ITR). Programmed for a completely autonomous flight, Abhyas can be launched by the military anywhere using a laptop.
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July 5, 2022
Indigenous Stealth Drone
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The development of Remotely Piloted Strike Aircraft (RPSA) and its successful induction into the Indian Armed Forces will provide India with considerable air supremacy since the RPSA, with its small size, stealth capabilities...
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July 5, 2022
American and British Somersaults
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In October 2019, the US backed off from a proposal for collaboration on jet engine technology under the India-US Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI). Now the US has again offered to collaborate with India for critical jet engine technology.
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July 5, 2022
Indigenous Loitering Munitions, UAS Drones, ATGM
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)These are all good developments which need quick follow up actions. 25 per cent of the domestic capital procurement budget (amounting to 21,149 crore) has been earmarked for acquisitions from the domestic private industry this year. This needs to be fully utilised with necessary prioritisation.
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July 5, 2022
Indigenous Next Generation Corvettes – and more
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The DAC accorded AoN for procurement of the Next Generation Corvettes (NGCs) to be built at an estimated cost of 36,000 crore by an Indian shipyard and constructed based on new in-house design of the Indian Navy using latest technology of ship building
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June 20, 2022
Defence Minister's Vietnam Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Both India and Vietnam shared views on the significance of maintaining peace, stability, maritime and aviation security, safety and freedom in the East Sea, as well as settling disputes through peaceful measures according to global norms, UNCLOS, and need to reach an efficient Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea
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June 20, 2022
Catch 22 in Talking to Maoists
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Maoists have caught on to the technicality of the Chhattisgarh Home Minister promising 'unconditional' talks and Chief Minister Baghel reiterating that Maoists should first declare allegiance to the Indian Constitution
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June 20, 2022
Chinese Base in Cambodia
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The new secret Chinese military base in Cambodia ought to wake up America's political class, including the US Navy brass, to what is fast becoming a global Chinese challenge
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June 20, 2022
Pakistan Remains in FATF Grey List
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)FATF will now conduct an on-site visit to "check" that the reforms undertaken by Islamabad are "in place" and "can be sustained into the future"
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June 5, 2022
QUAD is Not another NATO
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)QUAD lacks any worthwhile muscular policy and the US will likely continue to sit on the fence and let others do the fighting
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June 5, 2022
Border Infrastructure Management Authority
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Border Infrastructure Management Authority (BIMA) plan is reportedly being prepared for integrated infrastructure development considering that the people living along the LAC be considered as strategic assets
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June 5, 2022
China's Second Bridge on Pangong Tso
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The fact that China is constructing the second bridge simultaneously from both the north and south banks of Pangong Tso indicates the urgency that is being accorded to it by the PLA
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June 5, 2022
India-Japan Defence Collaboration
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Indo-Japanese defence relations have witnessed an upsurge in recent years which includes joint bi-lateral and multi-lateral exercises. The next 2+2 Indo-Japanese Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting is to be held in Japan at the earliest.
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May 26, 2022
Pakistan Support to Taliban Backfires
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a militant group also known as the Pakistani Taliban or the TTP has launched more than 124 terrorist attacks since the Taliban returned to power in Pakistan (including suicide attacks) from bases in Afghanistan
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May 23, 2022
The QUAD – Way Ahead
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)The QUAD must prove that it can be an effective body, both to demonstrate its utility to its own members and to show to the regional community that it is capable of solving regional problems
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May 16, 2022
Boosting Indo-French Strategic Partnership
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence will likely continue as the cornerstone of the India-France Strategic Partnership, which has been further cemented through the recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron
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May 16, 2022
The WMD Birds
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Chinese military and government agencies had been using Dove drones and related devices in recent years. Possibly, these drones are also augmented as assassination weapons with built-in face recognition software, akin to the US. These drones pose a new angle to terrorism and assassinations, especially if launched in swarms.
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May 16, 2022
Offsets and Strategic Partnerships
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The offset clause in Inter-Government Agreements (IGA) was removed pursuant a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) tabled in Parliament, which said several offset contracts built into multiple defence deals had failed to bring in high-end military technology into the country
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May 16, 2022
Spike ATGMs and Sig Sauer Rifles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) have both begun to induct ATGMs. The Army is inducting Spike LR2 launchers and missiles, while the IAF is integrating its Russian-origin Mi-17V5 helicopters with Spike NLOS (nonline of sight) missiles
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May 16, 2022
ATAGS User Trials Completed
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The user trials this summer have just been successfully completed at the Pokhran field firing ranges. Reliability of both the guns was proven by firing multiple rounds in various, including bursts, intense and sustained modes.
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May 16, 2022
Pakistan's Proxy War Continues
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Pakistan's proxy war against India will continue under their new Prime Minister with fresh impetus from Pakistan's DG ISI Lt General Nadeem Anjum. With Pakistan having an inexhaustible supply of terrorists, it is for India to continue in the defensive mode or transport the proxy war into Pakistani territory.
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May 5, 2022
De-conflicting Eastern Ladakh is Passé
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)We may continue military-to-military talks but any progress is unlikely unless China wants and we agree to shift our positions more west by couple of kilometres, calling them no-patrol-zones
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May 5, 2022
Of Lasers and UAVs
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There are good developments but the need is of speed, given the technological developments globally, particularly in China
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May 5, 2022
India-UK Defence Relations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated their commitment to boost the defence and security cooperation under the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and enhance engagements in support of a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific
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May 5, 2022
Drone Making in India
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The government has announced easing of rules for registration and operation of drones in the country, as also the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme worth 120 crore to boost indigenous manufacturing of drones
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May 5, 2022
Toxin Hand of Friendship
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There was speculation about a possible change in stand of the new Sharif-governed Pakistan towards India. However, the fact that he was chosen for the post of Prime Minister by Pakistan's Army Chief General Bajwa, should put an end to speculation what India-Pakistan relations will be under Sharif.
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April 16, 2022
Fourth Indo-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The 2+2 Dialogue was broad based with in-person meetings between the respective Defence Ministers and Foreign Ministers of both countries, preceded by a virtual summit between PM Modi and President Biden
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April 16, 2022
Tour of Duty in Army
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Why would the youth like to join as a soldier under Tour of Duty (ToD) with uncertain future? Have we considered the dangers of youth well versed in the use of firearms let loose in the society? A much thorough analysis is needed for the ToD scheme to be enforced on the Armed Forces.
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April 16, 2022
Canada Mining Gold in Balochistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Nearly $10 billion shall be invested in Balochistan, including $1 billion that shall be invested in social upliftment projects such as roads, schools and hospitals. The Gold and Copper mining project shall make Balochistan the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in Pakistan.
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April 16, 2022
Border Laxity is Dangerous
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The original deadline to complete the entire stretch of around 1,300 km roads to be constructed along the Indo-Nepal border was by 2016 at a cost of 3,900 crore. However, after a lapse of 12 years, only 29 per cent of the roads are completed.
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April 16, 2022
Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Serial Production Cleared
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)This helicopter is equipped with all-weather combat capability to support the ground forces and would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of Indian Air Force & Indian Army
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April 16, 2022
Made in India Advances
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Privatisation is the way for India's defence industry to grow as we have more than enough potential in the private sector
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April 6, 2022
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Launches Spring Offensive
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)TTP's aim is to eventually overthrow the Pakistani government, take control, abrogate the Constitution and impose Sharia Law
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April 6, 2022
Military Satellites
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Currently, India has only two dedicated military satellites - the GSAT-7 (Rukmini) and GSAT-7A (Angry Bird) used by the Indian Navy and Air Force respectively. The GSAT-7B satellite would help the Indian Army enhance its surveillance in border areas.
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April 6, 2022
Boost to India-Maldives Relations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Visit of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is testimony to the importance that India attaches to its close and friendly relations with the Maldives
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April 6, 2022
ISIS Threat to India
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)A recent UN Report raises serious concerns over ISIS's continued attempts to revive itself in its core zone as well as expanding and strengthening its affiliates in several countries of Asia and Africa
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April 6, 2022
Airborne Exercises along Northern Borders
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Amid the heightened tensions with China, along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indian Army conducted airborne exercises to validate rapid response capabilities and seamless integration
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March 21, 2022
Ukraine Crisis Could Trigger Cascading Risks Globally
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)The global spikes in energy and food prices resulting from these supply chain disruptions will see many countries struggle with rising food and energy insecurity as well as increased inequality
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March 16, 2022
Ukraine Conflict is America Contrived
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is no prospect of peace because the US does not want it. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is an American puppet playing proxy to the US, and has no compunctions about the destruction of his country.
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March 16, 2022
Darker Clouds Over Pakistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The resurgence of IS-K in Pakistan is bad news for Pakistan while the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and other outfits are targeting the Pakistani security establishment and their supporters
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March 16, 2022
15th India-China Talks in Ladakh
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During the 15th round of talks, that lasted for around 13 hours, the Indian side pushed China for the resolution of remaining friction points in Ladakh but there was no breakthrough
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March 16, 2022
US Assistance During Aggression
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The manner in which the US propped up Ukraine, forced Russia to invade it and is now only pumping arms and mercenaries into Ukraine has blown the aura of support that the US had built around it
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March 16, 2022
Atmanirbhar in Defence
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)“The biggest lesson is that we have to be ready to fight future wars with indigenous weapons and the steps towards Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence should be taken more urgently” —General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Chief of the Army Staff
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March 14, 2022
Foreign Fighters in Ukraine: A Doomsday Scenario
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)Foreigners are not necessarily good for the very people they seek to defend. It has been amply proven that when foreign fighters deploy, violence against locals goes up.
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March 7, 2022
Sanctions against Russia has wider ramifications
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)Although economic sanctions are widely used, their effectiveness is often debated. For now, Western governments are putting a higher priority on their support for Ukraine but soon they will need to weigh on how much pain they are prepared to inflict on their own people.
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February 28, 2022
Lasers in Defence
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Recent advances in ultra-high-power lasers and laser weapons systems have shown the enormous potential of laser technology to revolutionise 21st century warfare
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February 28, 2022
Chinese Missile Repair Base in Bangladesh
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It is presumed that the maintenance and overhaul facility being set up will double up as a production assembly line of the FM-90 air defence missile system and its advanced variants in future
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February 28, 2022
Pakistani Duping FATF
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Pakistan is currently on the FATF 'Grey List' but needs to be placed on the 'Black List' having duped the FATF all these years; terrorism and terror financing continuing though front organisations and changing names of terror outfits.
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February 28, 2022
China Backstabs Nepal
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In 2020, reports began emerging that China was encroaching into Nepal by removing boundary pillars and constructing buildings despite the Nepal-China border having been ratified since 1960 and boundary pillars constructed all along
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February 25, 2022
Indian Dilemma Over the Russia – Ukraine Crisis
By Lt. General Dushyant Singh (Retd)India has become closer to the US and the West in the recent past but it also enjoys traditionally a good relation with Russia
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February 25, 2022
Europe on the edge: Russia attacks Ukraine
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)On the international political front, Russia is facing condemnation from Western powers over its actions in Ukraine with the European Union vowing to hold Moscow accountable for the military operation
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February 12, 2022
Border Villages and National Security
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Under the Vibrant Village Programme (VVP), villages near the LAC in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal are to be developed. How many and where will they come up, given the aggressive posture of PLA, empowered by China's New Border Law plus road connectivity?
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February 12, 2022
Smarticle Robots - and more
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Smarticle research has the potential to make robots capable of changing their shapes, modalities and functions
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February 12, 2022
Quantum Communications
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Quantum technology is evolving quickly and no doubt will have a significant impact not only on warfare but also in terms of national security. However, experts are still not certain what exactly this impact will be!
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February 12, 2022
Comforting from the Cold
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The government could consider providing onboard heating and ventilation system in Cheetah and Chetak helicopters as well – same as being done for the Light Utility Helicopters (LUH)
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February 2, 2022
Defence Budget Allocation 2022-2023
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Budget 2022-23 has been increased to 5.25 lakh crore for 2022-23 from the previous FY allocation of 4.78 lakh crore with a major push on ensuring self-reliance in manufacturing of military platforms
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February 2, 2022
China's Mechanical Yak and More
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The People's Liberation Army (PLA) may use the Mechanical Yak to bring supplies of munitions and food to plateaus, mountains, deserts and forests where standard vehicles have difficulty crossing
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February 2, 2022
SPARSH – Bane of Vulnerable Segment?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)SPARSH will create unending problems for the pensioners, widows and disabled veterans, and as such, should have been discussed with veterans before commencing its implementation
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February 2, 2022
Learning Ancient Indian Statecraft
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Our ancient texts have universal applicability and drawing the right lessons would help us not only in strengthening our cultural values but also in building credible national security architecture
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February 2, 2022
The Indigenous Rifle Saga
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The foot soldier is generally forgotten in the race of big-ticket weapon systems
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January 29, 2022
Look Beyond Traditional Contact Warfare
By Lt. General Abhay Krishna (Retd)Are we prepared today to foil a cyber-attack on our Railway Network, Banking System or Power Grid? The nature of cyber-attacks is such that it is almost always difficult to pinpoint the source of the attack, giving perpetrating nation-states plausible deniability.
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January 15, 2022
Defence Budget 2022-23
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The crux of a defence budget should be to systematically improve the military's capability to meet future threats in keeping with the changing battlefield environments in the 'shortest possible period'
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January 15, 2022
14th Corps Commander-level Talks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The 14th round India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Chinese side on January 12, 2022 with representatives from the defence and foreign affairs establishments of both sides present at the meeting
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January 15, 2022
Army's Quantum Lab and AI Centre
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Indian Army has recently established a Quantum Laboratory, with supports from the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and an AI Centre at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE), Mhow in Madhya Pradesh to spearhead research and training in these key emerging fields
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January 15, 2022
Pakistan Army Insults Own Uniform
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Pakistani army continue to disown and refuse to take back the bodies of the killed infiltrators identified as Pakistani nationals
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January 15, 2022
The Railgun
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The railgun is a linear motor, typically designed as a weapon which uses electromagnetic force to launch high velocity projectiles that do not contain explosives but rely on the projectile's mass, high speed and kinetic energy to inflict damage
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January 15, 2022
BrahMos Exports Get Going
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Negotiations for BrahMos between India and the Philippines had been going on for the last few years but the obvious roadblock was Manila's budgetary constraints
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January 3, 2022
Taliban Threaten Pakistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Afghan Taliban Intelligence Chief of Eastern Nangarhar province has warned Pakistani soldiers saying, "If you violate the boundary line, be ready for war with us. We love fighting you more than the Jews. We still have a lot of work to do."
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January 3, 2022
Samudrayan and Indigenous AERV
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)First unmanned trial of MATSYA 6000 and the induction of the first set of indigenously developed next-generation Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicle (AERV) will contribute immensely to Atmanirbhar Bharat
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January 3, 2022
Agni-P, Pralay and SMART Tested
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)With the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) massed up along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for possible conflict, India has conducted multiple tests of strategic and tactical strike weapons as a signal to China
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January 3, 2022
MArG 155-BR, ATAGS and Dhanush
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Modernisation plan of the Indian Army to procure indigenous 3,000-3,600 howitzers by 2025-27 as part of the Field Artillery Rationalisation Programme (FARP) has run into problems
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January 3, 2022
Sino-Indian New Year Handshake
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The gesture is supposed to cool down tensions before the 14th round of Corps Commander-level talks in Eastern Ladakh
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December 13, 2021
Indo-Russian Defence Cooperation
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The friendship between India and Russian has stood the test of times and through difficult situations. Both have now signed a programme of cooperation in the field of defence for the next ten years (2021-2031).
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December 13, 2021
Debauch Politicians with Pakistani Souls
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The ilk of Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other separatists know that talks with Pakistan to stop terrorism in J&K are useless because terrorism is the main forte of the Pakistani military and confrontation with India helps them retain their stranglehold over Pakistan
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December 13, 2021
SCO Cyber Security Seminar
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)This was the second time India was hosting such a cyber security seminar and first after it took over the Chair of SCO Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) Council
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December 13, 2021
UGVs for Army
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Indian Army Design Bureau (ADB) had sought tailor-made technology for the Army for inducting tactical UGVs for close quarters surveillance and combat
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December 13, 2021
VL-SRSAM and Pinaka-ER Tested
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The VL-SRSAM, based on Astra Mark-1 air-to-air missile, is a quick reaction surface-to-air missile which has a maximum speed of Mach 4-5 and was conceived for area and point defence to protect naval platforms
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December 2, 2021
Tibetan Recruitment in PLA
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China has launched a compulsory recruitment drive for Tibetans in the Chumbi Valley, between Sikkim and Bhutan and some other areas, so that each Tibetan household has to compulsorily provide one youth for recruitment in the PLA
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December 2, 2021
Weapons by Private Firms
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Home Ministry held discussions with some 17 private companies for manufacture of arms. It is known that a number of Indian private companies are into defence manufacturing.
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December 2, 2021
Exploiting the Kartarpur Corridor
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara, final resting place of Guru Nank Dev, situated on the banks of Ravi River in Pakistan, is 120 kms from Lahore and 3-4 km from the Indo-Pak border, and is most sacred to the Sikhs
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December 2, 2021
Indigenous LCH, Drones and EW Suit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking on the occasion of 'Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv' said, “For a long time, we were a nation that was a weapons and defence equipment buyer. Today the mantra is 'Make in India, Make for the World'.”
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December 2, 2021
Recent Terror Attacks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Both China-Pakistan are arming and supporting multiple terrorist groups in India. China has been supporting and arming insurgents in India both in the northeast and in the Maoists belt. Pakistan has been trying to destabilise Punjab for past several years.
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November 14, 2021
Boosting Army's Air Defence Capability
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has lauded the joint efforts of multiple agencies in developing, what he termed, one of the best state-of-the-art missile systems in the world that will prove to be a game changer in the air defence capabilities of Indian armed forces
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November 14, 2021
Agni V and LRB Tested
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Agni-V marks, through its use of a canister-launched missile, a shift in India's missile deployment approach as the warheads for such missiles would have to be mated before the missile is sealed into its canister. This would indicate that India would be keeping a proportion of its nuclear missiles in fully operational configuration.
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November 14, 2021
Is China Readying for a Limited War?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China is hardening its force posture including in Eastern Ladakh; demonstrated by the series of operational and tactical measures it is continuing to take. This is hardly to only intimidate India.
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November 2, 2021
China-Turkey Arming Pakistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)A China-Pakistan-Turkey triad will be adverse for India both in the conventional and sub-conventional spheres, given that China-Pakistan and Turkey-Pakistan have already been collaborating at the sub-conventional level.
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November 2, 2021
China's Nuclear FOBS
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to reports, China undertook not one but two FOBS tests this summer. The FOBS has implications for nations in China's crosshairs particularly for Taiwan since there is no defence against such a weapon presently.
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November 2, 2021
China's Anti-Stealth Radar
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The radar was touted to be revolutionary technology which is a significant addition to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) anti-stealth capabilities and is seen as a major challenge for America's highly advanced F-35 and F-22 fighter jets
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November 2, 2021
New Army Aviation Brigade
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The function of the new army aviation brigade is largely for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) activities but it can support the Army for other tasks...
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November 2, 2021
All Weather Road to Tawang
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Under construction at an altitude of 13,500 feet with latest Austrian technology and outlay of over 7,000 crore the Sela Tunnel is an engineering marvel.
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October 16, 2021
Minority Killings in Kashmir Valley
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It may appear that the above minority killings in the Valley are in response to signs of normalisation returning and hindering government plans to return Kashmiri Pandits to J&K
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October 16, 2021
13th India-China Military Talks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During the meeting, the Indian side made constructive suggestions for resolving the remaining areas but the Chinese side was not agreeable and also could not provide any forward-looking proposals. The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas.
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October 6, 2021
Rocket Force and Theatre Commands
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)A committee was constituted that includes Vice Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff and representatives of other ministries and departments, to resolve internal differences of Armed Forces, consult external stake holders like the MHA and MoF and look into the structure, composition, nomenclature and reporting channels of the proposed tri-Service commands
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October 6, 2021
Simulators for Armed Forces
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The policy document lays emphasis on indigenous design and development as well as outsourcing of operation and maintenance of simulators to the Indian companies
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October 6, 2021
Prime Minister Modi Meets Global CEOs
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The excellent initiative taken by the Prime Minister in meeting with the CEOs of global firms will help improve the technological prowess of India, improve the economy, contribute towards Atmanirbhar Bharat and open up more employment opportunities
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October 6, 2021
More Arjun Main Battle Tanks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Infused with 72 new features and more indigenous content from the earlier variant, the Arjun Mk-1A is expected to provide effortless mobility in all terrains, besides precise target engagement during day and night
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September 16, 2021
India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Both India and Australia agreed to work jointly to realise full potential of the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).
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September 16, 2021
Forces Arming for Drone Warfare
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)All the three services of the Indian Armed Forces are moving ahead speedily for the acquisition of Drones and Anti-Drone technologies, mostly indigenous systems that are developed by Indian companies
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September 16, 2021
Afghanistan - Terror Renaissance
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Taliban's interim government includes some 14 UN-designated terrorists. Out of the 98 US-designated terrorist organisations globally, 20 are located in Afghanistan-Pakistan region - 13 in Afghanistan and seven in Pakistan.
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September 6, 2021
Decoding the Taliban Puzzle
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is ample proof of Pakistani regulars and Mujahids fighting alongside Taliban in covert mode, with Pakistani officers even leading Taliban columns. The Taliban were raised in Peshawar, not in Kandahar as believed.
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September 6, 2021
Coming - 70,000 AK-203 Rifles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The contract for these 70,000 was signed between the MoD and Russian representatives, in the presence of officials from Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Ltd. These rifles are expected to begin arriving in the country from November this year.
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September 6, 2021
China's Kabul Diplomacy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan lost no time in opening diplomatic dialogue with the Taliban, indirectly signaling China's recognition of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan
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September 6, 2021
Light Drone Interceptor
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The terrorist threat to India has gone up with the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan. The possibility of terrorists using drones has certainly gone up, as is the possibility of CBRN attacks.
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August 21, 2021
Geopolitical Shifts Could Unfold Post T-Afghanistan
By Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha (Retd)China is entering this space created by the withdrawal of US troops. It will like to swiftly maneuver in order to gain significant advantage towards solidifying its continental strategy driven by BRI.
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August 19, 2021
Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)Although Pakistan plays a major role in Afghanistan in practically all segments, yet Afghanistan would not like to be seen as a mere crony of Pakistan.
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August 15, 2021
Army's Contribution in Olympics
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Army has always contributed sportsmen at national and international sports events. For the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, 12 Indian Army personnel formed part of the Indian contingent.
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August 15, 2021
Seventh War Olympics
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The competition fosters military to military cooperation while building upon the best practices of participating nations.
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August 15, 2021
US Superpower Image Cracks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)With the pull-out from Afghanistan, the superpower image of the US has taken a severe hit and that too at a time when Washington may have to deal with China and Russia collectively
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August 15, 2021
K9 Vajra Mountain Trials Successful
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to sources in the defence and security establishment, trials of 3 x K9 Vajra which were sent to Ladakh earlier this year have been successful and because it is tracked, the movement in the mountains becomes easier so the system can be deployed strategically.
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August 6, 2021
Xi Jinping in Occupied Tibet
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During Xi's visit to Lhasa, public movement was restriced, work in factories and sites was halted and flying of kites and drones prohibited
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August 6, 2021
Coming - MQ-9 Reapers and Armed Herons
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Once cleared by the DAC, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) will need to give its final approval before procurement of the Predator-B armed drones can move forward
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August 6, 2021
China Breaching Indian Security
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Indian companies are aiding China breach security at various levels in India by supplying fake and cheap spare parts and sub-standard quality Chinese surveillance devices for use in our military equipment and defence establishments
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August 6, 2021
Clipping Wings of OFB Worker Unions
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Essential Defence Services Bill-2021 effectively rules out future strikes by workers' federation of OFB unless they want to defy the bill by going on strike and challenge the government to collectively dismiss them
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July 22, 2021
Success of MPATGM: Huge boost to indigenisation
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)The timing of the success is even more significant as it has happened at a time when the border stand-off with China still continues
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July 19, 2021
The Disengagement Quagmire
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)After Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to complete disengagement in September 2020, China has continued to dither disengaging from Gogra, Hot Springs and Depsang
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July 19, 2021
Procuring Kamov Helicopters
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Armed Forces urgently need 498 light utility helicopters to replace their obsolete single-engine Cheetah/Chetak fleets, which have been dogged by a high crash rate and serviceability problems.
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July 19, 2021
The Drone Challenge
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Drone Rules, 2021 will lead to an explosion of drone use in India. The number of unregulated but active over 6,00,000 drones in India could jump to 10-20 times that number of drones, regulated through self-certification.
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July 19, 2021
The Taliban Game Plan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Taliban want to establish an Islamic Emirate ruled by Taliban rule and with Sharia imposed throughout Afghanistan. The peace talks are more of a game for Taliban concurrent to their offensive.
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July 17, 2021
Air Defence Gun Systems - Light at the end of the Barrel
By Lt. General Naresh Chand (Retd)The projected requirement would be a minimum of 1000 guns in a phased manner and it is obvious that 6000 crores is not enough. More funds will be allotted depending on the success of the project.
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July 6, 2021
Jammu Drone Attack is Wakeup Call
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Drone threat is not merely cross-border but equally potent from the hinterland. Therefore, merely deploying drone defence dome systems along the borders will not be enough.
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July 6, 2021
Russia Sprut Tanks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During the visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Russia in September 2020, Russia offered the Sprut SDM1 light tanks in response to Rajnath mentioning that India was looking for light tanks. Now Russia has responded to the RFI with the same offer.
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July 6, 2021
Beyond the Decision to Corporatise OFB
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Government has approved restructuring of the OFB and the 41 OFs into seven Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) but their accountability, efficiency and competitiveness will improve only with privatisation
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July 6, 2021
Defence Cyber Command
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Indian Government is planning to set up a 'proper' Cyber Command in the hinterland of Madhya Pradesh for providing a fighting edge to the proposed Theatre Commands
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July 6, 2021
Child Soldiers of Pakistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)US has added Pakistan in the list of countries under Child Soldier Prevention Act (CSPA) which prohibits the issuance of licenses for direct commercial sales of military equipment to such governments
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July 6, 2021
Agni Prime Successfully Tested
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Agni Prime is part of a much larger arsenal that India wants to deploy in the Indo-Pacific region to effectively deter China in the maritime domain
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July 2, 2021
Drone Attack: Are We Prepared Enough?
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)While the discussion around the use of armed drones is not new, not only do these concerns remain unresolved but, with drone warfare continuing to expand and evolve, new layers are being added to the controversies posed by the use of armed drones
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June 22, 2021
The Taliban Factor
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India has lagged in establishing contacts with the Afghan Taliban despite writing on the wall over the past several years that they will likely come to power in Kabul after the exit of US troops from Afghanistan or have a major say in governance
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June 22, 2021
Second Negative Import List
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)An all around growth of our defence industry is required, not through the DRDO-OFB-DPSUs alone with role of private defence industry and MSMEs relegated to being subcontracted to the governmental defence industrial complex
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June 22, 2021
Border Infrastructure
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Chinese aggression in 2020 has woken up India to its strategic inadequacies including in border infrastructure
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June 22, 2021
FRCV to The Fore
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In conformity with the emerging future threat spectrum and the technological advancements, the Indian Army intends to induct a new state-of-the-art and technology-enabled tank
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June 19, 2021
Pearl in the String
By Lt. General Naresh Chand (Retd)Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier had some misgivings on the economic viability of CPEC and that it represents a debt trap but on May 24, 2021, he met China's Ambassador to Pakistan and reiterated the highest priority accorded by his government to the CPEC
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June 17, 2021
Integrated approach to Air Defence in India
By Lt. General A.P. SinghThe AD architecture world over, throws up three types of integration i.e., geographical integration, resources/assets integration and the functional integration.
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June 11, 2021
FRCV - Aimed to Shock and Awe
By Lt. General Naresh Chand (Retd)The RFI states that the Indian Army requires state-of-the-art Main Battle Tank namely Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) to replace the existing tank fleet.
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June 11, 2021
Army Triggers Atmanirbhar
By Lt. General Naresh Chand (Retd)The Indian Army, to boost self reliance, has set up its own Army Design Bureau (ADB) for indigenous procurements and reduce import dependence
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June 6, 2021
Another Chinese Conquest in Colombo
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China getting 220 acres on 99 years lease and 49 acres free-hold in Colombo Port City is a massive strategic victory for Beijing
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June 6, 2021
The Offset Googly
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Offset clause in Inter-Government Agreements (IGA) under the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP 2020) was removed and a new category for leasing military equipment introduced.
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June 6, 2021
Bhutan's Summer of 2021
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Over the years China has occupied a large swath of territory in Western Bhutan through salami slicing
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June 6, 2021
Counter Maoist Operations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Maharashtra Police had undergone training at the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare (CTJW) College at Kanker in Chhattisgarh between 2008 and 2011, after which they established their own training establishment near Nagpur employing a veteran army officer for initial few years
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June 6, 2021
New Runway in Mauritius
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India is fully financing a new three kilometre long runway on the island of North Agalega to develop the Agaléga islands and resolve infrastructural problems faced by the inhabitants
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June 2, 2021
Unite to Fight Corona Delta and Pernicious Forces
By Lt. General Dushyant Singh (Retd)Investigations on the CORONA being a bio warfare are already on and the circumstantial evidence points too strongly towards China. Hope India was not a victim of bio warfare as efforts to bring down India...
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May 20, 2021
American Sunset in Afghanistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The US war in Afghanistan is the longest in which some 2,312 US military personnel have died since their invasion in 2001
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May 20, 2021
Military Officers As Bureaucrats
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Appointment of serving military officers as Additional Secretary and Joint Secretaries in the DMA is not a big deal as is being made out
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May 20, 2021
2-DG Drug Helping COVID-19 Patients
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)DRDO affiliated Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) worked in partnership with Dr Reddy's Laboratories for the clinical trials showing it to be effective in controlling the pandemic
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May 20, 2021
Plugging Armed Forces Criticalities
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Armed Forces are looking at leasing more military equipment and platforms from foreign countries to plug critical operational deficiencies
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May 20, 2021
India-UK Defence Cooperation
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Modi-Johnson virtual meet and adoption of the India-UK Roadmap to 2030 have opened new vistas for taking the bilateral defence relationship to the next level
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May 14, 2021
Army needs Light Tanks
By Lt. General Naresh Chand (Retd)The main gun of the Light Tanks should have advance multipurpose 'Smart Munitions' and be able to fire tube launched anti-tank guided missile with the capability to defeat tanks and soft skinned vehicles.
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May 14, 2021
Update on China's intrusion in Ladakh
By Lt. General Naresh Chand (Retd)Chinese side made several attempts to cross the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in other parts of the Western Sector which included Kongka La, Gogra and North Bank of Pangong Lake.
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May 6, 2021
Did Beijing Trigger Second Virus Wave?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Within India, Delhi (the national capital), Mumbai (the financial capital) and Bengaluru (the IT capital) are most affected. This creates the impression that akin to 'tactical nukes' China has developed 'tactical bio-bombs'
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May 6, 2021
China Deploys Long Range MLRS
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The MLRS will enable the PLA to strike deeper across the LAC especially with China having extended its map grids into India that will enable acquiring targets on the Indian side
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May 6, 2021
Light Tanks for Indian Army
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The new RFI issued by the Indian Army calls for a light tank featuring a multiple, modular and upgradable weapon system with the capability to destroy and offer countermeasures
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April 20, 2021
Major Maoist Strike - no lessons learned
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Another tragedy in counter-Maoist operations indicates that lives of the jawans is cheap and the hierarchy, both political and the police force, remain lackadaisical
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April 20, 2021
11th India-China Military Talks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Unlike the last few rounds of talks, there was no India-China joint statement. This is maybe because China is not for anymore disengagement.
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April 20, 2021
India in China's Cyber Crosshairs
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has recently stated that China is capable of launching cyber attacks on large amount of Indian systems
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April 20, 2021
India-Kyrgyz Republic Special Forces Exercise
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Both countries have signed several framework agreements, including on culture, trade and economic cooperation. Joint Special Forces Exercise 'Khanjar' has now become an annual affair.
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April 6, 2021
US Secretary of Defence visit to India
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Austin said elevating the India-US defence relationship is a priority for the Biden administration while describing the partnership as a stronghold of a free and open Indo-Pacific region
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April 6, 2021
HPM Armed Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The counter-drone arms race is leading to advance research and development to implement technologies that will detect and defeat swarms
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April 6, 2021
Mine-Proof FICV and High Altitude Vehicles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In mid-2017, US offered US-India-Israel trilateral production of FICV under the India-US Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) but little has happened over past so many years
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April 6, 2021
Light Specialist Vehicles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)These LSVs are capable of performing in extreme terrain, with maneuverability, high speed and stability, has the provision to mount a rocket launcher and machine guns, and can be airlifted and dropped into enemy territory, for use as an advance fast strike vehicle
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April 6, 2021
Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook's India Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence and security relations between India and Republic of Korea have been on the rise with regular interactions at multiple levels including at ministerial levels
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March 19, 2021
First Quad Leaders Summit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The first ever Quad Leaders Summit did give a new signal to China. But the question is whether the Quad will force China to back off?
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March 19, 2021
Rohingyas in Jammu
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Nationality verification for them is being done and on this basis the procedure for deportation will be initiated. However, India has no extradition treaty with Myanmar. The problem of Rohingyas in Jammu is far more serious as it also endangers security.
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March 19, 2021
Beijing's Venom in Myanmar
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China's economic investments, military exports and sub-conventional hold over Myanmar ensures that whatever happens in Myanmar is orchestrated from Beijing
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March 15, 2021
QUAD 3.0: Window of Opportunity for India
By Lt. General Dushyant Singh (Retd)In the First QUAD Summit, held on March 12, 2021 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japan PM Yoshihide Suga and Australian PM Scott Morrison met through virtual mode and shared their vision for the free and open Indo-Pacific
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March 8, 2021
The China-Pakistan Threat
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In an article published in Pakistani Media, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi explained that China will continue to work with Pakistan to strengthen their iron friendship and that relations between the countries have become a strategic asset that both sides cherish
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March 8, 2021
Beyond 10th India-China Military Talks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Having achieved its aim of India vacating strategic heights south of Pangong Tso, according to reports, China is now reluctant to discuss further disengagement, leaving out Gogra, Hot Springs and Depsang.
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March 8, 2021
The Lacuna in FATF Blacklisting
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Despite Pakistan being the epicenter of terror generation and its record of nuclear proliferation, it has continued to escape the FATF 'Black List'
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March 8, 2021
Boosting India-Maldives Security Relations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Government of Maldives has signed a pact with India for enhancing the capability of the MNDF and Maldivian Coast Guard
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February 19, 2021
Pakistan's SFJ and Canada Connect
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)SFJ's websites being managed from Karachi with assistance from Pakistan's ISI and Pakistani army veterans linked to the Khalistanis in Canada are proof of Pakistan's ongoing support to Sikh separatists
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February 19, 2021
Pullback From Pangong Tso
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Agreeing to vacate positions that are dominating PLA's Moldo Garrison in South Bank of Pangong Tso is a strategic blunder. It is a masterstroke for China in having us vacate these heights even before discussing any disengagement at Depsang.
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February 19, 2021
Midflight Missile Interception
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is no doubt that midflight missile interception technology is of great strategic significance and once fully developed, China's midcourse anti-ballistic missile technology could change the balance of power
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February 19, 2021
Growing Defence Exports
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)With an aim to increase the current defence exports to $5 billion by 2025, Indian government has drawn an export list covering 85 kinds of equipment encompassing 125 items and 47 sub-systems to boost the defence exports
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February 11, 2021
Disengagement in Ladakh: A Welcome Development
By Lt. General Dushyant Singh (Retd)Chinese side agreeing to the unconditional disengagement may be attributed to the steadfast and unblinking approach of the Indian Armed Forces and the whole hearted support by Government of India to them
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February 9, 2021
COVID Speed Breaker of Defence Expectations
By Lt. General Dushyant Singh (Retd)Despite India being at No 3 spot globally with only USA and China ahead of it in defence spending, the gap is huge with China. Chinese expenditure was four times that of India. This is likely to convey an impression of weakness to our primary adversary China in the face of recent happenings in Ladakh.
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February 9, 2021
Defence Allocation 2021
By Major General Yash Mor (Retd)India spends one of the lowest on defence among the top six economies of the world as a percent of the GDP. At a time when the nation is faced with a war like situation with China in the northern borders, it was expected that the defence spending will get a boost.
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February 1, 2021
Defence Budget for FY 2021-2022
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The defence budget for 2021-22 is still less than 2 percent of the Union budget. There were expectations of larger funds to prepare the Armed Forces for a possible conflict with China and a two-front war.
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February 1, 2021
Chinese Village in Arunachal Pradesh
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Chinese intentions of setting up border villages are quite obvious. Not only do these villages help substantiate China's illegal territorial claims, these dwellings house PLA personnel and intelligence operatives mixed with local population.
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February 1, 2021
Ninth India-China Senior Military Commanders Talks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China appears to be 'humouring' India by continuing these series of talks while going on consolidating their deployments in Eastern Ladakh and bringing forward more weapon systems
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February 1, 2021
Army Focuses on Tibetology
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India needs to seriously review its policy towards Tibet especially because China's stand will harden more. Much benefit can accrue from understanding Tibetology as it will help understand how China is expanding cross-border influence.
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February 1, 2021
Blast next to Israel Embassy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In light of the importance of the 29th anniversary of India-Israel diplomatic relations, intelligence agencies had issued an alert about a possible terrorist attack on Jews and Israelis from elements linked to the Islamic State
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January 20, 2021
America's Indo-Pacific Plan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Three documents released in Washington DC during January 2021 are notable. One is the fact sheet covering activity of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, which leaves little doubt about China's deceit and disinformation about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic that has already resulted some two million killed globally and over 10 million infected.
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January 20, 2021
Defence Budget 2021-2022
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Union Budget for FY2021-2022 on February 1. There are varied suggestions and expectations.
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January 20, 2021
Indigenous Tactical Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Chinese aggression in 2020 has spurred the government to equip the Army with tactical drones. News reports of July 22, 2020 had revealed that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was providing indigenously...
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January 20, 2021
Pakistani Subterfuge for FATF
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Ahead of the next plenary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) scheduled from February 21-26, 2021 in Paris, which may be held virtually, Pakistan is engaged in playing the usual ruse by taking face saving measures against designated terrorist...
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January 20, 2021
First Indigenous Machine Pistol
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India has developed its first indigenous 9 mm Machine Pistol – 'ASMI'. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) released a statement on January 14, 2021 stating, "Infantry School, Mhow and DRDO's Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE)...
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January 7, 2021
America's Tibet Policy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)A new landmark was established in US-China relations when US President Donald Trump signed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA) 2020 on December 28, 2020 making it a law. Earlier the TPSA was passed by the US Senate.
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January 7, 2021
Army Chief Visits South Korea
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Army Chief General M.M. Naravane made a four day visit to the Republic of Korea commencing December 28, 2020. He met South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook and other senior military officials and discussed ways to boost cooperation between the two sides.
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January 7, 2021
Indigenising Smerch / Tornado Would Be Good
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Among the numerous advances in artillery, rockets and missiles in India and abroad, the basic aim is to develop capacity to hit the enemy at the farthest distance.
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January 7, 2021
Growing Discontent in Pakistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The recent killing of 11 Hazara Shiite miners in Balochistan for which the Islamic State has claimed responsibility is just one of the hundreds of incidents of ethnic strife in Pakistan.
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December 20, 2020
Army Chief Visits Gulf Countries
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The recent six-day visit of General M.M. Naravane to the UAE and Saudi Arabia beginning December 9, 2020, was a landmark in further boosting India's relations with these two countries.
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December 20, 2020
Indigenous Carbines
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Indian Army's quest for a close quarter battle (CQB) carbine stretching over some 15 years may possibly fructify in another 3-4 years even though fast track procurement (FTP) to buy 93,895 such carbines from UAE-based firm Caracal...
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December 20, 2020
PLA's Human Deficit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Don't underestimate the enemy is an old saying which is synonymous to give the devil his due. But if the mask that President Xi Jinping hides his emotions, his shock at what has happened in Eastern Ladakh is apparent, notwithstanding the devil inside him and the ruthlessness he displays.
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December 20, 2020
SMASH 2000 Plus for Navy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh in his annual press briefing on the eve of Navy Day in December 2020 has said that the Navy is procuring SMASH 2000 Plus as anti-drone equipment to protect against attacking drones.
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December 20, 2020
Specter of CAATSA over S-400
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The 'Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act' (CAATSA) is a US federal law that was passed in the US Senate on July 27, 2017. Under CAATSA, the US imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia.
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December 17, 2020
Has China finally lost the plot with India
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)It has been eight months since the stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Eastern Ladakh region was first reported. The escalation of violence by China resulting in 20 Indian soldiers being martyred enraged the entire nation asking for blood.
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December 10, 2020
China Sends Warplanes to Pakistan For Exercise: Should India be worried?
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)The first such drill was held in Pakistan in March 2011. The Chinese Defence ministry did not reveal the number or type of the aircraft participating this time...
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December 7, 2020
India's Message to SCO
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on November 30 chaired the 19th Session of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government held in virtual mode.
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December 7, 2020
BrahMos – Time to Go Global
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)BrahMos missile is one of its own kind supersonic missile having a maximum speed of 2.8 Mach (around 3,450 kmph or 2,148 mph) which is difficult to intercept by surface-to-air missiles including because of its immense ability to evade various radars.
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December 7, 2020
China-Pak Up Hybrid War
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China and Pakistan are making every possible effort to up their collusive hybrid war on India. Media reports of November 24 reveal that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has unearthed a 1,000 crore hawala ring run by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) in India.
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December 7, 2020
Snubs and Hug for Wei Fenghe
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe received mixed responses during his recent visit to Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan during November 2020.
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December 7, 2020
Indigenous QRSAM – Induction 2021
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The indigenous Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is slated go for production in 2021 after completing user trials over the next six months.
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November 23, 2020
SPRUT SDM1: The Last Thing Indian Army Needs
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)No other country in any part of the world has evinced any interest in the same so far for numerous reasons including major shortcomings like limited armour protection, accuracy and subsequent maintenance and sustenance.
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November 20, 2020
The Depsang Tangle
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy created quite a flutter on Twitter with his tweet on November 15 that read: "I asked a national security officer how could the Chinese PLA build such an extensive infrastructure in such short period in Depsang.
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November 20, 2020
Iran's Counter to Pakistani Terror
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Akin to India and Afghanistan, Iran too has been victim of Pakistan's cross-border terrorism. For Iran, the situation has been aggravated because of institutionalised killings of Shia Muslims in Pakistan, as also in Afghanistan through Pakistan-backed Taliban, Haqqanis and the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP).
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November 20, 2020
EOS-01 Military Satellite Orbiting
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On November 7, 2020, military satellite EOS-01 was launched into space from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota along with nine international customer satellites. These satellites were carried on board India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in its fifty first flight - PSLV-C49.
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November 20, 2020
Extended Range and Guided Pinakas
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)One positive consequence from the Chinese aggression in Ladakh is it has shaken up the governmental defence-industrial complex out of slumber, perhaps on receiving a jibe from the government.
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November 20, 2020
Beyond the ASAT Capability
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Mission 'Shakti' executed on March 27, 2019, successfully shooting down a low-earth satellite, demonstrated India's anti-satellite (ASAT) capabilities. This enabled India to join the elite club of countries having similar capabilities; the US, Russia and China.
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November 20, 2020
China's ULFA Gambit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The recent surrender by Drishti Rajkhowa alias Drishti Asom, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of banned insurgent organisation, ULFA (I) with his four bodyguards to the Army on November 12, 2020 at Rangiya in Assam made headlines.
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November 7, 2020
Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue – New Chapter?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The third India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held last month in New Delhi between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar of India with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark T. Esper...
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November 7, 2020
Defence against Swarm Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Islamic State used multiple drones on many occasions against the US and Iraqi forces engaged in retaking territory seized by them in Iraq. On January 5, 2018, 13 x GPS guided drones launched more than 50 km away attacked the Russian Air and Naval Bases at Khemmiem and Tartus in West Syria respectively.
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November 7, 2020
Army Chief's Nepal Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Indian Army Chief, General Manoj Mukund Naravane, accompanied with his wife Veena Naravane, recently made a three-day visit to Nepal beginning November 04. Nepal had not cleared General Naravane's visit on February 03, 2020 reason for which was later cited as COVID-19 but the pandemic had not struck India and Nepal then.
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November 7, 2020
China's Pullback Googly
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)While talks with China are continuing to ease the standoff in Eastern Ladakh, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is consolidating along the entire length of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
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November 7, 2020
Advances in Exoskeleton Army Gear
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of September 2019 stated that the Defence Bioengineering and Electro-medical Laboratory (DEBEL) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been collating data for Simulation and Analysis of Musco-skeletal parts, like lower limb simulation (while the soldier is standing), etc.
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November 7, 2020
Soft Tentacles of Terror
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Propaganda and disinformation to destabilise a region/country form essential components of hybrid warfare. These generate public support, without which terrorists would not survive.
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October 20, 2020
Beijing's Continued Logjam
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Seventh Corps Commander level India-China talks at Chushul on October 12 remained largely inconclusive as expected. The joint statement as reported in Chinese media had similar diplomatic scripts as earlier saying...
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October 20, 2020
Small Arms for Infantry
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Equipping Army's infantry soldiers with modern small arms has always been a problem. The usual reference is to 70 years of neglect but it is conveniently forgotten that the common factor is the bureaucracy which continues to play its own games irrespective of which government is in power.
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October 20, 2020
Pakistan Stoking Khalistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The reason why China and Pakistan are bed fellows is because both share the DNA of Satan. China has incarcerated a million Uighur Muslims in Auschwitz-like concentration camps, demolished hundreds of mosques building toilets...
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October 20, 2020
US Focus on Tibet
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China's biological bombing of the world, abrasive all round aggression in line with President Xi Jinping's moves to dominate the world and growing US-China friction has led to America appointing an envoy for Tibet.
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October 20, 2020
The Missile Punch
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a signal to China, India conducted a slew of missile tests recently. These included the 400-km extended range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, the Shaurya hypersonic missile, a low skimming subsonic Nirbhay cruise missile, SMART long range torpedoes, and RUDRAM anti-radiation missile.
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October 1, 2020
Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Rajnath Singh released Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 on September 28, 2020 which is an improvement on the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016.
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October 1, 2020
Boosting Combat Drones Capability
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As China remains hostile with its state media saying China does not recognise the Union Territory of Ladakh, established "illegally" by India, India is going in for boosting its combat drones capabilities.
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October 1, 2020
Ageing Helicopters
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Adverse affects of decades of neglect of defence and negative defence budgets in actual terms under various governments are coming to fore, faced with the Chinese aggression.
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October 1, 2020
ATAGS Mishap
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As part of the 'Make in India' initiative and indigenisation, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has designed and developed the 155mm/52mm calibre Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) project in conjunction with Kalyani Group, Tata Power and OFB to replace older guns.
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September 19, 2020
Gearing Up For Star Wars
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Recent news from the defence technology battlefront indicates that the Defence Research and Development Organisation is planning to provide combat capabilities to Armed Forces for fighting star wars type conflicts.
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September 19, 2020
Fresh Chinese Moves in Ladakh
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The number of PLA battalions deployed in Ladakh has gone up from 35 in August to 50 in September. Tensions are high as opposing troops are eyeball to eyeball in certain locations and there have been incidents of shots being fired in the air.
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September 19, 2020
Hypersonic Prowess
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Hypersonic technology that makes platforms travel beyond the speed of sound is revolutionising warfare. Hypersonic vehicles propelled by air-breathing propulsion systems, in addition to the scramjet missile currently under development...
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September 19, 2020
Carbines and AD Gun Missiles System
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Despite the ongoing fierce stand-off with China at the LAC, Defence Ministry cancels tenders for carbines and air defence systems for the Indian Army which will now be procured locally as the focus is on Atmanirbhar Bharat.
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September 19, 2020
Corporatisation of Ordnance Factories
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Union Government on September 11 has set up an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
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September 5, 2020
Defence Minister at SCO Meet
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Rajnath Singh left for a three-day visit to Russia on September 2 for attending the defence ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
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September 5, 2020
2020 India-US 2+2 Dialogue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The 2020 India-US 2+2 formal dialogue between foreign and defence ministries is likely to take place later this month after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is back from Russia after attending the SCO foreign ministers meet on September 10.
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September 5, 2020
Checkmating PLA at Pangong Tso
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Daddy Dragon Xi Jinping, Chinese President is hopping mad with his tail afire. Fresh attempts by PLA in Pangong Tso area have failed and it is clear that the PLA definitely suffered more killed than Indians in the Galwan clash on the night of June 15-16.
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September 5, 2020
Atal Tunnel across Rohtang and More
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Over the next few weeks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the nine kilometer long Atal Tunnel. Named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a tribute to him on his 95th birth anniversary...
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September 5, 2020
Indigenous Truck Mounted Gun System (MGS)
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Indian Army needs some 4,500 howitzer guns for defending the country against China and Pakistan. First attempts of indigenisation by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) began in 2004 for upgrading the barrel of the original Bofors gun from 155x39mm caliber to 155x45mm but the attempt could not materialise at that time.
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September 5, 2020
Super Swarm Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It was reported in these columns that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has provided 'Bharat' surveillance drones' produces by the Chandigarh-based Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) to the troops engaged in a standoff with China in Eastern Ladakh.
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September 2, 2020
The Inevitable Clash
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)Don't try to please a bully, it will only make him bolder! The Chinese Dragon continues to dance along the LAC turning belligerent militarily and trying to slice off parts of Indian territory with its "Salami Slicing" tactics. India needs to gain insight into the adversary's mind to counter it and evolve sound pre-emptive policies.
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August 24, 2020
Aatmanirbhar Reset 2.0
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a clarion call to use these trying times to become Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant). Defence Manufacturing in India has huge potential and can bring a transformative change, but is the industry ready to rise up to challenges and uncover the opportunities therein.
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August 20, 2020
Modi-Abe Summit Coming Up
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The India-Japan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe which got postponed last year is scheduled for early next month, the tentative date for which according to sources is September 10.
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August 20, 2020
Riyadh Delivers a Kick to Pakistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Behind Pakistan's obsession with Kashmir is the Pakistani army's aim to continue ruling the country indirectly and stay in power, raking in millions in the process. The civilian governments are puppets of the army.
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August 20, 2020
The Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) Threat
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On August 1, 2020, a post on Twitter appeared purportedly from Global Times of China quoting Qien Huayo source that read, "Chinese Helicopter shot down by unknown Indian EMP burst, 7 killed". It is not known if the tweet was genuine or fake but it was deleted after a short time.
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August 20, 2020
India's Infrastructure Push in Maldives
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Located about 600 km off the southwest coast of India and 750 km southwest of Sri Lanka, Maldives consists of a double chain of 26 atolls spread over 90,000 sq km of territory.
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August 7, 2020
Disengagement or Deceit Again
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)Throughout their history, China has had brutal conflicts with their neighbours and time and again it has been proven that they cannot be trusted.
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August 7, 2020
China-Pakistan Collusive Threat
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of July 22 cited Defence Minister Rajnath Singh having asked the Armed Forces to be prepared to respond at short notice as also build and sustain military capabilities to deter any adversary in the long run.
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August 7, 2020
China's Sakteng Googly
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In Beijing's characteristic rotten style, the Chineses representative at the 58th meeting of the Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on June 2-3, 2020 tossed a googly by illegally claiming Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan as Chinese Territory saying that it was "disputed area".
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August 7, 2020
Defence Production & Export Promotion Policy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On August 3, 2020 the Ministry of Defence (MoD) relased a draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020 whose stated objective is to achieve a turnover of 1,75,000 crores (US$25 billion), including export of 35,000 crores (US$ 5 billion) in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025.
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August 7, 2020
Bharat Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of July 22 have revealed that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has provided indigenously-developed drones called 'Bharat' to the Indian Army amid the ongoing boundary tensions at LAC between India and China.
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August 7, 2020
Chinese Consolidation in POK
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China appeared uncomfortable with completion of India's Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DSDBO) Road in Eastern Ladakh. But it has no compunctions about blatantly undertaking projects in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) which is Indian Territory.
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August 7, 2020
No Dearth of Young Talent
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Saad Nasser, a class five dropout from school in Bengaluru has developed a fully autonomous sub-ton carrying vehicle which is driverless and acts with precision.
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July 29, 2020
Desperate Quad
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)An isolated China attempts fortifying alliances in frustration
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July 28, 2020
Inducting New Light Tanks
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)The strategic prudence lies in exploiting country's own bandwidth to equip our armed forces with indigenous light tank which will transmit a far stronger message of indigenously equipped self-reliant nation.
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July 20, 2020
Defence Minister's Ladakh Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On the first day of his visit to forward areas, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Ladakh on July 17, accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.
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July 20, 2020
Lessons from Ladakh Standoff
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The norm we follow is to appoint committees after conflict situations whose reports are either buried like Henderson Brooks report of 1962 or lessons forgotten like of Kargil Review Committee.
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July 20, 2020
Infantry Getting Makeover
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)No matter how hi-tech the modern battlefield gets. No matter how powerful the aircrafts, drones and the robots become, mission of the Infantry will continue to close-in and destroy the enemy by close quarter violent combat in any war operation and then physically hold the ground.
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July 20, 2020
Turkey's Swarm Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to Turkish media, Turkey's Defence Technologies, Engineering and Trade Inc. also known by its Turkish acronym STM, was to deliver over 500 'Kargu' drones to Turkish armed forces on June 15, 2020.
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July 20, 2020
Chinese Specter on India-Iran Relations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to media reports, Iran has decided to exclude India from the 628 km railroad project that links its port in Chabahar to Zahedan on the Afghanistan border, citing delays by the Indian government in funding and starting the project, and has announced that Iran has decided to construct the railway line on its own.
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July 6, 2020
Reading the Tea Leaves —
PM at frontline: Defining National Strategy
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)Prime Minister's personal appearance on the frontline has unequivocally reinforced that entire of Ladakh is Indian Territory and any intrusion and aggression will be met with full might and resolve of the nation. With this the PM has clearly defined the National Strategy.
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July 6, 2020
Defence Minister's Russia Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Rajnath Singh left for a three-day visit to Russia on June 22 for holding discussions with top Russian military brass and to attend Russia's Victory Parade at the Red Square on June 24 to commemorate 75th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945.
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July 6, 2020
New Chinese Front in Depsang
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In the current India-China standoff in Eastern Ladakh, China has once again displayed its strategy of surprise ambiguity and deceit. The surprise aggression was made under the garb of an exercise, followed by a quick move forward.
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July 6, 2020
China's FATF Shield for Pakistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On June 24, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global terror financing watchdog, decided to keep Pakistan in the "Grey List" as it had failed to check flow of money to terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
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July 6, 2020
AK-203 Delayed?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On the day Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was attending Russia's Victory Parade at Red Square in Moscow on June 24, Indian media broke the news that the joint Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) between the Indian Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Russian Rosoboronexport and Kalashnikov company has run into pricing problems.
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June 29, 2020
Before & After Galwan
By Lt. General J.K. Sharma (Retd)It is the difference in historical perception, the policy of "Nibble and Occupy" adopted by China and lack of understanding on the part of successive Indian governments since independence of the huge strategic disadvantage of loss of peripheral territory, that has emboldened China to attempt violations with impunity.
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June 18, 2020
India China Stand-off in June 2020
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)The nation needs to be concerned about the overall strategic and economic relations with China which have been in turmoil in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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June 18, 2020
The Galwan Clash
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The news of "at least" 20 Indian soldiers including a Colonel and at least one JCO clubbed to death by the PLA in Galwan on the night of June 15/16 has shocked the nation. Number of injured reportedly were 17.
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June 18, 2020
Revisiting ‘One China’ Policy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)While the PLA is continuing serious monkey tricks in Eastern Ladakh, the Indian Capital witnessed an interesting webinar titled "Revisiting 'One China' Policy" to explore possible options that India can pursue to send strong messages to Beijing.
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June 18, 2020
Artificial Neural Networks Ionospheric Model (ANNIM)
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Tracking the variability of the Ionosphere is important for communication and navigation. The ionospheric variability is greatly influenced by solar originated processes and the neutral atmosphere origin.
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June 18, 2020
Oli Steering Nepal into China's Lap
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On June 13, Nepal's Parliament unanimously passed a new map that shows Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas (totaling about 370 sq km) in its territory. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli took this arbitrary decision without discussing the boundary issue with India.
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June 8, 2020
PROGNOSIS
Indo-China Border Talks
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)Top Indian and Chinese generals held talks to resolve the high altitude face-off in the Ladakh region between India and China as a result of China's growing military assertiveness
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June 6, 2020
India-Australia Pacts Boost Bonding
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a virtual bilateral summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on June 4, India and Australia upgraded...
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June 6, 2020
Gwadar Could Mirror PLAN's Djibouti Base
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, is China's first overseas military base operated by Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Built at a cost of $590 million in 2017, it is strategically situated in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait which separates the Gulf of Aden from the Red Sea and guards the approaches to Suez Canal.
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June 6, 2020
Taliban-Al Qaeda Links Sustained
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)A report by the United Nations released on June 2, 2020 has confirmed that the Taliban in Afghanistan still maintains close relations with the terror network of Al Qaida despite having signed a peace deal with the US on February 29, 2020, agreeing to tackle militant groups.
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June 6, 2020
Upgraded Infantry Combat Vehicle 'Sarath'
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On June 2, 2020, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) placed an order on the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) for 156 upgraded Russian-origin BMP-2/2k Infantry Combat Vehicles (ICVs) 'Sarath' for use by Indian Army's (IA) mechanised forces at the cost of 1,094 crore ($145 million).
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May 30, 2020
Way Ahead for the Indian Armed Forces
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)The threat of the virus is all-pervasive and to ensure Force Protection, an essential towards operational readiness, the Armed Forces have issued exhaustive instructions/guidelines
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May 29, 2020
Indo-Chinese Conundrum
By Lt. General R.K. Jagga (Retd)India is witnessing its worst-ever border tensions with China since 1962 with both countries bringing forward thousands of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Is this mere Sabre rattling by China or will it result in a larger conflict between India and China?
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May 29, 2020
India-China Stand Off"The present situation is that we will win in Malacca and loose at Dhoklam."
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May 28, 2020
New Direction in Defence Production and Procurement
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Delivering the fourth tranche of the economic package in wake of COVID-19 in a press briefing on May 16, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced three major decision related to defence which will have far reaching effect in boosting the defence sector
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May 28, 2020
Modernisation of Military Airfields
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of May 8, 2020 quoting official sources disclosed that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a 1,200 crore ($160 million) contract with Indian company Tata Power SED for the second phase of the military infrastructure modernisation programme to cover 37 of the IAF, Indian Navy and Coast Guard airfields.
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May 28, 2020
Nepal Turns Chinese Proxy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a show of open defiance to India, Nepal has unveiled a new political map in which the Indian areas of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani are shown within Nepal.
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May 28, 2020
China Muscle Flexing Along LAC
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On May 5, PLA resorted to aggression indulging in physical fight with Indian troops in vicinity ofPangong Tso lake in Ladakh. It may be recalled that PLA had resorted to stone-pelting and attacking an Indian patrol with rods and sticks in same area on August 15, 2017.
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May 10, 2020
Boosting Jihad
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Despite the spurt in terror attacks, cross border violations and infiltration attempts by Pakistani terrorists, bodies of killed terrorists continued to be handed over to relatives for burial, providing a platform for anti-establishment propaganda.
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May 10, 2020
Kulbhushan Jadhav – Pakistan Stays Defiant
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Harish Salve, India's counsel for Kulbhushan Jadhav has said that India may have to back to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to get direction as Pakistan has failed to act on the court's directions to give consular access to him.
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May 10, 2020
Gilgit-Baltistan – More Pakistani Mischief
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In an effort to showcase to the world its control over its illegal occupation of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Pakistan has made another mischievous move. In a recent ruling, the Pakistan Supreme Court allowed the government to amend a 2018 administrative order to conduct general elections in the region.
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May 10, 2020
Defence MSMEs
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As India battles the scourge of COVID-19, the prospects of economic growth have begun to lookbleak. Among various forecasts, Moody is predicting a zero per cent growth.
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May 10, 2020
HM commander Riyaz Naikoo Killed
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Riyaz Naikoo, chief of Hijbul Mujahideen (HM) was killed on May 6 during an anti-terrorist operation conducted by the Army and J&K Police in the Beighpura area of Pulwama district. A second terrorist, believed to be an accomplice of Naikoo, was also killed in the encounter.
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April 26, 2020
Drones and Robots in Pandemics
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As the world battles COVID-19, technology has thrown up apps, robots, drones and chatbots to help humanity. Indian startups flooded the National Security Advisory Board offering hundreds of apps.
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April 26, 2020
COVID-19 Terrorism
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Recent intelligence reports had indicated that Pakistan was aggressively moving COVID-19 infected cases to POK and infiltrating them into J&K.
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April 26, 2020
Advancements in Drone and Anti-Drone
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The yesteryears race of mine and anti-mine has long since been overtaken by the race of drone and anti-drone. These technologies are evolving at a terrific pace with newer inventions showing up periodically that have also been reported in these columns from time to time.
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April 26, 2020
Israeli Light Machine Guns are Coming
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India has signed a contract with Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) for importing 16,479 Negev light machine guns (LMGs) to meet a long-standing requirement.
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April 26, 2020
New Terrorist Outfit in J&K
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)A new terrorist organisation calling itself 'The Resistance Front' (TRF) has cropped up in J&K in wake of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.
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April 11, 2020
COVID-19 Biological Weapon
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)At a time when COVID-19 was ravaging multiple countries with deaths and infections multiplying every second, cities/regions/nations locked down, economies shattered and unemployment going berserk – in effect de-stabilising the world...
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April 11, 2020
Kabul Gurdwara Attack – Pakistan Nailed
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The dastardly attack by four terrorist on the Gurdwara in Kabul on March 25, 2020 killed 27 Sikhs and a follow up bomb blast close to the crematorium where the dead were being cremated caused injuries to some.
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April 11, 2020
Army Spectrum Network
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Indian multinational giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) engaged in technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services operating in over 30 countries has disclosed on April 7, 2020 that it has bagged a large order from the Indian Army for establishing a first-of-its-kind...
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April 11, 2020
Another Major Maoist Ambush
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Amidst speculation that that the Maoist insurgency is dying down, Maoists struck a major blow by ambushing security forces on March 21 near Minpa Forest of Kasalapad area of Sukma District.
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March 21, 2020
J&K - Political Dynamics and Normalisation
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On March 8, 2020, Altaf Bukhari, former MLA from the J&K Peoples Democratic Party, launched a new political party called 'J&K Apni Party' (JKAP).
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March 21, 2020
Counter-Drone Drone
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It has been covered in these columns that an indigenous Anti-Drone System developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation...
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March 21, 2020
Loitering Munitions
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In 2016, US Companies were looking to market the Hero-30 loitering munition to the US military. Hero-30 is a man-portable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone designed for about 30 minutes loiter with a 0.5 kg warhead.
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March 21, 2020
Defence Procurement Procedure 2020
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Releasing the Draft Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2020, on March 20 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "Our aim is to make India self-reliant and a global manufacturing hub...
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March 21, 2020
Indigenous Combat Robots
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During DefExpo 2020 held in February this year, Indian Start-up Company, Defence Master India Pvt Ltd, displayed 'Sooran', an indigenous combat robot...
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March 9, 2020
US-Taliban Deal – Trump's Compulsion
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Signing of the US-Taliban deal by US Special Representative Zalmay Khalizad and Mullah Abdul Gani Baradar on behalf of Taliban at Doha, Qatar on February 29 had all the trappings of a mega show.
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March 9, 2020
Exporting SWATHI
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India has bagged a deal over Russia and Poland to supply 4 x Swathi Weapon Locating Radars to Armenia at a cost of $40 million. This is good news.
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March 9, 2020
China's Combat Robots
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The use of robots in warfare, which earlier was a topic for science fiction, is increasingly being researched to fight future wars.
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March 9, 2020
Beijing's Compulsive Proliferation
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On February 3, 2020, a Chinese Ship 'Dai Cui Yun' was detained by Customs at Kandla Port on basis of an intelligence tip off.
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March 9, 2020
Structure of Department of Military Affairs (DMA)
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Structure of the newly established Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the Ministry of Defence (MoD), with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) heading it as Secretary DMA, has come up with the news of its organisation released through the media in installments.
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February 26, 2020
Visit of President Donald Trump
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)US President Donald Trump's maiden visit to India witnessed Indo-US Strategic Partnership transit into 'Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership'.
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February 26, 2020
LUH to replace Cheetahs/Chetaks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is good news in the offing on the indigenous helicopter front. On February 7, 2020 the Light Utility Helicopter developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited obtained the initial clearance from the DRDO paving the way for its production.
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February 26, 2020
Indigenous Anti-Drone System
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)An indigenous Anti-Drone System developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully tested on February 21, 2020 in destroying a drone.
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February 26, 2020
Air Defence and Delhi's Missile Shield
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It was mentioned in these columns recently that India-Russia negotiations are underway for the supply of IGLA-S man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems (MANPADS), contract is likely to be concluded by end 2020...
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February 26, 2020
Pakistan Escapes FATF 'Black List'
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On February 20, 2020, last day of its five-day meeting to review Pakistan's progress towards the implementation of its 27-point action plan...
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February 10, 2020
Defence Budget 2020-2021
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Presenting the budget for FY 2020-2021 in Parliament on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention defence at all, which isn't surprising given her attitude towards the Armed Forces.
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February 10, 2020
Bodo Accord Bodes Peace
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Bodo Accord signed between the Government of India and Bodos on January 23, 2020 is a significant step that would contribute greatly towards ushering peace in the turbulent northeast.
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February 10, 2020
The Specter of PFI
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The ugly face of the Popular Front of India (PFI) causing arson and deaths in the recent riots in Uttar Pradesh has been established, as also for anti-CAA protests in Delhi.
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February 10, 2020
Indigenous K-4 and Pranash Missiles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On January 19, 2020 India successfully tested the indigenous K-4 missile of Vizag coast. K-4 is a nuclear capable Intermediate-range submarine-launched ballistic missile developed by the DRDO to arm the Arihant-class submarines.
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February 10, 2020
Snubbed Pakistan Remains Impervious
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo while launching the 27-nation International Religious Freedom Alliance on February 5, 2020 commented...
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February 10, 2020
IGLA-S Man-portable AD System (MANPADS)
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to an official representative of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), contracts are under negotiation to supply India with Russian-made IGLA-S man-portable air defence missiles and to organise their production on Indian soil.
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January 20, 2020
Defence Budget – Now and Next
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India's defence budget for 2019-20 stands at 3.18 lakh crore. This included a capital outlay of just 1,03,394 crore that is not enough to upgrade capabilities and more money is required to avoid a funding crisis.
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January 20, 2020
China Snubbed at UNSC
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China shamelessly made a third attempt to raise the Kashmir issue at the UN this month on behalf of protégé Pakistan. In August 2019, China had pushed for a UNSC meeting on Kashmir after the special status granted to J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution was scrapped by Government of India and the state was divided into two union territories.
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Issue: 6 / 2019
'Make in India': A Catalyst to Strategic Autonomy
By Lt General Abhay Krishna (Retd)If India looks to retain strategic autonomy without binding alliance then India has no option but to become a regional dominant power. Current push of the Government towards indigenous defence production is a welcome step towards self-sustainable technological advancements and economic growth and it needs to be taken forward.
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January 4, 2020
India's First CDS – what should be the priorities
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Speaking to reporters India's first CDS General Bipin Rawat has said, "As per the task given to the CDS we have to enhance integration and do better resource management.
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January 4, 2020
Key Priorities for New Army Chief
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Soon after taking over as the new Chief of Army Staff, General M.M. Naravane warned Pakistan to desist from sponsoring terrorism, saying, "We have evolved a strategy of resolute punitive response against sponsored terrorism.
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January 4, 2020
Upgraded Pinaka Rocket System
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On December 19-20, 2019, the upgraded version of Pinaka guided rocket system was successfully test-fired to a range of 90 km from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the Odisha coast.
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January 4, 2020
Chabahar-Zahedan Rail Link
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Iran last month, December 2019, and met Iranian President on December 23.
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January 4, 2020
Indigenous QRSAM
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The indigenous Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile System (QRSAM) developed by the DRDO was successfully flight tested on December 23, 2019 from the Integrated Test Range in Odisha's Chandipur.
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January 4, 2020
India-China Boundary Talks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Wang Yi, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Special Representatives of India and China respectively met on December 21, 2019 at Agra for the 22nd round of talks aimed at a border settlement.
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December 23, 2019
Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)December 18, 2019 saw the Indo-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue at Washington DC; External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from India and the US side represented by Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark T. Esper.
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December 23, 2019
India-Australia 2+2 Dialogue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The third edition of India-Australia Foreign and Defence Secretaries' Dialogue (2+2) was held on December 9, 2019, in New Delhi. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar led the Indian delegation for 2+2, while the Australian delegation was led by Frances Adamson...
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December 23, 2019
Akash Missile System – Dismal Saga
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The 'Akash' missile indigenously produced by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is in the news again for the wrong reasons.
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December 23, 2019
New Assault Rifles after 15 years
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of December 14 indicate that soldiers deployed on the borders with Pakistan and China have finally started receiving new assault rifles after a wait of almost 15 years.
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December 5, 2019
Visit of Sri Lankan President
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The two-day state visit of Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to India commencing November 29, his first foreign visit after assuming presidency, has signaled a new beginning, contours of which will unfold in coming months.
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December 5, 2019
Indigenous Bullet Proof Jackets
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On October 18, 2019, Major General Anil Oberoi (Retd) of SMPP Pvt Ltd told media that 40,000 bullet proof jackets have been supplied to the Indian Army (IA) for its troops carrying out anti-terror operations in the Kashmir valley.
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December 5, 2019
M777 Howitzers under 'Make in India'
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of November 18 indicate that the first regiment of ultra-light howitzers in the Artillery will include three locally built howitzers in collaboration with Mahindra Defence, under the 'Make in India' initiative in addition to 15 x BAE M777 howitzers imported from the US in ready condition.
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December 5, 2019
Boost for Defence Startups
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Speaking at the 'Defence Connect' seminar on November 11, 2019, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "Looking at the talent India possesses, I am pretty confident that we can become a $10 trillion economy in the next 10-15 years".
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November 15, 2019
Defence Minister's Russia Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Moscow on November 5 for a three day visit to Russia. This was his first visit to Moscow as Defence Minister.
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November 15, 2019
IA Cadre Restructuring
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Indian Army (IA) is undergoing cadre restructuring. As per media, two officers per battalion are being reduced, totaling up to overall reduction of some 4,500 officers.
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November 15, 2019
‘Tiger Triumph’ and ‘Sindhu Sudarshan-VII’ kick off
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Two prominent military exercises kicked off back to back on November 13. 'Tiger Triumph', the Indo-US tri-services exercise under aegis of HQ Integrated commenced on India's eastern seaboard, in the Bay of Bengal and will continue till November 21.
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November 15, 2019
Anti-Drone Urgency
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Despite the Kartarpur Corridor having become operational, Pakistan's hate-India campaign shows no signs of abating. This is not surprising because this is the very basis for the Pakistan army to maintain complete control over the country...
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November 4, 2019
Sri Lanka Elections – Beijing's Gain?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Next elections are scheduled in Sri Lanka on November 16. President Sirisena is not contesting. He had caused a constitutional crisis last year by sacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe replacing him with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
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November 4, 2019
NSCN (K) Specter on Naga Talks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As the government deadline of October 31, 2019 for final settlement to the Naga dispute approached, talks with the NSCN (IM) by the government side headed by Nagaland Governor R.N. Ravi was undergoing a difficult inconclusive phase.
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November 4, 2019
Army Uses M982 Excalibur Ammunition
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On October 20, 2019, Indian Army (IA) for the first time used the 155mm M982 Excalibur artillery rounds against Pakistani positions and terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC).
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November 4, 2019
Siachen Tourism
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The government has decided to open Siachen to the tourists. Inaugurating the Colonel Chewang Rinchen Bridge on Shyok River in Eastern Ladakh about 45 km from the China border on October 21, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that the Siachen area, the world's highest battlefield, is now open to tourists.
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November 4, 2019
Ninth DTTI Meet
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The ninth Indo-US Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) held at New Delhi on October 24, 2019 has reportedly focused on collaboration in drone swarms, counter-drone measures and other hi-tech military technologies.
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October 18, 2019
Modi-Xi Chennai Connect
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was held at Mamallapuram (UNESCO heritage) on October 11-12, which Modi termed "Chennai connect".
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October 18, 2019
73rd Infantry Day Celebrations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Indian Infantry will celebrate its 73rd Infantry Day on October 27 to commemorate the selfless dedication to duty by Indian Army's gallant Infantrymen, a wreath laying ceremony will be held at 'Amar Jawan Jyoti' where General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff, along with senior officers, will lay wreaths in a solemn ceremony.
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October 18, 2019
FATF, Pakistan and Bankruptcy of Counter Terrorism
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In early September this year, a 15-member Pakistani delegation led by the Hammad Azhar, Minister for Economic Affairs Division met with the Asia Pacific Group (APG), regional body of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)...
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October 18, 2019
IMRH to Replace Mi-17 Helicopters
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of August 2019 indicate that India is set to embark on a 10,000 crore Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH) project; to develop an indigenous medium lift helicopter that will replace all imports in that class for the Armed Forces – namely Mi-17 helicopters.
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October 18, 2019
Transborder Intelligence Operations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to news reports of October 15, 2019, quoting un-named senior officials, Army's monitors along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan have fallen silent for over two months now, affecting intelligence operations.
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October 7, 2019
Modi-Trump Bilateral - little gain
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump held a bilateral meeting on September 24 on the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly session.
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October 7, 2019
China's 70th Anniversary
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China's 70th anniversary celebrations displayed its military and economic might with the biggest ever military parade on October 1, even as Hong Kong witnessed massive demonstration on the same day with hundreds of youth battling police and locals also out on the street.
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October 7, 2019
Howdy Modi, Howdy UNGA
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The 'Howdy Modi' mega event at Houston's NRG stadium on September 22 with PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump holding centre stage, and the 74th session of UNGA, particularly the speeches by Modi and Pakistan's Imran Khan on September 27 were viewed globally.
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October 7, 2019
AR-ITBP Merger - will the 'deep state' succeed?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It is important to understand the 'real' reason behind the call for merger of Assam Rifles (AR) and ITBP, which media doesn't mention. The 'deep state' has struck again through the MHA; merger to bring AR completely under MHA, whose operational control is presently under Army.
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October 7, 2019
New Road to Doklam
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has converted an erstwhile mule track from Bheem Base to Doka La in Sikkim held by India Army, that will make it easier to enter the Doklam Valley, which was the site of a 73-day military standoff between Indian Army and China's PLA; where the Chumbi valley of China occupied Tibet (COT), Bhutan and India converge.
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September 17, 2019
Next Modi-Xi Informal Summit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As time approached for the second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2019, China took the despicable step of orchestrating a closed door meeting of the United National...
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September 17, 2019
Exoskeleton Suits for Army Soldiers
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)If news reports are to be believed, Defence Bioengineering and Electro-medical Laboratory (DEBEL) of the DRDO has been for some time collating data for Simulation and Analysis of Musco-skeletal parts...
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September 17, 2019
Miniature Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Drone war attained a new landmark with Houthi some 19 armed drones hitting two oil processing facilities of Saudi Arabia - Aramco's Abqaiq refinery and the Khurais oil field.
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September 17, 2019
Indigenous Sniper Rifles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In February 2018, MoD had approved procurement of 5,719 sniper rifles for the Army and Air Force at an estimated cost of 982 crore from the global market under the 'Buy Global' categorisation, the ammunition for which was to be initially procured and subsequently manufactured in India.
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September 17, 2019
Imran 'Taliban' Khan is in Pitiable State
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran 'Taliban' Khan is in pitiable state. His army chief General Q.J. Bajwa (QJB) has handed him the impossible task of organising international intervention or mediation on Kashmir.
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September 5, 2019
20th India-Russia Annual Summit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 20th Annual India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit in Vladivostok, Russia and the 5th Eastern Economic Forum as the Chief Guest on September 4-5.
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September 5, 2019
Corporatising OFB – how serious are we?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)National dailies reported on August 22, government's decision to turn the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) into a public sector corporate for increasing exports, self-reliance, add latest technologies and innovations.
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September 5, 2019
Exchanging Defence Land
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During NDA-1, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharanman's unilateral order to open all 62 military cantonments to public made headlines, with political victory parades led by MPs/MLAs marching through cantonments.
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September 5, 2019
Army's Uniform Uniformity
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Recent media reports indicate that the Army has decided to do away with differences in the attires of officers above the rank of Colonel.
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September 5, 2019
Robot Tank, Robot Warship
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In March 2018, a video from CCTV-7 Chinese military channel, posted by the Chinese streaming platform Sohu, showed a PLA soldier driving the Type 59 from an independent computer terminal with a steering wheel to control and drive...
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September 5, 2019
Kamikaze Drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In July 2019, news emerged that the US Department of Defense (DoD) wants to purchase the Hero-120 loitering drone (termed "kamikaze" or "killer" drones) from Israel for operations by US Special Operations Forces (SOF).
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August 22, 2019
CDS Finally Coming
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In his characteristic style, Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised the nation on August 15 by announcing India will have a CDS to head the Army, Navy and Air Force.
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August 22, 2019
India Wins Army Scout Masters 2019
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Concluding on August 14, 2019, India comprehensively won the Army Scout Masters Competition 2019 held from August 6 to August 14 at Jaisalmer.
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August 22, 2019
Coming - Light Strike Vehicles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Recommendations of the Study on 'Modernisation of Special Forces' undertaken by Military Operations Directorate, Army Headquarters in 2002, included the provision of Light Strike Vehicle (LSV) to Army's Special Forces battalions.
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August 22, 2019
Pakistan Frustrated - Caution Warranted
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Frustration is writ large on the face of Imran Khan, Pakistan's Prime Minister; pleading, begging world over.
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August 17, 2019
Abrogation of Special Status Under Article 370 – Security Implications
By General Deepak Kapoor (Retd), Former Army Chief'Special status' came as a handy tool along with religion for the Pakistan army to exploit the differentiation of Kashmiris from the rest of the country. It provided moral, material and military support for commencing the insurgency.
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August 14, 2019
Article 370 Abrogation - History Corrected
By Lt General A.B. Shivane (Retd)Article 370 acted as a hindrance to the holistic development of J&K. The dimension of regional aspirations cannot be ignored for the state of J&K which has three clear linguistic and geographical divisions - Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh and these remain disparate despite 73 years having passed.
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August 8, 2019
Kashmir Integrated
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a historic announcement in Parliament on August 4, Government announced the Presidential decree of abrogating Article 370 and reorganisation of J&K State into the Union Territories of J&K.
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August 8, 2019
PM Modi's Bhutan Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Bhutan on August 17-18. After assuming the premiership second time, Modi's visit is in line with government's focus on 'Neighbours First' policy; which will further strengthen India's special relationship with Bhutan.
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August 8, 2019
The Chimera of Military Integration
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In 2004, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addressing the Combined Commanders Conference had said, "Reforms within the Armed Forces involve recognition of the fact that our Navy, Air Forces and Army can no longer function in compartments with exclusive chains of command and single service operational plans."
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August 8, 2019
Defence Exports
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of May 2019 indicated India had relaxed procedures to speed up arms sales to foreign countries.
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August 8, 2019
LRAD replacing Pellet Guns?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Going by news reports, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved the use of 'sound cannon', devices that can emit pain-inducing sound waves, on rampaging mobs in the Valley.
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July 19, 2019
Kartarpur Corridor – Pakistan's terror gambit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)When Navjot Singh Sidhu returned from Pakistan after hugging the Pakistani army chief Q.J.Bajwa at swearing in of PM Imran Khan on August 18, 2018, he announced Pakistan has agreed to open the Kartarpur Corridor.
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July 19, 2019
Sniper Rifles Delay – can we slash red tape?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On February 13, 2018, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Ministerhad approved procurement of 5,719 sniper rifles for the Army and Air Force at an estimated cost of 982 crore from the global market under the 'Buy Global'...
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July 19, 2019
Indigenous CornerShot
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of June 2019 state that the Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune has developed 'Trikaal' CornerShot Weapon System (CSWS) which has in recent past undergone user trials by Rashtriya Rifles at the Pashan Range.
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July 19, 2019
Army CEO for MIA AK-203 OFB Factory
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Headlines like "Army chief's new experiment — Major General is CEO of AK-203 rifle factory in Amethi" appeared in the media recently, highlighting that Major General Sanjeev Sengar has been appointed CEO for four years, this being the first time in decades that a uniformed officer will head an ordnance factory.
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July 19, 2019
Army's Social Media Diktat
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Going by media reports, Army has issued a directive for serving personnel not to be part "large groups" on internet-based chat or email services, in order to control leak of sensitive information about the Armed Forces since enemy agencies could access such information.
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July 11, 2019
Throwing Out The Baby With The Bath Water
By Lt. General Vijay Oberoi (Retd)What is most galling is the surreptitious manner in which the news was made public and the hesitancy of Army Headquarters to openly state that they were the initiators of the move.
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July 6, 2019
First Budget of Modi 2.0 - defence ignored
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Budget 2019 of the new NDA government lead by Narendra Modiin parliament on June 5, 2019, with what she described as a 10-year vision.
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July 6, 2019
20 years after Kargil Conflict
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The 20th Kargil Vijay Diwas falls on July 26, 2019. Celebration to mark the 20th anniversary of Kargil victory are being spread over three days - July 25 to July 27 at Dras in J&K and at New Delhi.
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July 6, 2019
Puncturing Disability
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is considerable debate over a Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) circular dated June 24, 2019 saying that tax exemption for disability pension will be "available only to armed forces personnel who have been invalidated from service on account of bodily disability attributable to or aggravated by such service and not to personnel who have been retired on superannuation or otherwise".
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July 6, 2019
Pakistan's FATF Noose
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The last Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary session was held in Orlando, US, on June 21. 2019. A stern statement at the end of its outcome document warned Pakistan that it could face a blacklisting in FATF's next session scheduled in coming October, if it did not follow a 27-point checklist on bringing stricter laws to curb the access of funds to terror groups inside the country, including IS, Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
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July 6, 2019
Second JAI Trilateral at Osaka
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During the first ever meeting of JAI (acronym for the Japan-America-India Trilateral coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi using first alphabet...
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June 15, 2019
100 Day Agenda of the new NDA government
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Concurrent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government assuming charge, the Niti Ayog has announced on May 29, 2019, that government will consider a slew of proposals over the next 100 days to complete unfinished goals of fine-tuning reforms like the bankruptcy code...
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June 15, 2019
Modi's Maldives, Sri Lanka Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Close on the heels of oath taking of Modi-led NDA government on May 30, 2019 attended by heads of BIMSTEC nations, re-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first overseas visit to Maldives and Sri Lanka on June 8-9...
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June 15, 2019
The Education-Radicalisation Connect
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The new NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced it will roll out a plan for modernising madrassa education next month.
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June 15, 2019
Maoists, Mining and Environment
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As per news reports of June 11, 2019, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister has stopped all mining activities at Dantewada Iron Ore Deposit after tribal protest for days.
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May 31, 2019
BIMSTEC Heads at Modi 2.0 Inaugural
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a deft move of immense significance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited heads of the Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) nations to the swearing-in ceremony of his new government on May 30, 2019.
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May 31, 2019
Of Drones and Bombs
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Rapid advancements in technology is empowering militarires as well as terrorists. This includes armed drones and remote controlled bombs. In May 2019, Indonesian police raided a terrorist cell with ability to use Wi-Fi to detonate explosive devices.
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May 31, 2019
New Eye in the Sky
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On May 22 May 22, 2019, ISRO achieved another feather in its cap by successfully launching RISAT – 2B; microwave radar imaging earth observation satellite.
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May 31, 2019
Army Scout Masters Competition 2019
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India for the first time will be hosting 'Army Scout Masters Competition', which is part of 'International Army Games' steered by Russia annually since August 2015. Army Scout Masters Competition 2019 will be the fifth edition, which India will host in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
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May 31, 2019
Faulty Ammunition Kills
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Buried in pages of national dailies was recent news about the army raising an alarm over rising accidents with indigenous faulty ammunition.
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May 31, 2019
Relocating Military Cantonments
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It is not known whether the scholar who recently wrote the article 'How new military bases could seed new cities and create jobs' recently is on the payroll of Pakistan's ISI or of Beijing or he aims to cash on the greed of politicians to gobble land and make quick buck for themselves...
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May 20, 2019
Agenda for Next Defence Minister
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India is to have a new government shortly. It is, therefore, prudent to list out what should be the agenda for the next Defence Minister.
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May 20, 2019
Boosting Short-Service Commission?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to news reports of May 9, 2019, the Armed Forces are close to finalising the package to make short-service commission (SSC) more attractive for eligible youth.
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May 20, 2019
Technical Textiles for Armed Forces
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to news reports, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has adopted a policy that raises participation of indigenous firms in manufacturing 'technical textile' for Armed Forces.
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May 6, 2019
Vital Ladakh road completed – but many questions remain
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports that India has completed the 255-km Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDBO) section of the road between Leh and Karakoram (KK) Pass. KK Pass is misnomer because DBO is eight km crow flight south of KK Pass which is considerable distance in that terrain.
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May 6, 2019
Sri Lanka's Easter Sunday Terror
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)April 21 saw the bloodiest Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. The multiple bombings that shook the island nation resulted in 359 killed and some 600 injured till the last count.
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May 6, 2019
Generals in Politics – anything wrong?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The electronic and print media prominently covered induction of seven army Generals into the BJP on April 27 amidst the beaming Raksha Mantri (RM) Nirmala Sitharaman.
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May 6, 2019
Voting by Soldiers
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)An incident on April 28, 2019 during voting at Jabalpur, in which army personnel and families from Army's Grenadiers Regimental Centre located at Jabalpur exercised their franchise, should shame the nation. It would make no difference to the politicians and their goons because the word 'shame' doesn't exist in their lexicon.
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April 19, 2019
Masood Azhar, Jinping's Lebensraum and US-Pak Relations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)After China stalled the UNSC for branding Masood Azhar for the fourth time on March 14, 2019, US, France and UK gave an ultimatum to China to lift her so called 'technical hold' on Masood Azhar's ban by April 23.
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April 19, 2019
Convoy Move in J&K
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On April 3, 2019, the J&K State Government issued a notification that civilian traffic will not be allowed on the Jammu-Baramulla national highway on Sundays and Wednesdays (reserved for move of security forces) till May 31, 2019...
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April 19, 2019
Naxals Kill Another Politician
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On April 9, 2019, BJP MLA Bheema Mandavi and the four security personnel were killed as Naxals targeted his convoy of three vehicles, including the MLA's bullet-proof one, in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh.
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April 19, 2019
Russia's International Army Games - 'ARMY 2019'
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Russia's Defence Ministry is making vigorous preparations for the International Army Games 'ARMY-2019' which are scheduled to be held from August 3 to August 17, 2019.
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April 19, 2019
Operational Control of Assam Rifles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of April 15, 2019, state that Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has conveyed to the Delhi High Court that it, along with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), will abide by any decision of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on the dual control over Assam Rifles.
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April 19, 2019
Lateral Entry in Govt Service - and MoD Dumped
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There was extensive media coverage when in June 2018 government announced it would seek lateral entry from the civil into the government services at joint secretary level.
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April 8, 2019
Special Operations Division
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On August 8, 2012, the Naresh Chandra Committee on national security submitted its report to the government, its recommendations including establishment of a Special Operations Command (SOC).
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April 8, 2019
EMISAT launched - more Military Satellites in offing
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On April 1, 2019, ISRO successfully launched India's electronic intelligence satellite EMISAT in another hallmark achievement, the PSLV-C45 also carrying 28 international customer satellites from four countries - Lithuania, Spain, Switzerland and the USA that were launched under commercial arrangements.
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April 8, 2019
Women Defence Attachés
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In what is being described as a brilliant move championed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Army, Navy and Air Force were asked to single out women officers who were appropriate for posting to Indian missions abroad as defence attaches.
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April 8, 2019
The AFSPA Debate
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Congress Manifesto for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 asking for a review of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has created a ruckus. The Congress manifesto made a specific proposal related to national security in J&K, with the party stating, "The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and the Disturbed Areas Act in J&K will be reviewed.
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March 27, 2019
Corporate-funded R&D could make India a global player in Defence production
By Lt. General Anil Kapoor, DGISExtension of Corporate Social Responsibility concept to Security needed to generate the funds and efforts for a tech leap in the Military
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March 22, 2019
Takeaways from Balakot
By General Deepak Kapoor (Retd)The Indian Air Force (IAF) needs to be complimented for a well planned, coordinated and meticulously executed strike on a crucial Jaish terror hub at Balakot, located in Khyber Pakhtoonwa province of Pakistan.
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March 18, 2019
China Protects Masood Azhar at UN
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China has blocked for the fourth time in a row Masood Azhar from being branded terrorist at the UN. With this the euphoria built up in India of being poised for a massive diplomatic victory at the global stage has been reduced to a damp squib.
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March 18, 2019
Pak Military Goes After Baloch Riches
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Concurrent to the genocide in Baluchistan, ignored by the world including India, the Pakistani military is going after the riches of the Baluchistan Province. It is a well thought out strategy with Chinese backing, aim being to get hold of the economic jugular while continuing to muscle through the restive region.
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March 18, 2019
HR and Vigilance in Army
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Two surprises emerged in media recently with reports that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved the plan of 'Reorganization of the Army Headquarters'.
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March 18, 2019
Restructuring Army Headquarters
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has approved the first batch of reforms in the Army which include relocation of 229 officers from the Army Headquarters and creation of a new post of Deputy Chief of Army Staff Strategy, or DCOAS (Strategy)...
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March 18, 2019
Operation 'Sunrise' – Joint Indo-Myanmar Operation<
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Going by news reports of March 14-15, India has conducted a 'Third Surgical Strike' in Myanmar; Operation 'Sunrise' jointly with the Myanmar Army (Tatmadaw).
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March 18, 2019
Terror Attack on New Zealand Mosques
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The ghastly terror attacks on the two mosques of Al Noor and Linwood in New Zealand on March 15, 2019, during Friday prayers has shattered the peace of this country and proved that no place on earth is safe from the specter of terror.
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March 6, 2019
Imran's Nobel Peace Prize - joke of the decade?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The resolution submitted in Pakistan's Parliament on March 2, 2019 to grant the Nobel Peace Prize to Prime Minister Imran Khan for having taken the decision of releasing Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of Indian Air Force (IAF) in a bid to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan, could go down in history as the biggest joke of the decade.
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March 6, 2019
Required - Regional Counter Terrorism (CT) 'Action' against Pakistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Post the truck bombing in Kabul on August 7, 2015, killing 15 and wounding 400, Afghan clerics had declared jihad against Pakistan, saying, "Afghan people are Muslims and Jihad is eligible against Pakistan's military intelligence – Inter Service Intelligence and Punjabi military...
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March 6, 2019
BECA - and Indo-US Relations
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News is in the air that India is likely to sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA) with the US.
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March 6, 2019
Mama Mia - MIA AK-203
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On March 3, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the AK-203 rifle manufacturing unit in Amethi; Indo-Russia Rifles Limited plant at Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) Korwa in Amethi.
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March 6, 2019
Kulbhushan Jadhav - in Psycho Pakistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News coverage about the recent hearing of the case relating to Kulbhushan Jadhav in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) went off the radar in the Indian media because of the February 14 Pakistan-sponsored car bombing at Pulwama by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Indian airstrikes on three JeM terrorist camps in Pakistan...
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February 27, 2019
Indian Strikes Pakistani Terror Camps
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a befitting response to the dastardly car bombing by Pakistan-sponsored Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) at Pulwama on February 14, the IAF struck the predominantly JeM terrorist camps at Balakot, Muzaffrabad and Chakothi across the Line of Control (LoC)in the early hours of February 26.
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February 21, 2019
Pulwama Terror Attack - Deadliest Ever in J&K
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)It is said if you surrender to terror, the future would be horrendous. Nothing can confirm it more than India's capitulation in 2008 during hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-184 from Kathmandu to Delhi.
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February 21, 2019
Bogey - that Pakistan will collapse economically
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is jubilation in a cross-section in India over Pakistan being in an economic mess. Even Prime Minister Modi said in a recent public rally that Pakistan is roaming around with its begging bowl but not getting help from the world, which drew applause from the crowd.
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February 21, 2019
Assault Rifles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Finally, there is some more news about assault rifles for the Indian Army, or shall we say part of the Army because when it comes to equipping soldiers at the cutting edge, where battle is being fought every day and night, we start counting pennies...
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February 21, 2019
Visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS in short) arrived New Delhi on a two-day state visit on February 19, 2019. He earlier visited Pakistan and was scheduled to come to India directly from Pakistan. But he returned to Saudi Arabia and then flew to India. During his visit to Pakistan...
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February 21, 2019
Litigation against Disabled Soldiers
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has decided to withdraw its appeals made before the Supreme Court against grant of disability benefits to soldiers by various courts and tribunals, according to media repots of February 20, 2019...
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February 1, 2019
Defence Budget 2019-2020
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Interim Budget speech by the Interim Finance Minister (IFM) on February 1, 2019, covered defence budget allocation for the next fiscal year in precisely 34 words by saying, "Our Defence Budget will be crossing 3,00,000 crore for the first time in 2019-20.
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February 1, 2019
Border Infrastructure – remains neglected
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On January 13, 2019 media quoted the recently released Central Public Works Department (CPWD) Annual Report (2018-19) stating the government plans to construct 44 strategic roads along the border with China and over 2,100 km axial and lateral roads in Punjab and Rajasthan, abutting Pakistan.
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February 1, 2019
Sniper War
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On January 15, 2019, a cross-border sniper shot killed a Border Security Force (BSF) officer patrolling the border in Jammu's Kathua district. This was the fourth such attack in less than a week; this one being astride the international border (IB) made it a violation of international conventions.
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February 1, 2019
Game of Disability Pensions
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW), Ministry of Defence, vide its Notification No. 16(3),2017/D (Pen/Policy) dated January 29, 2019, signed by Manoj Sinha, Deputy Secretary to Government of India...
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February 1, 2019
Microsat-R, Kalamsat launch – and more
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)ISRO's PSLV-C44, carrying India's Military Satellite Microsat-R and Students' Payload Kalamsat, lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharkota Range at 11.37 pm on January 24, 2019 after a 28-hour countdown.
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February 1, 2019
Fortifying Andaman & Nicobar
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media reports of January 27 state government has "virtually finalised" a 5,650 crore military infrastructure development plan for Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) over a 10-year period.
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January 21, 2019
India and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
By General V.P. Malik (Retd)In April 2015, China and Pakistan signed an agreement to work on a $46 billion (currently valued at $62 billion) China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), generally viewed as the crown jewel of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative.
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January 16, 2019
Talking to Taliban – and more
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue at New Delhi on January 9, 2019, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat backed talks with the Taliban if they were ready for lasting peace in Afghanistan, saying, "There should be talks with Taliban so long as they don't come up with pre-conditions, so long as they are looking at lasting peace in Afghanistan and bring about stability in that country....
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January 16, 2019
Visit of Bhutan's Prime Minister
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Lotay Tshering of Bhutan, accompanied by Tandi Dorji, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Loknath Sharma, Minister for Economic Affairs and senior officials from the Royal Government of Bhutan, visited India from December 27 to December 29, 2018 on invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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January 16, 2019
Chinooks and Apaches are Coming
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The first batch of US-built heavy-lift Chinook helicopters and Apache attack helicopters will commence arriving India in March 2019, just ahead of the general elections. Both these will be game changers for the military's capability.
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January 16, 2019
Space Diplomacy with Neighbours
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)While the launch of Chandrayan-2 scheduled on January 3 was postponed a second time for unexplained reasons, media headlines of January 4 announced India setting up five ground stations and over 500 terminals in neighbouring countries; one each in Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
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January 16, 2019
Fortifying Andaman & Nicobar
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)News reports of January 6, 2019 reveal that Andaman & Nicobar Islands (ANI) will get a new airbase in the Indian Naval Air Station, INS 'Kohasa' near Diglipur (largest town of North Andaman Island with population of 744202 (2001 census) located 298 km north of Port Blair), which is slated to be inaugurated by the C-in-C ANC on January 24.
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January 16, 2019
More military assistance to Afghanistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Dr. Hamdullah Mohib, National Security Adviser of Afghanistan, visited India on the invitation of his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval from 3 to 5 January 2019.
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January 3, 2019
Revering Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled the Tricolour in Andaman's Netaji Memorial in Port Blair on December 30, 2018 to commemorate the first flag hoisting by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on December 30, 1943. On October 21, 1943, Bose had announced the formation of the country's first independent government which was called the Azad Hind government.
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January 3, 2019
Beyond the Bogibeel Bridge
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On 25 December 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 4.98 km-long Bogibeel Bridge, the longest rail-cum-road bridge on Brahmaputra River. Foundation stone for this bridge was laid 21 years earlier by the then Prime Minister in 1997 though work started only five years later in 2002.
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January 3, 2019
After BMS and F-INSAS, dedicated OFC stalled
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In 2018, the Army was forced to foreclose the Battlefield Management System (BMS) project due to budgetary constraints. BMS delayed mostly because of the governmental defence-industry was pursued for 13 years, and in which considerable amount of money was invested by the private industry in recent years.
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January 3, 2019
Agni-IV and Agni-V – closer to fielding
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On December 10, 2018, India successful tested Agni-V one more time, this being the seventh test since its development began past decade and third in 2018. The last test was conducted in June 2018.
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January 3, 2019
GSAT-11 – boosts Bharat Net Project
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India's heaviest communication satellite GSAT-11 was launched successfully on December 5, 2018 from the Spaceport in French Guiana along with South Korea's GEO-KOMPSAT-2A satellite, onboard Ariane VA 246 launch vehicle.
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December 19, 2018
Visit of President Ibrahim Solih
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Maldives President Ibrahim Solih’s three-day state visit to India commencing December 17 was his first foreign visit after becoming President. He was accompanied by the first lady and a high-level delegation including Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, National Planning and Infrastructure...
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December 19, 2018
Drone Swarms Threat – much catching up required
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which is a statutory body of Government of India, disclosed through a communication on November 9, 2018 that the Indian Air Force (IAF) had announced a Rs 100 crore Swarm Drone Competition.
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December 19, 2018
ISRO Space Museums and Space Applications
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Speaking to the media on November 26, ISRO Chairman K. Sivan stated ISRO recently discussed a proposal with the Kerala government to set up a space museum in Thiruvananthapuram, to which the state government responded positively and even allotted land for the purpose.
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December 19, 2018
Defence Minister’s US Visit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a maiden 5 day visit to the US that concluded on December 8, 2018. Her visit was concurrent to the ongoing 12 day Indo-US military exercise between the IAF and the USAF in Kalaikunda...
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December 19, 2018
Border Infrastructure – decades behind
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India will go ahead with construction of much required strategic roads and permanent integrated buildings along the Indo-China border in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim as part of a critical infrastructure project worth Rs 250 billion, read media reports of 19 November 2018.
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December 19, 2018
Prahar, Pralay and Sant
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On September 20, India successfully test-fired ‘Prahar’ short-range ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) from Chandipur, Odisha. Prahar is a solid fuel road-mobile short-range missile fitted with inertial navigation system.
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November 29, 2018
Kartarpur Corridor – and the challenges ahead
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Vice President Venkiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur Corridor on the Indian side on November 26 and Prime Minister Imran Khan on Pakistani side on November 28.
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November 29, 2018
The Quad and the IONS
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The third round of the quadrilateral security dialogue termed 'Quad', between India, US, Japan and Australia, was held on 15 November 2018 at Singapore on sidelines of the 13th East Asia Summit.
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November 29, 2018
Stonewalling Defence-Industry Privatization
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As per media reports, four lakh defence employees working in 41 ordnance factories, naval docks, army and air force workshops and other productions units are readying themselves for a three-day protest between 23 and 25 January 2019.
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November 19, 2018
PM Narendra Modi visits Maldives
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his brief maiden visit to Maldives on November 17 to attend the swearing in Ceremony of new Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on invitation of the latter. 46 nations were represented at Solih's swearing in ceremony.
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November 19, 2018
Pakistan – More Terror Uncapped
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Before the Pakistani military installed Imran Khan as the Prime Minister, reasons why he had earned the title of 'Taliban Khan' were well known; links with terrorist organisations, known terrorists supporting him in elections, him funding the Haqqani seminary known as 'Oxford of Global Jihad', and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) building a 15-acre complex on outskirts of Bahawalpur to train thousands of young children for Jihad.
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November 19, 2018
Military Drones - private industry is Way Forward
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As per news reports, a private Gurgaon-based company, 'Vortex UAS', has been working on providing military drones, including weaponised versions, for the Indian Army, the Navy and the National Security Guard (NSG).
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November 19, 2018
New Artillery Guns Inducted
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On 9 November 2018, the Defence Minister dedicated the M777 A2 Ultra Light Howitzers (ULH) and K9 Vajra-Tracked Self Propelled Guns and 6x6 Field Artillery Tractors to the service of the Nation during a dedication ceremony held at Devlali Field Firing Ranges.
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November 19, 2018
ISI gives J&K terrorists Sniper Rifles
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Media report quoting IB source indicate J&K terrorists use sniper rifles being used by terrorists are stolen by Taliban from US-NATO forces in Afghanistan passed on to Pakistan's ISI, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has formed sniper teams whichmove in buddy pairs.
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October 30, 2018
13th India-Japan Annual Summit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Japan on 28-29 October 2018 for the 13th India-Japan Annual Summit for wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest under the framework of the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership.
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October 30, 2018
Coming – Apache Attack Helicopters
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In 1985 when Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited the US, he was accompanied by Army Chief General K. Sundarji. This was the time when planning was full swing for establishment of the Army Aviation Corps (AAC), which finally was founded two years later – in 1987.
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October 30, 2018
Army of Integrated Battle Groups
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The restructuring of Army was approved recently at the Army Commanders Conference (October 9-15) albeit media reports that two Army Commanders had their reservations.
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October 30, 2018
Smart Border Fence
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On 24 May 2018, took stock of the progress of construction of border fencing, roads and outposts along India's borders with neighbouring countries in a high-level meeting and directed all concerned officials to maintain constant vigil and security on the borders.
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October 30, 2018
India-China Joint Project on Afghanistan
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)
The MEA brief issued on April 28, 2018, with respect to the Informal Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 27-28 at Wuhan, China described among other issues, agreement for proper management of the bilateral relationship conducive for the development and prosperity of the region, creating conditions for the Asian Century.
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October 17, 2018
Visit of Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who had visited India in July 2016 before he was elected Secretary General, made his maiden visit to India from October 1 to October 4.
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October 17, 2018
Prahar and Pragati
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On 20 September 2018, India successfully test-fired surface-to-surface short-range tactical ballistic missile ‘Prahar’ from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off Odisha coast paving the way for its induction.
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October 17, 2018
Don’t Take Maoists Lightly
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On October 7, 2018, Home Minister Rajnath Singh stated that Naxalism will be eliminated in about three years. Addressing a function at a CRPF camp to mark 26th anniversary celebrations of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), he said, “The day is not far, may be in a time period of 1-2 or 3 years, that Left-wing extremism will be eliminated...”.
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October 17, 2018
Maldives Turns A Leaf
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Maldives has turned a leaf with the surprise defeat of President Abdulla Yameen in the recent elections. Mohammad Solih, consensus candidate of the joint opposition has emerged winner.
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October 17, 2018
Of Buffaloes in Pakistan and Cows in India
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In a scam of sorts in Pakistan during September this year, the Imran Khan government sold off eight buffaloes belonging to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, raising USD 19,000 in the process.
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October 17, 2018
Surveillance of LoC-LAC
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Surveillance has been perpetual concern of troops manning our borders. If Pakistan has ever since been a hostile neighbour, China continues to indulge in intrusions. Ironically, the DRDO has not been able to provide any viable solution for surveillance, not even appropriate ground sensors.
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October 6, 2018
S-400 Triumf for India
By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)A major acquisition of defence equipment from Russia has delivered a clear message to the Trump administration on India’s perspective of strategic autonomy in matters of national security.
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October 6, 2018
Visit of President Vladimir Putin - big boost to strategic ties
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India on 4-5 October to attend the 19th Indo-Russian Summit has provided a big boost to the bilateral strategic partnership. His visit came at a time of angst in Moscow in what it sees as India’s tilt towards the US while New Delhi views growing China-Russia-Pakistan alignment with concern.
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October 6, 2018
Beyond National Register for Citizens
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There has been much talk of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam relating to illegal immigrants, though many would like to paint it a communal issue.
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October 6, 2018
Can Pak Arm Terrorists with Chemicals?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)After security forces gunned down two terrorists in Bandipora are of J&K last month, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) issued a statement on September 23 that chemical weapons were used to kill these terrorists.
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October 6, 2018
New Tri-Service Divisions
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In November 1988, Maldives President Abdul Gayoom sent an SOS to India having taken refuge in Maldives National Security Headquarters when a group of 80-200 Sri Lankan militants of People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE)...
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September 28, 2018
Celebrating Surgical Strikes or Hiding Dismal Aftermath?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)What have surgical strikes achieved in the long term? Has terrorism stopped? Have the heads of terrorists groups gone underground in POK? Is there a reduction in recruitment? Has Pak Army stopped supporting terrorist infiltration?
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September 19, 2018
Coming Up – 19th Indo-Russian Summit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Russian President Vladimir Putin is to arrive in New Delhi for the 19th Indo-Russian summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 5. Modi had invited Putin for the 19th Annual Summit in India at the first informal Summit between the two leaders on May 21, 2018 at Sochi in the Russian Federation.
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September 19, 2018
Chagos Islands – Victim of British Skullduggery
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There was the time when the ‘sun did never set on the British Empire’. But that state was achieved through treachery, deceit and deception, with fair amount of immorality. Post Independence of India, British conspired invasion of J&K through Mountbatten, Lockhart and Douglas Gracey...
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September 19, 2018
Chabahar – time to operationalize
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Concurrent to the Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue in Delhi on September 6, India was also hosting Iran’s Roads & Urban Development Minister Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi who held discussions with his Indian counterpart Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation.
