Experts Speak
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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.
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September 19, 2018
Nepal in Dragon’s Jaws
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China has agreed to allow Nepal to use four seaports and three land ports for the third country trade. The seaports are Shenzen, Lianyungang, Zhanjiang and Tianjin, and the land ports are Lanzhou, Lhasa and Xigatse.
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September 19, 2018
More Muscle for Artillery
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Indian Army requires some 3,000-4,000 artillery pieces over the next 15 years. Four type of guns and howitzers are presently under induction: one, M777 155mm ultra light howitzer (ULH), two, K9 Vajra Self-Propelled 155mm Tracked Howitzer...
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September 7, 2018
Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The first ever Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue finally took place on September 6, 2018 after two postponements over past one year.
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September 7, 2018
Visit of Chinese Defence Minister
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Commenting on multiple transgression by the across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) including a major one in Sikkim post the informal summit in Wuhan between Prime Minister Narendar Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Claude Arpi, expert on Tibet and India-China relations wrote in his article titled 'The Curious Case of Demchok', "The 'spirit of Wuhan' had clearly been forgotten.
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September 7, 2018
India-China Boundary Talks
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India and China have so far held 20 rounds of Special Representative-level talks to resolve the dispute over the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC).
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September 7, 2018
ISRO's Manned Mission – and more
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)During his address from Red Fort on 15 August 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would launch a manned mission in space in the year 2022 - the 75th Independence year.
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September 7, 2018
Is Imran Khan another Musharraf
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Imran Khan is the second Pathan to be elevated to the top job in Pakistan after Yahya Khan. His radical background is well established known. His links with Taliban and his funding of the Haqqani seminary known as the 'Oxford of Global Jihad' is well documented, which earned him the title of "Taliban Khan".
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September 7, 2018
Indo-Russian Defence Cooperation
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Speaking to Russian media in June 2018, the Indian Ambassador to Russia had said that India is continuing to negotiate with Russia for jointly developing a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA).
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August 16, 2018
Prime Minister's Independence Day Message
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort for his fifthtime Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke mostly about the achievements of his government over the past four years including the various schemes launched by his administration, and future dreams.
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August 16, 2018
Delhi's Missile Shield
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Delhi is to get a missile shield "soon", which the media says will be akin to that of Washington and Moscow. Going by past experience, the "soon" could be any number of months, even years.
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August 16, 2018
Quading China
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is a viewpoint that the fast developing US-Japan-Vietnam-Australia-India consort, coupled with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), would increase China's Malacca dilemma for its energy imports notwithstanding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and alternate through Myanmar.
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August 16, 2018
Indo-US Defence Technology Conundrum
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)There is jubilation in India over the US granting the Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 (STA-1) that will ease export controls for high technology product sales to the country.
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August 16, 2018
Over 300 Army-men Knock on SC Door
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In an unprecedented move over 300 serving Army-men, in personal capacity, moved a writ petition to the Supreme Court on 14 August 2018 over their fundamental rights, asking whether a soldier's discretion can be put under legal scrutiny.
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August 16, 2018
Advancements in Artillery
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Chinese media has reported development of new electromagnetic rockets for artillery units that would be more powerful than most conventional artillery and ideal for high altitude regions.
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August 3, 2018
Modi's Rwanda, Uganda visit and BRICS summit
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)As part of his recent three-nation tour to Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Rwanda, Uganda and then South Africa where he attended the BRICS summit.
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August 3, 2018
India, Pakistan in SCO drill – Option in lighter vein
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Going by media reports India and Pakistan are to be part of anti-terror mega drill in Russia under aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) next month; scheduled from August 22 to August 29.
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August 3, 2018
Chief Guest Republic Day 2019 – Donald Trump?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Going by media reports, US President Donald Trump has been invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade 2019.
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August 3, 2018
Weapon upgrades for Special Forces
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Weapons and equipment are in the pipeline for the Special Forces. According to a MoD official, "More attention is being paid to Special Forces after Para (Special Forces) conducted cross-border surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan Occupied-Kashmir (POK) in September 2016."
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August 3, 2018
DTTI and futuristic weapons
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The 7th Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) meeting was held in New Delhi on 18 July 2018, co-chaired by, Ajay Kumar, Secretary Defence Production and US Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen M Lord.
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August 3, 2018
Nuclear missile tracking ship
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)According to news in the media, India's secretive missile tracking / 'specialized' ocean surveillance ship 'VC11184' (yet to be commissioning) is undergoing harbour trials and is likely to be delivered to the Navy by December.
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July 16, 2018
Visit of South Korean President Moon Jae-in
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived on his first state visit to India on July 8. His four-day visit (8-11 July) marked the 45th anniversary of establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.
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July 16, 2018
Arrived - hand-held Laser Weapons
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China claims its newly developed ZKZM-500 laser assault rifle, a non-lethal weapon, can hit a target nearly a kilometer away.
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July 16, 2018
Choosing Assault Rifles and Carbines
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Ministry of Defence (MoD) reportedly sent team of military experts headed by a Brigadier to five countries to scout for rifles and carbines on June 30, 2018.
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July 16, 2018
Visit of Chinese military delegation
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In what was described as a "significant ice-breaker" by our media, a 10-member Chinese delegation led by Lt Gen Liu Xiaowu, Deputy Commander of Western Theatre Command (that controls China's borders with Myanmar, India, Nepal...
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July 16, 2018
Another Kargil Anniversary
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Come July 26, India will celebrate Op 'Vijay' Diwas; another anniversary synonymous with the date of culmination of the Kargil Conflict during 1999.
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July 4, 2018
Visit of Seychelles President – and Assumption Island
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Seychelles President Danny Faure arrived at Ahmedabad on evening of June 22 for a six-day visit to India. His visit included visiting Gujarat, New Delhi, Goa and Uttrakhand.
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July 4, 2018
ISJK in J&K
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Of the four terrorists killed in Anantnag area of J&K on 22 June 2018, police identified Dawood Ahmad Salafi, chief of ISJK (ISIS affiliate). Security forces cordon and search operation with inputs about presence of terrorists turned into gunfight after terrorists fired at security forces.
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July 4, 2018
New Chinese drones - formidable challenge
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)China is going full steam in developing drones. Its latest undersea drone 'Qianlong III' is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), which has dived deep into the South China Sea covering a distance of some 160 km in 42 hours.
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July 4, 2018
Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue – and the trade war
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue scheduled for July 6, 2018 at Washington DC, for which EAM Sushma Swaraj and RM Nirmala Sitharamn were to travel to Washington DC to hold discussions with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretay James Mattis, has been postponed for a second time.
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July 4, 2018
Pakistan on FATF grey list – and the hogwash counter?
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Pakistan was officially placed in the 'grey list' on June 28, 2018, after it failed to convince the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that it has taken significant steps to curb terror financing on its territory.
