Experts Speak
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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 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
GSAT-29, Gaganyaan and more
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)ISRO launched GSAT-29 into orbit on November 14, India's latest satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The GSLV MkIII lifted the rocket into space, the heaviest rocket developed by ISRO.
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November 29, 2018
Coming – MH-60R Helicopters
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On 15 November 2018, MoD issued a 'letter of request' to the US government for acquisition of 24 naval multi-role MH-60 'Romeo' helicopters.
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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 29, 2018
Stealth Frigates with Russian Help
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In September 2018, our media had reported that government has cleared the way for one of the biggest purchases from Russia — $2.2billion frigates deal...
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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.
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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)...
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November 19, 2018
Arihant completes Deterrent Patrol
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)INS Arihant completed its maiden deterrent patrol at sea on 5 November 2018. Being the lead ship of India's Arihant class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, the 6,000 tonne vessel was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) Project at the Ship Building Centre in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
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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...
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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...
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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.
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October 30, 2018
Diving Support Vessels for Indian Navy
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Vishakhapatnam is to manufacture diving support vessels (DSVs) for the Indian Navy.
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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, the Home Minister, took stock of the progress of construction of border fencing, roads and outposts along India's borders with neighbouring...
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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...
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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
The Offsets Tangle - and question of favourites
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)That the Rafale is state-of-the-art fighter the IAF must get is unquestionable. But the brouhaha is about the joint venture (JV) between Dassault Aviation and Reliance Defence owned by Anil Ambani under the offset clause.
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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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October 6, 2018
India Must Acquire Amphibious Aircraft
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...
