Month: May 2025

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Amid Pakistan’s threat to suspend the 1972 Simla Agreement with India, Russia has backed the agreement saying the 2 countries should settle their disagreements bilaterally in line with the same and also the 1999 Lahore Declaration. This was mentioned in a Russian readout of a conversation that foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar about the Pahalgam terrorist attack on Saturday.Jaishankar reiterated in his talks with Lavrov that perpetrators, planners and backers of the Pahalgam must be brought to justice. India sees Pakistan as having done little to respect the principles enshrined in the Simla Agreement but acknowledges its importance in underlining the significance of bilateralism in addressing disputes. The agreement has also been important for upholding the sanctity of the LoC, which resulted from the ceasefire of December 1971, non-interference in each […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: After PM Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh is also set to skip Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow next week, amid heightened tensions with Pakistan. India is keeping all military options open against its western neighbour, as rival armies continue to exchange small arms fire along LoC.Junior defence minister Sanjay Seth is likely to represent India at the 80th Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9, an official said Saturday.Though Russia had invited Modi for the ceremony, it was earlier decided that Singh would attend the event. Russia has invited leaders of several friendly nations, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to attend the Victory Day parade.Army Saturday said Pak Army had again "resorted to unprovoked small-arms firing" at its posts from across the LoC in areas like Kupwara, Uri and Akhnoor in J&K during the night. […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Govt has told industry that current discussions for the proposed trade deal with the US are focusing on products or tariffs lines, and has sensitised it about the possible rules of origin that will determine if an item qualifies for duty concessions or not.During a meeting on Friday, businesses were also asked to be prepared for reciprocal tariffs in some form after the current pause ends in early July.Indian govt asks exporters to flag US trade hurdles At a meeting with industry on Friday, the commerce department sought a detailed list of non-tariff barriers faced by Indian exporters, which it can take up during negotiations with the United States.India's expectations from the negotiations were not shared with industry representatives, nor were their inputs sought on how to go about sector-specific talks. The meeting, however, marks the first […]

[ad_1] Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif (PTI Image) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during his meeting with Turkiye Ambassador Dr Irfan Neziroglu in Islamabad on Saturday, said that Pakistan's response was "responsible and measured to India's provocative actions" after the Pahalgam terror attack, which has claimed the lives of 26, including a Nepalese tourist, as reported by Radio Pakistan.The prime minister emphasised that "despite India's provocative actions following the Pahalgam incident, Pakistan's response was responsible and measured".Reiterating Pakistan's stance against terrorism, he stated that the nation has consistently opposed all forms of terrorist activities.The prime minister claimed that India has "failed to share any evidence and is falsely trying to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack".He further alleged that India has "yet to respond to Pakistan's offer to have a credible, transparent and neutral international investigation to ascertain the facts behind […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: The Army is going in for the procurement of another lot of man-portable air defence missile systems, which can intercept and destroy hostile fighter jets, aircraft, drones and helicopters at ranges up to 6-km, amid the ongoing tensions with Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror massacre.The defence ministry-Army on Friday issued the tender or RFP (request for proposal) for 48 launchers, 48 night-vision sights, 85 missiles and a missile test station of the very short-range air defence system-new generation (VSHORADS-NG). Vendors have been told to submit their bids by May 20."The fire-and-forget VSHORADS-NG, based on infra-red homing technology, are needed by Army to meet the evolving dynamic air threat. There are major shortages in such man-portable systems for terminal and point defence against all types of aerial threats," an officer said.The RFP said the all-weather air defence system, […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: In a move to boost New Delhi's surveillance power amid heightened military tension, the US state department has approved the sale of HawkEye 360 technology to India, which will help the country gain maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific, aided by a growing constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit.The proposed sale, the state department statement said, "will improve India's capabilities to meet current and future threats by bolstering its maritime domain awareness, analytical abilities and strategic posture".A US Defence Security Cooperation Agency statement said New Delhi requested purchase of the SeaVision software, including its preferred software enhancements, training as a technical assistance field team, remote software, analytic support, documents, and other logistics and programme support elements. The estimated total cost is $131 million. "The principal contractor will be Hawkeye360, located in Herndon, Virginia," the statement said. […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: In a sudden move, govt has removed Krishnamurthy Subramanian, its nominee on the IMF board, six months before his tenure was to end.The decision comes days before a crucial meeting of the IMF board to decide on a fresh $1.3bn climate resilience loan to Pakistan. Govt has upped the ante at multilateral agencies, including World Bank & ADB, seeking to block the flow of financial support to Pakistan. Subramanian did not respond to a text message from TOI late Saturday evening.Finance secretary Ajay Seth frontrunner to replace Subramanian Govt sources said the decision to recall K Subramanian from the IMF board came after the former chief economic adviser in the finance ministry questioned IMF datasets, the latest episode in his skirmishes with the multilateral agency. Besides, there are allegations of impropriety by the Indian School of Business […]

[ad_1] IMPHAL: Life ground to a halt across Manipur's Imphal Valley and Kuki-majority hill districts Saturday as communities marked two years since ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo groups erupted on May 3, 2023.Shops and markets were shuttered, schools and colleges closed, public transport halted, and govt offices saw near-total absenteeism. Pharmacies remained shut in Imphal.More than 260 people have been killed, over 1,500 wounded, and at least 70,000 displaced since the conflict began, with divisions deepening between the Meitei in the valley and Kuki-Zo tribes in the hills. Thousands continue to live as internally displaced persons (IDPs) in overcrowded camps and prefabricated shelters, grappling with trauma and economic hardship.A "Peoples' Convention" was held at Khuman Lampak stadium complex in Imphal by Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI). Kuki-Zo groups observed a solemn "Day of Separation" with memorials at the […]