Situation normal on LoC and LAC but…: New Army chief Manoj Pande on Pakistan, China

Army Chief Manoj Pande on Sunday said the situation on the Line of Actual Control is normal and India is very clear that it will not permit any change in the status quo. "The unilateral and provocative actions by our adversary with an aim to alter the status quo by force, I feel, have been adequate responded to," the Army chief said in an interview with news agency ANI.

Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh to be new navy vice chief

Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh will become the new vice chief of the Indian Navy, succeeding Vice Admiral Satishkumar Namdeo Ghormade, who retired on Friday. Singh, who has been deputy chief of Integrated Defence Staff (ops), graduated from the National Defence Academy in 1986 before being commissioned into the navy?s executive branch. He has held a range of command, training and staff appointments, and has served on the most class of ships of the Indian Navy over the past three decades.

Covid in India: Which states tweaked guidelines amid spike in cases this week

India recorded 2,994 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, with the active caseload at 16,354, according to union health ministry data. The daily positivity rate stands at 2.09%, while the weekly positivity rate is at 2.03%, as per the latest health bulletin. Several states, including Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, have seen a rise in cases over the past few days, prompting officials to urge people to follow Covid protocols, such as wearing masks and avoiding crowded places, to reduce the spread of the infection. The government has also issued revised guidelines for Covid-19 treatment.

PM Modi reviews operational readiness of armed forces in Bhopal

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assessed the operational readiness of the country's armed forces during a security review at the Combined Commanders' Conference in Bhopal. Officials said that the conference focused on a range of issues, including evolving a joint military vision for the future, theaterisation, self-reliance, modernisation, and cyber security. The conference came as the government is pushing the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, that seeks to empower it to set up inter-services organisations, including joint services commands.

Navjot Singh Sidhu was asked about Amritpal. He said...

Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was recently released from prison, made several statements about the state of democracy and politics in Punjab. He accused the central government of trying to impose President's Rule in Punjab, and claimed that there was a conspiracy to weaken the state. He also praised Rahul Gandhi as a revolutionary figure who was trying to free democracy from its shackles. Additionally, he criticized the agencies as being rubber stamps and claimed that he was not scared of death because he was fighting for the next generation of Punjab.

Russia-Ukraine conflict cannot be separated from G20, says US head of delegation

Christina Segal-Knowles, US sous Sherpa, has said that the G20 meeting cannot ignore the impact of the Ukraine crisis, as it is the root cause of food and energy insecurity, inflation and subsequent instability in financial systems. Segal-Knowles, who is special assistant to the president and senior director for international economics, also said that the G20 states are having to renegotiate the text to describe the Ukraine crisis in outcome documents because “two countries have just walked away from language that their leaders had agreed” at the G20 Summit in Indonesia last year.

‘Assault on family system’: Jamiat moves plea in SC opposing same sex marriage

The Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has opposed petitions demanding legal recognition for same-sex marriages in a filing to the Indian Supreme Court, claiming that it “attacks the family system”. The group argued in the application that the right to marriage between a man and a woman is enshrined in the personal laws of all religions, and that the petitions “intends to rake up the very core” of family law by proposing a “free-floating system” contrary to established societal norms. The Centre has previously filed an affidavit to oppose the recognition of same-sex marriages.

Navjot Sidhu walks out of jail after 10 months: ‘Rahul Gandhi name of…’

Navjot Singh Sidhu, the former Punjab Congress president, has been released from jail after serving 10 months of a sentence for the 1988 road rage death of Gurnam Singh. Sidhu has been an outspoken critic of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its policies in Punjab, and warned of attempts to stoke violence and bring President's Rule in the region. He also praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as the name of a forthcoming revolution that will shake the government.

Evening brief: Iran judiciary chief's 'without mercy' warning on hijab for women, and all the latest news

Iran's judiciary chief has threatened to prosecute women who appear in public without hijab "without mercy", according to Iranian media. The country's compulsory dress code has been increasingly flouted by women in recent years, with some staging protests against the law. The issue has also been highlighted by social media campaigns, with women sharing pictures of themselves without headscarves under the hashtag #MyStealthyFreedom.

GST revenue in FY23 crossed ₹18 lakh crore: Union finance ministry

India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collected in March reached INR 1.6tn ($21.6bn), the second-highest monthly collection since the tax was launched in July 2017, according to the country's finance ministry. Total gross revenue for the 2022-23 financial year surpassed INR 18tn with over 22% YoY growth. The data showed that IGST collections were the highest ever, while CGST was INR 29,546 crore, SGST was INR 37,314 crore, IGST was INR 82,907 crore and cess was INR 10,355 crore.

'Supari' for maligning my image, inside and outside...: PM Modi in Bhopal

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accused the opposition Congress party of failing to invest in the country's railways, which he said had led to a dilapidated service, and of focusing on the interests of one family. Speaking at the launch of a new high-speed train, Modi said the railways had been left to decay under previous governments and that passengers had stopped complaining as they knew there would be no solution. Modi also accused opponents of trying to damage his reputation, but said he was now "every Indian's suraksha kavach", or protection.

‘Air, road, rail connectivity to all NE capitals by 2025’: Amit Shah in Mizoram

India's Union home minister Amit Shah has pledged that all eight capitals of the country's northeastern states will have rail, road and air connectivity by 2025. Speaking at a public meeting in Mizoram, Shah said that peace and development had increased in the region since 2014, with projects worth INR1.76tn ($23.3bn) being undertaken to increase connectivity. The minister also inaugurated and laid foundation stones for a range of development projects worth INR2.42bn.

India’s defence exports reach ₹15,920 cr in 2022-23, tenfold jump in 6 years

India's defence exports reached a record high of INR 159.2 billion ($2.1 billion) in FY 2022-23, a tenfold increase from INR 1.5 billion in 2016-17, according to government data. The rise was attributed to policies aimed at boosting exports, including the creation of a high-powered panel for swifter export approvals. India is exporting military hardware, including missiles, helicopters, offshore patrol vessels, and personal protective gear, to around 85 countries. Potential products for export include the light combat aircraft Tejas, helicopters, artillery guns, and tanks.

Dubai-bound FedEx aircraft hit by bird, emergency landing at Delhi airport

A FedEx cargo flight from Delhi to Dubai was forced to make a full emergency landing after being hit by a bird soon after takeoff. Flight FX5279 landed safely and took off again three hours later. The bird strike follows heavy rain and bad weather in the Delhi area, which has caused several passenger flights to be diverted in recent days.

Hot summer, above normal temperature in most parts of India from April-June: IMD

India is expected to experience above-normal maximum temperatures from April to June, except for parts of northwest and peninsular regions, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The IMD also predicted above-normal heatwave days in most parts of central, east and northwest India during this period, with Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana expected to experience a significantly higher number of heatwave days. Normal to above-normal minimum temperatures are also likely over most parts of the country.

Navjot Singh Sidhu set to walk out of Patiala jail after serving 10 months in 1988 road rage case

Indian politician Navjot Singh Sidhu is due to be released from jail after serving 10 months for a road rage incident in 1988. Several Congress leaders and supporters gathered outside Patiala's central jail to welcome the former cricketer. Sidhu's release was brought forward due to his good conduct during his imprisonment, his lawyer said. The 59-year-old former state Congress chief was sentenced to one year in jail over the death of a 65-year-old man in the road rage incident.