Asked if he would indeed resign, Singh retorted: “Please leave it to my judgement on what I want to do. It concerns me and I may decide on my action after thinking over it whenever I get the time.” Soon, another question popped up: Is this your last Army Day press conference as army chief? General Singh’s enigmatic reply: “I don’t know.”
Army’s artillery buy in a confused mess
In the background of these challenges and the defence ministry’s inaction on a decision to blacklist the Singapore-based company, the OFB mandate should not become an excuse for lack of movement on the procurement of artillery by the army. Already, the ministry has been reported to have indicated it cannot move on the procurement as the matter is sub judice. At the same time, it has not decided the issue either, as is evident from the observations of the court. This has held up the acquisition of crucial types of artillery again, after the multiple cancellation of tenders since the Bofors buy.
Letter on army chief my personal opinion: Amarinder
In a clarification issued here after it was reported that Former Punjab chief minister, Amarinder Singh had favored correcting the birth records of the army chief in a letter to letter he wrote to Defense Minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony, the state Congress president said he had written the letter about a month ago putting forth his “opinion on the issue” only in his “personal capacity”.
Uncertainty over Indian Army chief’s age rages
The complaint’s 90-day mandatory period for a response ended a month ago, but Antony has maintained that he was not bound by the Army Act under which the statutory plea had been made by General Singh.
India-China defence dialogue resumed; border mechanism gets a push
The fourth round of ADD, held after nearly two years, was led by India’s Defense Secretary Shashikant Sharma and Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Deputy Chief of General Staff General Ma Xiaotian. The two sides also discussed defense exchanges for 2012 and agreed to “gradually enhance” the range and scope of their interaction, according to Indian defense ministry officials.
Antony leaves for Japan to further defense relations
Defense Minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony Tuesday left for Japan on a daylong visit where he is expected to explore opportunities for furthering the bilateral military relations in global and regional security matters, maritime security, anti-piracy operations, counter-terrorism and humanitarian assistance.
