Mirage Jet, Chinese PL-15 Missile, Turkish YIHA Drones: India Counts Pak's Big Losses
In the wake of Operation Sindoor, the Indian Armed Forces showed the debris believed to be from a PL-15 air-to-air missile, a Chinese-origin weapon reportedly deployed by Pakistan during the recent offensive against India. The wreckage of the Turkish-origin YIHA and Songar drones that were shot down by India were also shown in the joint press conference. Watch.
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Hans India
15 minutes ago
- Hans India
The Third Eye: Envisioning India's national security policy
New Delhi: When Prime Minister Modi briefly addressed the nation in the wake of Operation Sindoor, on May 12, he laid down some postulates that could be deemed to be a part of the country's national security policy. Many strategic analysts had been advocating for a formal declaration of National Security Policy (NSP) little realising that the release of any of its details in public domain could benefit the opponent and also that such a policy might require revisiting because of the changes in geopolitical scenario affecting the international spectrum of friends and adversaries. Prime Minister Modi's statement that any further terror attack from Pakistan will be considered as an 'act of war' and responded to by our defence forces accordingly, certainly was an immutable part of our security doctrine that matched with India's call for 'zero tolerance towards terrorism of all kinds', made from all international platforms. We may attempt to visualise the lasting paradigms of foreign and internal policies that would constitute our NSP even when we choose not to release any such formal document. When the Cold War ended at the beginning of the 90s, countries -big and small -sensed relief from the tension that existed between the two superpowers and felt free to assert their place under the sun. It is no wonder therefore, that the post-Cold War era became an era of 'proxy wars' marked by a sudden rise in insurgencies, separatist movements and cross-border militancy- their number touching the figure of 200 according to some estimates. Meanwhile, Pakistan was given full credit by the US for the success of the anti-Soviet armed campaign- run on the war cry of Jehad- which caused the dismemberment of the USSR and ended the Cold War. What Pakistan did however, was to immediately think of replicating the success of Afghan Jehad in Kashmir and sent in the dreaded Harkat- ul -Ansar (HUA)-a mix of radical Islamic militants including elements of Taliban, to make what turned out to be a failed attempt to 'liberate' the valley. Faith-based terrorism is now a prime threat to the democratic world as a whole and it is good that both the US and Russia are against Islamic terror- the latter witnessed a terror attack on a concert hall in Moscow by ISIS-K, the competitor of Al Qaeda originating from Iraq-Syria region during the US-led 'war on terror'. The attack carried out in March 2024 by a group of four terrorists armed with automatic rifles resulted in the killing of 145 persons including many children and injuries to 500 others. Terrorism will remain a prime threat to India and our NSP rightly puts it on top of the security agenda. India's experience with Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War years was a mixed bag. India apparently tilted towards one side in the combative ideological battle of the two superpowers- between International Communism propounded by the Soviet Union and Capitalism with free market practised by the US leading the West. Post-Cold War, India has come on its own on the basis of 'mixed economy' and shown the way for geopolitically remaining aligned only with friends across the international community on the basis of a mutually beneficial relationship. That India is against all military conflicts and is committed to world peace, has been clearly stated by Prime Minister Modi as a policy approach and this should serve India well in the long term. This stand goes with a conscious effort to make India economically strong and self-sufficient in defence and it is a matter of great satisfaction that Prime Minister Modi was personally taking initiatives on both fronts. The policy of inviting foreign investment in the defence sector on the condition that technology will be shared and production in India will be encouraged, is to be treated as a part of our security mandate. Foreign policy of India favours bilateral friendships in a multipolar world order and this has enabled the country to appropriately respond to military conflicts witnessed in many parts of the world. India has to be prepared to deal with the two adversaries on its borders acting in concert against this country. India's national security policy has to reckon with the threat posed by the Sino-Pak axis- particularly in Kashmir as was evident during the post-Pahalgam military confrontation between India and Pakistan. Indo-US friendship can be sustained by the shared opposition to 'Islamic terrorism' and also by the American firm support to India against any hostile acts of China. It should be indicated by India that its active participation in the Quad needed to be reciprocated by the US in preventing any Chinese aggressiveness in the Indian Ocean. Trump administration must look upon the Pak-Afghan belt as a festering ground for Islamic terrorism and India must continue to educate the former on the situation there, Biden administration seemed to have been somewhat negligent towards this region. The US needs to be constantly reminded that Pakistan had cleverly tried to be in the good books of America while harbouring radical terrorist groups on its soil, despite the fact that Islamic radicals regarded US as their prime enemy. At the same time Pakistan had brought about a settlement between the Taliban Emirate and China. American policymakers should take notice of this. The evolution of national security policy of India should be regarded as a work in progress with continuity on some fundamental points of strategic interest of India and scope for tactical adjustments depending upon geopolitical shifts and the world's economic trends. The national security policy of India would not be complete without defining the nation's approach to safeguarding its internal security, integrity and unity. A vast diverse country like India has been vulnerable to conflicts rooted in caste, creed and region and needed a set of policies that upheld fundamental rights, freedom of citizens to visit and settle down in any part of the state and access to justice. Maintenance of law and order should be strong across the length and breadth of the country and since this was a state subject the Centre's right to take note of any gross failure of a state on that front, should be further strengthened. This has become even more important in these times when the adversary can remotely instigate internal trouble by activating its 'sleeper cells' through digital media. It is heartening to note that the Union Home Minister is already working for better coordination between the central agencies and state Police forces as part of the national security policy. (The writer is a former Director Intelligence Bureau)
Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
UP tourism minister Jaiveer Singh flags off first batch of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from Indrapuram
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Uttar Pradesh Tourism and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh , Bharatiya Janata Party MP Atul Garg, and former Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam on Sunday flagged off a batch of 50 pilgrims for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from Indirapuram in Uttar Pradesh."After the return of this group, the UP government will immediately send a grant of Rs 1 lakh to the accounts of all the natives of Uttar Pradesh who are a part of this group..." Singh told Pramod Krishnam stated that the Mansarovar Yatra was flagged off under the leadership of the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and also thanked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi "This is such an auspicious occasion... Under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath, a great ascetic and deeply religious person, we have flagged off the Mansarovar Yatra. The credit for this goes to PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath. This is the era of Sanatan..." Krishnam told for its religious value, cultural significance, physical beauty and exciting natural environment, Kailash Manasarovar Yatra is undertaken by several people every year. It holds religious importance for Hindus, Jains and of India organises the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra every year between June and September, through the two official routes of Lipulekh Pass (since 1981) in Uttarakhand and Nathu La Pass (since 2015) in Yatra had not taken place since 2020 following the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent non-renewal of Yatra arrangements by the Chinese side had taken up the issue of resumption of Kailash Manasarovar Yatra with the Chinese side in its diplomatic engagements, including in the meetings of External Affairs Minister with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of G-20 Summit on 18 November 2024 in Rio de Janeiro and on the sidelines of G-20 Foreign Ministers meeting on February 20-21, 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the 23rd meeting of the Special Representatives of India and China on the Boundary Question held on 18 December 2024 in Beijing, and in the meeting of Foreign Secretary with Vice Foreign Minister of China on 27 January 2025, in Beijing."Lake Manasarovar lies at 4,590 metres (15,060 feet) above sea level and is one of the highest freshwater lakes in the world. As per Hindu theology, drinking water from Lake Manasarovar cleanses all the sins of the past hundred lives! However, whether it is the pristine beauty of the region or its religious significance or the thrilling nature of the trek through snow covered hilly terrains, the Yatra is a much sought-after out of the world experience," according to an information guide put up by the Ministry of External Affairs on its Indian citizen, holding a valid Indian passport and aged between 18 and 70 years as on January 1, of the Yatra year, is eligible to apply for the are selected in the draw through a fair, computer-generated, random, gender-balanced selection the selected Yatris are informed of their selection through SMS and email year, 5,561 applicants had successfully registered online, which included 4,024 male applicants and 1,537 female applicants, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs dated May 21.A total of 750 selected Yatris will travel in 5 batches of 50 Yatris each via the Lipulekh route, and 10 batches of 50 Yatris each via the Nathu La route. Both routes are now fully motorable and involve very little trekking, MEA had said in the statement in May.
Indian Express
23 minutes ago
- Indian Express
As tariff differential with China narrows, policymakers recalibrate India's relative market access dynamics into US
A fresh tweak in America's tariffs on China has policymakers in New Delhi reaching for their calculators again for a keenly tracked metric here — the effective duty on Chinese products on a landed basis across US ports in commodity categories where Indian producers are reasonably competitive. The net tariff differential with India, and how that curve continues to move, is of particular interest here, given the firm belief in policy circles here that Washington DC would ensure a reasonable tariff differential between China and India. This is, in turn, expected to tide over some of India's structural downsides — infrastructural bottlenecks, logistics woes, high interest cost, the cost of doing business, corruption, etc. On the face of it, Trump's announcement of 55 per cent tariffs on China theoretically means a near 30 percentage point tariff differential when compared with the 26 per cent levy on India for now. One, for the Donald Trump administration, whose tariff proposals generally have had a half life of less than 10 days, it is not clear how long the new tariffs announced on China after the latest round of talks between the two sides in London would last. Secondly, in the talks held by the two sides earlier in Geneva in May that led to a temporary truce, US tariffs on Chinese products were brought down from 145 per cent to 30 per cent and Beijing slashed levies on US imports to 10 per cent, while promising to lift barriers on critical mineral exports. In his social media post Wednesday, Trump claimed the US would impose tariffs on Chinese goods of 55 per cent. But here's the catch: White House officials were quoted as saying that the figure included tariffs put in place during Trump's first term. So, while the 55 per cent tariff on imported Chinese goods might seem to retain a reasonable differential over the tariffs imposed by the US on India, this figure includes a 25 per cent pre-existing tariff that was imposed by Trump in his first term, and that the Biden administration persisted with. The remaining components of this 55 per cent tariff are the 10 per cent baseline 'reciprocal' tariff and the 20 per cent tariff imposed initially by the Trump administration on China citing fentanyl trafficking. So, the effective tariff calculation on China should ideally exclude the 25 per cent pre-existing tariff, which pretty much negates the impression of a sizable tariff difference with India; at least for now. 'We are getting a total of 55 per cent tariffs, China is getting 10 per cent. Relationship is excellent!' Trump wrote in his post, without elaborating. Even this, however, is subject to a 'final approval' by both Presidents, which means concurrence by Chinese President Xi Jinping. There has been no reaction so far from Beijing on Trump's social media post that effectively declared a victory of sorts in the trade war with China – ostensibly aimed at the domestic audience. Third, China is putting a six-month limit on rare earth and magnet export licenses for US automakers and manufacturers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday citing unnamed sources. The measure, according to analysts, is expected to provide Beijing with additional leverage in trade discussions and raise uncertainty for American industries dependent on these materials. The upside for India is that the trade deal under discussion with the US, which New Delhi is working to clinch before July 19, could see a further drop in tariffs from the current 26 per cent to closer to 10 per cent, the baseline tariff that the Trump administration is likely to persist with in the medium term. The problem, though, is that China's leverage in its trade discussions with the US could mean a further downward revision in tariffs from the effective 30 per cent that was arrived upon at the Geneva talks and seems to have been ratified in the London discussions. Though the details of the deal were still unclear, analysts predicted that China seems to have gained the upper-hand after its rare earth restrictions prompted US carmakers, including Ford Motor and Chrysler, to cut production. Chinese state media said earlier Wednesday that Beijing had reached a 'framework' for an agreement with the US during talks in London, but there was no official response from China on Trump's subsequent claims on Truth Social. Earlier, both the negotiating sides said they had agreed in principle to a framework for dialling down trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies. After the meeting in London — the second time the two sides have met in the last couple of months, since Trump's sweeping tariff onslaught — there were indications of a reconciliation. The London meeting follows a call between Trump and Xi on June 5, which was initiated by the White House — the first call since Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement. What is, however, beginning to get clearer after the second meeting is that this is perhaps not how the US imagined the trade war to unfold. China is beginning to dictate the direction of the bilateral talks, with the US almost seen as requesting for much-needed concessions on the resumption of supplies of critical inputs. In the first round of talks in Geneva, the US delegation led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had asked the Chinese to cut its tariffs in tandem with theirs, primarily because the Americans were facing the heat back home from the early fallout of the high tariffs, including empty shelves at grocery stories and surging prices of daily use commodities. In London, the US side is learnt to have specifically asked the Chinese to 'suspend or remove' restrictions on rare earths magnets, which had forced a supply-chain crunch. Chinese export controls over rare earth minerals were high on the agenda of the meetings. While Beijing has not imposed an outright ban on the export of rare earth magnets, the process has been made very difficult; it could take a long time to source, posing shortage risks. Rare earth magnets, especially neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, are crucial for EV manufacturing. They provide the strong magnetic fields needed for efficient and powerful electric motors, including traction motors that drive EVs. These magnets also play a major role in other EV components like power steering systems, wiper motors and braking systems. China has a virtual stranglehold over these rare earth magnets. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had said China had failed to roll back restrictions on exports of rare earth magnets. In the run-up to this week's talks, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that it had approved some applications for rare earth export licences. The advantage wrested by the Chinese side by leveraging its strategy of weaponing its dominance in key sectors was a factor in the run-up to the London talks. Rare earth minerals and magnets is one such area, where the US is now desperate for concessions. Both sides have since claimed breaches on non-tariff pledges, but the Americans clearly seem more eager for a reconciliation, given the impact of the Chinese blockade on its key manufacturing sectors. China also has a stranglehold over other items such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, and control over elements that go into the battery manufacturing, including lithium and cobalt. Anil Sasi is National Business Editor with the Indian Express and writes on business and finance issues. He has worked with The Hindu Business Line and Business Standard and is an alumnus of Delhi University. ... Read More
