New Delhi, Sep 11 : The Indian Army is planning to cut around 1.5 lakh jobs over the next four to five years so as to divert the funds to be used to purchase modern weapons for fulfilling Narendra Modi’s idea of ‘lean and mean’ force.belying expectations of a significant hike .when the armed forces are facing growing challenge on the borders with both Pakistan and China.

As per media reports, job cuts will help the army in saving around Rs 7,000 crore which will be used to buy weapons.

Indian Army reviewed wide-ranging issues including cutting the personnel strength of the 1.2-million strong Indian Army force and merger of different verticals to optimise its functioning as per the order on Jun21,According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the reduction in the work-force will be done by revamping the verticals.

On September 1, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved the acquisition of 6.5 lakh assault rifles, under the “Make in India” program. The Indian Army issued a Request for Information (RFI) for the purchase of 7.62×39 square mm calibre assault r

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has confirmed that Indian Athlete Hima Das will be named as the first sports ambassador of the state.

The announcement came after Hima Das recently became the first Indian woman to win gold at IAAF World U-20 Athletics Championships.

The 18-year-old made the country proud as she scripted history by clinching the top spot in the women’s 400 m final race at the Championships which was held in France.

est-selling author Preeti Shenoy announced the launch of her new book, 'The Rule Breakers'.

The book claims to explore complex themes of women's equality, gender, and inclusion among others.

The novel set in the '90s is the story of Veda, who harbors big dreams, but finds herself trapped in an arranged marriage and realizes that her opinions in real life don't matter.

Om Prakash Mishra, who studied law in India, is set to become Nepal's new Chief Justice after the Parliamentary Hearing Committee Monday unanimously endorsed his name for the top judicial post.

Mishra, the senior-most justice after Justice Deepak Raj Joshee, will assume charge as the Chief Justice after President Bidya Devi Bhandari officially appoints him.

The Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC) conducted hearings on complaints filed against Mishra before giving its approval ..

The mid-air re-fuelling of wet contact trial for Light Combat Aircraft, LCA Tejas MK-1 was successfully carried out from an Indian Air Force base.

Defence Ministry in a release said, the trial was a part of the Air-to-Air refuelling flight tests conducted by Indian Air Force. Before this wet contact trial, the dry contact trials were successfully conducted last week.

The Ministry said, Indian Air Force provided all required support to DRDO including the tanker aircraft for the successful test flight.

The Air-to-Air refuelling capability for Tejas is a force multiplier for the Indian Air Force, giving the aircraft the potential to stay airborne for much longer periods of time. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has complimented DRDO, Indian Air Force, HAL and other agencies involved in the mission. (AIR)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, and Chief Ministers of West Bengal and Tripura today jointly inaugurated three projects in Bangladesh via video conferencing.

These include 500 MW additional power supply from India to Bangladesh, Akhaura - Agartala Rail Link and Rehabilitation of the Kulaura-Shahbazpur section of Bangladesh Railways.

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Modi recalled Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s vision of restoring connectivity to the way it was before 1965.

He said that he is happy that in the last few years, there has been steady progress towards this goal. He said that today, both countries have increased power connectivity, and started two projects to increase railway connectivity.

Mr Modi recalled that during his visit to Bangladesh in 2015, it had been decided to supply an additional 500 MW power to Bangladesh. He said this is being done using the transmission link between West Bengal and Bangladesh, and thanked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her facilitation in completion of this work. He said that with the completion of this project, 1.16 Gigawatts of power is now being supplied from India to Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister said that Akhaura-Agartala rail connectivity will provide another link in the cross-border connectivity between the two countries. He thanked Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, for his facilitation in completion of this work.

LUCKNOW: As part of the ongoing Indo-US defence cooperation, a joint military training exercise "Yudh Abhyas 2018" will be conducted in the foothills of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand's Chaubattia from September 16-29, a spokesman of the Central Command said on Monday.

This will be the 14th edition of the joint military exercise hosted alternately by both the countries.

The two-week exercise will witness participation of about 350 personnel of the US Army and similar strength of ..

The Supreme Court on Monday asked additional sessions judge S.K. Yadav, who is hearing the Babri Masjid demolition cases against top BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders like L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and “lakhs of unknown kar sevaks”, to explain how he intends to complete the trial by April 2019, the stipulated deadline given by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court had on April 19, 2017, revived the criminal conspiracy charge against the top BJP leaders and transferred their case, languishing in the magistrate court at Rae Bareilly, to the additional sessions court (Ayodhya matters) in Lucknow.

In the Rae Bareilly case, the BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders are accused of having given speeches to promote enmity and threatening national integration.

Even as petrol and diesel climbed to all-time highs and the Opposition protested across the country Monday, the government ruled out any immediate reduction in excise duty in order to bring down the retail prices of auto fuels, and instead urged the states to take action. While Andhra Pradesh announced a Rs 2 per litre cut in VAT on petrol and diesel following poll-bound Rajasthan’s announcement of a 4 percentage point cut Sunday, states have been largely unenthusiastic.

Why is it so difficult for governments to cut taxes on auto fuels?

Taxes on petrol and diesel are a key revenue source for both the Centre and states, and a cut will hit their fiscal position.

The Centre mopped up Rs 2.29 lakh crore from excise duty on petroleum products in 2017-18 and Rs 2.42 lakh crore in 2016-17. Excise duty on petrol is currently Rs 19.48 per litre, and on diesel, Rs 15.33 per litre. The Centre raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up its finances as global oil prices fell. It cut excise duty just once — by Rs 2 per litre — in October last year.

Crude petroleum attracts 20% oil industry development cess, and a National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) of Rs 50 per metric tonne. There’s no Customs duty on crude, but petrol and diesel attract a Customs duty of 2.5%.

The Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with the previous sanction of the Centre has notified the amendments to the Reserve Bank of India (Note Refund) Rules, 2009, on September 5.

Samir Ghosh, General Secretary of All India Reserve Bank Employees Association, has requested the RBI to advise the Department of Currency Management to instruct all its offices and designated branches of banks for quick adjudication and payment of mutilated notes lying with the public, who also may be notified.

According to the amendments notified, the value of a mutilated note of less than Rs 50 (rupees fifty) denomination may be refunded in full if the undivided area of the single largest piece of the note is as specified in column (5) of table 1 below.