Experts Speak
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February 20, 2017
Policy on Unmanned Vehicles - setting course is good
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)DRDO Director General Dr S Christopher's statement on February 11, 2017...
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February 20, 2017
Tri-Service Commands - must get them right
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)After a lapse of over a year, news is media is again talking of Tri-Service Commands and other measures like appointing a single-point military adviser...
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February 20, 2017
Big Stride in Ballistic Missile Defence
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)February, 11, 2017 was a great day for the DRDO and the nation. At precisely 0745 hours, DRDO successfully test-fired a interceptor missile off Odisha coast and achieved a significant milestone for developing a two-layered Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system; an incoming missile was successfully intercepted at a height of 100 kms with a direct hit by an interceptor missile.
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February 2, 2017
Defence Budget 2017-2018
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Defence has been allocated 2,74,114 crore ($40.31 billion) for fiscal year 2017-2018. This does not include the pensions bill which itself is close to 85,000 crore per annum.
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January 9, 2017
The China factor in Kashmir
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)That China is the central actor behind the problems in J&K is still not fully acknowledged by our policy makers. Not that it is a new development but the understanding remained coloured with the advice of our intelligence agencies who refused to get out of the time wrap.
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January 9, 2017
Why India should never join CPEC
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Khaled Ahmed, consulting editor, ‘Newsweek’ Pakistan, in his recent article titled ‘Corridor of Uncertainty’ writes that Pakistan’s General Riaz inviting India...
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January 9, 2017
SAAW – targeting enemy airfields
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)On December 24, 2016 India successfully tested an indigenous Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from an Indian Air Force aircraft. The captive and release trials were tracked by radar and telemetry ground stations at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha during the entire duration of the flight.
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India joins ICBM 5000+ league
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)India successfully undertook the fourth and final test firing of the Agni-V today (December 26) from Wheeler Island, off the coast of Odisha. This is a wholly indigenously developed ICBM, which by itself is a gigantic achievement.
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Heart of Asia Pak proxies named
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)In his inaugural address at the Sixth Ministerial ‘Heart of Asia’ Conference at Amritsar, represented by some 30 countries and international and regional organizations and co-chaired by Finance Minister of India and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the following major points...
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Visit of Israeli President cementing ties
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)The eight-day visit to India in November by President Reuven Rivlin of Israel further cemented India-Israel bilateral relations. His visit was the first one by an Israeli President after 1996 when President Ezer Weizman had visited India.
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Coming - Armed drones
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd)Pakistan tested its indigenous ‘Burraq’ UCAV last year and according to the Dawn quoting industry insiders, in 2015 China had offered to sell Pakistan its CH-3 UCAV, which can carry two laser-guided missiles or bombs.
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PM Modi’s Japan visit - Historic nuclear deal signed
By Lt. General P.C. KatochPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan on November 11-12 may be termed the most historic as making an exception; Japan has signed a civil-nuclear cooperation deal with India.
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ISRO: Of Satellites, Moon and Mars
By Lt. General P.C. KatochIt may be recalled that on June 22, 2016, India launched 20 satellites in one go, which was the maximum ever by ISRO. The world record for launching the maximum number of satellites in one shot is currently held by Russia, which launched 37 satellites on June 19, 2014.
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Blacklisting Redefined
By Lt. General P.C. KatochSince December 2014, media was reporting that a new government policy legalizing middlemen in arms purchases, a source of massive controversies in the past would be in place soon.
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OROP: One-Man Judicial Commission
By Lt. General P.C. KatochPoliticization of the unfortunate suicide of Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal was indeed bad. The JCO's suicide note reportedly stated he was taking that drastic action not having been given the benefit of OROP.
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Internet of Things (IoT) and Dangers in Cyberspace
By Lt. General P.C. KatochMuch has been said in recent years about Internet of Things (IoT); it is coming, it has arrived or it is growing rapidly. But the enormity of IoT can be gauged from the one forecast that by 2030 there will be over 26 billion connected devices that would average to about six connected devices per each person on this planet.
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Xi Jinping - China’s “Core Leader”
By Lt. General P.C. KatochThe Communist Party of China (CPC) has anointed President Xi Jinping as the “Core Leader” of China, which places him on par with Mao Tse Tung and Deng Xiaoping. Xi Jinping is expected to take China to the next level of becoming a ‘Great Power’.
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Visit of Aung San Suu Kyi
By Lt. General P.C. KatochMyanmar Foreign Minister and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s four-day visit to India after attending the BRICS summit at Goa provided fresh impetus to India-Myanmar relations.
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Deriding military - Continues unabated
By Lt. General P.C. KatochThe latest attack on the military’s ethos came from the MoD through the GoI letter number A/24577/CAO/CP Cell dated October 18, described by a national daily in talking about rank “equivalence” between defence officers and “armed forces headquarters civil service officers”.
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India-Russia relations take next step
By Lt. General P.C. KatochThe recent meet between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Putin of Russia on the sidelines of the BRICs summit at Goa and the deals signed between India and Russia have silenced the critics that the Modi Government is putting all its eggs in the basket of America.
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Big ticket acquisitions - Overshadowing cutting edge again?
By Lt. General P.C. KatochAs per media reports, the MoD is working towards seeking an annual hike of eight percent in terms of capital expenditure...
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When will our military get its due?
By Lt. General P.C. KatochIndia’s Presidents have said that the military is the last bastion of India. The typical example of today is that while the J&K State Administration in the Valley responsible for the current messy situation went ineffective and the police abandoned their posts, the Army has been tasked to re-establish the rule of law.
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The Rafale Deal Finally Inked
By Lt. General P.C. Katoch16 years after the IAF projected the demanded for new multi-role fighters and four years after the Rafale deal was mooted in 2012, India has finally signed the agreement with France for 36 Rafale...
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Terrorist State Will Pakistan get the tag?
By Lt. General P.C. KatochSeptember 20 was historical with US Congressman Ted Poe, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, and Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, introduced ‘H.R.6069, the Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act’ in the US Congress.
