Explore Business Standard
National Security
In the second such visit from the Trump cabinet, US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz is set to be in India next month to unveil initiatives for cooperation in areas of high technology, critical minerals and export controls, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Waltz, known to be a votary of strong India-US ties, may visit India between April 21 to 23, they said, adding both sides are in the process of finalising the dates. US Vice President JD Vance is also considering paying a visit to India along with Indian-American Second Lady Usha Vance and their children in the next couple of months. It is learnt that Vance and his family were planning to travel to Shimla, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Delhi. Initially, the US Vice President was looking at visiting India in the second half of next month but it is understood that the plan may change. The visit by US NSA Waltz is taking place weeks after US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard visited India. The DN
The Trump administration's top intelligence officials face Congress this week to offer their first testimony in office about the threats facing the United States and tackle urgent questions about the security breach that unfolded when war plans were mistakenly leaked to a journalist. FBI Director Kash Patel, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard are among the witnesses who will appear Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee and Wednesday before the House Intelligence Committee in back-to-back hearings. Tuesday's hearing will take place one day after news broke that several top national security officials in the Republican administration, including Ratcliffe and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, texted war plans for military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic. The text chain contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in ...
Opposition members, mainly from the Congress and the DMK, on Wednesday staged a protest in the Lok Sabha over clearance granted to a renewable energy project near the India-Pakistan border and staged a walk out after "not getting a satisfactory reply" from the government. Asking a supplementary during Question Hour, Manish Tewari of the Congress said national security and energy security have to go hand in hand. He claimed the mixed renewable energy project will run up to one kilometer of the International Border (IB) and noted that as per security protocol, any big infrastructure project should be at least 10 km away from the IB. He asked whether any relaxation was granted to the proposed project. The government asserted that nods and licences to any proposal are granted after obtaining clearances from the Centre, the state and relevant agencies. New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said the government is keen to produce renewable energy in the country. He said cleara
Ahead of his trip to India, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said that he will push for a comprehensive economic partnership with New Delhi and will explore ways to strengthen bilateral security ties. Luxon is visiting India from March 16 to 20 in what will be his first trip to the country as the prime minister. He will be accompanied by one of the largest delegations a New Zealand prime minister has ever travelled with. The delegation will comprise ministers, senior business leaders, a community delegation of prominent Kiwi Indians and several parliamentarians. "We're going to do everything we can to push trade really, really hard," Luxon told New Zealand media on Sunday. "What I'm looking for is just a much more comprehensive economic partnership and how we'd move that forward," he said, adding, "I am determined that we are going to change the trading relationships with India big time." In New Delhi, Luxon will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narend
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday expressed concern that the neighbouring China's plan to construct the world's largest hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo river will have a devastating effect on the state and Assam. The Yarlung Tsangpo river enters Arunachal Pradesh as Siang and becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam before flowing into Bangladesh. Speaking at the inaugural function of a seminar titled Environment and Security' here, Khandu pointed out that the dam would allow China to control the timing and volume of water flowing downstream, which could have devastating effects during periods of low flow or drought. The mighty Siang or the Brahmaputra river would dry up during winters disrupting life in the Siang belt and the plains of Assam, he cautioned. The chief minister said that sudden releases of water from the dam could also cause severe floods downstream, particularly during monsoon seasons, displacing communities, destroying crops, and damaging ...
Lack of adequate employment opportunities, unsettled borders, and its position in the human development index are some of the weaknesses India needs to address to realise the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lt General N S Raja Subramani has said. Speaking on the topic of "National Security and Bharat @ 2047 at Surat LitFest 2025 on Friday, Lt Gen Subramani said the India of 2047 should have integrated its response mechanism, resolved its internal problems in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast, as well as left-wing extremism (LWE) to ensure social and communal harmony. "Our strengths are our geographical location, youth, stable economic growth, and service sectors Pharma and IT which are progressing. What are our weaknesses? First, environmental change; second, our manufacturing sector is not strong; third, we do not have that many employment opportunities. Our border, whether with China or Pakistan, is not yet developed. We need to improve the human ...
India and US now more than ever need to work with their partners to build a trusted and resilient innovation base, the White House said following the meeting between its National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his Indian counterpart Ajit K Doval. Our two nations have taken significant steps forward together to integrate our technology and defense supply chains in recognition that, now more than ever, we need to work with our partners to build a trusted and resilient innovation base, the White House said in a fact sheet. Sullivan and Doval in 2022 were instrumental in launching the path-breaking US-India initiative on Critical and -Emerging Technology (iCET) at the direction of President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sullivan travelled to India this week to meet Doval. He also had a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During their capstone meeting, Sullivan and Doval underscored the vital importance of our
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday urged the country's youth to "stay vigilant" against "anti-national forces", saying it alone will secure India's democratic values. In his address at a ceremony at the Delhi Cantonment here to mark the formal inauguration of the NCC Republic Day Camp, he also said "nationalism has to override all other interests, personal or organisational". The vice president said the foundation of "our national transformation" rests on five basic pillars and these include social harmony, environmental protection and adherence to civic duties. "Our Constitution gives us fundamental rights and we are conscious of those fundamental rights but there are fundamental duties also. Nations blossom, nationalism is nurtured, growth is secured, harmony is stabilised when every citizen of the country believes and subscribes to fundamental duties. For civic duties, you as a disciplined members of the force can really be torch-bearers," he added. A total of 2,361 NCC .
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is set to visit India early next week to take stock of the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET). The iCET represents a landmark initiative between the two countries in areas of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotech, and defence innovation. Sullivan's trip will be the last high-profile visit to New Delhi from the outgoing Biden administration. The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the US will take place on January 20. It is learnt that Sullivan will be in Delhi on January 6 and will hold wide-ranging talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. No official announcement has been made yet on the US NSA's visit to India. Sullivan's trip comes days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar concluded a six-day visit to the US. In their talks, Sullivan and Doval are expected to deliberate on implementation of the iCET, billed as one of the very ...
Britain's shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel on Sunday called for China to be placed high up on the list of countries that pose a national security risk to the UK. The 52-year-old Indian-origin frontline member of the Opposition Conservative Party led by Kemi Badenoch pointed with concern to the recent scandal engulfing an alleged Chinese spy gaining access to Buckingham Palace circles through Prince Andrew the younger brother of King Charles III. She attacked the Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Cabinet for prioritising trade ties with China over national security. It's clearly complicated legislation, but China should always be up there, Priti Patel told The Sunday Times' in an interview when asked if China should be placed on a proposed Foreign Influence Registration Scheme. The list is designed to compel all those working for overseas powers to declare their lobbying to avert any security risks. We're dealing with an extraordinary regime that for over a decade, qui
India was left behind in terms of modern weapons and technology but it moved towards self-reliance in the defence sector at an "unprecedented" pace after the Modi government came to power, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday. In an address at an event, Singh said modern warfare is changing rapidly and there is a need to adopt high-end technology to deal with future and national security challenges. The defence minister exhorted scientists and engineers to gain command over critical technologies, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing in tune with the changing times, and urged them to never forget India's heritage. Singh was speaking at the Indian National Academy of Engineering's Annual Convention at IIT Delhi. The defence minister emphasised that the niche technologies are going to impact almost every sector in a big way in the coming times. "Right now, we are in the initial phase. Our aim should be to first gain command over these technologies, so that