Day: January 12, 2026

New Delhi: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in India on Monday for his first official visit, marking an important milestone in India–Germany relations. The two-day visit, scheduled from January 12 to 13, is taking place at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is expected to further strengthen cooperation across economic, strategic, and technological domains. The visit begins in Ahmedabad, where Prime Minister Modi will host the German leader. Both leaders are scheduled to visit the Sabarmati Ashram, reflecting the shared emphasis on democratic values and historical legacy. They…

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Mumbai: India has taken another major step in strengthening its high-performance computing ecosystem with the inauguration of the PARAM Rudra supercomputing facility at IIT-Bombay, following the recent commissioning of a similar system at IIT-Madras. The new facility reinforces the country’s push to build world-class, indigenous research infrastructure under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM). The facility was formally inaugurated on January 8, 2026, by Professor Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. Developed and deployed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), PARAM Rudra…

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Rajkot: Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference in Rajkot has emerged as a key platform for diplomatic engagement and economic collaboration, drawing senior diplomats from across the globe to explore deeper partnerships with India. Ukrainian Ambassador to India, Oleksandr Polishchuk, expressed optimism about a potential visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to India later this year, describing it as an important opportunity to advance bilateral cooperation. Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the conference, Ambassador Polishchuk highlighted the event’s role in facilitating business dialogue. He said the Vibrant Gujarat platform…

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New Delhi: The Indian Navy is poised to significantly enhance its coastal defence, maritime surveillance, and search-and-rescue capabilities by wet-leasing four fixed-wing amphibious aircraft for a period of four years. The move, reported by defence sources, is aimed at rapidly addressing critical operational gaps across India’s vast maritime domain. To this end, the Ministry of Defence has issued a Request for Information (RFI) inviting responses from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or authorised lessors. Under the wet lease model, the selected vendor will provide not only the aircraft but also trained…

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New Delhi: In debates on military aviation acquisitions, attention often centres on induction timelines—the moment an aircraft formally enters service. However, defence experts note that induction is only the first step. The real measure of combat effectiveness lies in operational maturity, a phase that determines whether an aircraft can be deployed seamlessly, sustained over time, and fully integrated into combat doctrine. Operational maturity typically takes years after induction, encompassing pilot and ground crew proficiency, stable supply chains, weapons integration, software refinement, and tactical evolution. While induction marks formal acceptance, maturity…

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New Delhi: India is set to procure around 1,000 Rafael SPICE air-to-surface precision-guided missiles, significantly strengthening its aerial strike capabilities amid evolving regional security challenges. The acquisition reflects New Delhi’s continued focus on enhancing standoff precision warfare and reducing vulnerability to electronic jamming. The SPICE (Smart, Precise Impact, Cost-Effective) missile family is known for its advanced autonomous navigation and homing technology. Unlike GPS-dependent systems, SPICE uses an electro-optical seeker combined with real-time image-matching algorithms, allowing it to accurately strike targets with a circular error of less than three metres, even…

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