Manish Kumar Jha

Pakistan's Army Chief Syed Asim Munir warned the government against rising foreign debt. Already burdened with a massive debt of $ 77.5 billion, the government has been further borrowing from China and global institutions, including the IMF. Economists warn of a severe crisis without any plan for economic restructuring and repayment of loans.

Indian Army implements a standard uniform for Brigadier and above ranks. The Army announced the decision after detailed deliberations with all stakeholders and will affect all senior officers with the rank of Brigadier and above.

In a major step towards building integrated theatre commands, the Lok Sabha has passed the Inter-Services Organisation (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023. The Standing Committee on Defence has approved all the provisions of the bill which empowers the Commander-in-Chief with all disciplinary and administrative powers in respect of the personnel serving in or attached to such organisations.

While the visit of all three former chiefs to Taiwan on invitation by the Taiwanese foreign ministry is termed private, it does highlight the new approach as far as the Indian foreign policies are concerned. The visit is also seen as an Indian representation of the conference.

The UK Security Minister Tugendhat announced new funding to enhance the UK’s capability to tackle Pro-Khalistan extremism. Tugendhat is in India for a three-day visit to bolster bilateral cooperation on security initiatives and attend the G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meeting.

For the air defence guns of the Indian Army, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has announced a partnership with Italy's Leonardo S.p.A. While the overall thrust of the government remains on focusing on indigenization and a level playing field for the domestic private defence entities, the element of foreign entities with BHEL raises questions and intent.

The Tapas UAV is in the final stage of the developmental trials. The successful trials of TAPAS are crucial for India’s quest for indigenous military drones. That is part of any such new development in terms of technology which goes into building a prototype as a senior DRDO official explains.

Hyderabad-based Grene Robotics demonstrated an autonomous wide area Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS), in Hyderabad. This marks an important milestone in the development of an anti-drone system which is capable of protecting against micro, mini, small, large and extra-large drone classifications.

G Satheesh Reddy, Former Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister & Secretary DD R&D speaks with Manish Kumar Jha on leading India's indigenous development of defence systems and technologies. He also highlights the development of advanced materials, Anti-ship missiles, MALE drone technology, and the LCA–NP5 for the Indian navy.

Indian and Denmark are collaborating in critical and advanced technologies. Henrik Wegener, Chancellor of the University of Copenhagen was in India to build partnerships with Indian universities in advanced research, especially in quantum computing. He speaks with Manish Kumar Jha on the issues of fundamental research in Denmark and India. He predicts that like other big Asian countries, India will begin to invest more in research.