Maharashtra’s Force One to become operational in two months

October 3rd, 2009 SINDHUDURG - Floods caused by incessant rains continued to wrecked havoc in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district on Saturday, as hundreds of people were left stranded and acres of agricultural lands were washed away. According to reports, the Pichdhaval River is in spate.

September 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Centre on Tuesday urged State Governments to assign more operational and financial autonomy to Directors General of Police (DGPs) to acquire logistics and have a more crucial role in administrative matters. This was said in a Home Ministry statement to the Chief Secretaries, in which the ministry has asked states to provide more authority to the DGPs to handle the affairs of their respective police force.

September 17th, 2009 DEHRADUN - The Uttarakhand Government has decided to set up a Tiger Protection Force to prevent poaching in the Corbett Tiger Reserve. The Field Director of Corbett National Park will head the force, which would be operational from January 2010.

September 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Air Force took another significant step in its quest for acquiring Network Centric Capabilities when Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal PV Naik inaugurated the 'Tele-Presence System' under the Air Force Network (AFNET) project today. This system facilitates lifelike experience between two distant sites for holding operational discussions that results in saving crucial time, fatigue and cost.

September 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Air Marshal KJ Mathews on Tuesday took over as the new Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel (AOP), the Head of Human Resources of the Indian Air Force (IAF) at Air Headquarters. Commissioned in the year 1973, the Air Marshal has over 3,500 hours of flying to his credit on various aircraft that include HF-24 (Marut), Hunter, MiG-21M and MiG-29.

July 2nd, 2009 MUMBAI - Retired civil servant Neela Satyanarayan has been appointed the State Election Commissioner (SEC) of Maharashtra, official sources said here Thursday. She is the first woman in the state to hold the post.

June 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - NSG director general N P S Aulakh on Tuesday said the four NSG hubs announced in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror strikes last year will be operational by June 30. The decision was taken after the NSG commander had a meeting with Union Home Minister P Chidamabarm, following demands from various state governments for tackling major terror-related activities.

June 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Air Marshal NAK Browne assumed the charge of Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, the largest and the senior most operational command of the Indian Air Force, today. Commissioned into the fighter stream of Indian Air Force on June 24, 1972, he has varied operational experience and has flown aircraft that include Hunter, all variants of MiG-21s, Jaguar and SU-30MKI.

May 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Pakistan wary of Indian Air Force's capability moved 75 percent of its air force to the Line of Control (LOC) between India and Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Air Marshal PK Barbora said this while handing over the command of the largest operational command of the Indian Air Force, which is the fourth largest Air Force in the world.

May 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Defence Minister A K Antony will dedicate the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) to the nation on Thursday. The first of the three Indian Air Force (IAF) AWACS platform landed on Indian soil escorted by the venerable Mig-29 and Jaguar fighters at the IAF's Jamnagar airbase, on Monday.

May 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian Air Force will shortly be moving a squadron of Su-30MKI to Tezpur in Assam to boost its capabilities vis-à-vis China in the region. To counter China's superior ground troops in the north eastern sector, the induction of Su-30MKI squadron would greatly tilt the balance in favour of India.

May 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Defence Minister A K Antony will dedicate the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) to the nation on Thursday. The first of the three Indian Air Force (IAF) AWACS platform landed on Indian soil escorted by the venerable Mig-29 and Jaguar fighters at the IAF's Jamnagar airbase, on Monday.

May 3rd, 2009 BARNALA - The Indian Army Sunday started its 'Hind Shakti' exercise in this southwest Punjab district to check the operational readiness of its strike corps, officials said. The exercise is being conducted as a two-sided operation aimed at practising the elite Kharga Corps in its operational task of proactive strategy, an army spokesman said.

January 7th, 2009 MANAMA - The US Navy's 5th Fleet Command which oversees all naval operations of the US-led coalition in the Middle East announced Thursday the establishment of a new task force specifically for counter-piracy operations. Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) would be composed of naval ships and 'assets' from more than 20 nations, the US military said in a statement.

January 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Air Force (PAF) chief Tuesday briefed President Asif Ali Zardari on the operational preparedness of the country's air force in case of any aggression. The presidency, in a brief statement here, said Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed called on President Asif Ali Zardari and briefed him about 'the operational preparedness of Pakistan Air Force'.