Seahawks Chopper Squadron To Be Commissioned Into Indian Navy

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The Indian Navy will commission the newly-inducted MH 60R Seahawk multi-role helicopter (the maritime variant of the Blackhawk helicopter) at INS Garuda, Kochi, on March 6, a Defence Ministry statement said.

New Delhi, March 3: The Indian Navy will commission the newly-inducted MH 60R Seahawk multi-role helicopter (the maritime variant of the Blackhawk helicopter) at INS Garuda, Kochi, on March 6, a Defence Ministry statement said.

The commissioning of the helicopter, designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), search and rescue (SAR), medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) and vertical replenishment (VERTREP), will mark a pivotal moment in India’s defence modernisation journey, the Navy said.

The Seahawks will be commissioned as INAS (Indian Naval Air Squadron) 334 and the Navy is set to witness a significant surge in its maritime prowess with the induction, a navy official added.

The helicopter has been rigorously tested in Indian Reference Atmosphere (IRA) conditions and is fully integrated into the fleet. Their advanced weapons, sensors and avionics suite make the Seahawks ideal for the Indian Navy’s maritime security needs, offering enhanced capabilities for both conventional as well as asymmetric threats.

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It would enhance India’s blue-water capabilities, extending the operational reach of the navy and supporting sustained naval operations across spectrums and over vast maritime domains. The Seahawk’s deployment in the IOR would strengthen the Indian Navy’s maritime presence, dissuading potential threats and ensuring a secure and safe environment in this strategically-crucial region.

The commissioning of the Seahawks underscores Indian Navy’s steadfast dedication to fortifying maritime security, aligning seamlessly with the Indian government's goal of ensuring Security And Growth for All in the Region.

IANS

IPL 2024: PBKS Win Toss, Elect To Bowl First Against CSK

by Hemanta Pande

Dharamsala, May 5: Punjab Kings have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Chennai Super Kings in match 53 of IPL 2024 at the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday afternoon.

PBKS are placed at eighth position on the points table, while CSK are sitting at fifth place. The last time these two teams met in IPL 2024, PBKS beat CSK by seven wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on May 1.

After winning the toss, PBKS captain Sam Curran said his playing eleven is unchanged. "Day game, try and see how it plays and chase it down. We've had two really good wins with the same team. Conditions should be fairly even throughout, it's about batting, bowling and fielding well," he said.

CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said left-arm spin all-rounder Mitchell Santner comes into the playing eleven in place of left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who is in Bangladesh for T20I series against Zimbabwe. Tushar Deshpande is also back in the playing eleven after missing the last game due to flu and comes in place of Deepak Chahar, who is down with a hamstring injury.

"We've just stuck to our process and doing little things right. We don't look at the track record of the opposition, we focus on ourselves and see what we can do right. This season there have been a lot of injuries, flus and forced changes so we've had to tinker with our team. I'd say losing 10 tosses but winning 5 games is a positive," he said.

Playing XIs-

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande and Richard Gleeson

Substitutes: Sameer Rizvi, Simarjeet Singh, Shaik Rasheed, Prashant Solanki, and Mukesh Choudhary

Punjab Kings: Jonny Bairstow, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Sam Curran (captain), Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh

Substitutes: Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Bhatia, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vidwath Kaverappa and Rishi Dhawan (IANS)

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PM Modi’s 10 Years Of Reign Has Set India Firmly On Path Of Viksit Bharat

by Hemanta Pande

Bhubaneswar, May 5: External affairs minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Saturday said the past ten years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a phase of laying a strong foundation for making India a “strong nation” and the next five years will be dedicated to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat in the next 25 years which is now known as ‘Amrit Kaal.’

“In 2014, Narendra Modi sought five years for BJP to serve the nation. As Prime Minister he delivered on all fronts – starting from salvaging the nation from an utter state of despair to hope and aspiration. People of all sections were taken up. Country made progress on all sectors and an economy boomed. People appreciated PM Modi’s performances and blessed him with another term in 2019. Now, after 10 years, people’s trust in him has doubled and they have reposed faith in his leadership to take the country on the path of progress to reach our goal of Viksit Bharat,” he said during an interaction with editors of different newspapers and television channels.

Speaking on the foreign policy of India, Jaishankar said India is playing the role of a peace-broker across the globe as the world leaders trust the country's leadership.

“Now, you see turmoil in different parts of the world. The Russia-Ukraine war, the tension in Gaza following the terrorist attack on Israel and the more recent Israel-Iran conflicts have created tensions in those regions, besides affecting the world order. However, during such critical times, whenever leaders of all these countries have looked to India to play its role to ease the tension, our country has obliged in the best possible manner,” said the minister.

Stating that India’s foreign policy was on the right track, Jaishankar said the country had succeeded in asserting itself in the global platform as one of the forward-looking countries.

On the strained relationship with Canada, Jaishankar said, “Our relationship with Canada and its Prime Minister is not the same as with other nations. You can see Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as an exception. What’s the reason? Some people who profess Khalistani ideology have made use of that democracy and formed a lobby and vote bank. Some parties in Canada, some parties in that country feel that if they maintain good relationships with these people, it will benefit. It’s all about vote bank politics in Canada. Now, the matter is more serious because the Trudeau government lacks a majority in the parliament. The leaders of other political parties on whom Trudeau is dependent are pro-Khalistani.”

The minister said though India wrote to Canada for extradition of 25 Khalistani leaders, the latter did not take any action on that.

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To a query, Jaishankar said Odisha should have a BJP government to carry forward the development of the Narendra Modi government.

“I concur what Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said that Odisha has not progressed much in the past two decades despite it having huge mineral resources. We need to have a young person with a sharp outlook to lead the state,” he observed.