Army chief empowered to activate 10,000 recruits of Territorial Army
defence ministry
has empowered the
Army chief
to activate 14 of the 32
infantry battalions
of the
Territorial Army
(TA) for deployment across the country till February 2028.
The part-time TA supports and supplements the regular Army in static security duties for protection of vital areas and installations, and aids civil authorities in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Operation Sindoor
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"The 14 battalions will constitute around 10,000 personnel," an officer said.
The already stretched 11.5-lakh-strong Army currently has a shortage of around 8,400 officers and 93,000 soldiers. Around 60,000 soldiers retire every year but the annual intake under the
Agnipath scheme
is limited to 40,000 at present. Moreover, 75% of the Agniveers from each batch will be demobilised after four years under the scheme rolled out in June 2022.
TA was started on Oct 9, 1949, as a volunteer reserve force of "citizen soldiers". TA units have helped out on several occasions, including the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars, during Operation Rakshak in 1980s against insurgents in Punjab and the 1999 Kargil conflict.
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Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business Standard
PM Modi highlights job creation through welfare, manufacturing push
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday emphasised his government's focus on generating employment in the public and private sectors, asserting that the country has progressed in every field in the past 11 years. In a virtual address after the distribution of over 51,000 appointment letters, he said his government's welfare schemes, be it building over 4 crore houses for the poor, distributing over 10 crore new LPG connections or the rooftop solar programme, have created lakhs of new employment opportunities and so have a host of other initiatives that led to growth in manufacturing sector. Speaking of his recent five-nation tour, he said the whole world now recognises the strength of India's demography and democracy. The ability of India's youth is its biggest capital and a guarantee of the country's bright future, he added. He said, "The world acknowledges today that India possesses two infinite powers. One is demography, the other is democracy. In other words, the largest youth population and the largest democracy." The prime minister asserted that the agreements signed during his tour will benefit Indian youth both within the country and abroad. The treaties cover critical sectors such as defence, pharmaceuticals, digital technology, energy, and rare earth minerals and will create far-reaching benefits. "These initiatives will not only strengthen India's global economic standing but also generate meaningful opportunities for young Indians in both manufacturing and services," he said. Noting that over 25 crore people were lifted out of poverty in the past 10 years, the prime minister said it would not have happened but for the employment and sources of income generated for them. These poor people used to have a difficult living and feared death but became so strong that they defeated poverty, he added. Citing an International Labour Organization report, Modi said over 90 crore people were covered under the ambit of welfare schemes in the last decade. India, based on its Gini index, is among the countries with the highest equality, he said, underscoring his government's pro-people efforts. Modi said his government's focus on boosting manufacturing has paid off, saying electronic manufacturing has risen over five times to be worth Rs 11 trillion in 11 years and mobile manufacturing units number nearly 300 from two to four earlier. Defence manufacturing is being discussed proudly after Operation Sindoor, he said in an apparent reference to the display of India's indigenous military capability during the conflict with Pakistan. The worth of defence production has gone beyond Rs 1.25 trillion, he said, adding that India is now on its way to becoming the third-largest economy. Modi said India has emerged as the largest locomotive producer in the world and rail and metro coaches have registered strong exports. The automobile sector, he added, has attracted USD 40 billion in FDI in just five years, resulting in new factories, new job opportunities, and record vehicle sales. The government, he said, is also focusing on creating new employment opportunities as he referred to the Employment Linked Incentive Scheme, under which people in their first job in the private sector will be given Rs 15,000. The government will contribute to the first salary of their first job and has allocated a budget of approximately Rs 1 trillion, he said, adding that it is expected to help in the creation of about 3.5 crore new jobs. He stressed the transformative power of India's manufacturing sector in driving national growth, generating employment, and accelerating India's journey toward becoming the world's third-largest economy. Appointment letters were distributed as part of the government's Rozgar Mela. The Rozgar Mela will play a significant role in providing meaningful opportunities to the youth for their empowerment and participation in nation-building, a government statement has said. Over 10 lakh recruitment letters have been issued so far under it, it said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Modi government released more funds to Kerala than previous Congress governments: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday slammed Kerala's ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), accusing both of being tainted by corruption. Rejecting allegations of the Centre's stepmotherly treatment toward the state, he said the Modi-led government had allocated more funds to Kerala than the previous UPA government. "The track record of LDF and UDF has been that of a corrupt government. LDF has done explosives scam, cooperative bank scam, AI camera scam, Life Mission scam, PPE kit scam and India's biggest scam - state-sponsored gold smuggling scam," Shah said at a BJP event in Thiruvananthapuram. Shah said that he will release the details of the Central funds allocated to Kerala later today. "PM Narendra Modi government released money for Kerala many times than that released by the Congress government. I will release every detail about it publicly through the BJP head office today," Shah said. He said that PM Modi has three core visions fundamental to Kerala's development - governance without corruption, no discrimination in government schemes and Kerala's development beyond political benefits. Live Events "BJP and CPI(M) are both cadre-based parties, but there's a major difference between the two. Cadre welfare is bigger than the state's development in Kerala, while it is Viksit Keralam above cadre for BJP," he said, claiming that the BJP puts people's welfare above narrow political interests. Shah also claimed that "terrorism cannot be answered by anyone other than PM Modi and the BJP." "India will be free of Naxalism by 31 March, 2026... Terrorism cannot be answered by anyone other than PM Modi and BJP... We answered Uri attack by surgical strike, Pulwama attacks by air strikes, 'Operation Sindoor se ghar mein ghus ke maara'," he said. He began his speech by apologising that he couldn't speak in beautiful Malayalam. He also remembered the 8th-century Vedic scholar, philosopher Adi Shankara. "Kerala is the land of Adi Shankara, who expounded the Veda, Brahma Sutras and other philosophical treatises. I bow before his exalted soul," he said. Earlier in the day, he inaugurated the newly constructed state-of-the-art BJP office in Thiruvananthapuram. In the evening, the Union Minister will travel to Kannur, where he will offer prayers at the renowned Sri Rajarajeshwara Temple in Taliparamba. The visit to the temple is seen as part of the BJP's continued efforts to engage with the cultural and spiritual fabric of Kerala. The visit comes at a time when political activities are intensifying in Kerala with the assembly elections expected to be held next year and the party looking to energise its cadre. The next Kerala Legislative Assembly election is expected to be held in May 2026. This election will be held to elect 140 MLAs to the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly. The current tenure of the Kerala government is from May 24, 2021, to May 23, 2026.
The Print
2 hours ago
- The Print
From Bengaluru traffic to Modi govt's diplomacy, Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia is ruffling feathers
Bhatia's latest was a dig at the Prime Minister's tours and civilian honours conferred on him by various heads of states over the past decade. What began as a series of acid-laced questions about India's GDP growth on record, soon escalated into an all-out punditry marathon: rants against Operation Sindoor, bemoaning lack of access to quality education, and even attacking the Narendra Modi-led central government's policy priorities. New Delhi: Indian-American entrepreneur Sabeer Bhatia, better known as the founder of Hotmail, isn't someone afraid to speak their mind. Having stayed out of the public eye these past few years, except for the occasional press interview and paid speaking tour, Bhatia made a comeback with hot takes on everything from policy to economy, and how. His opening salvo was a direct X post questioning the significance of India becoming the world's fourth-largest economy when millions of citizens can barely afford to put food on the table. The post went viral, with thousands reposting the phrase, 'Can you feel it in your pocket?' Within days, Bhatia was also writing posts about a bottom-up initiative in BJP-governed states to encourage entrepreneurship among rural women, wondering if it was more performative politics than empowerment. Some social media users hailed him as the new 'people's megaphone' while others, particularly government-aligned pundits, brushed him aside as a 'self-appointed saviour'. But the momentum gained steam: By mid-May, Bhatia's follower count on X had risen from under 50,000 to more than 200,000. Returning to India in the early 2000s after selling Hotmail, he was eager to spearhead a technology revolution. He invested in Simpa Networks—a solar-energy company set to provide pay-as-you-go power to rural villages. Bhatia's next venture—a 200-acre 'Nano City' in Haryana's Panchkula—aimed to replicate Silicon Valley's knowledge hub. But critics flagged it for opaque land deals and unrealistic timelines. In 2019, the state government formally scrapped the project, citing unmet conditions. He launched two additional ventures: a mobile-first e-learning platform, EduSpark, and a blockchain-based supply chain company, Transcircle. ThePrint looks at some of his hot takes that have ruffled feathers on X. Also read: Viksit Bharat goal needs more than GDP growth. Shift policy from entitlement to empowerment Sabeer Bhatia's hot takes The first had to be Bhatia's breakthrough tweet questioning India's GDP data. Posted on 28 May, it followed chatter over how India is on track to surpass Japan to become the fourth largest economy in nominal terms. Bhatia shared a video showing quality of life in India, captioned: 'Growth without distribution is just inflation in disguise.' We overtook Japan in GDP……but can you feel it in your pocket? Growth without distribution is just inflation in disguise. — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) May 28, 2025 Just 2 days ago, on 9 July, Bhatia cited Pakistan assuming rotational presidency of the UNSC for the month of July to ask whether PM Modi's multi-nation tour had yielded any tangible outcome for India. 90 trips to 77 countries. Countless handshakes, speeches, and photo ops. End result: Pakistan assumes Presidency of the UN Security Council. Wow. — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) July 9, 2025 In a 29 June tweet, Bhatia launched a scathing attack on the central government's Viksit Bharat agenda, questioning how it planned to accomplish this target when hunger and poverty run deep in India. 34% kids under 5 malnourished. 20% never vaccinated. 8M children in bonded labour. 150M kids out of school. 25% teacher absenteeism… And we're dreaming of becoming 'developed' by 2047?Please explain how? — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) June 29, 2025 Soon after the Air India crash in Ahmedabad last month claimed more than 200 lives, Bhatia wrote: '63 percent said I should fly Air India in the next 2 weeks. But when asked if they would fly it, only 51 percent said yes.' 63% said I should fly Air India in the next 2 weeks. But when asked if they would fly it, only 51% said yes. Interesting, right? The advice you give others is different from what you'd follow yourself. Why is that? — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) June 21, 2025 He also questioned the legal definition of poverty in India, asking whether those who earn $5 each day instead of the earlier benchmark of $3 can now be considered 'not poor'. Some say 250M people in India aren't 'poor' anymore because they now make $5/day instead of $3. Really? Can you send your kids to school, buy books, shoes, food, pay rent and utilities on that? Which world are these people living in? — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) June 20, 2025 Reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remark last month that Indians who speak English 'will soon feel ashamed', Bhatia said it illustrated how politicians wanted to take India back to the pre-British era. Amazing plan a leader has for our nation: stop speaking English or feel ashamed. Do we want to move forward or go back in time? Should our kids dream of space, robots, and large language models—or imagine life before the British came? I'm at a loss for words… — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) June 19, 2025 In another post on X in the aftermath of the AI-171 crash, Bhatia asked: 'Do you really think the 4th largest economy in the world should still be having plane crashes due to systemic failures?' Some news reports suggest that my asking a few logical questions about the plane crash is a political act. Since when did asking questions become political? What kind of democracy equates inquiry with partisanship? I'm struggling to understand this logic. — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) June 15, 2025 Do you really think the 4th largest economy in the world should still be having plane crashes due to systemic failures? Time to question what truly makes a nation great. — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) June 12, 2025 In one of his tweets in early June, Bhatia had said that Delhi tops the list of five most polluted cities in the world. He urged Indians to stop celebrating GDP growth and focus on the AQI index. Delhi tops the list of the 5 most polluted major cities in the world — followed by Dhaka, Ouagadougou, Karachi, and Lahore. Fellow Indians, it's time to stop celebrating GDP and start focusing on AQI, education, and human wellbeing. Economic growth means nothing if we can't… — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) June 3, 2025 Criticising the government's efforts to locate the terrorists who executed the Pahalgam attack, Bhatia shared a candid image of a man trying to kill a fly with a bazooka. Would you use a bazooka to kill a fly? Then why all this madness? Where are the 4 men who actually did it? — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) June 1, 2025 In another rather cryptic post on 31 May, Bhatia remarked in an apparent dig at the Indian government, 'The country that taught tolerance to the world over 1000s of years is ruining its global brand by promoting untruths and misinformation.' The country that taught tolerance to the world over 1000s of years is ruining its global brand by promoting untruths and misinformation. Can the outcome of all this be good? — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) May 31, 2025 In another post on X in June, the Hotmail founder wrote that Indians must think long and hard before celebrating predictions of the country being on track to become the fourth largest economy. Instead of hanging your head in shame that 415 million people in India survive on $3.10/day, you brag about being the world's 4th largest economy. Shame on you. — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) June 10, 2025 More recently, Bhatia trained his guns at traffic management in Bengaluru. I know Bengaluru folks may call this negative… but the traffic here is INSANE. I ride the same distance on my bicycle in 1/3 the time in the Bay Area. How do people tolerate this every day? — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) July 1, 2025 In another post on X, Bhatia gave his two cents on UP Energy Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma chanting 'Jai Shri Ram, Jai Shri Bajrang Bali' when constituents surrounded him to complain about power cuts in the state. Just when you think ministerial knowledge and concern for citizens can't get more bizarre, a power minister of a major state responds to complaints about power cuts by chanting Jai Shri Ram and Jai Shri Bajrang Bali. Electricity not included. Wow. — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) July 10, 2025 Taking a jibe at BJP MP Kangana Ranaut's remarks in Mandi during her visit to her flash floods-stricken parliamentary constituency, Bhatia said she has no intention to help the people and lacks leadership skills. A leader recently told her people she can't help them—no staff, no funds, no power to act. Add to that: no intention of helping them either. Why hold office then? Leadership isn't about what you lack, it's about what you do with what you have. — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) July 8, 2025 Bhatia also had some advice for the political class: as long as they 'want to 'rule' and people think they need to be 'ruled'—not 'served'—nothing will truly change'. Indian politics hasn't changed much since 1947. As long as parties want to 'rule' and people think they need to be 'ruled'—not 'served'—nothing will truly change. — Sabeer Bhatia (@sabeer) June 30, 2025 (Edited by Amrtansh Arora) Also Read: #ByeByeAP to #LuluBackInAP: Naidu's moves to make Andhra 'business friendly' & woo back investors
