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Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (MRSAFPI) cadet Jasnoor Singh has secured the 1st All India Rank (AIR) in the Combined Defence Services (CDS) Air Force List.
Jasnoor Singh comes from a business family and hails from Pathankot. Singh will now proceed to the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad for Pre-Flying training course.
His achievement marks the fifth time, an MRSAFPI cadet has clinched the top rank nationwide, and the third such honour in just the last two years,
Another, MRSAFPI Cadet Sukhraj Singh Heera from Ropar has secured the 4th All India Rank, set to join the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, for 161st course commencing in June 2026.
MRSAFPI Director Major General Ajay H Chauhan, VSM, congratulated the cadets Jasnoor and Sukhraj for bringing pride to their Alma Mater and Punjab, while adding, “We are eagerly awaiting the NDA-156 course merit list, hoping for another stellar performance.”
Another alumnus of the institute, Sukhraj Singh Heera, from Ropar, has secured the 4th all-India rank in the CDS exam and will join the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, as part of the 161st course commencing in June. Punjab Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training Minister Aman Arora congratulated both cadets and said the state was proud of their achievement.
The institute was set up to stem the declining number of youths from Punjab opting for a career as officers in the Armed Forces. It became functional in 2011 and since its inception, 190 alumni of the institute have become commissioned officers, while several others are already undergoing training in service academies or awaiting joining after clearing the selection process.
Fresh violence flared up in Manipur after a suspected militant attack left two children dead and their mother injured at Tronglaobi village in Bishnupur district in the early hours of Tuesday.
According to sources, an explosive struck a house directly, triggering a powerful blast that killed two young siblings on the spot and left their mother seriously injured. The victims have been identified as a five-year-old boy and his five-month-old sister.
The attack involved a projectile, a likely rocket, which was used by the attackers to cause maximum damage, the sources said.
They said suspected Kuki militants were learnt to have been behind the attack, even as many tribal groups condemned the incident and sought an NIA probe into it.
Hours after the incident, protests broke out near a CRPF camp. Two protesters were killed while several others were injured after security personnel reportedly opened fire to disperse the crowd.
The incident occurred after a large number of protesters gathered and attempted to storm the CRPF camp following the bomb attack in the same area that killed the two children.
Several videos of the incident were circulated on social media, but their authenticity could not be verified.
Later in the day, the Manipur Government, in a post on X, cautioned people from getting swayed by rumours.
“There are various tweets and social media posts spreading rumours claiming that security personnel have killed innocent people in Manipur carrying out a peaceful protest rally. Spreading fake news and rumours can aggravate the situation…,” it said in the post. The state police also termed news clips and videos fake and misleading.
“Fake and misleading. No such incident took place. There was an attack on a post in Bishnupur district by a violent mob of around 400. Burning of vehicles and breaking of barracks by the mob led to firing by the security personnel, which resulted in two deaths and injuries to 20. Legal action will be initiated against individuals spreading falsehood on social media,” the police said.
Tronglaobi lies along the vulnerable hill-valley fringe of Bishnupur district, close to the elevated areas of Churachandpur district, a region that has witnessed repeated tension in recent months.
Following the violent incidents, Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh held a series of security review meetings with the state DGP, officials of the CRPF and the BSF, and with members of various political parties.
He visited the injured mother of the dead children at the hospital.
He condemned the incident, calling it a “barbaric act” and an “assault on humanity and a deliberate attempt to disrupt Manipur’s hard-earned peace”.
Following the attack, security was tightened in the area and additional forces were deployed to prevent further escalation, while surveillance and search operations were also underway in adjoining hill regions.
The Manipur Government imposed an indefinite curfew across five valley districts — Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Kakching and Thoubal — amid heightened concerns over the prevailing law and order situation.
The state government also ordered the temporary suspension of Internet and mobile data services in the five districts for a period of three days, starting from 2 pm on April 7.
Two months after the entire Tejas fleet was grounded following an accident on February 7, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has cleared the fighter jets for flying from tomorrow.
Exhaustive checks were ordered and a probe committee, comprising the IAF and public sector plane manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), found that a software glitch had caused the accident. The Air Force is left with around 35 single-engine Tejas.
A jet had veered off the runway into an adjoining mud-ditch while it was in the process of taking off from a forward base along the western front. The pilot of the single-seater aircraft survived with injuries.
Sources said a “correction was required in the plane’s braking software, which had been carried out”.
Last week, HAL Chairman and Managing Director DK Sunil had told a group of mediapersons about the “technical solution”. “It was a software issue of the braking system not working on one of the jets,” said Sunil.
After the software was corrected and updated, it was tested under varied conditions before the fleet was cleared for flight again, said an official. Modern jets rely heavily on their on-board mission computers for combat and flying. This includes computer-aided firing, targeting, processing of radar signatures and operations. The software upgrade has been done jointly by the IAF and HAL. “A new software code sequence was not needed and it was only an upgrade,” the official said.
The exhaustive checks on the fleet included analysing the metallurgy of the under-carriage that holds the wheels, electro-magnetic system used for applying brakes and the software.
Tejas maintains one of the world’s best safety records among contemporary fighter aircraft, the HAL had said in a statement after the February 7 accident. It was the third such mishap involving the jet since its induction in 2016.
The jet faced its first crash near Jaisalmer in March 2024 when the plane crashed while returning from a firepower demonstration. The pilot had ejected safely. The second crash happened in November 2025 when the jet was involved in an aerobatic display at the Dubai Airshow. Wing Commander Namansh Syal had died in the accident.
Pakistan faces a precarious financial moment as it prepares to repay a $3.5 billion loan to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), amid soaring global oil prices that are exerting intense pressure on its foreign exchange reserves.
This repayment accounts for approximately 18% of Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves, imposing substantial strain on the nation’s external buffers and heightening fears for the stability of the Pakistani rupee.
As of 27 March, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) maintained reserves of $16.4 billion, barely enough to cover three months of imports.
The rationale for the UAE’s insistence on repayment remains shrouded in uncertainty. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed speculation on 4 April, labelling it a “routine financial transaction” and minimising any potential political undertones.
Domestic media outlets indicate that talks over extending the loan terms may have collapsed.
In prior years, Pakistan leaned heavily on aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and allies like the UAE, China, and Saudi Arabia to shore up its economy.
Such assistance enabled the rebuilding of reserves and steadied the currency, which hovered between 278 and 282 to the dollar prior to the escalation of the Iran conflict.
Since early March, the rupee has held steady, though the benchmark KSE-100 Index has tumbled by 15%, mirroring wider market anxieties.
To counter the reserve drain, the SBP might resort to tough actions, such as curbing imports, hiking interest rates, or tapping commercial banks for extra funds.
The situation worsens with a $1.3 billion bond repayment looming to international creditors this month, alongside anticipation of a $1.2 billion IMF tranche.
The UAE’s refusal to roll over the loan—once a reliable practice from Pakistan’s Gulf partners—hints at a change in Abu Dhabi’s approach, timed with Islamabad’s growing alignment with Saudi Arabia.
Sajid Amin, deputy executive director at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), emphasised the UAE’s pivotal role in helping Pakistan fulfil IMF programme financing thresholds during tough times.
He noted that the government opted for repayment after failing to negotiate a long-term extension, even at the elevated cost of 6.5%, and suggested geopolitical influences could be at play.
Nevertheless, UAE firms persist in their investments in Pakistan. International Holding Co, based in Abu Dhabi, recently took a stake in First Women Bank Ltd.
Meanwhile, AD Ports Group inked a 25-year deal in 2024 for cargo operations with the Karachi Port Trust.
Pakistan has also floated proposals to hand over its airports to Middle Eastern investors.
Past attempts to swap portions of the UAE debt for equity, such as stakes in Fauji Foundation subsidiaries, form part of Islamabad’s wider efforts to handle its external debts.
Dr Dmitry Trenin, the newly elected president of the Kremlin-backed Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), has emphasised the importance of maintaining a positive balance in Russia’s relations with its two Asian strategic partners, India and China.
Speaking in his first press interview after assuming leadership of the think tank on 1 April, Trenin underscored the need to prevent external powers, particularly the United States, from exploiting India against China and, indirectly, against Russia.
He stressed that China, as Russia’s largest neighbour, deserves systematic attention, while India also requires deeper engagement beyond what he described as a positive but still superficial impression.
Trenin, aged 70, is a retired Soviet-Russian Army Colonel with extensive experience in global affairs. His career included involvement in US-Russian nuclear and space weapons negotiations and postings both within and outside the Soviet Union.
Notably, he became the first non-NATO senior research fellow at the NATO Defence College in Rome. He later joined the Carnegie Moscow Centre in 1994, eventually becoming its director, but was dismissed in 2022 for supporting the Kremlin’s Ukraine campaign.
In outlining his vision for RIAC, Trenin declared that Russia is an autocratic nation that does not obey external powers and will not allow the world to collapse. He pledged to inject new impetus into the council and to rise to the challenges of today’s turbulent and dramatic times, as well as those that lie ahead.
He argued that despite the apparent chaos and illogicality of current events, history shows that similar upheavals have occurred before. He compared the present situation to a world war, though he rejected the term ‘World War III’ as misleading, preferring instead to describe it as ‘a new world war’ distinct from the first two.
Trenin’s remarks reflect his broader strategic outlook, shaped by decades of involvement in defence and international affairs. His appointment to RIAC, which was established 15 years ago by a decree of then-President Dmitry Medvedev, signals a renewed effort to position the council as a leading forum for Russian foreign policy analysis.
RIAC serves as Russia’s counterpart to the Indian Council of World Affairs, highlighting the importance of intellectual and policy exchanges in shaping Moscow’s external relations.
By stressing the need for balance between India and China, Trenin has placed emphasis on managing Russia’s ties with both nations in a way that avoids confrontation and external manipulation. His comments suggest that Russia sees value in cultivating deeper ties with India while continuing to prioritise its strategic partnership with China.
At the same time, his framing of the current global turbulence as akin to a world war underscores the seriousness with which he views the international environment and the challenges facing Russia’s foreign policy establishment.
The Indian Air Force’s TEJAS fleet is scheduled to return to operational status on 8 April 2026, following a two-month grounding triggered by a “rude landing” in February, wrote Anand Singh of India Today.
This latest incident, which resulted in the pilot ejecting and the aircraft being written off, marks the third significant mishap for the platform in less than two years.
Previous accidents include a 2024 crash caused by fuel feed issues and a tragic November 2025 crash at the Dubai Air Show that claimed the life of Wing Commander Namansh Syal.
Following the February accident, HAL Chairman DK Sunil announced that the entire fleet of approximately 34 aircraft had been cleared for flight after the underlying issues were resolved.
However, these recurring setbacks have reignited a fierce national debate over whether Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has squandered decades of time and billions of crores on a “dud” project.
The program, which traces its origins back to the early 1980s under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, remains under intense pressure to prove its worth.
The return of the TEJAS is a matter of strategic urgency for India. With active conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, and persistent tensions with neighbours Pakistan and China, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is currently facing a critical shortage of fighter squadrons.
Currently, the IAF operates between 30 and 32 squadrons against a sanctioned strength of 42. Following the retirement of the MiG-21, the absence of the TEJAS has left analysts deeply concerned about India’s ability to manage a potential two-front threat.
Critics argue that a fighter designed to replace the MiG-21 is still only available in small numbers, with production further hampered by delays in engine supplies from General Electric (GE) in the United States.
While the question of whether HAL wasted time and money is blunt, experts suggest it is not entirely unfair given the slow ramp-up of production. Nevertheless, many argue that the program is a significant achievement despite self-inflicted delays and structural flaws.
Sandeep Unnithan, a senior defence journalist, suggests the slow pace stems from a flawed organisational structure where the user, the manufacturer, and the designer operated in isolated silos. He compares the TEJAS to India’s successful nuclear submarine project, noting that the Navy’s unified “all-under-one-umbrella” approach allowed for much smoother development. In contrast, the Air Force, HAL, and the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) often struggled to communicate effectively.
Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar (Retd) offers a different perspective, arguing that the 40-year timeline is misleading. He notes that serious work only truly began after 1993 following financial crises and reviews.
Despite the 1998 Pokhran-II sanctions that cut off Western technical assistance for critical systems like fly-by-wire, the first flight occurred in 2001.
He maintains that the 15-year span between full-scale development in 2004 and Final Operational Clearance in 2019 is comparable to major international projects like the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Retired HAL chief designer KP Singh also acknowledges the extended timeline but defends the effort, suggesting that while things took longer than they should have, there were valid reasons for the delays. Regarding the recent accidents, experts urge perspective.
Until 2024, the TEJAS had flown 50,000 accident-free hours. Unnithan notes that the Dubai crash was a high-risk display mishap rather than a design failure, while Rajkumar points out that the IAF used to lose 20 MiG-21s a year during the 1960s and 70s.
One of the project’s greatest regrets remains the failure of the indigenous Kaveri engine. Originally meant to power the TEJAS, it failed to meet thrust requirements and was delinked from the airframe in 2008.
While Unnithan calls this abandonment a “catastrophic mistake” compared to China’s massive investment in engine tech, Rajkumar highlights that the Kaveri effort was not a total loss. A marine version was successful, and the core engine is now being certified for the Ghatak stealth UCAV.
The most significant, albeit invisible, success of the TEJAS program is the creation of a domestic aerospace ecosystem. It has fostered a network of roughly 300 private companies capable of supplying high-tech components.
This foundation is considered more valuable than the aircraft itself. While early orders were too small to incentivise HAL to build multiple production lines, three lines are now being activated to deliver 30 aircraft annually.
Experts conclude that India has no choice but to persevere with the TEJAS. Since no nation will share “crown jewel” technologies like jet engine designs, the program must evolve into a unified national mission with strong political backing.
The TEJAS MK-1A is technically superior to the MiG-21, offering a generational leap in sensor fusion and situational awareness, and the upcoming MK-2 is expected to address remaining limitations in payload and stealth.
To call the aircraft a “dud” is to ignore the hard-won mastery of fighter design India has finally achieved.
India Today
President Donald Trump has delivered a chilling warning to Tehran, stating that an entire civilisation could face total destruction tonight if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by his 8:00 p.m. deadline. Speaking from the White House, the President suggested that failure to comply would result in a permanent loss for the nation, though he expressed a slim hope that “revolutionarily wonderful” developments might still occur.
The President’s latest ultimatum was issued via Truth Social, where he described the looming deadline as one of the most significant moments in global history. Despite the gravity of his threats, Trump noted that he does not desire such an outcome but believes it is the likely trajectory if Iran continues to defy his demands regarding the strategic shipping lane.
Throughout the week, the rhetoric has escalated sharply, with the President using expletive-laden social media posts to command Iranian leaders to “Open the F—in’ Strait.” He has specifically designated Tuesday as “Power Plant Day” and “Bridge Day,” signalling a shift in military strategy toward targeting Iran’s civilian infrastructure if the deadline passes without a resolution.
This aggressive stance was further reinforced during a Monday press conference, where Trump claimed that the Iranian state could be “taken out in one night.” When questioned by reporters about the legality of strikes on civilian targets, the President dismissed concerns regarding potential war crimes, stating he was “not at all” worried about such charges.
The Iranian Embassy in Turkey posted on X: A “psychopath’s threat” won’t destroy what time itself could not. “Alexander burned it. The Mongols ravaged it. History tested it. Iran endures.”
Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking from Hungary, attempted to strike a more diplomatic tone, expressing hope for a successful resolution through ongoing negotiations. However, the Vice President remained firm that while the U.S. desires a swift end to the conflict, the ultimate conclusion rests entirely on the decisions made by the Iranian government.
On the ground, military action is already intensifying. Reports indicate that the U.S. military has carried out strikes on military installations on Kharg Island. This location is of vital importance to Tehran, as it serves as the hub for approximately 90% of Iran’s oil exports, hitting the nation’s primary economic lifeline just hours before the deadline.
The current crisis was sparked by the shooting down of a U.S. Air Force F-15E fighter jet over Iran last Friday. While one pilot was recovered shortly after the crash, the second crew member was rescued in a high-stakes mission over the weekend.
Trump has hailed the rescue as a historic victory, despite critics pointing out that the initial attack on the jet contradicts his assertions that Iran’s military capabilities have been neutralised.
Diplomatic efforts appear to be at a standstill after the United States rejected a 10-point peace plan proposed by Tehran on Monday. While the President acknowledged the proposal as a move in the right direction, he insisted that any final agreement must guarantee the “free traffic of oil” and address U.S. sovereignty concerns over the Strait of Hormuz.
Agencies
