Know Everything: 2015

Friday 16 October 2015

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

Choicest pics of India's own warbird Tejas PART-2

Choicest pics of India's own warbird Tejas PART-1

Rare image of INS Vikramaditya sailing alongside Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov!!!!!!!!!!!

Shown above is a rare picture of India's INS Vikramaditya sailing alongside Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov

Three Nimitz super carriers in a single frame!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is what makes US Navy the most dominant naval force on the planet........

CVN-70, Gipper & Stennis moored at NAS North Islands

Japan will permanently join Indo-US naval exercises

Much to the joy of defence enthusiasts in India, Japan has agreed to become a permanent participant of the Indo-US bilateral naval exercise 'Malabar'. Japan has sent its front line destroyer ship 'Fuyuzuki' to take part in Malabar 2015 which is being conducted in Bay of Bengal.

"MALABAR-15 will be another significant step in strengthening mutual confidence and inter-operability as well as sharing best practices between the Indian, Japanese and US navies," a joint press release issued by these navies said. This year's edition of Malabar will see USS Theodor Roosevelt in action. Indian Navy will be represented by INS Shivalik, INS Ranvijay, INS Betwa, INS Shakti, an Kilo-class submarine & a P-8 I reconnaissance aircraft.

The Japanese destroyer that will take part in Malabar 2015 moored at Indian port city of Chennai

Japanese destroyer Onami during Malabar 2007

It is being speculated that these three nations are forging an alliance to counter China

Indian Navy's INS Satpura sailing alongside USS Carl Vinson during Malabar 2014

Indian Navy's INS Shakti tanker ship refueling USS Carl Vinson during Malabar 2014

Thursday 15 October 2015

India advances strategic partnership with Turkey

As part of Indian Navy's overseas deployment to West Asia, its front line warship INS Trikhand made port call at Istanbul's Sarayburnu Port from Oct. 4 to 7. INS Trikand's visit to İstanbul closely follows the visit of Turkish frigate TCG Gediz, which made port calls at Mumbai and Chennai in India in April and July, respectively, this year.

Speaking during a reception on the INS Trikand at Sarayburnu Port on Monday, Capt. Vinay Kalia said the visit seeks to underscore India's peaceful presence and solidarity with other countries and strengthen the existing bonds between India and Turkey. Kalia said Indian naval assets are regularly deployed as part of the Indian Navy's mission to build “bridges of friendship” and strengthen international cooperation with friendly countries, as well as address maritime concerns of the region, including piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

INS Trikhand entering port of Istanbul

INS Trikhand at Istanbul port

INS Trikhand in Anti-Piracy operation in Gulf of Aden

Turkish frigate TCG Gediz that visited India during April of this year

Sunday 14 June 2015

Great shot of BrahMos block-III missile test firing

Indian Army on May 8 successfully test fired its BrahMos (block-III) supersonic cruise missile.

BrahMos has been inducted into Navy & Army & its air-launched version (ALCM) for Air Force will be ready for testing in a year or two. So far the missile has been tested 47 times out of which 45 tests have been successful. Developed as a JV between India & Russia, this 'precision strike weapon system' is among the most reliable & sophisticated missile in the world. Impressed by its performance the Indian Navy placed orders for 49 BrahMos missiles at a cost of INR 711 crores & the Indian Army to its part placed orders for 134 BrahMos missiles at a cost of INR 8,352 crores.

Here is a great shot of India's supersonic cruise missile BrahMos being test fired successfully.

Friday 12 June 2015

India's first indigenous aircraft carrier 'INS Vikrant' undocked

India recently achieved a remarkable feat which went largely unnoticed as media-houses were busy covering Indian Army's daring cross-border surgical strike in Myanmar. India's first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-1) 'INS Vikrant' was undocked at Cochin Shipyard Ltd., (CSL) marking the completion of phase-II of construction. 'INS Vikrant' will be the replacing Indian Navy's ageing INS Viraat aircraft carrier whose decommissioning is now scheduled for 2018. INS Vikrant which displaces some 40,000 tonnes & has a length of 262 metres is the largest ship ever built by an Indian shipyard & is among only seven aircraft carriers in the world that are under construction as of 2015. This mega-ship is being built at a cost of INR.20,000 crores. This ship is designed to host a maximum of 30 fixed-wing aircrafts (such as Mig-29K/KUB & HAL Tejas) & will have a maximum range of 15,000 Kms.

INS Vikrant will be armed heavily with four OTO Melara 76 mm naval guns & AK-630 CIWS besides using state-of-the-art Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) to take on aerial targets. It will also be equipped with EL/M 2248 (S-band) & Selex RAN-40 (L-band) AESA radars that are capable of detecting aircrafts/drones upto 400 Kms away. This ship will augment Indian Navy's power projection capabilities as far as South China Sea & East China sea.

When completed INS Vikrant will look like this

INS Vikrant being undocked at CSL

INS Vikrant after being undocked

Rear view of INS Vikrant

Eagle's eye view of INS Vikrant before being undocked

Thursday 21 May 2015

India's growth to surpass China in 2015-16 : UN

It seems Asia's third largest economy is finally out of trenches. After years of sluggish growth, India is now on top gear. As per a recent UN report, India's GDP is expected to grow by 7.5% in the year 2015 & 7.7% in 2016. Whereas China is projected to grow by 7% in 2015 & 6.8% in 2016 which is significantly lesser than that of India. This effectively makes India the fastest growing G-20 major economy, a title that was hitherto held by China. The strong acceleration in India has enabled South Asia (SAARC) to become the fastest growing region in the world. The region's GDP is projected to grow by an impressive 6.7% in 2015 & 6.9% in 2016 - a significant upward revision of previous forecast. "This revision mostly reflects higher growth trajectory in India" it said.

This almost confirms that the chances of India redoing a China is still bright. China's feat of increasing its GDP per capita by about 30 times in just 30 years is regarded as the greatest achievement in the economic history of the world. What is not talked about is an equally impressive achievement of India. It is to be noted that, at the turn of the century India's GDP was at around US$ 475 billion. But within 15 years it increased by a staggering 486% to reach US$ 2,308 billion in 2015. Even if we assume that India falls short of PM Modi's target of US$ 15 trillion by 2030, we can safely assume that India will be at US$ 11-12 trillion in the year 2030. This would mean that India's GDP has increased by 23-25 times in a span of 30 years (2001 to 2030) which almost equals China's achievement. In the view of fact that India has its own democratic commitments & constraints which are absent in China's case, India's growth story deserves to be hailed as the greatest in the history of mankind. Given that India has made rapid strides in improving infrastructure, cutting red tape, simplifying tax regime & that its present government is committed to reforms, we can say that this IS NOT just a dream. If China can do it, there is no reason India can't.

In a first, IAF lands Mirage-2000 fighter jet on Yamuna Expresway

The Indian Air Force today successfully landed its front-line Mirage-2000 on Yamuna Expressway near Mathura as part of its 'road-runway' trails. "The aircraft made a practice approach on the highway, coming down to a height of 100 metres before landing off the next approach. The operations were conducted with active support from the government of Uttar Pradesh, Yamuna Expressway Authority, toll authorities of JP Infratech and the civil police," the IAF said in a statement. It has also been revealed that a 3 km stretch of this greenfield expressway will be converted into a road-runway & that the IAF will bear the entire cost of the project.

Military personnels watch on as Mirage-2000 touches down at the road-runway

The 165-Km long Yamuna expressway is India's largest greenfield expressway connecting two major cities of Greater Noida & Agra. This massive expressway was built at a cost of INR 13,000 crores & was inaugurated in the year 2012. Here are some dazzling images of this expressway.

Sunday 22 February 2015

Team India breaks the jinx - 'destroys' mighty South Africa by an staggering 130 runs!!!!!!!!!

It seems the defending champions are on a rampage 'destroying' every team that comes in their way. After having trounced arch-rival Pakistan, the emphatic & confident Indian team today decimated the mighty South Africans by an massive mind-boggling margin of 130 runs. India's top-order batsman Shikar Dhawan set the tone by smashing a brilliant 137 off 146 balls. Powered further by Rahane's fabulous 79 (off 60 balls) India posted a fell-good total of 307-7. But a target of 308, as it seemed, was not beyond the reach of a team that has one of the world's most dangerous batting line-up. But the South Africans had a shaky start when they were reduced to 40 for 2 in 10.2 overs. When AB de Villiers was dismissed at 30, the Indian victory became almost certain. Then after South Africa never recovered as its batting order was completely shattered by India's bowling attack. Eventually India bundled out South Africa for just 177 in about 40 overs effectively ending a 23-year long wait for a win over South Africa in an World Cup match. Given that South Africa are the 'strongest' contestant in Pool-B, India now has bright chances of qualifying to the QF round. India now sits at the top of the table in Pool B with a NRR of 2.06 whereas South Africa is now ranked fifth in Pool B below India, West Indies, Zimbabwe & Ireland.

Jubilant Indian players after their massive victory over South Africa

Sunday 15 February 2015

Team India rules Adelaide - thrashes Pakistan by 76 runs

Pakistan once again failed to break the jinx - losing out to their much superior rival India by about 76 runs in a high-voltage clash at Adelaide Oval stadium. Clearly the defending champions out-batted out-paced & out-performed Pakistan to begin the world cup with a winning note. This is by far the biggest victory margin in WC clashes between India & Pakistan.

Earlier India which won the toss chose to bat & went on to post a challenging 300-7 powered by Virat Kohli's brilliant century (107 off 126 balls) & half-centuries by Shikar Dhawan (73) & Suresh Raina (74). Chasing a daunting 301, Pakistan surrendered to India's pace attack. Pakistan were bowled out for just 224 in 47 overs. Only thing Pakistanis can cheer about is Misbah's brilliant knock of 76 which saved the face of Pakistan. India's pace-bowler Mohammed Shami scalped four wickets bringing curtains down for Pakistan. This astounding victory has only prolonged the wait of die-hard Pakistani fans whose country has NEVER defeated India in an world cup match. Meanwhile India's Prime Minister has congratulated Team India on Twitter for their emphatic victory over Pakistan.

Monday 26 January 2015

India extends a warm welcome to its 'close friend' Mr.Barack Obama

India rolled out a grand red-carpet welcome to one of its 'dearest' friend Barack Obama who is on a three-day visit to India. His visit hit the headlines of almost all Indian newspapers & will also serve as a image-booster to Indian Prime Minister Modi whose government is already riding high on series of electoral victories. Obama's visit will help Modi to strengthen his 'Make in India' campaign as both sides are expected to sign multi-billion dollar worth of deals.

The 'Air Force ONE' lands at New Delhi's IGI airport, PM Modi on the tarmac

Mr & Mrs Obama disembarking 'Air Force one'

Indian PM Modi extends a warm welcome to President Obama

President Obama boards 'The Beast'

Obama waves hands at cheering crowd

Spectacular pics of India's 66th R-Day celebrations

India today displayed its military might & cultural heritage in its spectacular Republic day parade in the presence of US President Barack Obama who is the Guest of Honour of this grand event. Here are some eye-catching pics of India's colourful & joyous R-Day celebrations.