India has signed an agreement with Russia to boost India’s defence sector by manufacturing 200 military choppers in the country with Russian collaboration. Indian Ambassador to Russia P S Raghavan said this could possibly be the first defence project under ‘Make in India’ initiative. Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Raghavan said Russia continues to remain India’s primary defence supplier.
- The current Chief Of Army Staff is General Dalbir Singh Suhag, who took office following retirement of General Bikram Singh.
- The motto of Indian Army is Service Before Self.
- The current Chief of Indian Air Force is Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha.
- The motto of Indian Air Force is Touch the Sky with Glory.
- The current Chief of Indian Navy is Admiral RK Dhowan.
- The motto of Indian Navy is May the Lord of the Oceans be auspicious unto us.
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What is Operation Cactus?
In November 1988 about 80 armed People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam’s mercenaries landed in the capital Malé. Disguised as visitors, a similar number had already infiltrated Malé earlier. The mercenaries quickly gained control of the capital, including the major government buildings, airport, port and television and radio stations. However, they failed to capture President Gayoom, who fled from house to house and asked for military intervention from India, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi immediately dispatched 1,600 troops by air to restore order in Malé. The military operations efforts were code-named Operation Cactus by the Indian Armed Forces.
