VIF News Digest : National Security - Defence Studies & Terrorism, (01-15 January 2024)

Defence

1. Bharat-UAE conducted a joint military exercise— “Desert Cyclone” in Rajasthan.
2. Raksha Mantri inaugurated the first all-girls Sainik School at Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh.
3. Indian Naval platforms remain mission deployed in the North/Central Arabian Sea.
4. MoD signed contracts worth ₹ 802 Crores for procurement of military equipment.
5. Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, AVSM, NM, takes over as Vice Chief of Naval Staff.
6. Raksha Mantri visited the United Kingdom to discuss defence and security issues.
7. ASMS and AIIMS, New Delhi, signed a MoU to collaborate in combined research projects.
8. The Chief of Staff of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces made an official visit to Bharat.
9. DRDO conducted a successfulflight test of the new generation AKASH missile.
10. Indian Navy and Royal Thai Navy carried out maiden bilateral maritime exercise.

International Terrorism

Africa

Somalia

1. Al-Shabaab seized a UN helicopter and passengers.

West Asia

1. At least 84 people were killed in bombings in Iran; Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan

1. CT officials arrested 21 TTP terrorists in connection to various terror attacks.

Domestic Terrorism

Jammu and Kashmir

1. Union Home Minister chaired a review meeting on the security situation of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
2. Delhi Police Special Cell arrested HM’s wanted terrorist— Javed Ahmed Mattoo.
3. Security forces eliminated a LeT terrorist in Shopian.

Left-Wing Extremism

1. A Maoist surrendered before Odisha police.
2. Three SOG personnel got injured in a blast during a combing operation in Odisha.

Radical Sikh Elements

1. Unidentified radical elements defaced a Hindu temple in California.
2. Bharat has no plans to resume FTA talks with Canada due to the latter’s lack of action on the Khalistan issue.
3. “Canadian politics had given a lot of space to Khalistanis,” said EAM Dr S Jaishankar.

Organised Crime

1. NIA chargesheet close aide of Arsh Dala in ‘terror-gangster network’ case.
2. In three States, the NIA attached four properties of Lawrence Bishnoi gang members.

Defence

Bharat-UAE conducted a joint military exercise— “Desert Cyclone” in Rajasthan.

From 02nd to 15th January, Bharat and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) carried out the first edition of the joint military exercise— “Desert Cyclone”, in Mahajan, Rajasthan. Troops represent the UAE Land Forces contingent from the Zayed First Brigade. The Indian Army contingent comprised 45 personnel and was represented mainly by a Battalion from the Mechanised Infantry Regiment. Click here to read… [2]

Raksha Mantri inaugurated the first all-girls Sainik School at Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh.

On 01 January, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh inaugurated “Samvid Gurukulam Girls Sainik School” at Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh. The first all-girls Sainik School was inaugurated under the initiative of establishing 100 new Sainik Schools in partnership with NGOs/private/state governments/schools in all states/UTs.
“Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the government has given women their rightful place in the Armed Forces, which was neglected for years. They have the right to protect the nation just like their male counterparts. It was a golden moment in the history of women's empowerment when we approved the admission of girls to Sainik Schools. Today, our women are not only flying fighter jets but also securing the borders,” said Raksha Mantri. Click here to read… [3]

Bharatiya Naval platforms remain mission deployed in the North/Central Arabian Sea.

The Indian Navy continues to monitor the maritime security situation in the Gulf of Aden and the North/Central Arabian Sea. Naval ships and aircraft are still deployed to conduct maritime security operations and maintain improved monitoring. White shipping has been closely observed by the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) and the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), particularly the Indian-flagged merchant vessels operating in the region. Additionally, the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard are working to maintain heightened monitoring in the Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ). Click here to read… [4]

MoD signed contracts worth ₹ 802 Crores for procurement of military equipment.

On 04 January, the Ministry of Defence (DoD) signed two contracts worth ₹802 crores for the procurement of QTY-697 Bogie Open Military (BOM) wagons at the cost of ₹473 Crore with M/S Jupiter Wagons Limited and procurement of OTY-56 Mechanical Minefield Marking Equipment (MMME) Mark II at the expense of ₹ 329 Crore with M/S BEML Limited, under buy (Indian-IDDM) category. The BOM Wagons and MMME will be produced with equipment and sub-systems sourced from indigenous manufacturers, boosting the indigenous manufacturing and participation of the private sector in defence production, realising the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Click here to read… [5]

Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, AVSM, NM, takes over as Vice Chief of Naval Staff.

On 04 January, Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, AVSM, NM, took over as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. Upon taking over, the Flag Officer paid homage to the Bravehearts, who made supreme sacrifices in service of the nation. Before taking over as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, V.Adm. Dinesh K Tripathi served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command. Click here to read… [6]

Raksha Mantri visited the United Kingdom to discuss defence and security issues.

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh visited the United Kingdom (UK) from 08-10 January. He was accompanied by a high-level Ministry of Defence (MoD) delegation, including senior officials from DRDO, Service Headquarters, Department of Defence (DoD), and Department of Defence Production (DoDP). On 10 January, Raksha Mantri and his UK counterpart— Grant Shapps, co-chaired the Bharat-UK Defence Industry CEOs Roundtable in London. The event was attended by many CEOs from the UK defence industry, UK MoD officials, India-UK Business Council, and Confederation of Indian Industry India representatives. Click here to read… [7]

AFMS and AIIMS, New Delhi, signed a MoU to collaborate in combined research projects.

On 10 January, the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with objectives of collaboration in areas of mutual interest, combined research and academic projects addressing multi-disciplinary scientific and technological issues.

The faculties of these two organisations would explore facilities available with both institutions, especially in investigations, research, and patient care services. The faculty exchange program will smoothen faculty movement from one institution to another for research and training purposes. A collaboration board of five members from both institutions has been formed, which will have monthly meetings to explore possible collaborations. Click here to read… [8]

The Chief of Staff of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces made an official visit to Bharat.

The Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) Chief of Staff— Admiral Fahad Abdullah S Al-Ghofaily, visited Bharat for four days from 10 to 13 January. Admiral Fahad Abdullah S Al-Ghofaily called on Admiral R Hari Kumar, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Indian Navy, on 11 January at New Delhi and discussed collaborative mechanisms and measures to strengthen Navy-to-Navy cooperation further. Indian Navy has also interacted with the Royal Saudi Naval Force in multilateral forums, such as IONS (Indian Ocean Naval Symposium), MILAN, CMF (Combined Maritime Forces) and DCoC-JA (Djibouti Code of Conduct - Jeddah Amendment), where both navies have been supporting each other to supplement maritime security in the region. Click here to read… [9]

DRDO conducted a successful flighttest of a new-generation AKASH missile.

On 12 January at 1030 hrs, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) carried out a successful flighttest of the new generation AKASH (AKASH-NG) missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha. The flight test was conducted at an extremely low altitude against a high-speed unmanned aerial target. The weapons system successfully intercepted and destroyed the target during the flying test. Click here to read… [10]

Indian Navy and Royal Thai Navy carried out maiden bilateral maritime exercise.

The Indian Navy and Royal Thai Navy conducted their maiden bilateral maritime exercise from 20-23 December 2023. Indigenously built Indian Naval ships Kulish and IN LCU 56 participated in the inaugural edition of the exercise. The Royal Thai Navy was represented by His Thai Majesty’s Ship (HTMS) “Prachuap Khiri Khan”. The 36th edition of Bharat-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Bharat-Thai CORPAT) was also conducted along with the maiden bilateral exercise. Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both navies participated in the Sea Phase of the exercise. Click here to read… [11]

International Terrorism

Africa

Somalia

Al-Shabaab seized a UN helicopter and passengers.

On 10 January, the al-Shabaab terror group captured a United Nations (UN) helicopter and eight persons, including passengers and crew members. The helicopter landed in the al-Shabaab-controlled territory in central Somalia. The UN mission in Somalia reported an ‘aviation incident’ involving a UN-contracted helicopter carrying out a medical evacuation. According to the UN note on the incident, the helicopter crashed around 70 km southeast of Dhusamareb with no UN personnel on board. The employees were third-party contractors. Click here to read… [12]

West Asia

At least 84 people were killed in bombings in Iran; Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

At least 84 people were killed in two blasts near Soleimani’s tomb in the city of Kerman, Iran. The gathering was marking the anniversary of the death of the senior IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani. In January 2020, Qasem Soleimani was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq. Later in the day, Islamic State (IS) posted on its affiliate Telegram channels that “two IS members had detonated their explosive belts in a crowd”. Describing the attack as a “blind and spiteful act to induce insecurity in the country and take revenge on the love and devotion of the great nation of Iran,” the IRGC promised a harsh response. Click here to read… [13]

Pakistan

CT officials arrested 21 TTP terrorists in connection to various terror attacks.

Based on intelligence inputs, on 02 January, Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested 21 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists from Easter Punjab province over the last two weeks. Apart from TTP terrorists, the CTD arrested Mohammad Arshad, an alleged commander of the Baluch Nationalist Army (BNA), which seeks independence of Baluchistan from Pakistan. Click here to read… [14]

Domestic Terrorism

Jammu and Kashmir

Union Home Minister chaired a review meeting on the security situation of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

On 02 January, the Union Home Minister— Amit Shah, chaired a review meeting on the security situation of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of terrorist incidents. The National Security Adviser (NSA), Lt Governor of J&K, Union Home Secretary, Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), Director-Intelligence Bureau (DIB), Heads of CAPFs, Chief Secretary & DGP, UT of J&K attended the meeting. While reviewing the functioning of the security grid and overall security scenario of Jammu and Kashmir, the Home Minister instructed strengthening the counter-terrorism operations and eliminating the terror eco-system. Click here to read… [15]

Delhi Police Special Cell arrested HM’s wanted terrorist— Javed Ahmed Mattoo.

On 04 January, Delhi Police’s Special Cell, in coordination with other agencies, arrested Hizb ul-Mujahideen (HM)’s A++ category terrorist— Javed Ahmed Mattoo, from a nearby area of Nizamuddin in Delhi. Javed was involved in a series of terror attacks in J&K. Javed, a resident of Sopore, has been to Pakistan. He was allegedly involved in five grenade attacks in the Valley during 2010-2012. The Delhi High Court, on 05 January, granted Delhi Police’s Special Cell 7 days’ custody of Javed Mattoo. Javed is among the top 10 terrorists designated by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Click here to read… [16]

Security forces eliminated a LeT terrorist in Shopian.

On 05 January, security forces killed a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist— Bilal Ahmed Bhat, in an overnight operation in the Shopian district of Southern Kashmir. Police claimed that Bilal was involved in the killing of army personnel and other terror attacks. Click here to read… [17]

Left-Wing Extremism

A Maoist surrendered before Odisha police.

On 10 January, a woman Maoist— Ungi Madvi, aka Rosni, surrendered before police in Malkangiri town in Odisha. Ungi was an active CPI (Maoist) member and presently operated as a member of Mahupadar of Kanger Ghati of Darbha division of DKSZC (Dandakaranya Special Zone Committee). “Ungi was involved in at least 48 cases in Odisha. It is a good achievement as she was actively involved in a series of incidents in Odisha for the last eight years. Apart from Odisha, she was also active in neighbouring states,” said Malkangiri’s Superintendent of Police (SP)— Nitesh Wadhwani. Click here to read… [18]

Three SOG personnel got injured in a blast during a combing operation in Odisha.

On 05 January, three personnel of the Special Operations Group (SOG) got injured in an explosion while carrying out a combing operation in a forest on the Boudh-Kandhamal border in Odisha. “The explosion occurred when the jawans' team conducted a combing operation in the Batepanga forest on the Boudh-Kandhamal border. The jawans have sustained minor injuries in the blast,” said Boudh’s Superintendent of Police (SP)— Raj Prasad. Click here to read… [19]

Radical Sikh Elements

Unidentified radical elements defaced a Hindu temple in California.

A Hindu temple in California, US, was allegedly defaced with pro-Khalistan and anti-Modi graffiti. “Another Bay area Hindu temple vandalised with pro-Khalistan graffiti. The Vijay’s Sherawali Temple in Hayward, CA, had a similar defacement just two weeks after the Swaminarayan Mandir attack and a week after a theft incident at the Shiv Durga temple in the same area,” tweeted the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) on X/Twitter. Click here to read… [20]

Bharat has no plans to resume FTA talks with Canada due to the latter’s lack of action on the Khalistan issue.

Bharat does not intend to resume discussions for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Canada soon. If there is a change of government in Canada following the federal elections in October 2025, Bharat may consider resuming talks on an FTA. Bharat asserted that the present Canadian administration, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has been indulgent towards pro-Khalistan voices, a subject that Bharat has raised consistently over the past few years. Click here to read… [21]

“Canadian politics had given a lot of space to Khalistanis,” said EAM Dr S Jaishankar.

In an interview with the news agency ANI on 02 January, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar said that Canadian politics had given a lot of space to Khalistanis, who were allowed to indulge in activities detrimental to the Bharat-Canada relationship. “The issue at heart is that fact that in Canadian politics, these Khalistani forces have been given a lot of space and have been allowed to indulge in activities which I think are damaging to the relationship, clearly not in India’s interest, but I would argue not in Canada’s interest either,” said Dr Jaishankar. Click here to read… [22]

Organised Crime

NIA chargesheet close aide of Arsh Dala in ‘terror-gangster network’ case.

On 04 January, the NIA filed a chargesheet against Manpreet Singh, a close aide to Arsh Dala, in the terror-gangster connection case. Manpreet, aka Peeta was working as a full-fledged crime-terror-extortion node from the Philippines under the orders of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) agent Arsh Dala of Canada. He was actively involved in the gathering of weaponry from the Bharat-Pak border, as well as extortion calls to raise funds for Dala and the KTF. In February 2023, the Government of Bharat banned KTF and designated it a terrorist organisation. Click here to read… [23]

In three States, the NIA attached four properties of Lawrence Bishnoi gang members.

On 06 January, the NIA attached four properties owned by Lawrence Bishnoi gang members. Three immovable properties and one movable were attached in a coordinated action by NIA officials in Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967. The NIA determined that all of these properties were ‘proceeds of terrorism,’ used to hatch terror plots and carry out serious crimes. Click here to read… [24]