India recently has floated a tender of Rs 42,000 crore for 126 MMRCA (Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft). This is because currently the responsibility of safeguarding the Indian skies is on the ageing MiG-21 fighters, popularly known as ‘flying coffins’ because of their frequent crashes. The new 126 fighters are supposed to replace the MiG-21s. The proposals are sent for six fighters: (1) MiG-35 (Russia), (2) JAS-39 Gripen (Sweden), (3) F-16 Fighting Falcon (USA), (4) FA-18 Super Hornet (USA), (5) Eurofighter Typhoon (Britain/Germany/Spain/Italy), and (6) Rafale (France). Let us individually examine the features of each of these warrior steel-birds.

ORISSA police is now in a fix – it faces a great challenge of arresting a senior state-cadre IPS officer and his rape convicted son to save its image. And this challenge has come as a severe shock for many of the senior police officers of the state who have been working with B B Mohanty, the IPS officer in question, for decades. Many of the officers also know Mr Mohanty’s convicted son Bitti Hotra Mohanty very closely since he was a toddler.

For the last 58 years, National Cadet Corps (NCC) has been instilling qualities like leadership, secularism, sense of national unity, patriotism, selfless service, discipline, hard work and other character building qualities in the youth of our country. The Hitavada staffer Rajiv Ranjan Singh elaborates about NCC’s stellar role on the occasion of NCC Day today.

The ULFA was formed on April 7, 1979 and peace in the idyllic state of Assam was shattered thereafter. The raging conflict in the state has claimed hundreds of lives ever since. Moushumi Saikia Bora elaborates about how the state has been countering insurgency

‘LAGE Raho Munnabhai’ is a hit. Scores of applauds are drawn and pages of reportage are printed on this film, which coined word for the Hinglish Indians, Gandhigiri.

The infamous Chirudih massacre that occurred thirty-one years ago is still haunting Union Coal Minister Shibu Soren, with the rival National Democratic Alliance in Jharkhand, armed with the dying declaration of one of the victims, Lakhindra, raking up the issue to nail the United Progressive Alliance. The Hitavada Roving Correspondent Amlan Home Chowdhury takes a relook at the tragedy and the politics behind it.’

AS THE horizon’s eastern nook smiles with the appearance of the crimson sun heralding the dawn, a bee line of feeble-frail-fatigued frames at the dusk of their lives, inch towards the 21 major ghats of Ganga in Varanasi for an extremely eerie purpose: Death.

A few days ago, torrential rains and administrative bungling on part of the Narendra Modi Government created a veritable hell in Surat. In no time, the flourishing city was transformed into a stinking mess. The Hitavada correspondent R K Misra relives the tragedy.

India has lost 95% of its vulture population in the past 15 years. If the key in the food chain cycle breaks, it is sure to affect mankind sooner or later. The Hitavada staffer Vijay Pinjarkar finds out the reasons behind the mass extinction of vultures, and what measures the government is taking to curb it.

“IT IS Chhattisgarh where the seeds for ending the Naxal menace have been sown and I am sure the entire country would give due credit to this state in the coming days.” That is how Chief Minister Chhattisgarh Dr Raman Singh, the other day, spoke about the efficacy of the controversial Salwa Judum movement launched by the adivasis of Chhattisgarh in the Bastar region of the State. It is now almost a year since the movement, supported by the State, was launched and it is now time that the plus and minuses or gains or losses are counted.