Kautilya

The OPV is part of the contract awarded to Larsen and Toubro to build seven offshore patrol vessels at the Kattuppalli Port near Chennai. This is the fourth in the series of seven 98-m vessel awarded to Larsen and Toubro. ‘Varaha’ refers to the third incarnation of Lord Vishnu who took the form of a boar to rescue Goddess Earth from the ocean by lifting her on his tusks. ‘Varaha’ is the projection of the Coast Guard’s will and commitment “to serve and protect” the maritime interest of the country.

The 23rd edition of the top-notch “Malabar” naval exercise among India, the US and Japan kicks off Sasebo in Japan on Wednesday, with Australia being the sole “Quad” member not involved in the 10-day wargames.Indian defence establishment sources say India has separately cranked up military ties with Australia, which saw the two countries conduct their biggest-ever naval exercise called “AusIndEx” to “build inter-operability” off the Visakhapatnam coast in April this year.

The project estimated to cost ₹400 crore, when in place, will give India its own capability in space situational awareness (SSA) like the other space powers — which is used to ‘predict’ threats from debris to Indian satellites. It also goes so far as to serve as an unstated warning against missile or space attack for the country, experts say.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s office is actively monitoring the content on social media and “a very big effort” is going on to counter anti-India propaganda in the cyber space. Fake Twitter handles masquerading that of retired Indian Army officers and serving Indian Army Chief too have been created for the agenda and security officials said a concerted effort is going on from Pakistan where thousands of accounts, many of which had ceded long back have suddenly got active. Many have Indian names as well.