Chandigarh, Sep 26: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the MiG-21 is not only an aircraft or a machine but a national pride, and a testimony to the deep ties between India and Russia.

Noting that the over 60-year-old journey of the MiG-21 is unmatched, he said the mighty machine picked up the burden of the country’s security on its wings for decades, and shaped “our confidence and strengthened our strategy”.

The defence minister was addressed a gathering at the decommissioning ceremony of the Russian-origin MiG-21 at the Chandigarh Air Force Station here.

The iconic Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighter jets, which have been the backbone of Indian Air Force’s (IAF) combat fleet, flew for the last time in Indian skies here on Friday, bringing the curtain down on a 62-year-long journey. The MiG-21 fighter jets have been part of the IAF’s combat fleet since the 1960s.

Remembering the valour of the armed forces, Singh said the MiG-21 has a big contribution in their journey of bravery.

“We gathered here for the final operational sortie of MiG-21. Being amongst you, I have emotions of pride and gratitude,” Singh said.

“When we are today giving a send-off to MiG 21 from its operational journey, I feel that we are giving a send-off to a chapter which will be written in golden letters in military aviation history,” he said.

“MiG-21 is not only an aircraft or a machine but it is also a proof of deep ties between India and Russia,” he stated.

The history of military aviation is incredible, he said, adding MiG-21 aircraft added many proud moments in the military aviation journey.

“In the history of the world’s military aviation, there has not been any fighter jet which was made in such a big number,” he stated.

Over 11,500 MiG 21 aircraft were made worldwide, and of them, 850 fighter jets remained part of the IAF, he said and added, “This number is the testimony of this aircraft’s popularity, credibility and multi-dimensional capability”.

“MiG-21 has been a witness to many brave works. Its contribution has not been limited to one incident or a war,” he said as he recalled its role in the 1971 war with Pakistan, 1999 Kargil conflict as well as 2019 Balakot air strikes.

Recalling the many occasions when MiG-21 proved its decisive capacity, he said, “From 1971 war to Kargil war, or from Balakot air strikes to Operation Sindoor, there was no such occasion when MiG-21 did not provide tremendous power to our armed forces”.

“Who can forget the 1971 war? During a war against Pakistan, the day MiG-21 attacked the Dhaka Governor House in adverse conditions, that day the outline of the outcome of the battle was decided,” he said.

“Be it any historic mission, MiG-21 always kept the honour of the national flag high. This farewell is of our collective memories and national pride, and of this journey of courage, sacrifice and excellence,” he said.

Singh said he was seeing the MiG-21 journey from a different perspective as well.

“This perspective is also giving a glimpse of traditions of ancient India. Our ancient culture teaches that the presence of God is not only in living but also in non-living things,” the minister said.

“We consider this land our mother and ourselves its children. You must have seen that when a new house is built, we perform ‘puja’ before entering it. If we have a new car, we perform ‘puja’ for it.

“In a few days on Dussehra, we perform ‘Shastra puja’. This tradition is not only faith and belief, it is an emotion of our gratitude towards each tool, each system and each instrument which protect and empower us,” he said.

“Our civilisation and our culture teach us that respect should not only be given to a human being but also to everything which made some contribution in our lives,” Singh said.

“When we give respect to every small and big thing then MiG-21 is our national pride and it has been a shield of our defence and a symbol of our strength and then how can we leave its respect,” he stated.

When we gathered here to give farewell to MiG-21, it should not be seen as a formal military ceremony but as an expansion of cultural tradition, he said.

The way we give respect to a soldier on his retirement, the same way, we are today giving respect to this mighty machine which picked up the burden of our security on its wings for decades, he said.

Everybody knows about its valour, he said, adding the aircraft is deeply embedded in its country’s emotions and memories

Hailing the role of the aircraft, he said the 60-year-old journey of MiG-21 is unmatched.

“For us this is not a fighter jet but like a family member and with which our attachment is quite deep,” he said.

He said the MiG-21 shaped our confidence, strengthened our strategy and helped us in establishing at the global stage. This fighter jet faced each challenge in its journey and proved its capability every time, he asserted.

The minister made it clear that the MiG-21 that were being used till now were 40-year old while those inducted in the 1960s and 1970s were out of service for a long time.

“When there is talk of MiG-21, it is often said that IAF was flying 60-year-old aircraft. I want to clarify an important fact that the MiG-21, which came to the armed forces in the 1960s and 1970s, have already been out of service a long time ago,” he said.

MiG 21 aircraft, which we were flying till now, were maximum 40-year-old. The 40-year lifetime for the standards of such aircraft is completely normal, he asserted.

In several countries, such fighter jets are kept active till such time, he said, stressing that MiG-21 had been kept updated technically.

New Delhi, Sep 26: The government on Friday released over Rs 540 crore under the 21st instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme to more than 27 lakh farmers of three food-affected states – Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand.

The PM-KISAN scheme is a central sector scheme launched in February 2019 by the Prime Minister to supplement the financial needs of land-holding farmers.

Under the scheme, a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year is transferred in three equal instalments into the Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts of farmers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.

According to an official statement, “the release of the 21st instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme was declared by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, through video conferencing.” This instalment has been specially prioritised for the farmers of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand which have been severely affected by recent floods and landslides.

“A total of more than Rs 540 crore has been directly transferred into the bank accounts of over 27 lakh farmers, including around 2.7 lakh women farmers, across the three states. This support aims to provide timely relief to farmers as they work to recover from the recent calamities,” the statement said.

The Centre transferred Rs 160.21 crore to 8,01,045 farmers in Himachal Pradesh. As many as 11,09,895 farmers in Punjab received Rs 221.98 crore, while 7,89,128 farmers in Uttarakhand got Rs 157.83 crore.

With this release, the cumulative disbursement under PM-KISAN to the three states has crossed Rs 13,626 crore since the launch of the scheme on February 24, 2019.

Chouhan asserted that the government is committed to standing by farmers in every situation.

He highlighted that the instalment of Rs 2,000 will help farmers meet immediate household needs, procure seeds and fertilisers for the next sowing cycle, and restore their confidence to resume cultivation.

New Delhi, Sep 26: Silver prices surged Rs 1,900 to hit a fresh high of Rs 1,41,900 per kilogram while gold rose by Rs 330 in the national capital on Friday amid heavy demand from stockists during the ongoing festival season, according to the All India Sarafa Association.

Gold prices advanced, with 99.9 per cent purity rising Rs 330 to Rs 1,17,700 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes). The yellow metal had ended at Rs 1,17,370 per 10 grams on Thursday.

In the local bullion market, gold of 99.5 per cent purity climbed Rs 400 to Rs 1,17,100 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes), up from Rs 1,16,700 per 10 grams in the previous session.

Silver, which had closed at Rs 1,40,000 per kilogram on Thursday, continued its record-breaking streak, buoyed by robust festival demand and firm investor interest in the physical market, as per the association.

Globally, however, both precious metals traded lower. Spot gold eased 0.12 per cent to USD 3,744.75 per ounce, while silver slipped 0.35 per cent to USD 45.03 per ounce.

Traders said the persistent domestic demand and festive buying momentum have offset weak global cues, helping bullion maintain its upward trajectory in local markets.

This is a new era for the telecom sector, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced on Friday.

Scindia said that over 97,500 mobile 4G towers will be commissioned by the PM at Jharsuguda, Odisha, on September 27.

Over 92,600 mobile sites installed by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) are of indigenised 4G technology, which is 5G upgradable. This is a fully-indigenous ‘4G tech stack’ featuring a Radio Access Network (RAN) developed by Tejas Network, a core network by C-DOT and integrated by Tata Consultancy Services.

Further, more than 4,700 mobile 4G towers have been installed by both Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel and 14,180 mobile 4G towers under the ‘saturation project’ have been funded by Digital Bharat Nidhi, according to a release.

These towers cover 26,700 unconnected villages in remote, border, and left-wing extremism-affected areas and will be a strategic enabler for digital India, serving over two million new subscribers and powering a range of e-governance services, digital payments, online education, telemedicine and citizen-centric applications.

The India-made network is cloud-based, future-ready and can upgrade seamlessly to 5G, Scindia said. The minister will be in Guwahati for the launch.

“This is a new era for the telecom sector, an era where India has entered into the domain of top countries, which produce and manufacture telecom equipment, including Denmark, Sweden, South Korea, China…India is now the fifth country. This big change in attitude, change in goals was pushed, pioneered and catalysed by the PM,” according to Scindia.

The Minister said, having perfected 4G, “we will be moving towards converting that to 5G as well”.
“Our 4G towers and BTSs are already serving 22 million customers across the length and breadth of our country,” he added.

The PM will also unveil India’s 100 per cent 4G saturation network through digital Bharat Nidhi, where 29,000-30,000 villages have been connected in a mission-mode project.

“Today is an important day heralding, in 24 hours, the emergence of India on the global telecom footprint, not only as a service provider to 1.2 billion customers…with the cheapest call rates and the cheapest data rate at 11 cents/GB in the world, but also tomorrow will be the day when the world will awake to India having arrived not only as a service provider, but as a manufacturer and an equipment provider of full 4G stack,” Scindia said. (Agencies)