IAF bids farewell to MiG-21 fighter jets after six decades, Rajnath terms it 'national pride'
Chandigarh (PTI): The legendary Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighter jets, the the backbone of the Indian Air Force's combat fleet for more than six decades, streaked through Indian skies for the last time on Friday -- its final adieu edged in history and many a remembrance.
The sun shone bright, the skies cloudless and a brilliant blue, providing a picture perfect setting for the elaborate farewell to the Russian origin warhorse that was inducted into the IAF in the 1960s.
Describing the MiG-21 as a mighty machine and a national pride, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said there is deep attachment to the aircraft that shaped our confidence.
"MiG-21 is not only an aircraft or machine but also proof of deep India-Russia ties," the minister said.
"The history of military aviation is incredible. The MiG 21 added many proud moments in our military aviation journey," Singh told the gathering.
Besides him, former IAF chiefs A Y Tipnis, S P Tyagi and B S Dhanoa, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, India's first man on the International Space Station, and scores of veterans, many who had piloted the aircraft, were present on the occasion.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh flew the sortie of the MiG-21 Bison aircraft with call sign Badal 3. Dilbagh Singh, who became the IAF chief in 1981, led the first MiG-21 Squadron here in 1963.
The culmination of MiG-21 operations took place with a ceremonial flypast and decommissioning event, marking the closure of a historic chapter in India's air power.
The country's first supersonic fighter and interceptor aircraft were retired at the decommissioning event in Chandigarh, where it was first inducted.
The ceremony began with the arrival of the minister, the chief guest at the occasion, followed by a spectacular display by IAF's elite skydiving team 'Akash Ganga', which skydived from a height of 8,000 feet.
This was followed by a majestic flypast of the MiG-21 aircraft accompanied by precision of the air warrior drill team and an aerial salute.
The fighter pilots flew MiG-21s in the three-aircraft Badal formation and the four-aircraft Panther formation roared over the skies one final time.
The Surya Kiran aerobatic team also enthralled the audience with their breathtaking manoeuvres.
MiG-21 jets, belonging to number 23 Squadron, took part in the flypast ceremony, and were given a water cannon salute.
The Jaguar and the Tejas aircrafts also took part in the ceremony. Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments. It has been designed to undertake air defence, maritime reconnaissance and strike roles.
After its first induction, the IAF procured over 870 MiG-21s to boost its overall combat prowess.
The supersonic jets were the dominant platforms during 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan. The aircraft also played a key role in the 1999 Kargil conflict as well as the 2019 Balakot airstrikes.
The aircraft has also had a troubled safety record and involved in multiple crashes in the last six decades. The ageing fleet prompted some to describe the aircraft as "legacy coffins".
The MiG-21 jets made their last operational flights at the Nal Air Force Station in Rajasthan's Bikaner, a month ahead of the formal retirement ceremony.
As part of the symbolic farewell, Air Chief Marshal Singh had also flown solo sorties of the MiG-21 from Nal on August 18-19.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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