IAF inks Rs 300 crore deal to procure Spice bombs from Israel
New Delhi, Jun 7: The Indian Air Force has signed a Rs 300 crore deal with a Israeli defence firm to procure a batch of SPICE 2000 guided bombs, official sources said Friday.
The IAF had used SPICE bombs in its strikes on a terrorist training camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26.
Sources said the order for the bombs has been placed under the special financial powers given to the armed forces by the government for emergency purchases.
The deal was signed with Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the bombs are expected to be supplied in the next three months, the sources said.
IAF fighter jets bombed terror group JeM's training camp in Balakot deep inside Pakistan.
The Indian strike on the JeM camp came 12 days after the terror group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were killed.
Following the Pulwama attack, the government granted emergency powers to the three services to procure weapons and military hardware to enhance their operational preparedness along the border with Pakistan.
The government also relaxed certain rules to cut delays in military purchase like allowing the three services to procure required weapons and equipment from a single vendor.
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Karnataka govt to strictly implement the paid menstrual leave policy, after HC directive
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad has said that the government will strictly implement the paid menstrual leave policy across all sectors at the earliest, following the High Court directive.
The High Court of Karnataka had recently directed the state government to "strictly and faithfully" implement the menstrual leave policy, pending formal enactment of the proposed legislation.
"I welcome the directive issued by the Karnataka High Court in support of our state government's ambitious menstrual leave policy," Lad said.
The state government has taken firm steps to implement the menstrual leave policy comprehensively, and as a model to the country, he said in a post on 'X' on Thursday.
"In line with the court's opinion that menstrual leave is a matter of women's dignity, justice, and humane recognition of their lived realities, we will strictly implement the paid menstrual leave policy--equivalent to one day per month, or 12 days per year--across all sectors at the earliest," he added.
The court had said that in the interregnum, it shall be incumbent upon the state to ensure effective operationalisation of the policy through the issuance of suitable guidelines, circulars, and administrative instructions, as may be necessary to secure its uniform, consistent, and rigorous implementation across all sectors.
The court issued the directive while hearing on a petition filed by 41-year-old Chandravva Hanumant Gokavi, who works in a hotel in Mudalgi of Gokak taluk in Belagavi district, before the Dharwad bench, seeking implementation of the November 20, 2025, order of the government providing one-day menstrual leave for all working women.
