PM Modi holds high-level review meeting on national security amid LoC tensions
New Delhi: In the wake of rising tensions along the Line of Control (LoC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Thursday to assess national preparedness and ensure coordination between ministries and departments amid ongoing security concerns.
The meeting, held in New Delhi, was attended by the Cabinet Secretary, senior officials from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), and Secretaries from key ministries including Defence, Home Affairs, External Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, Power, Health, and Telecommunications.
A government press release stated that the Prime Minister emphasised the importance of seamless coordination among ministries and agencies to maintain operational continuity and institutional resilience during this sensitive time. He reviewed the plans and preparedness of ministries to handle the current situation effectively.
Ministries have been directed to carry out a thorough review of their essential functions, with special focus on emergency preparedness, internal communication systems, and overall readiness. Secretaries of various departments presented their action plans and assured the PM of a coordinated, whole-of-government approach.
During the discussion, several critical areas were reviewed, including the strengthening of civil defence mechanisms, countermeasures against misinformation and fake news, and protection of critical infrastructure. Ministries were also instructed to work in close coordination with state governments and grassroots-level institutions to ensure effective implementation on the ground.
The official statement said ministries are equipped to respond to any emerging scenario and are reinforcing systems accordingly.
Prior to the high-level review, PM Modi met National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval at his residence. Sources revealed that the NSA briefed the Prime Minister about the current situation along India’s western border, particularly after Operation Sindoor, and developments in the region. The closed-door meeting lasted nearly an hour.
Following this, the Union Home Secretary also met the Prime Minister to further update him on internal security matters.
These meetings come amid heightened tension in Jammu and Kashmir, where 13 civilians were killed and 59 others injured in heavy shelling by Pakistani forces along the LoC. All fatalities were reported from the Poonch sector. The government has confirmed that these were the result of ceasefire violations.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
FIDE Women's World Cup final: Humpy draws with Divya in first game
Batumi (Georgia), Jul 26 (PTI): Young Indian International Master Divya Deshmukh held her nerves to hold stalwart Koneru Humpy to a draw in game 1 of the FIDE Women's World Cup final, with both players having their share of opportunities to take the lead here on Saturday.
The draw with black means Humpy, the two-time World Rapid champion, holds a slight edge going in the second and final game under the classical chess rules in the two-game mini-match, and should the deadlock continue, games of shorter duration will be played to determine the winner.
Humpy employed the Queen's gambit accepted as black and it turned out to be a pretty fascinating game right out of the opening as Divya, 19, came up with a piece sacrifice early to deny the black king the right to castle.
Humpy was the first to err and, according to computers, Divya had things under control on the 14th move. However in her bid to recover the extra material, the Nagpur girl, who has secured a place in the Candidates tournament with her sterling performance here, missed a promising continuation.
What followed the exchange of all minor pieces and the ensuing queen and rook endgame gave enough counter play to both players. The game was eventually drawn after Humpy sacrificed her rook to force perpetual checks.
"The game saw an extremely sharp battle with the game ending in a draw in 41 moves. On move 7, Divya made her aggressive intentions clear by offering another pawn,
which looked like home preparation. Humpy made a practical decision of refraining from taking the pawn and a balanced position was reached by move 10 by white," said Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay, an Arjuna awardee and the first Indian to get a chess Grandmaster norm.
"However, instead of developing the undeveloped Knight, Humpy retreated the centralised Knight on move 10, giving huge positional advantage to Divya. Divya could have gained huge positional advantage on the 12th move by moving a rook. However, she chose to play for King side attack by sacrificing a piece instead.
"Humpy, too, erred at this stage and instead of moving the King to Queen side, moved it to the King side. Divya, on move 14, could have obtained a crushing attack by threatening a mate by developing her Queen. Instead she chose to exchange a pair of Bishops first, which enabled Humpy to defend her King by returning the piece," said Thipsay.
"Players thus reached a balanced Queen and two Rooks ending. Divya continued to play ambitiously and tried to attack Humpy’s King but the latter defended accurately and the game was drawn in 41 moves by perpetual check," he added.
In the play-off for the third place, Chinese players Zhongyi Tan, the former women's world champion and top seed Lei Tingjie also decided to split points out of a Queen’s gambit declined game.
The opening raised visions of a close contest between the two but having been knocked out of title race in the previous round, none of them wanted to take any huge risk. It was still a middle game when the players shook hands.
With the top two positions sealed for the Indians, the berth to the next Candidates is also assigned, while the player finishing third will also get an entry to the premier event scheduled for 2026.
Results: Divya Deshmukh (Ind) drew with Koneru Humpy (Ind); Zhongyi Tan (Chn) drew with Tingjie Lei (Chn).
