Hyderabad: The Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC) has filed an appeal before the High Court challenging the interim order of a single judge bench that had halted the issuance of appointment letters to successful candidates in Group-1 examinations, held for filing 563 posts.

The single judge, on April 16, while dealing with a batch of petitions complaining about the evaluation of Mains exam answer sheets, directed the TGSPSC to not issue appointment letters until further orders, but allowed the certificate verification process to continue.

The certificate verification was completed on April 22, and TGPSC’s additional secretary R. Sumathi filed the appeal before the High Court challenging the single judge`s order. She submitted that the orders had put in jeopardy the recruitment process and affected scores of candidates who have put in hard work and were on the verge of securing employment. The restriction would cause undue delay in filling critical administrative posts across departments. She claimed that the balance of convenience was in favour of the TGSPSC .

Highlighting its adherence to standard practices, the TGPSC emphasised that evaluation of answer papers was conducted transparently, following guidelines comparable to those used by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The answer scripts were evaluated by qualified subject experts, including specialists proficient in Telugu, English, and Urdu. The commission stressed that to maintain integrity and prevent undue influence, the identity of evaluators was kept confidential.

In a press note dated March 13, the commission had disclosed the number of evaluators for each subject and paper, reinforcing its commitment to transparency. It reiterated that no discrepancy occurred during the evaluation process and that the claims raised by the petitioners were speculative and intended to cast unwarranted doubts over a fair selection process.

NEW DELHI: India will get its first Rafale-Marine jet in mid-2028 and all 26 by 2030 under the mega Rs 63,887 crore (almost Euro 7 billion) deal inked with France on Monday for the omni-role fighters that will primarily operate from indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant’s deck.
The delivery of nine Rafale-M jets with their decidedly deadly weapons package in 2028, 12 in 2029 and 5 in 2030 will bolster Indian aircraft carrier operations in the Indian Ocean and beyond at a time when China ’s ever-expanding naval forays and hunt for logistical bases in the region have become a clear and present threat, officials told TOI.
“The Rafale-M is a carrier-borne combat-ready aircraft with proven operational capabilities. It will be a potent force multiplier, substantially boosting India’s air power at sea,” an official said.
These omni-role 4.5-generation maritime strike and reconnaissance jets will add to the 36 Rafales, which are also capable of delivering nuclear weapons, already inducted by the IAF under the Rs 59,000 crore contract inked in Sept 2016. They are deployed at the Ambala and Hasimara airbases to cater for the Pakistan and China fronts.

The two major Rafale deals make the French fighter the frontrunner in the long-pending project to manufacture 114 multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA) with foreign collaboration in India, which was initially estimated to cost Rs 1.25 lakh crore and is now being fast-tracked, as reported by TOI earlier.
Apart from the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) on the Rafale-M jets, inked remotely by defence minister Rajnath Singh and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu, the aircraft supply protocol with fighter-manufacturer Dassault Aviation and weapons protocol with missile-maker MBDA were also signed here.
The exchange of documents took place in the presence of defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Navy vice chief Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and French ambassador Thierry Mathou, among others.
The direct acquisition of 22 single-seater Rafale-M jets and four twin-seater trainers includes training for Indian pilots and technicians, a simulator, associated equipment, weapons and five-year performance-based logistics. It also includes additional equipment for the existing 36 Rafales of the IAF.
The Rafale-M jets will be armed with long-range precision strike weapons like the IAF fighters. In addition to the 70-km range Exocet AM39 anti-ship missiles, they will have the over 300-km range `Scalp’ air-to-ground cruise missiles and the top-notch Meteor air-to-air missiles, which have a strike range of 120 to 150-km to take on enemy jets.
While there is no overall transfer of technology in the deal, the IGA includes the integration of indigenous weapons like the Astra air-to-air missiles and the naval short and medium-range anti-ship missiles (NASMs) being developed by DRDO with the Rafale-M fighters in the future.
It also includes setting up of a production facility for aircraft fuselage as well as MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facilities for engines, sensors and weapons in India. “The Rafale-M’s procurement will substantially enhance joint operational capability, besides optimizing training and logistics for both Navy and IAF,” the official said.
The Navy currently has only 40 of the 45 MiG-29K jets, inducted from Russia at a cost of $2 billion from 2009 onwards, to operate from the decks of its two over 40,000-tonne aircraft carriers, the older Russian-origin INS Vikramaditya and the new indigenous INS Vikrant. Moreover, the MiG-29Ks have also been dogged by poor serviceability and other problems over the years.
China, incidentally, already has three aircraft carriers, the 60,000-tonne Liaoning, the 66,000-tonne Shandong and the over 80,000-tonne Fujian, and is fast building more such warships with nuclear-propulsion.

Three-time Pakistan Prime Minister and founder of the ruling political party, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif has advised his younger brother and current Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, to utilise all available diplomatic resources to restore peace with India, insisting that he is against taking an aggressive position.

Both brothers met in Lahore on Sunday evening, with Shehbaz briefing Nawaz Sharif about the decisions taken by his government against India after the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting, especially in the wake of India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) following the Pahalgam attack.

Sources said that Shehbaz Sharif detailed how his government has reciprocated New Delhi’s measures and also closed its airspace for India. He also briefed on the country’s preparedness to respond to any aggression by India with a greater response.

“PM Shehbaz told his elder brother and party founder that India’s unilateral decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty had heightened the risk of a war in the region,” the source stated.

Nawaz Sharif advised PM Shehbaz not to take any aggressive position on the matter and use diplomatic channels to ease tensions.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has called on India to form an international commission, with officials from countries including United States, Russia, China and Britain to investigate the Pahalgam attack, claiming that if such a commission is made, Islamabad would also bring forth evidence of Indian involvement behind the Jaffar Express terror attack in Balochistan, along with direct connections with anti-Pakistan groups, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“Despite knowing that it was a false flag operation, we are ready to work with any such commission to close the curtains on this drama. However, India will witness our preparedness if it goes ahead with any misadventure,” said Khawaja Asif.