Sainik Samaj Party president Balbir Singh Parmar addresses mediapersons at the Press Club in Dehradun on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Abhyudaya Kotnala
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, March 22
Balbir Singh Parmar, president, Sainik Samaj Party, stressed the need to amend the Constitution to avoid a political turmoil in the country.He said strict action should be taken against politicians found guilty of frequently changing parties for their personal benefits. Parmar was addressing mediapersons here today.He expressed unhappiness at the slow pace of development in the state. “Transfer of bureaucrats on a regular basis surely hampers development works in the state,” Parmar said.The Sainik Samaj Party would field the most suitable and popular candidates in all 70 state Assembly constituencies, he said.Parmar expressed hope that the party candidates would emerge victorious in the elections, slated for January 2017.Kusum Lata Parmar, general secretary of the women wing of the party, flayed the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The Congress-led state government should chalk out effective plans to provide the best security to women in the state, she added.SS Bisht, Daulat Singh, DP Singh, OS Negi, JS Basera and RS Panwar attended the news conference.
Over 13 lakh veterans have got OROP benefits: Parrikar
Upbeat at over 13 lakh military veterans getting their new monetary entitlements under the ‘One Rank, One Pension’ scheme, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said most of the rest will get their new pension by Holi.
“Over 13 lakh pensioners have got OROP benefits already.
“In total, we have released Rs 2,300 crore till Match 17. Most of the rest will be paid by Holi” Parrikar told reporters here.
He said it is possible that about 10,000 out of the remaining over 7 lakh pensioners might not get their dues cleared by Holi but they should not panic as the money will be received by first or second week of April.
“There are over 1000 branches (of banks) doing the job and, if someone does not do their job properly, it may get delayed,” he said.
In a statement, the Defence Ministry said government accords utmost importance to the welfare of ex-servicemen and has kept its promise with regard to the “historic decision” taken on September 5 to implement the more than four decades old demand of OROP.
“Payments have begun to the concerned in record time,” the Ministry said.
“More than two-thirds of the ex-servicemen have now been paid the OROP arrears. Payments have now reached the accounts of 13.02 lakh pensioners amounting to about Rs 2,293 crore.
This amount has been released through Defence Pension Disbursing Offices (DPDOs), the State Bank of India (SBI) and the Punjab National Bank (PNB),” it said.
As on March 17, the DPDOs have released an amount of about Rs 606 crore to about 3.20 lakh defence personnel.
The SBI has as released up to March 17 an amount of Rs 1,337 crore to 7.75 lakh pensioners which includes family pension cases.
The PNB has released as on March 17, an amount of about Rs 350 crore to about 2.07 lakh pensioners which also includes family pension cases. — PTI
short by Aarushi Maheshwari / 07:13 pm on 18 Mar 2016,Friday
The Army will vacate land at four places in Jammu and Kashmir before March 31. The land will be handed over to the state, and include 212 acres in Srinagar and 16.30 acres near the Jammu University. The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) earlier demanded that the Army vacate land, and revoke the AFSPA in peaceful areas.
J-K:Army to vacate land at four places by March-end
Jammu, Mar 18 (PTI) Army will be vacating large tracts of land held by it at four places in Jammu and Kashmir, including the 212-acre Tatoo ground in Srinagar, by month-end, one of the demands by PDP for formation of government with BJP.
The decision was announced last night after a meeting between Governor N N Vohra and Lt Gen D S Hooda, GOC-in-C Northern Command, during which senior officials including Chief Secretary B R Sharma were present.
It was agreed that Northern Command of Army would hand over 16.30 acres of state land held by it adjoining the Campus of Jammu University, 212 acres of land held by it at Tatoo Grounds, Srinagar and 456.60 kanals of land at High Grounds, Anantnag and land held at lower Khurba Thang in Kargil, to J&K government, an official spokesman said.
The decision is considered vital in the wake of demands by PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti that Army vacate land it has held and revocation of AFSPA from peaceful areas in Jammu and Kashmir as a confidence building measure ahead of formation of the government in J&K with BJP.
In extensive discussions with Hooda at the Raj Bhavan, the Governor reviewed the implementation of decisions taken in earlier Civil Military Liaison Conferences on all land matters relating to the Army, the spokesman said.
The meeting was attended by Sharma the Chief Secretary; P K Tripathi, Principal Secretary to Governor; R K Goyal, Principal Secretary, Home; Asgar Hassan Samoon, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; and Dr. Pawan Kotwal, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu.
It was agreed that the land at the lower Plateau Khurba Thang would be taken over before March 31 when Chief Secretary visits Kargil as Chairman of the Committee set up to deal with all Army Key Location Plan matters, the spokesman said.
The land at other three areas would also be handed over before March 31, the spokesman said.
Regarding the Tatoo Ground Land, the Governor and Army Commander will jointly visit the site before March 31 to discuss certain proposals regarding the utilisation of this land for creating a park, recreational facilities for youths etc, he said.
The Governor directed that the Committee headed by the Chief Secretary shall visit Jammu University, Kargil and Anantnag to satisfy all formalities on the spot and take over the said sites.
Defence Ministry to tie up with IITs to encourage innovation
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurates Cognizance—2016 at the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee on Friday. Tribune photo
Tribune News Service & PTI
Dehradun, March 18
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today expressed concern at the migration of highly qualified youths to foreign countries after taking higher education in the country.He was speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day Cognizance-2016, a technical annual fest at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, today.The Defence Ministry in this regard has set the ball rolling for collaboration with IITs, NITs, IISc and other top institutions to work out a research and development paradigm that will include both “innovation and production” for the sector.He said the Defence Research Development Organisation (DSDO) and premier educational colleges like IITs should collaborate and provide better research avenues to students, which would help the country achieve its target as envisaged by ‘Make in India’.Parrikar said the defence sector was majorly dependent on imports but if IITians had any concept or were willing to work in this sector, under the Make in India channel, we would support them fully in making them entrepreneurs.Parrikar went down memory lane and even recalled his days of entrepreneurship. “After finishing college, we started our own venture and later decided to enter politics. But, innovation is something the campus environment promotes and if you have great ideas then this programme fits in right there,” he said.The 60-year-old politician graduated in 1978 and was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by his alma mater for his achievements in 2001.Referring to 168-year-old IIT, Roorkee, as the pride of India which made Roorkee an educational hub, Parrikar said such institutions had been contributing to the country in many ways.IIT Roorkee Director Pradeepta Banerjee said more than 3,000 educational institutions were taking part in the fest.Prof Ashok Misra, chairman, Board of Governors, IIT; Padma Vibhushan awardee Anil Kakodkar; T Suvarna Raju, CMD, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL); RK Shrawat, CMD, Mazagaon Dockyard Limited; Air Marshal PV Athawale (retd) and Colonel Ajai Shukla (retd) among others were present on the occasion.
The Rashtriya Rifles Battalion, Banihal, under Delta Force, completed the construction of a pipeline for water supply and storage, at Government Middle School, Darpura. It also completed a 60-feet drainage channel at Karawa (Banihal) in Ramban district. The projects were handed over to the school authorities at a small ceremony here today.The projects were initiated to improve basic amenities for the people of Darpura and Karawa villages at their request. These will help to fulfill water requirements and benefit nearly 1,200 villagers. The civil authorities and villagers appreciated the noble gesture by the Army for understanding the concerns of villagers and working for their welfare. — TNS
वित्त मंत्री अरुण जेटली द्वारा पेश किए गए बजट में ऐसा पहली बार हुआ है कि रक्षा बजट पर एक भी पंक्ति नहीं बोली गई। बाद में जारी आधिकारिक आंकड़ों में कहा गया कि यदि वन रैंक वन पेंशन के पैसों को अलग कर दिया जाए तो रक्षा क्षेत्र के लिए 258589 करोड़ रुपये का प्रावधान किया गया है। पिछले वर्ष रक्षा बजट 246727 करोड़ रुपये का था। इस तरह 11862 करोड़ रुपये की कुल बढ़ोतरी की गई अर्थात यह वृद्धि मात्र 4.80 प्रतिशत है। चालू वित्त वर्ष में रक्षा मंत्रालय ने आवंटित राशि में से 11000 करोड़ रुपये की राशि लौटा दी है, जो रक्षा मंत्री के लिए राहत की बात है। इस तरह 2015-16 का संशोधित रक्षा बजट 235727 करोड़ रुपये का रह गया। देखा जाए तो 9.69 प्रतिशत की ही बढ़ोतरी की गई है।
इससे पहले वर्ष 2012-13 में 17 प्रतिशत, वर्ष 2013-14 में 14 प्रतिशत, वर्ष 2014-15 में 12.44 प्रतिशत और 2015-16 में 10.95 प्रतिशत की वृद्धि की गई थी। स्पष्ट है कि पिछले सालों की तुलना में मामूली वृद्धि हुई है जबकि भारत की रक्षा चुनौतियां काफी बढ़ गई हैं। पाकिस्तान से पश्चिमी सीमा पर खतरे एवं चुनौतियां बरकरार हैं। वहीं उससे ज्यादा रक्षा चुनौतियां चीन ने पूर्वोत्तर सीमा पर उत्पन्न कर रखी हैं। समुद्र की तरफ से भी भारत को चुनौतियां मिल रहीं हैं।
बजट पेश होने से पहले रक्षा मंत्रालय से संबद्ध संसद की स्थायी समिति ने सरकार को कहा था कि अगर भारत ने इस वर्ष अपना रक्षा बजट नहीं बढ़ाया तो देश की सुरक्षा को खतरा हो सकता है। इसलिए रक्षा बजट को बढ़ाकर कुल सकल घरेलू उत्पाद का ढाई से तीन प्रतिशत किया जाए। फिर भी रक्षा क्षेत्र के लिए आवंटित यह धनराशि सकल घरेलू उत्पाद का 2.18 प्रतिशत ही है। सरकार के कदम से लगता है कि उसने रक्षा क्षेत्र में बताई जा रही चुनौतियों को ध्यान में रखा लेकिन चीन से होड़ को पीछे छोड़ दिया है। चीन व पाकिस्तान सहित विश्व के कई देश भारत की तुलना में सुरक्षा पर अधिक धन खर्च कर रहें हैं। फिर भी भारत रक्षा पर दो फीसदी से कम ही खर्च कर रहा है। चीन का रक्षा बजट भारत के मुकाबले साढ़े तीन गुना ज्यादा है। उसके रक्षा बजट में सालाना वृद्धि औसतन 13 फीसदी है।
भारत की लगातार बढ़ती रक्षा चुनौतियों के बावजूद वित्त मंत्री ने पिछले बजट के भाषण में ही साफ कर दिया था कि सरकार हथियारों की खरीद की अंधी दौड़ में शामिल होने वाली नहीं है और अपनी रक्षा जरूरतों के लिए भी भारत का जोर अब आत्मनिर्भरता हासिल करने पर होगा। स्पष्ट है कि मेक इन इंडिया के नारे को सफल बनाने के उद्देश्य से ही रक्षा क्षेत्र को कम धन आवंटित किया गया। उद्देश्य यह है कि भारत नियंत्रित रक्षा इकाइयां, न केवल भारत के लिए रक्षा उपकरण बना सकें बल्कि इनका निर्यात करने में भी सक्षम हो सकें। इसीलिए लड़ाकू विमानों सहित अन्य रक्षा उपकरणों के लिहाज से देश को आत्मनिर्भर बनाने के लिए मेक इन इंडिया नीति को आगे बढ़ाया जा रहा है।
अगर रक्षा मंत्रालय की मानें तो उसकी लगभग 66 योजनाओं को पूरा किया जाना है। ये योजनाएं मंत्रालय में प्राथमिक मंजूरी के स्तर पर हैं। वर्ष 2014 में सत्ता में आने के बाद राजग सरकार ने अब तक डेढ़ लाख करोड़ रुपये के रक्षा सौदों को मंजूरी प्रदान कर रखी है। इन्हें भी 2016-17 के वित्तीय वर्ष में पूरा किया जाना है। सिपरी की नवीनतम रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक भारत हथियारों का सबसे बड़ा आयातक देश है। रक्षा मंत्री इस टैग को हटाना चाहते हैं। इसे हटाने व मेक इन इंडिया को बढ़ाने के लिए एक बड़ी धनराशि की जरूरत है। तभी दोनों प्रकार की योजनाएं पूरी हो सकेंगी। रक्षा उपकरणों के अधिकांश आर्डर स्वदेशी कम्पनियों को दिए गए हैं। ये सभी बगैर धन के पूरे नहीं होंगे।
यदि थल सेना की जरूरतों की तरफ ध्यान दिया जाए तो भारत को 400 तोपों की जरूरत है। जिन्हें अमेरिका से खरीदा जाना है। थल सेना के हेलीकाप्टर बेड़े की मजबूती के लिए 197 हल्के उपयोग वाले हेलीकॉप्टरों की खरीद की जानी है। इसके अलावा बड़ी संख्या में टैंकों, असाल्ट राइफलों, स्नो स्कूटर, सुरंग रोधी वाहनों, बुलेट प्रूफ जैकेटों, हाई एंकल बूट, कैनवास रबर सोल वाले जूते, रॉकेट लांचरों, नाइटविजन चश्मों, कारबाइनों व मशीनगनों की जरूरत है। यह सब आयुध प्रणालियां इस बजट से कैसे पूरी होंगी?
वायु सेना की 126 बहुउदेद्शीय लड़ाकू विमानों की वर्षों पुरानी मांग को पूरा करने के लिए 36 राफेल विमानों की खरीद की जा रही है। तेजस विमानों का उत्पादन शुरू करने के अलावा वायु सेना को 300 हेलीकॉप्टरों की जरूरत है। इन सबके लिए भी धन की आवश्यकता होगी। नौसेना की जरूरतों में पोजीडान विमान, लैंडिंग पंटून गोदी, कामोव-31 हेलीकाप्टर, नए बहुउदेद्शीय हेलीकॉप्टर व पनडुब्बी निरोधक बम शामिल हैं। अमेरिका से 21 अपाचे व 15 चिनूक हेलीकॉप्टरों की खरीद का आर्डर अभी हाल ही में दिया गया है। इस तरह प्रस्तावित रक्षा बजट कम ही रहेगा।
short by Mirza Mohammed / 03:57 pm on 03 Mar 2016,Thursday
Adviser to Pakistan’s Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, on Tuesday said Pakistan has influence over the Taliban. “We have some influence over them because their leadership is in Pakistan and they get some medical facilities,” Aziz said. “We have hosted [them] enough for 35 years …the whole world is blaming us just by [their] presence here,” he added.
Court-martial proceedings against Brigadier quashed
The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has quashed the court-martial proceedings against a Brigadier who was accused of alleged irregularities in procuring furniture and ordered that his result for promotion to the rank of Major General be declassified and if found fit, he be promoted to the next rank.The AFT Bench comprising Justice Sunil Hali and Air Marshal JN Burma held that based on the evidence produced in the court, the allegations contained in the chargesheet, even if they are taken on their face value, did not make out a case against the officer.Brig HK Arora was posted as Chief Engineer, Delhi Zone, and was tasked with the procurement of furniture for the Married Accommodation Project. An anonymous complaint alleging irregularities in the tendering process was received by the Army, following which a Technical Board of Officers (TBO) was convened to investigate the issue. The Western Command Headquarters also ordered a court of inquiry (COI) into the matter.The officer was ordered to be tried by a General Court Martial and eight charges were levelled against him under Sections 52 and 63 for intent to defraud and act prejudicial to good order and military discipline.
JNU Teachers Association opposes installation of Army hoarding in the campus
New Delhi, Mar 1: The JNU Teachers Association not to allow Indian Army unipole hoarding proposed to be erected at the campus. A Professor of the JNU speaking to OneIndia said the JNU community as a whole deplore the very act of war and any move of sensationalising the war inside the campus will not be entertained. Jawaharlal Nehru University There was a proposal last year sent by the Directorate of Integrated headquarter of Ministry (Army) to erect a unipole hoarding at the JNU to inform avenues open for the recruitment in the Indian Army, apart from sign of motivation. [JNU: ABVP now stresses on unipole hoarding of Indian Army proposed to be erected at campus] However, on Feb 29, 2016, yesterday, the JNU Students’ Union Joint Secretary Saurabh Kumar Sharma, also the member of ABVP has send a letter to the Vice Chancellor of the JNU requesting to know the status of the Army unipole hoarding. Saurabh Kumar has asked the VC, ” I want to know at what ground it has not been erected till today? He has also requested the VC to consider the matter with seriousness. It could be observed that after JNU row erupted, the ABVP now stressing on installing a hoarding related to Indian Army in the campus. The Professor of the JNU reacting to the fresh development said, large section of the JNU is opposed to the idea of sensationalising wars, be it any where in the world. “We know this ongoing effort to install the hoarding and we are opposed to the idea.” The Professor added that the JNU teachers association will not allow Indian Army hoarding to be erected in the campus. OneIndia News
The MoD and the armed forces must rein in the revenue expenditure.
Gen VP Malik
AS an armed forces veteran, I noticed two firsts in the budget presented this year. First, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley never mentioned the word ‘defence’ in his speech. I cannot remember that happening in the last five decades or more. To many people, this will convey the impression that India’s security, and Rs 3.4 lakh crore of India’s defence budget (total defence outlay plus pension bill), is not of much importance. Second, for the first time, he included ‘defence pensions’ as part of the Defence Ministry Allocation (item no. 21 in the Summary of Demands for Grant).
This appears to have been done for two reasons: (a) to convey that this particular item has impacted the rest of defence allocation, and (b) to convey that the total defence outlay has been increased substantially.What is the defence allocation for next year? What are its implications for the armed forces? The defence allocation sought in the budget estimate (BE) for 2016-17 is — revenue: Rs 1,48,498.85 crore, capital: Rs 78,586.68 crore, pensions: Rs 82,332.66 crore, misc (other than armed forces): Rs 68,537.63 crore. There is an increase of 1.16 per cent on the basis of BE of last year, which does not even cover India’s inflation rate. But if calculated against the revised estimates (RE) — based on unspent money by the Ministry of Defence till December 31, 2015, leading to reduction in the allocation by the Ministry of Finance in the RE — it works to an increase of about 9 per ent.In 2015-16, the Ministry of Defence was unable to spend Rs 18,295 crore out of its allocated budget. This included Rs 11,595 crore from the capital expenditure, or 13.4 per cent of the funds earmarked to purchase military equipment. The rest unspent amount was from the revenue expenditure, or maintenance requirements of the armed forces.For the unspent money, which leads to reduction in the RE year after year, we can blame the Ministry of Defence for its cumbersome procedures, and also its finance adviser who takes his cue on curtailing expenditure from the Ministry of Finance. Usually, he is seen more loyal to his parent ministry than the one in which he is located.Our major worry is on the modernisation of the armed forces. The parliamentary standing committee on defence, currently headed by a BJP member, had in its last report stated that although the defence expenditure had been increasing over the years, it had not been consistent — neither in keeping with the strategic environment nor in the allocation for revenue and capital expenditure. It had warned the government that a low allocation for the defence sector would affect the country’s security adversely.For 2016-17, the capital expenditure outlay for the armed forces is Rs 78,586.68 crore. Last year, at the BE stage, it was Rs 85,894.44 crore. This clearly implies lesser money allocation for modernisation this year.In his speech to the Combined Commanders in December 2015, Prime Minister Modi said: “In a world of rapid changes, India faces familiar threats and new ones. Our challenges cover land, sea and air at the same time. It includes the full range, from terrorism to conventional threat to a nuclear environment. Our responsibilities are no longer confined to our borders and coastlines. They extend to our interests and citizens, spread across a world of widespread and unpredictable risks.” The delays in the replacement of the army’s obsolescent weapons and equipment, making up deficiencies in fighter squadron strength of the Air Force and the submarine fleet of the Navy to meet future threats and challenges is worrisome. Several big ticket defence purchases being worked out for modernisation are likely to suffer. This would also affect our defence industrial sector which is looking for expansion and supply orders as part of India’s ‘Make in India’ programme.The revenue expenditure is no less a worry. The allocation this year of Rs 1,48,498.85 crore is an increase from BE of Rs 1,37,153.03 crore (RE of Rs 1,30,071.09 crore) of last year. The fact is that this expenditure has been bloating year after year and skewing the maintenance versus modernisation ratio in defence allocation. Ideally, it should be about 50:50 for the Air Force and Navy, and about 65:35 for the manpower-intensive Army. In the past, whenever revenue expenditure overshot the budgeted allocation, there was a tendency to dip into the capital expenditure. With extra revenue expenditure on account of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, and post-Pathankot attack, extra security measures are required for large defence installations, and I doubt if we can come anywhere close to these ratios next year. There is a common feeling amongst armed forces personnel that the government, particularly the Finance Minister, are upset with some veterans’ continuing agitation over the OROP issue, despite conceding most demands. My appeal to the government is that whether that is true or not, it must not come in the way of the armed forces modernisation!I have three additional comments to make. One, as a ratio of projected GDP for 2016-17, the defence expenditure will be around 1.6 per cent. In comparison, China spends over 2.5 per cent, and Pakistan around 3.5 per cent of their respective GDP. India’s per capita expenditure on defence is less than $10 while the average expenditure of the top 10 spenders in Asia is approximately $800. Given India’s increasing vulnerabilities and rising international demands on it to act as a net provider of security as a rising regional power, the defence allocation and expenditure needs to be supplemented to create the capabilities which the armed forces will need in future.Two, the inability to spend allocated capital modernisation budget needs to be rectified urgently. We should consider ‘non-lapsable, roll-on allocation’ for defence capital budget. This was instituted by the last NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. We should also institute a ‘technical audit’ every five years to check if allocated capital resources have been utilised optimally. Three, while seeking additional resources from the government, it is also the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces to control the ever-bloating revenue expenditure. This requires stricter check over manpower expansion with greater use of technology where necessary. With greater integration of services, we can also cut down duplication (sometime triplication) of our non-combat resources.— The writer is a former Chief of Army Staff
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