Washington, August 3

Indian and American officials on Friday agreed to pursue a policy environment conducive to collaboration between the defence industry and start-ups in both countries.

An understanding in this regard was reached during the 15th meeting of the India-US Defence Policy Group (DPG) here on Friday.

The Indian side was led by Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra. The US was led by the Undersecretary of Defence for Policy, John Rood.

The DPG is the apex official-level meeting mechanism between India and the US on defence issues, which comprehensively reviews and guides all aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

“The meeting took stock of the progress made in various fields of defence cooperation in recent years, including in defence trade, technology, procurement, industry and R&D,” a media release said on Friday. 

During the meeting, the two countries recognised the benefit of enabling defence agreements concluded by the two sides and appreciated India’s designation as a Major Defence Partner of the US.

“They underlined the importance of collaboration between the defence industry and start-ups in the two countries and agreed to pursue a policy environment conducive to this,” said a statement issued by the Indian Embassy here.

Various working groups and mechanisms under the DPG briefed the Co-chairs of the progress made in their respective areas and got the latter’s guidance on addressing process issues for meaningful, sustainable and mutually beneficial cooperation, it said.

The two sides reaffirmed the role of the DPG as an important part of the ministerial 2+2 mechanism, helping translate the shared strategic vision of cooperation into reality. PTI

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• The proposal to set up the office of chief of defence staff was first made several decades ago
• Speculation is that the current army chief Bipin Rawat could be named to the post

NEW DELHI : In a major policy announcement for the three armed forces of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the government would create the post of a chief of defence staff (CDS) that will integrate the operations of the three forces–the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Long held as a key higher defence reform by security analysts, the idea was originally aimed at providing a single point of reference for the government on all matters of national security. The CDS was to be a five star rank general – a rank above the chiefs of the army, navy and air force. Speculation is that the current army chief Bipin Rawat, could be named to the post.

In his Independence Day speech, lasting more than 90 minutes, Modi said the armed forces were the pride of every Indian. To keep up with the changing times and emerging security threats, however, there was a need for the forces to ensure better coordination among the three wings of the armed forces, he said.

“Reform is also necessary. Defence reform has been in the works for a long time now and reports have been tabled several times. The rules of war are changing and India can’t think in a bubble. Our forces need to move together and can’t be falling behind. Coordination should be in tandem with the other. I have decided that Chief of Defence Staff will be created. And all three forces will have one chief and this will help unite the forces,” Modi said.

That the Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government was moving in the direction of creating the post of CDS was clear when the prime minister himself referred to the need for better synergy and cooperation among the three armed forces on 26 July at an event to mark 20 years of the Kargil war with Pakistan in 1999. More recently, defence minister Rajnath Singh, too, had spoken of this.

The proposal to set up the office of chief of defence staff was first made several decades ago. When a high-level committee set up to examine the gaps in the country’s security system in the wake of the Kargil War in 1999 submitted its report, this was one of the many recommendations it had made. A group of ministers analysing required reforms in the national security system some time later had also favoured appointing a chief of defence staff. But a decision on the matter was left pending in the wake of opposition from within the three services.

In 2012, a task force headed by former cabinet secretary Naresh Chandra had recommended creating the post of a permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. This was envisaged as a post of a four star general – a position equivalent to the three service chiefs. It was seen as a compromise given the resistance to the creation of the post of CDS. At present however, there is no permanent CoSC — the senior-most chief amongst the three services dons the mantle of chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and it is post held in rotation by the three chiefs.

Arun Joshi
Tribune News Service
Jammu, August 5

Doing away with the heritage of a separate Constitution and flag could be one of the prime motivations behind the Narendra Modi government’s calculated move of ending the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir and dividing it into two Union Territories.

The state Constitution gave powers to the legislature to define permanent residents and pass laws of its own. No Central law could be extended to Jammu & Kashmir without its concurrence. In 1965, the Centre had removed the titles of Sadr-e-Riyasat for head of the state, replacing it with Governor, and Wazir-e-Azam or Prime Minister as head of the government, replacing it with the nomenclature of CM.

Since then, many Central laws have been extended to the state, including the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and that of the Attorney General, but the structure of Article 370 still ensured the validity of a separate Constitution and flag.

It is perhaps in this context that the reorganisation of the state is being carried out, with a word by Home Minister Amit Shah in the Rajya Sabha that the UT status would be reconsidered and statehood may be restored with the passage of time. The new statehood for J&K, as and when it comes, will be without the trappings of a separate Constitution and flag.

The Indian Army in step with government policies on environmental protection has launched an ecological initiative with employing E Cars for use of its officials in New Delhi in partnership with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a joint Venture of Central PSUs under Ministry of Power. The introduction of E-Car in Army at Delhi was visualised on World Environment Day and launched on 01 Aug 2019 with flagging off the first lot of E-Cars for Indian Army by QMG, Lt Gen Gopal R. Army plans to operate the first batch of 10 E-Cars as a pilot project and develop further on this initiative and increase the number of E Cars in Delhi to ensure economy, efficiency and minimal emissions.

Air pollution has been a major challenge in Delhi. Governments across the World are investing a lot of resources in fighting this menace. Electric vehicle technology has proved to be a viable alternative by reducing the carbon emission footprint. Indian companies like Tata Motors and Mahindra have taken a lead in R&D and manufacturing of Electric Cars. EESL has been the main facilitator in providing these vehicles to various Government agencies. Army’s initiative in encouraging these electric vehicles will go a long way in further development of this technology and its adoption for the general public in near future.

Srinagar, August 3

Former Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) chief minister and National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah on Saturday said he had met Governor Satya Pal Malik to find out what was happening in the state and why nothing was being done to scotch rumours, if those were baseless.

“We wanted to know about the current situation in J&K. When we ask officials they say something is happening, but nobody knows what actually is happening,” Omar told a press conference after meeting Governor Malik here.

He said when Parliament starts functioning the Centre should make a statement on what was the need to end the Amarnath Yatra and pull out tourists from the Valley. “Let Parliament assure us that there is no need for the people to be afraid,” he said.

Omar said in his meeting with the Governor he told him about rumours surrounding Article 35A, Article 370, delimitation and even trifurcation of the state. “The Governor assured us that in all these issues, no preparation is being made to make any announcement,” Omar said.

He also pointed out that the final word on J&K was not the Governor but the government of India. “More than what the Governor tells us publicly, I would like to hear from the government of India that there is nothing the people have to be worried about,” Omar said.

He said his party had appealed to the people to maintain calm and thwart attempts to take to violence on these issues.

“The National Conference will never allow any fiddling with the special status both politically and legally. The need of the hour is to hold elections in the state and allow an elected government to deal with the problems of the people.

“The PM also talked on the same lines and said he wanted elections in Kashmir. We were very satisfied after the meeting with the PM, but another order terminating the Amarnath Yatra has shocked us,” he said. IANS 

EXISTING PENALTIES RAISED

SOME CRUCIAL CHANGES

Indian armed forces are set to undertake a series of reforms to improve their efficiency and war-waging capabilities with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday announcing a series of measures to achieve the same. One of the measures is the relocation of 206 Army officers currently with the Army Headquarters to field formations and units. The rank-wise breakup of officers to be shifted to field formations/ units is as follows – three Major Generals, eight Brigadiers, nine Colonels, 186 Lieutenant Colonels and Majors.

The decision to send officers currently with the Army Headquarters to field units will help in bridging the shortfall. According to the government data till January 2019, the Army has an authorised strength of 50,312 officers but faces a shortage of 7,399 officers as there are only 42,913 officers in service.

In another far-reaching decision, a separate Vigilance Cell under the Chief of Army Staff with representation from the other two services – Indian Air Force and Indian Navy – will be formed to replace the multiple agencies currently responsible for the same. Following the move, ADG (Vigilance) will be placed directly under the Indian Army Chief and will have three Colonel-level officers (one each from Indian Army, Group Captain in the Indian Air Force and Captain in the Indian Navy).

An umbrella organisation under Vice Chief of Army Staff will be established for enhanced focus on human rights issues. The organisation will be tasked with giving high priority to observance of human rights convention and values for which a special Human Rights Section headed by ADG (Major General rank officer) directly under the Indian Army Vice Chief will be set up.

The Human Rights Section will be the nodal point to examine any violations. To enhance transparency and ensure that best of investigative expertise is available to the section, a police officer of Senior Superintendent of Police/ Superintendent of Police rank will be taken on deputation.

Washington, August 6

The US on Monday said it was “closely” observing the events in Jammu and Kashmir following the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution by the Indian government and urged all stakeholders to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control (LoC).

The Narendra Modi government revoked Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Rajya Sabha approved the resolution abrogating Article 370 for J&K and a bill to bifurcate the state into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, with Home Minister Amit Shah saying the controversial provisions were responsible for poverty and lack of development in the state.

Without naming Pakistan, State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told PTI, “We call on all parties to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control.”

Pakistan has condemned and rejected the Indian government’s move and vowed to exercise “all possible options” to counter, which it called, India’s “illegal” and “unilateral” step.

“We are closely following the events in Jammu and Kashmir. We take note of India’s announcement revising the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir and India’s plan to split the state into two union territories,” Ortagus said when asked to comment on India’s decision to revoke J&K’s special status.

Earlier in the day, Ministry of External Affairs briefed the envoys of the P5 nations–the US, the UK, China, France and Russia–about the Indian government’s decision to scrap Article 370 and bifurcate the state into two union territories.

Ortagus noted that India had described the actions in J&K as “strictly an internal matter”.

She, however, expressed concern about reported human rights violations in J&K.

“We are concerned about reports of detentions (in J&K) and urge respect for individual rights and discussion with the affected communities,” Ortagus said. PTI