Monthly Archives: August 2018

    Kindly contact to concerned *Zila Sainik Board* to claim demise grant of an Ex-servicemen alongwith photocopies of following documents :-

1.  Ex-Servicemen Identity card.
2.  Discharge book.
3.  PPO.
4.  Death certificate of Father.
5.  Death certificate of mother if applicable.

*Documents required for claimant/applicant* :-

1.  Aadhar card.
2.  PAN card.
3.  Ist page of Bank passbook / Cancelled cheque.
4.  Family Register (परिवार रजिस्टर).

*Note :-*

1.  *Rs 10,000/-* will get from concerned  Zila Sainik Board.

2.  *Rs 10,000/-* will get from CSD Canteen through Concerned Station HQ.

3.  *Rs 7,000/-* will get from Concerned Record Office.

    *Kindly circulate this message to maximum Ex-Servicemen’s Group to get the benefits

File image of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat |

New Delhi: Prime time news Monday may not have been as colourful as the Holi celebrations held across Hindu news channels during the day but there were some interesting debates and interviews.

NDTV 24×7’s Vishnu Som spoke to Myanmar’s erstwhile envoy to the United Nations about the humanitarian crisis in the country and Rahul Shivshankar interviewed Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat on Times Now.

Shivshankar asked: “We’re talking about strategic dimension to Atmanirbhar Bharat. How close are we to becoming a force which is self-reliant and perhaps indigenised to a point that our dependency on expensive imports will be over?”

General Rawat delivered a history lesson: “If you look back at our nation, when we got Independence, we did have a good defence industry. However, over the years, we relied exclusively on the capabilities of our DPSUs, ordnance factories and the sole inventor of research and development was the DRDO.”

He added: “Now times are changing — we have seen the manner in which the automobile industry revolutionised the way we are moving around in swanky cars. Look at the way in which the IT industry revolutionized — who brought in this revolutionization?”

Rawat then answered his own question: “It all happened with the private sector.”

At NDTV 24×7, anchor Vishnu Som spoke to Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the UN, who was disowned by the ruling military junta after he denounced it as illegal at the United Nations. However, Kyaw Moe Tun continues to be at the UN.

“The world is looking very, very closely at Myanmar and the genocide in that country. More than 100 people were killed over the weekend by the military. The humanitarian situation is becoming far more critical,” said Som.

He then asked Kyaw Moe Tun: “There are reports coming in that various state governments, like the government in Manipur have issued orders to district administration officials saying that food and shelter camps shouldn’t be provided to refugees from your country. Is this something that worries you given what we’re seeing in your country?”

Tun replied: “Of course, we are really concerned about this horrible situation… We would really like to seek protection, from the international community.”

On Aaj Tak, anchor Sayeed Ansari discussed the West Bengal election in light of the death of a BJP worker’s mother, which led to a political slugfest between ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP has alleged the woman had been attacked by workers of TMC, an allegation the latter denies.

BJP spokesperson Saurabh Sikdar said it was shameful that the elections were underway in many states, but such incidents of political violence only happen in West Bengal. “Let people use their voting rights and let them decide who they want to see in power,’’ he declared, dramatically.

Manojit Mandal of the TMC was “disappointed” that the death of an 85-year-old woman had been turned into an “electoral issue”. “TMC is not connected to this in any way. Home Minister Amit Shah himself tweets about it, BJP terms it a political murder — are there no real issues left to fight the election on?”

“Is the Maha Vikas Aghadi in problem?” Kalra asked. Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut had also written against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of the NCP in his weekly column in party mouthpiece Saamana, and indirectly asked Sharad Pawar to sack him.

BJP’s Shweta Shalini pointed out that it was evident that the NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena government was not going to stay. “BJP doesn’t need to make the government fall, a chair with three legs cannot stay stable.”

Shiv Sena’s Kishore Tiwari said no such meeting has taken place between Shah and Pawar and denied the possibility of BJP and NCP getting together. “It is the BJP which is creating trouble for NCP’s home minister in the Sachin Waze case. In such a situation, BJP should not talk about the chair with three legs…” he added.

NCP’s Vidya Chavan agreed: there is no possibility of the Maharashtra government falling, she said. “There are no differences between NCP and Shiv Sena and what Raut writes in his editorial is his personal opinion — it will not influence the government.”

Army chief Gen. M M Naravane | ANI File photoText Size: A- A+

New Delhi: Taking a tough stand against corruption, Army chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane on Tuesday said that the force has zero-tolerance towards those who use wrong practices to join the Army and the services of those found to have done so can be terminated, even after 20 years of service. “There have been few instances, both in the recruitment of soldiers where question papers had leaked out and in the selection process for officer cadets where there was connivance between staff at Services Selection Board (SSB). Both cases came to light because of our own internal probe,” the Army Chief told ANI.

“No matter when such misdeeds come to light anybody who enrolled or got selected through improper means his services can be terminated anytime whether it is during training, service or 20 years later,” he said.

Asserting that he will not tolerate such incidents, General Naravane said: “We will not tolerate any such incidents and we will come down heavily on whoever tries to malign Army through very incorrect activities. There is no question of shielding anybody who is indulging in such kind of malpractices.”

On handing over the paper leak case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Army Chief said: “When these cases came to light we realised that there are other parties involved, civilians involved, transactions made to a bank, call records that need to be looked into. We do not have the authority to do this kind of investigation. So we decided to give it to CBI.”

The Army Relations Recruitment exam scheduled for February 28 was cancelled after the alleged paper leak. Earlier in a joint operation with Military Intelligence of the Indian Army, Pune City Police’s crime branch had arrested several accused of running a recruitment scam in various parts of the country.

Till now a total of 10 accused have been arrested in the case by Pune city police with two separate FIRs registered against two Major rank officers of the Indian Army, two serving defence personnel, a defence civilian and several retired soldiers along with some owners of pre-military training institutes. (ANI)

Also read:Threat to India only abated, not gone entirely, says Naravane on Pangong Lake disengagement

France is a significant source of FDI in India with more than 1,000 French establishments already present in the country.

Representational image of Indian and French flags | Wikimedia CommonsText Size: A- A+

New Delhi: France, which has emerged as one of the closest strategic partners of India in recent years, is looking at bilateral business growth beyond defence by focusing on energy and technology, said an Indo-French trade body.

While defence has been a key element in bilateral trade, according to the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI), the share of aviation and aeronautics has fallen to 30 per cent in 2020, from 50 per cent in 2019.

However, it is not clear if the dip also includes the defence sector since the chamber does not maintain the numbers in that regard.

“Traditionally, it is true that a big chunk of Indo-French economic ties have been defence and aerospace. Now, we see a number of industries doing so well and coming into limelight, even if we take the last two years,” Payal S. Kanwar, director-general of IFCCI, told ThePrint in an interview.

She said there is an increased focus in the clean energy and digital sectors, and these are the fields where the French can offer more.

France is a significant source of FDI in India with more than 1,000 French establishments already present in the country.

According to the official figures, France is the ninth largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative investment of $9.67 billion from April 2000 to September 2020, which represents 1.93 per cent of the total FDI inflows.

The highest FDI equity inflows are in the services sector (19.22 per cent), with cement and gypsum products (10.05 per cent) in the second place, followed by air transport, including air freight, (8.13 per cent), petroleum and natural gas (7.70 per cent) and electrical equipment (5.74 per cent).

Also read: 3 more Rafale jets take off for India from France

‘France is largest European employer in India’

Giving details of the new investments, Kanwar said these included Schneider Electric’s $2 billion acquisition of L&T’s electrical business, Total’s announcement of $2.5 billion in Adani Green Energy Limited, and French airport operator Groupe ADP carrying out a 49 per cent buyout of GMR’s airport business.

“Right now, in terms of French investment in India, it is currently about $9 billion, which has actually quadrupled in the last 10 years. France is also the largest European employer in the country with 3.5 lakh jobs with very few expats,” Kanwar said.

She added that what she sees at the chamber level is “expanded footprints within the country”.

“We see new plants, R&D centres coming up. French companies are quite bullish on India,” she said.

According to official figures, in 2020, the India-France bilateral trade stood at 9.04 billion Euros, a drop of 21.99 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. This downfall could be due to the Covid.

India’s exports to France in the period were valued at 4.80 billion Euros, down by 22.9 per cent in the corresponding period. Indian imports from France decreased by 20.95 per cent to 4.23 billion Euros.

‘It is not going to be a cakewalk’

Kanwar said while companies do face challenges, the situation has improved under the Narendra Modi government.

“We all know it is not going to be a cakewalk,” she said, adding that GST was an issue for some companies, and customs and import duties for others.

Kanwar said the common issue was with regard to labour and land acquisition laws. However, the French industry welcomes the Modi government’s efforts to streamline these issues, she said. 

(Edited by Debalina Dey)

Also read: India, France to hold annual dialogue on bilateral issues on 7 January, says MEA

BRO has restored this highway more than one-and-a-half-month ahead of schedule

The highway has been restored for traffic. — Tribune Photo

Dipender Manta
Tribune News Service
Mandi, March 28

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) authority has restored the 425 km long Manali-Leh Highway on Sunday which would provide access to military and common civilians.  

The first convoy of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) bowsers was flagged from the Himachal side by Stanzin Chosphel, Executive Councillor, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC). This was in the presence of BRO officials after they announced the opening of this highway. 

Despite the many challenges this year, the BRO has managed to restore this highway more than one-and-a-half-month ahead of schedule.  

Generally, the Leh Highway remains closed for about six months during the winters, cutting off Ladhak from the rest of the country. 

This makes the region dependent on supplies via aerial route.  

Because of the ongoing border tension with China, this year the Union Government had asked the BRO to restore the highway as soon as possible.  

As a result, the BRO had started a snow clearance operation between Manali to Leh in mid-February, simultaneously clearing four important passes along the route viz Baralachla (16,047 ft), Nakeela (16,170 ft), Lachungla (16,616 ft) and Tanglangla (17,582 ft). 

In order to increase attack points, a strategy was formed, and therefore,  Baralachla and Tanglangla were addressed from both sides.

According to sources with the BRO—this year—the latest hi-tech machinery was swiftly inducted, and BRO teams worked relentlessly day and night to provide early productivity. 

The dynamics were different this year with the inauguration of Atal Tunnel, Rohtang, and there was no necessity of opening Rohtang Pass as the Lahaul valley remains connected throughout the winters via Atal tunnel. 

This facilitated the complete focus of BRO to be diverted for the opening of Baralachala with additional resources to restore connectivity at the earliest.

According to sources, the opening of Baralachala Pass was formulated as a two-pronged thrust to commence, simultaneously, from two sides one from Patsio to Baralachla and the second point from Sarchu to Baralachala.

With the opening of the Manali-Leh highway, the residents of Lahaul valley have been delighted, who are expecting a huge tourist influx in the valley in the coming days. 

The snow festival is being celebrated in Lahaul valley these days to attract tourists here.

The people of Lahaul and Ladakh have conveyed their gratitude to Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary, VSM, DGBR and applauded the tremendous efforts put in by BRO to restore this highway in time.

Security personnel during a search operation after a militant attack, at Lawaypora on the outskirts of Srinagar. PTI file

Srinagar, March 29

A CRPF constable who suffered injuries in militant firing died at a hospital here on Monday, taking the death toll in the attack in Lawaypora on the outskirts of Srinagar last week to three, officials said.

Constable Jagannath Ray succumbed to injuries at the SKIMS Hospital in Soura after battling for life for four days, a police official said.

He said Constable Ray was among the four CRPF personnel injured in the militant attack on Thursday.

Two personnel—a sub-inspector and a constable—had died within hours of the attack.

Police have arrested two overground workers involved in providing logistical support to the militants who carried out the attack. PTI

Letter comes in reply to Modi’s letter to Imran last week to extend greetings on the occasion of Pakistan Day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Pak counterpart Imran Khan. PTI file

Islamabad, March 30

Prime Minister Imran Khan has written a letter to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, saying creation of an “enabling environment” is imperative for a constructive and result-oriented dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues between Pakistan and India, in particular the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

Khan’s letter was in reply to Prime Minister Modi’s letter to him last week to extend greetings on the occasion of Pakistan Day. In his letter, Modi had said India desires cordial relations with Pakistan but an atmosphere of trust, devoid of terror and hostility, is “imperative” for it.

In his reply to Prime Minister Modi’s letter, Khan thanked him and said the people of Pakistan also desire peaceful cooperative relations with all neighbours, including India.

While Prime Minister Modi talked about a terror-free environment for peace, Khan said that peace was possible only if outstanding issues like Kashmir were resolved.

“We are convinced that durable peace and stability in South Asia is contingent upon resolving all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan in particular the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” he wrote in the letter dated March 29.

Khan said that creation of an “enabling environment is imperative for a constructive and result-oriented dialogue.”

He also expressed best wishes for the people of India in their struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The militaries of India and Pakistan announced on February 25 that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors.

Weeks later, both Pakistan’s Prime Minister Khan and powerful Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa made peace overtures towards New Delhi saying it was time for the two neighbours to “bury the past and move forward”.

Ties between India and Pakistan nose-dived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in Pakistan. Subsequent attacks, including one on an Indian Army camp in Uri, further deteriorated the relationship.

The ties hit rock bottom after India’s war planes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

The relations further nosedived after India withdrew special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the State into two union territories in 2019. Since then, India and Pakistan are without high commissioners in each other’s capital—New Delhi and Islamabad, respectively.

On March 18, powerful Army chief Bajwa said it was time for India and Pakistan to “bury the past and move forward”. PTI

It was the 11th edition of the exercise ‘Vajra Prahar’

Photo for representation. — iStock

New Delhi, March 30

Special forces of India and the US carried out a joint military exercise at Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh this month to further enhance interoperability between the two sides, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

It was the 11th edition of the exercise ‘Vajra Prahar’ which is aimed at sharing best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics.

“The 11th edition of Indo-US joint special forces exercise Vajra Prahar 2021 was conducted at Special Forces training school located at Bakloh, in Himachal Pradesh in March,” the defence ministry said.

It said the exercise was aimed at improving interoperability between the special forces of the two countries.

The ministry, in a statement, said bilateral military exercises and defence exchanges are an important facet of deepening bilateral defence cooperation between friendly countries.

“During such events, the armies of participating nations jointly train, plan and execute a series of operations for neutralisation of threats of varied nature with a common aim of countering threats of international terrorism through mutual training and jointness,” it said.

India and the US carried out a two-day naval exercise in the eastern Indian Ocean Region on March 28 ad 29.

The Indian Navy deployed its warship Shivalik and long-range maritime patrol aircraft P8I in the ‘PASSEX’ exercise while the US Navy was represented by USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group. PTI