Process to appoint them got delayed because of medicals, over-age and documentation

Gaurav Kanthwal
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 17

Twenty-six outstanding sportspersons were given appointment letters by Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Minister for Sports, Youth Services and NRIs Affairs here at Punjab Bhawan on Wednesday. 

Out of the total 79 left candidates, three sub-inspector and 23 constables, most of them gold medallists, have been provided with appointment letters in the first phase. 

Out of total 26 outstanding players of different games disciplines who get job letters included three sub inspectors Sarpreet Singh (Cycling), Gurinder Singh (Volleyball) and Jagdeep Kumar (Boxing), while 23 candidates—Gagandeep Singh (Kabaddi), Gurbazz Singh (Cycling), Rekha Rani (Cycling), Pushpinder Kaur (Cycling), Jasvir Kaur (Weightlifting), Neelam Rani (Fencing), Gagandeep Kaur (Handball), Ramanjot Kaur (Handball), Harvinder Kaur (Handball), Ravinderjit Kaur (Canoeing), Gurmeet Kaur (Fencing), Mandeep Kaur (Handball), Rupinderjit Kaur (Handball), Jaspinder Kaur (Kabaddi Circle Style), Anju Sharma (Kabaddi), Jatinder Singh (Boxing), Harpreet Kaur (Athletics), Palak (Basketball), Sandeep Kaur (Kabaddi), Preeti (Wrestling), Sarabjeet (Football), Ajay Kumar (Taekwondo) and Simarjit Kaur (Kabaddi) — have been appointed on the posts of constable.

Sodhi said, “When I presented the file regarding the appointment of these players before Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, he cleared the file within a minute.”

He added that as there were some glitches on part of medical, over-age and documentation thus the process of appointing them has been delayed.

Accident while taking off for a combat training mission at an airbase in central India

Photo for representation only. — PTI

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 17

An Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot, Group Captain A Gupta, was killed on Wednesday when a MiG 21 Bison aircraft was involved in an accident while taking off for a combat training mission at an airbase in central India.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1372090642084421632&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tribuneindia.com%2Fnews%2Fnation%2Fpilot-killed-in-mig-21-bison-mishap-226528&siteScreenName=%26via%3Dthetribunechd&theme=light&widgetsVersion=e1ffbdb%3A1614796141937&width=550px

In a tweet, the IAF said: “A MiG-21 Bison aircraft of IAF was involved in a fatal accident this morning, while taking off for a combat training mission at an airbase in central India.”

The IAF said a Court of Inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident.

More than half of these voluntary retirements have been sought by the personnel of the BSF alone

File photo for representation.

New Delhi, March 17

As many as 40,096 personnel of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPFs) and the Assam Rifles have sought voluntary retirement in the last five years, while another 6,529 resigned during the same period, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

More than half of these voluntary retirements (VR) have been sought by the personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) alone, while the maximum resignations have been witnessed in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai stated.

Rai furnished the figures from 2016 to 2020 in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha while responding to queries over resignations and VRs sought by personnel of the CAPFs and the Assam Rifles during the last five years.

The CAPFs comprise seven central security forces of the country under administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. They are the Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), besides the Assam Rifles (AR).

According to the data, 40,096 personnel of the CAPFs and the Assam Rifles have sought voluntary retirement from 2016 till 2020 while another 6,529 tendered resignation during the five-year period.

Among the forces, a maximum 20,249 VRs were sought by personnel of the BSF during the period followed by the CRPF (11,029), the CISF (2,858), the Assam Rifles (2,279), the ITBP (1,912) and the SSB (1,769), the data showed.

During the same period, 2,919 CISF personnel tendered resignation followed by the BSF (1,708), the CRPF (796), the ITBP (620), the SSB (412) and the Assam Rifles (74), according to the data. PTI

Says Samyukta Kisan Morcha to soon give a call to gherao Delhi from all sides

BKU spokesman Rakesh Tikait with other leaders at Kisan Mahapanchayat held at Sriganganagar. Tribune photo

Raj Sadosh

Abohar/Sriganganagar, March 17

BKU spokesman Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday warned the Central government in unambiguous terms that if the three “black” farm laws were not withdrawn, then the next action of the farmers’ ongoing agitation will be to demolish the huge godowns that some private companies had constructed to store grains.

At the Kisan Mahapanchayat held today on the call of United Kisan Morcha at the grain market in Sriganganagar, 40 km from Abohar, Tikait said a few private companies had constructed huge godowns and started storing grains at different places in the country even when new farm laws were yet to enacted.

“The BJP-led NDA government was planning to sell some banks, insurance companies and other government enterprises to private players. The government is going to bring laws that milk, electricity, fertilisers, seeds and motor vehicles marketing will go into the hands of a few corporates,” he claimed.

Giving a call to youth to take charge of the farmers’ movement, Tikait said there are no more jobs left in this country for them, youth should turn to their fields and create job opportunities in the fields itself.

He said in the districts of Barabanki and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, when paddy and sugarcane were not purchased at the MSP, the farmers piled up the agricultural commodities at the district collector’s offices. “The government will have to buy the produce on the MSP.”

Tikait said the media was not carrying the news of farmer movements in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and other parts of the country, but we will reach out to people through social media. In Punjab, Haryana and parts of Rajasthan, agricultural produce was purchased on MSP only, but the farmers stir will get contentious agri laws repealed as well as implementing MSP across the country, he added.

In Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, the MSP procurement movement is going to start in the next 15-20 days. Farmers have made adequate arrangements in view of the scorching heat and the agitation will be intensified for the remaining eight months.

Revealing that the Samyukta Kisan Morcha will soon give a call to gherao Delhi from all sides, Tikait said millions of people will reach there. After Vidhan Sabha polls results in a few states, the NDA government will realise the heat of the farmers’ movement.

Morcha leader Yudhveer Singh said “Modi bhagao, desh bachao” call has to be given. Hardeep Singh Dibdiba, chairman of Rajasthan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (ad hoc), said he will not let the martyrdom of his grandson Navreet Singh go waste. A youth rally will leave Moga on March 25 for Singhu border, he said.

Strike to start from 6 am and will continue till 6 pm

Women from Punjab and Haryana participate in farmers’ protest against the Centre’s new farm laws, at Tikri Border in Delhi. PTI file

New Delhi, March 17

Ahead of their Sampurna Bharat Bandh on March 26, farmer leaders on Wednesday said they were preparing to intensify the agitation against the three farm laws.

During the nationwide strike on March 26 that also marks four months of the farmers’ movement, all shops and other business establishments will remain shut for 12 hours, followed by the burning of the copies of the three laws during “holika dehan” on March 28.

“The strike will start from 6 in the morning and will continue till 6 in the evening, during which all shops and dairies and everything will remain closed.

“We will burn the copies of the three laws during Holi and hope that better sense prevails within the government, and it repeals the laws, and gives us a written guarantee for MSP,” said Ranjit Raju of Ganganagar Kisan Samiti addressing a press conference.

The bandh has found support in all trade and transport unions, students’, youth and women’s unions.

“We are also trying to create such meetings at the state level so that the strike is observed everywhere,” said another farmer leader Purushottam Sharma.

All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) leader Krishna Prasad said the fact that the movement had managed to continue for as long as 112 days was an achievement in itself, and it would only get stronger from now.

He added that the Bharat Bandh will happen at “state, zila, tehsil and village levels”.

“The protest has been going on for 112 days. That itself is an achievement. Neither you, nor us had thought that we could do this, and the public has shown that it supports us,” he said.

Prasad also expressed concerns over the central government’s move to introduce the Electricity Amendment Bill 2021, claiming that any amendments made to the act would be in violation of the government’s commitment made to the farmers in January.

“During the 11 rounds of talks that we have had with the government, Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar said that they accepted our demands over the electricity bill.

“The media wrote that 50 per cent demands of the farmers’ movement were resolved. But, now they are trying to introduce the act again. This is cheating,” he said.

Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

The protesting farmers, on the other hand, have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and do away with the “mandi” (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. PTI

The Veterans’ Association of Ontario is bringing together representatives from Hindu and Sikh organisations to resolve differences over the laws that have divided the Indo-Canadian community

A file photo of women farmers attending a protest against farm laws on the occasion of International Women’s Day at Bahadurgar near Haryana-Delhi border, India on March 8, 2021. (REUTERS/File)WORLD NEWS

Canada: Armed forces veterans’ body seeks to end rift over India’s farm laws

The Veterans’ Association of Ontario is bringing together representatives from Hindu and Sikh organisations to resolve differences over the laws that have divided the Indo-Canadian communityBy Anirudh Bhattacharyya I Edited by Nadim SirajPUBLISHED ON MAR 14, 2021 11:30 AM IST

A group of armed forces veterans in Canada has started a campaign to try to mend a growing rift between various communities in the country over farm laws passed in India last year that have sparked protests.

The Veterans’ Association of Ontario, which comprises Indian-origin members who have served in the armed forces in India and Canada, is bringing together representatives from Hindu and Sikh organisations to resolve differences over the farm laws that have divided the Indo-Canadian community.

Brigadier (Retd) Nawab Heer, chair of the association, told HT he was “hopeful” the situation will be “defused”, adding, “I don’t know why we should be creating tensions among ourselves. Views should be respected on both sides. If the Indian diaspora has to flourish here, we have to be together.”

The association has facilitated dialogue between some leaders of the two communities, while religious establishments like gurdwaras have also been brought into the process of trying to create harmony.

Baghpat: 

Siding with farmers protesting the Centre’s new agriculture laws, Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik here on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah not to offend them.

Speaking at an event in his home district, Malik said if the Centre gives legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, farmers will relent.

The Meghalaya Governor also claimed that he prevented the arrest of farmer leader Rakesh Tikait when he heard rumours about it.

Malik further said he had requested the prime minister and the home minister not to use force against farmers, and not to send them home from Delhi empty-handed.

“None of the laws are in favour of farmers. The country in which farmers and soldiers are not satisfied, that country cannot move ahead. That country cannot be saved. Hence, the Army and farmers should be kept satisfied,” Malik said urging PM Modi and Home Minister Shah not to offend them.

Describing the condition of farmers as bad, Malik said, “They are getting poorer day by day while the salary of government officials and staff increases after every three years. Whatever is sown by a farmer is cheap and whatever he buys is expensive.”

“They do not know how they are becoming poor. The ‘satyanaash‘ (annihilation) of the farmers is taking place without their knowledge. When they go to sow (crops), there is some price, and when they go to reap it, the price decreases by almost ₹ 300,” Malik said.

Taking a jibe at the arguments offered in favour of the new farm laws, Malik said, “A lot of noise was created that farmers can now sell (crops) at any place. This is a 15-year-old law. Despite this, when a farmer from Mathura goes to Palwal with wheat, there is a lathicharge on him. When a farmer from Sonipat comes to Narela, there is a lathicharge on him.”

“There are many questions of farmers, which must be answered. Today, there is no law in favour of farmers. This has to be corrected. I want to assure you that in the matter of farmers, I will go to any extent to solve their problems,” he said.

Apparently referring to Sikh farmers protesting against the laws, Malik said, “The Sikh community does not back down and forget things even after 300 years.”

“Indira Gandhi (ex-PM) had got the ‘Mahamrityunjay Mantra Jaap‘ done for a month after the Operation Blue Star. Arun Nehru told me that when he asked her that you do not believe is such rituals, then why are you performing these, she said you don’t know, I have damaged their ‘Akal Takht’. They will not spare me.”

5Comments(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Accounts for 7.7 per cent of Army’s manpower, though its share in national population is 2.3 per cent

hoto for representational purpose only. Reuters

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 15

Piping its neighbours, Punjab, often referred to as the sword army of the nation, has the second highest number of soldiers, other than officers, serving in the Army amongst all states and union territories in the country.

The strength of army personnel from Punjab is 89,088, according to information placed by the Ministry of Defence in Parliament today. This accounts for 7.7 per cent of the Army’s rank and file, even though its share of the national population is 2.3 per cent.

With 1,67,557 soldiers, Uttar Pradesh tops the list of states contributing manpower to the Army. While Uttar Pradesh, the nation’s most populous state, makes up 16.5 per cent of the country’s population, its share in the rank and file is 14.5 per cent. Maharashtra, with 87,835 soldiers occupies the third slot followed by Rajasthan, with 79,481 soldiers.

Among other states in the region, Haryana is sixth in the national tally while Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh 11th and 12th position, respectively. The contribution of these states to the Army, however, is significantly more than their share of the national population.

The Ministry’s data shows that with 65,987 soldiers, Haryana accounts for 5.7 per cent of the rank and file where as its share of the national population is 2.09 per cent. Jammu and Kashmir, along with Ladakh, and Himachal Pradesh have 47,457 and 46,960 active duty soldiers, respectively. While they account for 1.01 per cent and 0.57 per cent of the national population, respectively, they make up 4.1 and 4 per cent of the army’s strength,

The Army currently has 11,51,726 soldiers on its rolls against the authorised strength of 12,29,559, facing a deficiency of 77,833 men in the ranks. As far as officers, other than those in the medical stream, are concerned, the present holding is 42,959 against the authorised 50,806.  

Unlike the Air Force and the Navy, the Army does not maintain state-wise details of the number of officers on its strength. As far as the Air Force is concerned, Haryana has the second highest number of officers after Uttar Pradesh and the third highest number of airmen.

Incidentally, the number of doctors presently with the Army Medical Corps and the Army Dental Corps is 6,608, which is higher that the sanctioned strength of 5,736. The posted strength of Military Nursing Officers at present is 3,841 against the authorised number of 4,389.

The region has a strong martial heritage and a rich military history that dates back thousands of years, and is a witness to many wars and battles. Joining the armed forces is a tradition in many families and several generations have donned the uniform.

In the infantry, the largest component of the army, the Punjab Regiment, Dogra Regiment, Sikh Regiment, Sikh Light Infantry, Jammu and Kashmir Regiment, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles and Ladakh Scouts draw their manposer from this region. Soldiers from these states also make up a sizable chunk of other arms and services.

Vacancies in the rank and file are allotted to the state on the basis of their respective population. In case a state fails to fill up the allotted vacancies, these can then filled from, other states.

New delhi: 

Five Lieutenant Colonels, a Major and a Lieutenant of the Indian Army were among 23 people named by the CBI in an investigation into corruption involving recruitment to the force on Monday following searches in 30 places in 13 cities.

The accused include 17 army personnel in all and six others with “allegations pertaining to bribery and irregularities in recruitment of officers and other ranks through Service Selection Board”, the CBI said.

The agency said the case was registered based on a complaint from the office of Additional Directorate General, Discipline & Vigilance, Adjutant General’s Branch, Integrated HQ of Ministry of Defence (Army).

The CBI received a complaint last month that serving personnel were involved in accepting bribes for helping candidates clear medical exams at the Base Hospital in New Delhi.

Lt Col MVSNA Bhagwan of the Army Air Defence Corps, the alleged mastermind of the recruitment racket, is among those named, they said.

The complaint said that Lt Col Bhagwan, currently on study leave, and Naib Subedar Kuldeep Singh also received kickbacks from potential officer candidates at SSB centres.

The agency said that Lt Col Surender Singh of 31 SSB centre North; Lt Col YS Chauhan of 6 Mountain Division Ordnance Unit; Lt Col Sukhdev Arora of Directorate General of Recruiting; Lt Col Vinay, GTO, Selection Centre South, Bangalore; and Major Bhavesh Kumar allegedly facilitated the selection of candidates through SSB.

It is alleged that bribes in several lakh rupees were paid to the officers and their relatives through cheques, cash, and online transfers for the selection of candidates, they said.

Searches were conducted today at 30 places including the Base Hospital at the Delhi Cantonment, other army establishments, civilian areas covering 13 cities, the CBI said.

The locations searched include those in Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati, Kapurthala, Bathinda, Kaithal, Palwal, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Vishakhapatnam, Jorhat and Chirangon.

CommentsThe searches led to the recovery of several incriminating documents which are being studied, the agency said

he accused: Lt Col Surender Singh, SSB, Kapurthala, Lt Col YS Chauhan, 6 Mountain Division, Bareilly, Lt Col Sukhdev Arora, DG Recruiting New Delhi, Lt Col Vinay, GTO, Banglore, Lt Navjot Singh Kanwar, 21 Mountain Division, Guwahati, Lt Col MVSNA Bhagwan, AAD Corps, Main Subedar Kuldeep Singh, Delhi Cantt etc. Some family members of serving personnel have also been booked.