Monthly Archives: August 2018

The government of India has finally announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan (retd), the military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and a former Eastern Army Commander, as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The announcement has come more than nine months after the country’s first CDS, General Rawat, was killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on December 8, 2021. Chauhan, who was commissioned in the same regiment as Rawat, will spearhead the theaterisation drive to best utilise the military’s resources for future wars and operations. Before Chauhan’s appointment, the government had amended the Army, Air Force and Navy rules in early June to broaden the pool of officers from which the CDS was to be selected. Chauhan will take over at a time when India and China are locked in a border row in eastern Ladakh and the government has sharpened its focus on modernising the armed forces through indigenisation. Born on May 18, 1961, Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles (the same regiment as Rawat) in 1981. As CDS, he will also be the permanent chairman of the chiefs of staff committee (COSC) and the single-point military adviser to the defence minister. Chauhan was the Eastern Army commander from September 2019 and held the charge till his retirement in May 2021. He has also held the key charge of director general of military operations and is known to be an authority on border-related matters. Chauhan was the DGMO when the Indian Air Force struck terror targets in Pakistan’s Balakot on February 26, 2019, in response to the Pulwama suicide attack in Kashmir in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed 12 days earlier. Accelerating the theaterisation drive and enhancing synergy among the armed forces will be Chauhan’s top priority as CDS. The theaterisation drive slowed down after Rawat’s death, and the government will now expect Chauhan to provide impetus to the long-awaited military reform. The current theaterisation model to enhance tri-service synergy seeks to set up four integrated commands — two land-centric theatres, an air defence command, and a maritime theatre command. The armed forces currently have 17 single-service commands spread across the country. The army and air force have seven commands each, while the Indian Navy has three. Chauhan will also have to address the Indian Air Force’s concerns about the current theaterisation model, said a senior official. Lack of consensus on joint structures could delay the military reform. The department of military affairs has been assigned critical responsibilities that include overseeing matters related to India’s neighbouring countries including border disputes and incidents, development of infrastructure in forward areas, and deployment of forces. Monitoring developments in the Indian Ocean region, Afghanistan, West Asia and South East Asia, and supply of arms and ammunition to friendly countries also come under the purview of DMA. Chauhan was seen as a top contender for the post after the government amended rules on June 6, 2021, making retired three-star officers below the age of 62 eligible for the post. When the government amended the rules, it was apparent that it had a panel of suitable candidates in mind for the post of CDS. SPIRITUAL WORLD

Its curtains down for the much-touted ‘Guardians of Governance’ scheme — a brainchild of Punjab’s former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. The scheme was among the first few decisions and initiatives taken by the Congress Government after it came to power in 2017.

Under the scheme, the government intended to set up a monitoring mechanism by engaging the ex-servicemen to ensure efficient and effective implementation of government schemes at the grass root level. However, the State Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Friday decided to “scrap” the flagship scheme because of its “unsatisfactory performance of previous years in monitoring the assigned schemes of few Departments”.

“The scheme was launched in 2017 by the Punjab Government with the objective of monitoring schemes of few Departments at the grass root level in an efficient and effective manner. But, as the basic purpose of the scheme has been defeated, so the Guardians of Governance (GOG) Scheme has been closed with immediate effect,” said the government spokesperson after the Cabinet meeting.

Spokesperson said that the Cabinet, considering the unsatisfactory performance of previous years in monitoring the assigned schemes of few Departments, has decided to do away with the scheme in the State “in larger public interest”.

Over these years, a network of 4300 ex-servicemen was set up across Punjab. However, its functioning became ineffective, especially after Capt Amarinder stepped down as Chief Minister in September 2021. With him, Senior Advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Lieutenant General TS Shergill, who was heading the scheme, too resigned.

A senior government official, requesting anonymity, told The Pioneer that GoGs proved very beneficial in various fields over these years, especially during COVID outbreak. “This team of ex-servicemen came forward, helped in distributing ration, managing rush in mandis during procurement season during COVID…Besides, a good network of sincere ex-servicemen was developed which actually helped the government to monitor various schemes and projects,” said the official.

The official maintained that there was a proposal to take the advantage of this already-developed network of dedicated ex-soldiers, which could not be materialised.

Under the scheme, the GoGs were entitled to monthly honorarium, having office spaces in government buildings, staff and other provisions. Their monthly honorarium is Rs 11,000 for each jawan, Rs 13,000 for supervisor, Rs 25,000 for tehsil heads, and Rs 45,000 for the district heads.

“The former Chief Minister’s idea was to give a major responsibility to the ex-servicemen, while giving them pride and privilege to work for the society, to ensure that each and every penny sanctioned by the State Government was fully utilized for the well being of the general public,” said the official.

Ex-servicemen protest scrapping of GoG scheme

hussianwala

https://fb.watch/fQNXRI3wep/

Ex-servicemen on Thursday took out a protest march against the Punjab government for scrapping guardians of governance (GoG) scheme.

Two ex-servicemen suffered minor burn injuries while burning an effigy of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann outside the mini-secretariat as they were standing close to the effigy. However, the fire was extinguished by the protesting ex-servicemen.

Col (retd) H S Kahlon,Vrc district Ludhiana president of GoG, said, “While scrapping the scheme, AAP government spoke in a derogatory manner about GoGs. Hence, they have disrespected all the ex-Army persons. Protests are being carried out in different cities of Punjab and on Thursday we did it in Ludhiana. We will continue our agitation against the Punjab CM and the AAP government for their views about ex-servicemen.”

Tata Group took control of the loss-making Air India from the government on January 27, this year

PTI

Mumbai, September 29

Tata Group-owned full-service carrier Air India has reduced by half the discount offered on basic fares to senior citizens and students in the economy class on its flights, according to its website.

The revised discount on basic fares is effective from September 29.Powered

Tata Group took control of the loss-making Air India from the government on January 27, this year.

Separately, in a circular dated September 28, the airline said “it has been decided to revise the concessionary fares with effect from 29th September 2022. The changes are applicable for tickets issued on/after 29th September 2022.” According to the circular, the revised concession for senior citizens stands at “25 per cent of basic fare”.

The private airline, however, in a statement defended the steep reduction in such concessionary fares, saying, “Even after this adjustment, the discount on base fares for both students and senior citizens will be nearly double when compared to other private airlines.” “Considering the overall market situation and dynamics, we have decided to rationalise our fares in line with the broad industry trend,” an Air India spokesperson added in the statement.

Parks, roads named after Brit generals under review

jay Banerjee

New Delhi, September 28

After an internal agenda note of the Indian Army on removing colonial legacies raised hackles of serving and retired officers, the Army has decided against tinkering with the name of regiments, their practices, ethos and system of regimentation.

“Veterans can be assured that customs and traditions which contribute to our regimentation, morale and motivation will never ever be disturbed. Sensitivities are involved and any such apprehension is misplaced,” a top Indian Army official said.

The names of regiments are anyway of Indian origin. Infantry regiments are named Sikh, Jat, Punjab, Dogra, Rajput, Assam, Madras, Bihar etc. These names had been given during British times. Post independence, some older cavalry regiments like Hodson’s Horse got a new name ‘4 Horse’ and the Skinners Horse was named ‘1 Horse’.

Last week, an internal note from the office of the Adjutant General of the Indian Army spoke about a review of legacy customs, old practices, regulations and policies (first reported in The Tribune edition dated Sept 21).

The top official said people could be assured no decision would be taken in haste. Discussion would take place among senior military officers, and the views of veterans would also be taken into account.

The move is about legacy names of buildings, roads and parks after the names of British commanders like Sir Claude Auchinleck and Herbert Kitchener. The names of some Cantonments for example Dalhousie, based on Lord James Dalhousie, are not part of this review as the Cantts are with the Ministry of Defence and not under the Army.

Several units of cadets in the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun are named after World War II (1939-45) campaigns. Some of these could be reviewed and Indian Army’s post-independence campaigns could be used for the names.

Chandigarh, September 29

Two terrorists were killed in a gunfight with the security forces in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Tuesday. Moments before the encounter, the terrorists were asked to surrender, but they refused.

“On receipt of specific human information from JKP (Kulgam) regarding presence of terrorists in Avhotu village of Kulgam District, a joint cordon and search operation was launched in the area by Indian Army along with JKP and CRPF at about 3.20 p.m. on 27 Sep 22,” read the Army statement.

Meanwhile, a video call between an Army officer and the terrorist has gone viral.

In the video, the JeM terrorist is heard saying, “I swear, the way the army supports Kashmir, Kashmir also supports army.

When he was asked to surrender, the terrorist asked him if he was from the army, to which the Indian army officer says: “Friend, I am from army only. I am asking you to surrender,” terrorist replies, “Sir, I am already near death. You’ll shoot me thrice. You’ll probably empty one magazine.”

To this, the officer says, “No, friend, we won’t”. The conversation ended and moments later, the two terrorists.

The two terrorists were identified as Md Shafi Ganie, resident of Welsbatapura, Kulgam and Mohammad Asif Wani alias Yawar resident of Takiya, Kulgam. Both the terrorists were members of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist group.

The Army had established a quick initial cordon around the suspected cluster of houses in the village which was subsequently strengthened by additional troops.

During the search of the target house, terrorists resorted to indiscriminate firing in an attempt to break the cordon.

On search of the encounter site, two AK series rifles, grenades and other warlike stores were recovered.

Lahore, September 29

A non-profit foundation in Pakistan has urged India and Pakistan to honour freedom fighter Bhagat Singh with the highest civil award in recognition of his bravery and sacrifice for the people of the sub-continent, as it observed the 115th birth anniversary of the pre-partition era revolutionary leader.

The Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation observed Singh’s birth anniversary on Wednesday on the premises of Lahore High Court (LHC).

The lawyers’ community cut a cake amid slogans in favour of Singh and his fellow comrades Shivaram Hari Rajguru and Sukhdev.

Speaking on the occasion, the foundation’s chairman Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi paid rich tributes to Singh.

He urged the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers (Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif) to give Singh the highest civil award in recognition of his bravery and sacrifice for the people of the sub-continent.

He also asked them to restore social and economic ties and introduce an easily accessible visa policy for promoting peace between the two countries.

Former Supreme Court Bar Association president Peer Kaleem Ahmad reiterated the foundation’s demand to rename the Shadman Chowk in Lahore after the name of Singh who was hanged along with Rajguru and Sukhdev by the British rulers on March 23, 1913.

The foundation demanded the new British King Charles III should apologise to Pakistan and India and the families of the three revolutionaries and pay them a huge compensation.

It also demanded that the Pakistani government issue commemorative stamps and coins to honour Singh.

Besides, it said a major road in the country should also be named after him and include lessons about his courage and bravery in the curriculum.

In a career spanning nearly 40 years, Lt Gen Chauhan had held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in J-K and North-East

Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retd) has been appointed as the Chief of Defence Staff and he will also function as Secretary Department of Military Affairs.

The post of CDS and Secretary DMA had been vacant for almost 10 months since Gen Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash in December last year.

The Government order to appoint Lt Gen Chauhan came on Wednesday evening but it did not mention his tenure. Rather, it said he will be CDS and Secretary DMA “until further orders”.

In June this year the government amended laws to allow any serving or retired three-star officer under the age of 62 to be eligible for the post of CDS. General Chauhan, the new CDS, is under 62 years. He retired at the age of 60 as the Eastern Army Commander in May 2021. The Chiefs of the three forces anyway retire at 62 years of age.h

The amended laws meant that the CDS need not be serving Chief of the Army, IAF or the Navy. The government had then issued a separate notification saying the tenure of the CDS can be, as per requirements, subjected to a maximum age of 65 years. 

Born on May 18, 1961, Lt Gen Chauhan was commissioned into the 6th battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles Regiment in 1981.

Originally his family hails from Uttarakhand.

General Chauhan has commanded the Eastern Command, Kolkatta, he has been the Director General of Military operations (DGMO) and commanded the 3 Corps based at Dimapur and tasked to far eastern Arunachal Pradesh.

General Chauhan has had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir. As a Maj General, he commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramula sector in the Northern Command.

General Chauhan has also served as a United Nations mission to Angola.

Role of CDS and DMA

The CDS is responsible for joint planning for procurement, training and staffing for the services. He is tasked with facilitation of restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about joint efforts in operations through establishment of theatre commands. He will be promoting use of indigenous equipment by the services.

The Department of Military Affairs will be looking after the work of the Armed Forces of the Union, namely Army, Navy and Air Force. The Territorial Army and the works related to the Army, Navy and Air Force will also fall under the department. Except capital acquisitions, the DMA will also handle procurement exclusive to the services.

New Delhi, September 28

Ahead of Diwali festival, the Cabinet on Wednesday approved 4 per cent additional instalment of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief to Central Government employees and pensioners with effect from July 1, 2022.

The Central Government employees and pensioners will become entitled to higher amount of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR), respectively, with effect from July 1, 2022, said I&B Minister Anurag Thakur at a press briefing here.

The additional financial implications on account of the increase of DA to employees are estimated at Rs 6,591.36 crore per annum, and Rs 4,394.24 crore in the financial year 2022-23 (8 months from July, 2022 to February, 2023).

The additional financial implications in case of pensioners are estimated at Rs 6,261.20 crore per annum, and Rs 4,174.12 crore in the financial year 2022-23.

The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be of the order of Rs 12,852.56 crore per annum and Rs 8,568.36 crore in the current financial year, the minister informed.

Chandigarh, September 28

Upholding the trial and conviction by court martial of two Army officers, including a woman, for maintaining an illicit relationship, Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has held that an officer is expected to maintain a certain level of character and behaviour at all times and any act detrimental to this behavior may not only tarnish the reputation of the force, but may put the security in jeopardy.

The two officers of the rank of Major were tried by separate Summary General Court Martial (SGCM) in the Northern Command in 2019. While the male officer was cashiered from service and awarded three months rigorous imprisonment, the woman officer was dismissed from service.

Three charges were levelled against them under Sections 45 of the Army Act for conduct unbecoming of an officer, where they indulged in an illicit relationship and got themselves videographed in explicit acts and under Section 69 of the Army Act for threatening another woman officer to harm her reputation.

During the trial, they had averred that false complaints had been made against them by the wife of the male officer due to a marital discord, major infirmities in proceedings and non-adherence to certain statutory provisions.

In separate orders today, the Tribunal’s bench comprising Justice Rajendra Menon and Lt Gen PM Hariz said that the findings recorded by the SGCM were on due appreciation of the evidence and discussed in detail. “We see no error in the findings recorded by the SGCM. The analysis of evidence has been done properly and a reasonable finding has been recorded which does not suffer from any infirmity or illegality, in any manner, whatsoever,” the bench ruled.

Though the officers had contended that their relationship was a personal matter and cannot form an act of misconduct under Section 45, the Bench did not accept this argument.

“We are dealing with officers in uniform, that also commissioned officers in the rank of Major in a disciplined force like Army where every act of an officer even in private or public places is subject to restrictions, looking to the nature of duty, national security and various other important facets and requirement of the Force. That is why, the section has been couched in a manner to bring within its ambit every behavior of a person which is unbecoming of the officer’s position and character,” the bench said.

The woman officer had also contended that in view of the private nature of evidence, at least 50 percent of the SGCM members should have been women in accordance with the Vishakha guidelines and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The SGCM, in this case, comprised one women officer.

The bench observed that the Vishakha guidelines were for protection of women against harassment at workplace and in this case, the officer was neither a victim of any harassment nor was she the complainant and therefore the guidelines were not applicable in her case.

On the issue that adultery is not a crime and hence no trial can be conducted, the bench observed that the trial was not with regard to adultery but a case where the act of the officers was classified as an act prejudicial to the good behavior and military discipline and conduct unbecoming of a military officer.