Monthly Archives: August 2018

Tribune News Service

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, February 24

On February 25, 2019, the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Gwalior was abuzz with activity. There were discussions on the operational readiness of the security forces after the February 14 terror attack on a convoy that killed 40 CRPF personnel in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.

Around 4 pm on February 25, things became clear when Mirage 2000 fighter jets were fitted with Israeli-made Spice 2000 bombs and “fed in” with geo-coordinates of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp at Balakote, Pakistan, which was hit by pilots some 12 hours later at 3.30 am on February 26.

This was the first penetration into Pakistan since the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

How geopolitics has changed since then is a turnaround. The Balakote airstrikes and what followed on February 27 and 28 – the air battle in which IAF and Pakistan lost a plane each – showed there was a possibility of a clash outside the nuclear threat.

Director General of Centre for Air Power Studies Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd) says, “Balakote was the first time ever in peacetime that the IAF struck targets deep inside Pakistan. It has now set a new normal.”

“It shall be repeated again in case of another terrorist incident,” he said.

The IAF’s strike capability has since been enhanced and Rafale jets have joined the fleet. “Rafale is a game changer. It has much more capable and longer-range stand-off weapons than other jets with the IAF,” says Air Marshal Chopra. “

Rafale jets carry missiles that can travel a longer distance than the ones fired on the morning of February 26. They also have better air-to-air missiles.

Also, in August 2019, Parliament amended Article 370 of the Constitution by scrapping the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating it into two separate union territories – J&K and Ladakh.

The two countries agreed to uphold the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in February 2021, which is still holding strong.

However, this does not mean that terror camps like those hit at Balakote four years ago don’t exist anymore. Indian Security agencies estimate that four JeM terror camps exist across the 198-km International Border in J&K and another 18-20 camps across the LoC.

PTI

United Nations, February 24

India slammed Pakistan after it referred to Jammu and Kashmir during a special session on Ukraine in the UN General Assembly, terming the provocation as “regrettable and misplaced” and calling out Islamabad’s track record of harbouring and providing safe havens to terrorists with impunity.

“I’m taking the floor today to say that India chooses this time not to respond to Pakistan’s mischievous provocations. Our advice to the delegate of Pakistan is to refer to our numerous Rights of Reply that we have exercised in the past,” Counsellor in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Pratik Mathur said.

Mathur exercised India’s Right of Reply on Thursday after Pakistan’s envoy at the UN Munir Akram referred to Jammu and Kashmir while delivering the explanation of vote on the UN General Assembly resolution on Ukraine during the Emergency Special Session.  

“Pakistan has only to look at itself and its own track record as a state that harbours and provides safe havens to terrorists and does so with impunity. Such uncalled-for provocation is particularly regrettable and certainly misplaced at a time when after two days of intense discussions, we have all agreed that the path of peace can be the only path forward to resolve conflict and discord,” Mathur said. 

SEOUL — Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), South Korea’s sole aircraft manufacturer, said Friday it has won a 1.2 trillion-won (US$920 million) aircraft deal from Malaysia, with the delivery set to begin in 2026 reported South Korea based Yonhap news agency.
KAI signed the deal with the Malaysian defence ministry to export 18 FA-50 light attack aircraft, beating India’s TEJAS. HAL TEJAS was the only other aircraft on the final shortlist.
The requirement soon attracted an eclectic group of contestants. In addition to the FA-50 & HAL TEJAS, rivals for the deal comprised the Chengdu-Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17, RAC MiG-29, and the Turkish Aerospace Hurjet.
”This export is the fruit of strengthening cooperation between the two governments,” says KAI president and chief executive Kang Goo-young. “KAI will play a role as a long-term partner through defence cooperation as well as successful delivery and operational support of FA-50.”
Including Malaysia, KAI says it has sold 120 T-50 variants. Customers include Indonesia with 22, Iraq with 24, the Philippines with 12, and Poland with 48. The T-50 and FA-50 are also in service with the Republic of Korea Air Force.
It is the fourth time for KAI to sign an aircraft deal with a Southeast Asian country after Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, the statement said.
With the latest deal, KAI has exported 68 KT-1 basic and T-50 advanced trainer jets, as well as FA-50 aircraft, to Southeast Asian markets.
Globally, it has obtained deals to supply 222 aircraft to countries, which also include Iraq, Poland, Peru and Senegal.
KAI also expects to win a deal to provide another 18 FA-50s to Malaysia as the Southeast Asian country plans to beef up its aircraft fleet.
It aims to expand exports of its aircraft to the Middle East, Africa, Australia, the United States and other markets.

BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India and Russia, is looking to sell its BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to countries in the Middle East and South-East Asia amid growing demand, according to a senior executive of the company.
BrahMos, a nuclear-capable missile, is the world’s fastest cruise missiles and can be fired from land, sea and air. The missile is named after the Brahmaputra river in India and the Moskva river in Russia.
The Delhi-based defence company signed its first export order worth $375 million with the Philippines government last year.
The company mainly supplies missiles to the Indian army, navy and air force with the order book currently totalling about $5 billion to $6 billion until 2025.
Atul D Rane, chief executive and managing director of BrahMos Aerospace

“BrahMos Aerospace is in serious conversation with nine countries including six in Southeast Asia and three in the Middle East to sell missiles,” Atul D Rane, chief executive and managing director of the company told The National on the sidelines of the International Defence Exhibition in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
“We are continuously improving the missile performance and especially the current global conflict, which is going on, it has shown that more numbers are required by everyone at any time. We are expecting even more orders to fill our books with the current version till 2028 and 2029.”
It plans to export to “friendly foreign countries, agreed to both by the government of India and the government of Russia”.
The war in Ukraine has raised geopolitical tension across Europe, leading many nations to step up military spending, creating opportunities for defence companies to land major contracts.
“At the same time, we are working on a newer version of BrahMos, which is in same specifications in terms of range and speed but in terms of size, it is much smaller and will be able to fit two of them on an aircraft to launch,” Mr Rane said.
The flight trials for the newer version of the missile are expected to start in the next three years.
BrahMos Aerospace is funded by the government of India and the government of Russia but registered as a private limited company with three production centres in Hyderabad, Nagpur and Pilani. India has a 50.5 per cent stake in the company.
The company employs more than 1,000 people and has partnerships with 200 industries across India for the supply of parts and systems and sub-systems for the manufacture of missiles. Russian industry is also supporting the company in the supply of raw materials.
“We have a supply chain and are able to produce at any rate that is required, whoever needs we will be able to supply them at whatever speed they need. We have regular production lines moving,” he said, adding the company has not faced any difficulties due to supply chain disruptions globally due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine conflict.
BrahMos Aerospace plans to continue its partnership with Russia despite efforts by western countries to isolate Russia as the Ukraine war continues.
“The West has isolated Russia, not India,” Mr Rane said.
“We are trusted partners and we work together and we had no problems till now and don’t expect to have any problems (in future).”
India, Asia’s third-largest economy, is boosting defence spending amid tensions with China. It raised its defence budget to 5.94 trillion rupees ($72.6 billion) for the 2023-24 financial year, up 13 per cent from the previous period.

Photo used for representational purpose only. iStock

PTI

New Delhi, February 24

India was able to save more than 3.4 million lives by undertaking a nationwide Covid-19 vaccination campaign at an unprecedented scale, a report by Stanford University said.

The Covid vaccination campaign also yielded a positive economic impact by preventing a loss of USD 18.3 billion, the working paper by Stanford University and Institute for Competitiveness titled ‘Healing the Economy: Estimating the Economic Impact on India’s Vaccination and Related Issues’ released by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said.

Mandaviya said much before Covid-19 was declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) in January 2020, processes and structures to focus dedicatedly on various facets of the pandemic management were put in place.

He virtually addressed the ‘The India Dialog’ session on the Economic Impact of Vaccination and Related Matters.

“India under the leadership of honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji adopted a ‘Whole of Government’ and ‘Whole of Society’ approach in a proactive, preemptive and graded manner, thus adopting a holistic response strategy for effective management of Covid-19,” the minister said.

The dialogue was organised by Institute for Competitiveness and US-Asia Technology Management Center, Stanford University.

The paper also highlighted the impact of the lockdown and referred to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s statistical analysis that the Covid-19 tally could have reached about two lakh (0.2 million) without lockdown by April 11, 2020.

Due to lockdown measures, the actual cases only went up to about 7,500 by April 11, 2020, making a case for the lockdown stronger. The imposition of the lockdown also avoided two million deaths.

It further mentions that 100,000 lives were saved due to the lockdown (March-April), according to the Economic Survey (2020-21), and a Covid-19 tally of 200,000 if there was no lockdown and containment by April 11, 2020. “India was able to save more than 100,000 (0.1 million) lives through the lockdown in March-April 2020. Moreover, the country took around 175 days to reach the peak from its first 100 cases while most countries reached their first peak in less than 50 days (Russia, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, etc.),” the report said.

The paper discusses the role of containment as a measure to prevent the spread of the virus. It highlights that, as against the top-down approach, a bottom-up approach was critical in containing the virus.

Moreover, the report remarkably notes that robust measures at the ground level, like contact tracing, mass testing, home quarantine, distribution of essential medical equipment, revamping healthcare infrastructure and constant coordination among stakeholders at the centre, state and district levels not only helped contain the spread of the virus but also in augmenting the health infrastructure.

It elaborates the three cornerstones of India’s strategy — containment, relief package and vaccine administration.

It observes that these three measures were critical in saving lives and ensuring economic activity by containing the spread of Covid-19, sustaining livelihoods and developing immunity against the virus.

The working paper further notes that India was able to save more than 3.4 million lives by undertaking the nationwide vaccination campaign at an unprecedented scale.

It said the vaccination campaign was always on saving lives. However, the campaign also yielded a positive economic impact by preventing the loss of USD 18.3 billion, it added.

A net benefit of USD 15.42 billion occurred for the nation after taking into consideration the cost of the vaccination campaign, the report said.

Hailing the decision of early lockdown by the prime minister as a significant turning point, Mandaviya said it enabled the government to leverage community response in its five-pronged strategy namely Test, Track, Treat, Vaccination, Adherence for implementing Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) and delivering a rapid and robust institutional response to combat Covid-19.

Mandaviya said the government focused on augmenting health infrastructure in terms of Covid-related beds, drugs, logistics ie, N-95 masks, PPE kits and medical oxygen, simultaneously up-skilling human resources though Centres of Excellences and deploying digital solutions such as eSanjeevani Telemedicine service, Aarogya Setu, COVID-19 India Portal etc.

Equal weightage was given to scaling up the testing infrastructure at an unprecedented rate exceeding the superlative figure 917.8 million tests conducted. Additionally, a network of 52 labs for genomic surveillance was established for monitoring emerging variants of the virus, he added.

The Health minister stated that building on this momentum, India launched the world’s biggest vaccination drive, garnering a coverage of 97 per cent first dosage and 90 per cent of the second dosage, administering 2.2 billion doses in all for eligible beneficiaries.

The drive focused on equitable coverage for all, hence vaccines were provided free of cost to all citizens, he added.

“Campaigns and digital tools such as ‘Har Ghar Dastak’, mobile vaccination teams as well as the inception of Co-Win vaccine management platform were leveraged to ensure last-mile delivery,” Mandaviya said.

A defining factor in the success of pandemic management was allaying fears, managing misinformation and infodemic in the community through targeted Information, education and communication, he said.

The Stanford University report reflected that the benefits of vaccination exceeded its cost and suggested that vaccination be considered a macroeconomic stabilising indicator contrary to just a health intervention.

“The cumulative lifetime earnings of the lives saved through vaccination (in the working age group) tolled up to USD 21.5 billion,” it said.

The report said, “The development of vaccines (Covaxin and Covishield) helped fight the country the pernicious attack of the virus and not only inoculate a large number of people but also decrease the burden on healthcare system.” Mandaviya said the relief package by the government for people catered to the welfare needs of the vulnerable groups, old-age population, farmers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), women entrepreneurs among others and also ensured support for their livelihoods.

“With the help of schemes launched to support the MSME sector, 10.28 million MSMEs were provided assistance resulting in an economic impact of USD 100.26 billion which comes out to be about 4.90 per cent of GDP,” he further said.  

akhmut, the city of salt and gypsum mines, in Ukraine damaged by Russian onslaught. AP/PTI
Brussels, February 23

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday the alliance had seen signs China was considering supplying arms to Russia and warned Beijing against taking any such step.

Russia’s invasion affront to our conscience: guterres

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “an affront to our collective conscience”
• Russia’s actions violate UN Charter and challenges “ cornerstone principles and values of our multilateral system”, he said
• Guterres said the one-year mark of Russia’s invasion stands as a “grim milestone – for the people of Ukraine”
• The UN chief Guterres added that the war is also “fanning regional instability and fuelling global tensions and divisions

The announcement came days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China of consequences if it provided material support to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sending weapons will not bring peace, says beijing

“We haven’t seen any supplies of lethal aid from China to Russia, but we have seen signs that they are considering and may be planning for that,” Stoltenberg said.

“That’s the reason why the United States and other allies have been very clear, warning against that. And China should of course not support Russia’s illegal war,” he added.

China’s deputy UN Ambassador Dai Bing told the United Nations General Assembly that one year into the Ukraine war “brutal facts offer an ample proof that sending weapons will not bring peace and adding fuel to the fire will only exacerbate tensions”.

“Prolonging and expanding the conflict will only make ordinary people pay an even heftier price,” he said. “We stand ready to continue playing a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine crisis.

The West has been wary of China’s response, with some officials warning that a Russian victory would colour China’s actions towards Taiwan. — Reuters

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, February 24

India, along with China and Pakistan, abstained from a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution calling on Russia to end its hostilities and withdraw its forces from Ukraine.

During the vote, 141 nations voted in favour of the resolution which was approved after two days of discussions.

Seven nations opposed the resolution and 32 members, including India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, abstained. However, smaller countries in the Indian subcontinent such as Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Afghanistan voted in favour of the West-piloted resolution.

In its explanation of the vote, India wanted to know how a conflict could be resolved without the inclusion of both parties. “Can any process that does not involve either of the two sides ever lead to a credible and meaningful solution?” asked India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ruchika Kamboj.

Before the vote, India withstood tremendous pressure from the West that included a phone call to NSA Ajit Doval from his Ukrainian equivalent Andriy Yermak and acknowledgement by France and Germany that they had called on New Delhi to revise its position.

After the vote, India said the resolution seeking a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in line with the UN Charter is understandable; however, reports from the ground portray a complex scenario, with the conflict intensifying on several fronts. “While we take note of the stated objective of today’s Resolution, given its inherent limitations in reaching our desired goal of securing lasting peace, we are constrained to abstain,” said Kamboj.

South Block also touched on several other aspects, including repeated disapproval of targeting of civilian infrastructure and the killing of non-combatants. It also agreed that the UN Charter and the principle of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states must be upheld “without any exception”.

It also wanted all sides to ask themselves a few questions. “Are we anywhere near a possible solution acceptable to both sides? Can any process that does not involve either of the two sides ever lead to a credible and meaningful solution? Has the UN system, and particularly the UN Security Council, based on a 1945-world construct, not been rendered ineffective?” asked Kamboj.

India also said it continued to remain concerned over the situation in Ukraine and described the attacks on civilians as “deeply worrying”. It also wanted concerns of the Global South, which has suffered the conflict’s unintended consequences, to be addressed. On its part, India has advocated dialogue and diplomacy while adopting a people-centric approach to the conflict through economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

Former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal with Sukhbir Singh Badal
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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 24

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing cases of sacrilege and police firing in 2015, on Friday filed a charge sheet in a court in Punjab’s Faridkot indicting Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Badal and former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini as masterminds.

The charge sheet also blamed then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for the Kotkapura firing case following sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib and subsequent violence in which the police force was accused of excesses that left two people dead.

Then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has been blamed for facilitating the execution of the conspiracy, in the 7,000-page charge sheet, which was filed by the SIT led by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) LK Yadav.

They are accused of alleged illegal and excess use of force to conceal inaction of state on series of three sacrilege incidents at Burj Jawahar Singhwala village and Gurdwara Sahib Bargari (affixing of derogatory poster and scattering of Angs of Shri Guru Granth Sahib).

Faridkot SSP Harjeet Singh said that SIT has filed chargesheet against 8 accused in Kotkpaura police firing case of October 2015. He said the accused include former CM Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Singh Badal, former DGP  Sumedh Singh Saini, IG Paramraj Singh Umranangal, former DIG Amar Singh Chahal, former SSPs Charanjit Singh Sharma and SS Mann, and then SHO Kotkapura Gurdeep Singh.

The then CM Parkash Singh Badal also facilitated in execution of conspiracy which led to police firing at Kotkapura, the SIT alleged.

IG Param Raj Umranangal, DIG Amar Singh Chahal, former SSP Charanjit Singh are accused of execution of conspiracy, former SSP Sukhmander Singh Mann is accused of execution of conspiracy/ distortion and concealment of facts and former SHO Kotkapura, Gurdeep Singh is accused of distortion and concealment of facts.

PTI

Islamabad, February 24

Pakistan on Friday received a much-needed cash injection of USD 700 million from all-weather ally China to help its ailing economy before the finalisation of talks with the IMF for financial assistance.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who earlier this week announced Pakistan was expecting to get help from China, took to social media to confirm that the money had been transferred.

“Funds USD 700 million received today by State Bank of Pakistan from China Development Bank,” Dar tweeted.

It prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to express gratitude to the “special friend” of Pakistan.

“There is an allied country of Pakistan, we were all thinking that they were waiting for the IMF agreement and then they would play their part but that allied nation a few days ago conveyed to us that ‘we are giving you [this financial help] straight away’, and these things can never be forgotten,” he said while addressing a security meeting.

He said the assistance was provided even before the finalisation of negotiations with the IMF to resume a lifeline needed to avert default and added that talks with the fund would soon be successful.

Pakistan and the IMF have been holding virtual talks after the two sides held 10 days of intensive talks with an IMF delegation in Islamabad from January 31 to February 9, which failed to reach an agreement.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, which fell to a critically low level of USD 2.9 billion a few weeks ago, have now risen closer to USD 4 billion.

They will get a further boost once the IMF releases USD 1.1 billion after the successful completion of talks

Kyiv, February 24

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieck has delivered the first Leopard tanks to Ukraine during his visit to Kyiv on Friday, the anniversary of the Russian invasion, the president said.

Andrzej Duda told a meeting of the National Security Council he was happy that Poland was the first nation to offer the advanced tanks to U

Poland has pledged 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and called on other European nations to follow suit. It was unclear how many tanks arrived on Friday. AP