The first batch of 2,585 Agniveers, including 273 women, of the Indian Navy passed out from the portals of INS Chilka in Odisha in a first of its kind- ceremonial night passing out parade held on Tuesday under the aegis of Southern Naval Command.
Though passing out parades (POPs) are traditionally conducted in the morning hours, it was the first occasion when the PoP was conducted post-sunset, a first-of-its-kind in the Indian Armed Forces.RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
Though passing out parades (POPs) are traditionally conducted in the morning hours, it was the first occasion when the PoP was conducted post-sunset, a first-of-its-kind in the Indian Armed Forces. (Express Photo)
The passing out parade marked the successful culmination of 16 weeks of rigorous naval training. The sea warriors have been trained to make the Indian Navy a combat ready, credible, cohesive and future proof force, said an official statement.
Admiral R Hari Kumar, chief of the naval staff, who reviewed the passing out parade, said it is “historic for the Indian Navy” as the first ever batch of women sailors passed out on the occasion.
“It’s an opportunity to showcase our Nari Shakti to the world. As the nation watches, our women sailors are shipping across INS Chilka. It will provide inspiration for an entire generation of young women in the country,” said the Navy chief.
Kumar urged the passing out trainees to hone their skills further and develop a strong foundation of knowledge, willingness to learn and commitment to excel in their respective careers that lay ahead. He also urged them to uphold the Indian Navy’s core values of duty, honour and courage in pursuit of Nation building.
Addressing the sea warriors, the Navy chief said the first batch of Agniveers are going to script history by becoming the first batch of India’s Agniveers and to start a new age in the Indian Navy.ADVERTISEMENT
The Navy chief said that the first batch of Agniveers will act as the torchbearer for the future Agniveers. “This batch will decide how the future Agniveers can be part of India’s security by joining the Indian Navy. Not just that, these Agniveers will also determine how to contribute to nation building without being in the armed forces,” said Hari Kumar in his address.
Stating that India and the Indian Navy are developing rapidly, the top Navy commander said the Agniveers are fortunate to be part of the growth and they should realise that they are stepping into one of the most admired professions across the world.
The Agnipath Scheme was launched by the Narendra Modi government on June 14, 2022. Subsequently, the Indian Navy had carried out a pan-India merit-based Agnipath recruitment scheme and leveraged the opportunity to commence the entry of women Agniveers into service.
Chandigarh, March 28 In four separate incidents along the International Bor[1]der in Punjab, the Border Security Force shot down a drone, apprehended two persons and seized weapons and narcotics. “During the intervening night of March 27-28, BSF troops detected intrusion by a drone in the Ramtirath area of Amritsar sector. Counter-drone measures were taken and a search operation was launched. The troops apprehended two persons along with three packets containing 3.22 kg heroin near Bachiwind vil[1]lage,” a BSF officer said. On March 28 around 3.13 am, BSF troops sensed the presence of a miscreant ahead of the border fence and heard the sound of something being thrown over the border fence near Natha Singh Wala village in Fazilka district. Troops fired at the miscreant, but he managed to flee. Later, two packets, suspected to con[1]tain 2 kg heroin, a Chinese[1]made pistol, a magazine and eight bullets were found in the area, the officer said. In the third incident, the BSF troops deployed along the border detected a drone intrusion in the Rajatal Border Outpost area of Amritsar sec[1]tor on March 27 around 8.30 pm. The drone was fired upon. On Tuesday morning, a drone and a bag were found around 700 m away from the Interna[1]tional Border and 350 m from the border fence. A packet con[1]taining 2 kg heroin and a torch were found in the bag. Yet another drone intrusion was noticed near the Attari joint check post on March 27 around 8.20 pm. Troops fired at the drone and during a search in the area, a packet containing 2 kg contraband, suspected to be heroin, was found at Hardo Rattan village on Tuesday morning
28 DRONES SEIZED IN 3 YEARS: MHA ■ As many as 28 drones were shot down or recovered, which were being used by anti-national elements to smuggle arms and narcotics from Pakistan to Punjab in the past three years, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Nisith Pramanik informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. ■ Replying to a written question in the House, Pramanik said the BSF had been maintaining effective domination in the border areas by carrying out round-the-clock surveillance that included patrolling, laying nakas, manning observation posts all along the International Border. ■ The BSF was also in the process of procurement of more anti-drone systems to be installed in Punjab on the Indo-Pakistan border for which trials are going on, the minister said <
New Delhi, March 27
The Ministry of Defence on Monday told the Rajya Sabha that recruitment and representation from Punjab into the Army had been proportionate to the demographic requirements of the state.
The MoD was responding to a written question by AAP MP Raghav Chadha.
Local military authorities and Army recruitment offices undertake extensive outreach programmes and publicity to educate and inform youth about opportunities in the Army within their jurisdictions, the MoD said.
Avneet Kaur
Jalandhar, March 27
A retired Wing Commander from Jalandhar, Jaspal Singh Shoker, says he has found a well-like structure in Mana Talwandi village of Kapurthala which is likely from the Indus Valley civilisation.
‘Structure is 15-ft below ground level’
As per Shoker, the structure is about 15 ft below the ground level and buried under a huge mound. He said the mound used to be covered with pottery pieces during his childhood in the 1950s.
“I have sent the pictures of the structure, which was exposed by river erosion, to the archaeological departments in Delhi and Punjab time and again in the past three years, but neither of them showed any interest,” he said, while adding that he believed that the brick size of the structure is similar to those he has seen in photos of Lothal in Gujarat.
He said despite his efforts, he was unable to get the site examined by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Chandigarh. He claims he has been in contact with the Chandigarh ASI for the last three years, but to no avail.
The Indus Valley civilisation, also known as the Harappan civilization, was one of the earliest urban civilisations in the world, flourishing in the Indus River Valley in what is now Pakistan and western India from about 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. It is known for its advanced urban planning, sophisticated systems of writing and trade, and impressive architecture, including the famous Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro.
“Despite its significance, much of the Indus Valley civilisation remains shrouded in mystery, as much of its writing system remains undeciphered, and many of its cities and artifacts have been lost to time. The discovery of a potential Indus Valley-like structure in Kapurthala could be a significant archaeological find and may shed new light on the history of the region”, he added.
Shoker says if the structure is indeed from the Indus Valley civilisation, it could give archaeologists a better understanding of how the civilisation spread throughout the region and how it interacted with other cultures.
However, without further investigation, it is impossible to confirm whether the site is truly a relic from the Indus Valley civilization, he says, adding that he has written to CM Bhagwant Mann in this regard, and has requested him to get the site examined to ascertain whether it is worth exploring furthe
New Delhi, March 28
India will continue to work with African nations to promote regional security, foster stability and enhance defence capabilities, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during the first edition of the India-Africa Army Chiefs’ Conclave.
The conclave was organised on the sidelines of the ongoing second Africa-India joint exercise ‘AFINDEX’ in Pune on Tuesday. Indian Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande and representatives from 31 African nations were present.
Rajnath reiterated India’s commitment to provide support to African partner countries in defence-related matters, including capability enhancement of their armed forces, economic growth and social development. In many African countries, the capacity-building of state systems is still a work in progress.
New Delhi, March 28
China and Pakistan have signalled that they will virtually attend the meeting of National Security Advisers from Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to be held here on Wednesday.
This meeting is likely to take up the issue of a potential nexus between ISIS, which is creating havoc in Afghanistan with its brutal bombings, and the money flowing in from the burgeoning drug trade in the country. This aspect was also taken up in the December meeting between NSA Ajit Doval and the five Central Asian NSAs.
The expectation is that the Taliban must take decisive action on terrorism and drug smuggling with the exponential rise in drug production to be the focus of discussions.
A statement by the Russian Security Council said its Secretary Nikolai Patrushev will take part in the annual meeting of the secretaries of the security councils of the SCO member states. Patrsushev is in the innermost circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin and their association goes back to 1999 when he succeeded Putin as FSB chief (reorganised KGB).
His meeting with Doval will provide insights into the trajectory of the conflict in Ukraine and the extensive consultations between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Doval had met Patrushev last month in Moscow after travelling to the US and the UK to meet his respective counterparts.
Moscow, March 28
Russia’s Defence Ministry says Moscow has test-fired anti-ship missiles in the Sea of Japan.
The ministry said on Tuesday that two boats launched a simulated missile attack on a mock enemy warship about 100 kilometres away. The ministry said the target was successfully hit by two Moskit cruise missiles.
The Moskit, whose NATO reporting name is the SS-N-22 Sunburn, is a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile that has conventional and nuclear warhead capacity.
It says the exercise took place in the Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan but does not give more precise coordinates.
Japan’s Defence Ministry had no immediate response. The US Navy’s 7th Fleet did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
New Delhi, March 28
The government on Tuesday extended the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar by three months to June 30 to enable people comply with the mandatory income tax provisions.
The deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar was ending on March 31. As per the income tax department, failure to link the two unique identities will lead to the unlinked PAN becoming inoperative.There have been demands, including from political parties, for giving more time to people to link PAN (Permanent Account Number) with their unique 12-digit identification number Aadhaar.
“In order to provide some more time to the taxpayers, the date for linking PAN and Aadhaar has been extended to June 30, 2023, whereby persons can intimate their Aadhaar to the prescribed authority for Aadhaar-PAN linking without facing repercussions,” the finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Earlier also, the government had extended the deadline several times.
The government had imposed a fee of Rs 500 on linking of PAN with Aadhaar from April 1, 2022 and the amount was later increased to Rs 1,000 from July 1, 2022.
So far, more than 51 crore PANs have been linked with Aadhaar.
Under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, every person who has been allotted a PAN as on July 1, 2017 and eligible to obtain Aadhaar Number, was required to intimate his or her Aadhaar to the prescribed authority on or before March 31, 2023, on payment of a prescribed fee.
Failure to do so would have attracted certain repercussions under the Act from April 1, 2023.
“The date for intimating Aadhaar to the prescribed authority for the purpose of linking PAN and Aadhaar has now been extended to June 30, 2023,” the statement said.
From July 1, 2023, PAN of taxpayers who have failed to intimate their Aadhaar shall become inoperative.
Once the PAN becomes inoperative, the tax payer concerned will not be able to claim tax refund nor interest on it. Also, TDS and TCS will be deducted /collected at a higher rate from them.
“PAN can be made operative again in 30 days, upon intimation of Aadhaar to the prescribed authority after payment of fee of Rs 1,000,” the ministry said.
Those persons who have been exempted from PAN-Aadhaar linking will not be liable to face action.
This category includes those residing in specified states, a non-resident as per the Income Tax Act, an individual who is not a citizen of India or individuals of the age of eighty years or more at any time during the previous year.
Last week, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to extend the deadline by six months for linking PAN with Aadhaar and remove the Rs 1,000 fee. PTI
