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Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said Friday that India, with the third largest military in the world (with over 1.3 million soldiers), needs to “cut flab.”

The Indian Army will be the first to adopt the leaner force plan, since it has the largest manpower in the armed forces. “I have asked the Army to identify the areas, it will take time and cannot be done overnight,” Parrikar said, NDTV reports.

Clearing misconceptions following the recent Union Budget 2016, where the defence outlay was not part of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s presentation, Parrikar revealed that the total allocation for defence in the budget was Rs 3,41,000 crore, including defence pensions. Pensions were allocated at Rs 82,000 crore, and for new equipment purchases the Ministry of Defence gets Rs 70,000 crore.

He noted that due to “ill-management” $3 billion was lying unused in an account with the US government for the government-to-government deals between India and US. Parrikar claimed that the ministry “re-calibrated” it and has since brought down the unspent money.

He also added that about Rs 13,000 crore of unspent capital funds will be returned.

Meanwhile, Parrikar’s statement of making the armed forces leaner has created ripples among the jawans, according to The Telegraph.

The report cited senior military officials as saying that armed forces can cut down the manpower but only after induction of new technology. The obsolete technology has increased the workload of the armed forces, pressuring the infantry battalions.

When asked about the Rafale aircraft negotiations, Parrikar called himself a “tough negotiator” who does not reveal his cards. The defence minister cryptically said that he will “cross the bridge when the time comes.”

Lt Gen Shokin Chauhan, GOC, 1 Corps, with the family members of Capt Pawan Kumar in Jind on Wednesday. Tribune photo

Jind, February 24

General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 1 Corps Lt Gen Shokin Chauhan visited the family of Captain Pawan Kumar, who died while fighting militants in Pulwama district of J&K on Sunday, at the Urban Estate area of Jind this morning. The GOC offered his condolences to the martyr’s family. Captain Pawan of the elite 10 Para (Special Forces) attained martyrdom while fighting militants in the Pampore area of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.Captain Pawan’s father Rajbir said: “The GOC has told us that the Army is ready to open an Army school at our native village Badhana if the district administration will follow set procedure and forward the proposal to the Army”. Congress national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala was here to offer condolences to the family of Captain Pawan. “The divide and rule policy of the BJP has tarnished Haryana’s image of being a peaceful state. The state government must restore law and order soon,” he said. — OC

Candidates sit in their undergarments in a field as they take an Army exam in Muzaffarpur. AFP

Patna/New Delhi, March 1

Amid a controversy over candidates being asked to strip down to their underwear for an Army exam in Bihar, the Union Government today sought a report from the Army Chief while the Patna High Court directed the Ministry of Defence to give a reply by April 5.Defending the bare body recruitment test, Director (Recruitment), Army Regional Office (ARO), in Muzaffarpur Col VS Godra said it was a preventive measure against cheating. Pictures showed candidates, dressed only in their underwear, cross-legged at Chakkar Maidan, an open ground in Muzaffarpur, 100 km from Patna, taking a written test in the hope of making it to the Army. The test, which was taken by 1,159 candidates, was conducted by the ARO Army Recruitment for various posts at different levels.On the basis of photos in some newspapers, lawyer Deenu Kumar filed a PIL on Monday. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmad Ansari and Justice Chakradhari Saran Singh converted it into a writ and ordered the Defence Ministry today to reply by April 5. Col Godra said because of the measures taken, no complaint of smuggling of phones and chits inside the exam venue were reported. — PTI

Army HQ takes ‘note’

• Taking ‘serious note’ of the incident, the Army Headquarters issued fresh directives to ensure that the exams are conducted in a manner that guarantees fairness
• A controversy erupted after pictures showed candidates, dressed in their underwear, taking an Army test in an open ground in Muzaffarpur, Bihar
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Major RP Sehgal is from ASC Corps settled in Ludhiana has joined the Family of sanjha Morcha by downloading the Membership form from the website www.sanjhamorcha.com

and

Hony Captain Sohal Lal Chawla is from 4 GR and have settled in Yamuna Nagar (Haryana) .Pic not recieved

Sanjha Morcha welcome the two veterans to the folds of family of Sanjha Morcha and looking forwards their initiative and drive towards the welfare of Veterans,widows and dependent children in their respective location  for Veterans CAUSE

Islamabad, February 7

Pakistan Army plans to raise a new security division as well as additional 28 battalions and has sought extra funds from the government for it, amid increasing terror attacks on the educational institutions in the country.Top army officials yesterday met Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and demanded “financing and the release of funds”, Dawn reported, citing a statement issued by the Finance Ministry.The “government attaches the highest importance to security matters” and assured the “provision of funds for the new security division and additional battalions,” Dar was quoted as saying in the statement.The army launched a massive military operation in 2014 against Taliban militants who are blamed for brazen attacks on government and military installations.Since then, the military has claimed to kill thousands of militants in air raids in the north and through intelligence-based operations in various parts of the country.Despite the military crackdown, the Taliban militants continued their attacks, targeting public places and educational institutions.The militants attacked a university in Charsadda last month, killing 21 persons, including 19 students, in an attack that bore resemblance to the brazen December 2014 assault on an army-run school in Peshawar that killed 144, mostly students. PTI

Panaji: Pakistan and China do not feature in the list of 117 countries invited to participate in the Defence Expo which would be held in Goa in March, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday said.

“We have not invited Pakistan and China to exhibit their technology at the event. The delegation from China would be arriving, but they cannot be called participants of the Defence Expo,” Parrikar said.

“We have not invited Pakistan and China to exhibit their technology at the event. The delegation from China would be arriving, but they cannot be called participants of the Defence Expo,” Parrikar said

“Pakistan is neither participating nor is their delegation allowed. Even if they intend to come and witness the expo, that too is not permitted,” he added.

Of the 117 countries invited to exhibit their wares at the exhibition, 44 had confirmed the presence, he said. As many as 881 companies had confirmed their participation, Parrikar said.

The event is slated to take place at Betul in south Goa from March 28 to 31. Goa is hosting the Defence Expo for the first time. Aero Show, to take place next year, would be held at Yelahanka near Bangalore, he said, ruling out Goa as a venue.

“To host the Aero Show you need an airport and Goa does not have that facility. We can’t have it till the new airport is in place,” said the former Goa Chief Minister.

The Defence Expo is facing opposition from a section of locals and some politicians who allege that land would be acquired permanently on the pretext of Expo. But the state government has said that structures put up for the exhibition would be temporary.

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Dave Mirra (right)

Nevada: The US Air Force will deploy four Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets to a different US air base this month as it assesses whether the new warplane can be declared combat-ready by August as planned. The deployment would include pilots, mechanics, spare parts, equipment and the plane’s computerised logistics system. The US Marine Corps declared an initial squadron of 10 of its F-35B model jets ready for combat last July. The F-35B can take off from shorter runways and land like a helicopter. reuters