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Kangra, July 15

The Commander of Rising Star Corps, Lt Gen YVK Mohan, on Saturday launched a plantation drive. As many as 2,700 saplings will be planted in the Yol Cantonment area.Lt Col Devender Anand, defence spokesperson, said the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Rising Star Corps, led the drive by planting a sapling at ‘Tank Trophy’ on the Brigade Bazar road in Yol Cantonment.He said the GOC highlighted the importance of plantation in the wake of global warming and ecological imbalance.Lt Col Anand said the ‘Go green’ drive aimed at encouraging people to plant more and more trees.

NEW DELHI: Private companies can now manufacture uniforms for the defence services.

Branded fabric and fashion retailer Raymond has begun supplying uniform cloth to the defence ministry’s Canteen Stores Department (CSD) for Indian Air Force and Indian Army, the army has said.

Raymond cloth is now available for army’s olive green uniform, commonly known as OG, and IAF’s summer dress.

“Initial order quantity has been supplied to most of the CSD depots,” said Col Aman Ana ..

In a re-run of the scrapped MMRCA race, the same six companies with the same aircraft will compete for the same order from the same customer.

New Delhi: Tragedy and farce hang like spectres over the Indian Air Force’s efforts to procure fighter jets.

The first ended in tragedy, and a deadline of sorts for a second, or third, attempt ends Friday, with six foreign vendors’ responses to a 73-page Request for Information (RFI).

In the re-run of the scrapped MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) race, the same six companies with the same six aircraft would be intending to compete for the same order from the same customer. Only, this time the customer, Indian Air Force, has pared down the numbers from 126 to 110.

“…Doing the same thing over again and expecting different results used to be a definition of lunacy,” former navy chief and aviator, Admiral Arun Prakash (retired) tweeted recently in response to a discussion on the RFI. “It would be a great shame if logic, economics and jointness do not persuade IAF and IN (Indian Air Force and Indian Navy) to select the same aircraft. MoD (Ministry of Defence) should consider issuing a fiat.”

Admiral Prakash was highlighting the fact that the navy was also looking to procure 57 deck-based fighter jets. Though the requirement of carrier-borne jets is demanding of a maritime capability, he has argued in favour of looking at synergies among the platforms of the different services.

Competing jets

Boeing’s  F/A-18E/F  Super Hornet Block III, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 70,  Dassault Aviation’s Rafale F3R, Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab’s Gripen E and Russian United Aircraft Corporation’s MiG-35 will be vying for a IAF contract conservatively estimated at $18 billion over 12 years. Four of these six companies are also in contention for the navy order.

In the time that the last tender was scrapped (2015) and now, the aircraft have been made more modern in a military aviation equivalent of software upgrades on smartphones. In that time, the Modi administration contracted 36 Rafales from France in a befuddling government-to-government order.

Befuddling because the IAF had projected a requirement for 126 (six squadrons) of the aircraft. Its projection was based on the government’s operational directive to be prepared for a two-front war. The directive has remained unchanged since 2009.

Between 2015 and now, the IAF was also asked to consider buying 114 single-engine fighters through a competitive process. That was scrapped, again, in April and the current RFI was issued. This one, like the MMRCA contest initiated in 2007, does not specify the number of engines that the winning aircraft should have.

Consequently, among the six competitors are two single-engine fighters (the F-16 and the Gripen) and four twin-engined ones.

There is one big difference, though, with the scrapped 2007 tender: the foreign vendors are now required to tie-up with an Indian ‘strategic partner’ that may be a private sector entity. The last MMRCA race had specified the defence public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd as the ‘lead integrator’.

After extensive flight evaluation trials, the IAF down-selected the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Rafale. The Rafale was announced as the winner because it was relatively cheaper. But the two aircraft were the most expensive to begin with.

Next stage

Now, the IAF has said it wants to buy 82 single-seat fighters and 28 twin-seaters. Most (75 per cent) of the aircraft will have to be made in India. This would mean that the global majors will have to set up assembly lines in the country.

The RFI responses is only the first stage in a long-drawn procurement process. After examining the responses, the defence establishment will draft the Request for Proposals (RFP) — the actual global tender. The RFP will lay down in detail the technical parameters the IAF wants for its next fighter jet. It is unlikely that they will be very different from the parameters that led to them choosing the Rafale, 36 of which have been contracted.

After trials and evaluations, the government will select the aircraft with the cost factor likely to override many of the other considerations. A contract negotiation committee will finally determine the value of the order. It was at this stage that the last MMRCA contract came unstuck.

Ranju Singh, wife of lieutenant colonel Dharamvir Singh, officer commanding (OC) of M-sector Imphal, in a complaint to Imphal police station, said her husband was reportedly taken away by armed jawans, Nanda and Major Rathod on early Sunday morning from their quarter

Ranju Singh, wife of lieutenant colonel Dharamvir Singh along with their kids. (File)

The wife of an army officer posted in Imphal lodged a police complaint against two other officers for kidnapping and wrongful confinement after her husband was allegedly taken away by the accused.

Ranju Singh, wife of lieutenant colonel Dharamvir Singh, officer commanding (OC) of M-sector Imphal, in a complaint to Imphal police station, said her husband was reportedly taken away by armed jawans, Nanda and Major Rathod on early Sunday morning from their quarter.

The officers were charged with under section 346/365/363/120-B IPC and 27 Arms act for wrongful confinement, kidnapping and kept concealing with criminal conspiracy by using arms.

“On July 1 morning at around 6:30 am, I woke up and saw my husband was ready and doing pooja. Then somebody knocked on the door, we both saw 8 to 10 armed jawans in uniform standing outside. With my husband, I also went outside, I saw two officers lt. col. Nanda and Major Rathod along with one JCO”, said Ranju.

Read | Army refutes allegations of wrongful detention made by officer’s wife

The officer-in-charge asked Dharamvir to get dressed in army uniform as he was to be taken under custody as per the direction of Colonel Ranjan Singh CO 3CISU, added Ranju while claiming that no warrant was given to her. Since then, Dharamvir did not return to his family nor did the authority gave information on the whereabouts of the officer immediately.

On Tuesday morning, Dharamvir called his wife on her mobile informing that he was at Corps Military Police (CMP) surrounded by guards and hung up the phone, revealed Ranju. Ranju along with her two daughters came to visit Dharamvir on June 30 at his posting place at M-Sector but they informed that they have moved to a friend’s place out of fear.

“I want my husband to be brought back with same respect, I want him to be respected by Indian Army as he is a good officer. Please help my husband and my family”, appealed Ranju speaking to reporters in Imphal.

According to police, authority from the M-sector post reported to the police that Dharamvir was not arrested but currently at CSIU Dimapur unit.

Pakistan’s slow descent into the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list was preordained. The US was chaffing at Rawalpindi’s covert support to the Taliban and now that it had agreed to come to the negotiating table, it was important to keep it under pressure by choking its sources of financing, mainly from Pakistan. Pakistan’s promulgation of an ordinance in February did address a few Indian concerns but none was convinced about their permanency given its back history of slipping upon dutiful promises. However, its leadership’s reflex reaction of blaming a US-India conspiracy is disturbing. By now it should have realised that the worm has turned as far as dirty money is concerned; even rock-solid tax havens have been forced to come clean.Even if the Pakistani leadership’s lament about victimisation is taken on face value — and there may be a grain of truth since most of the other seven on the grey list are politically estranged from the US — it has certainly acted irresponsibly by allowing UN-sanctioned individuals to roam free and test the electoral waters? Pakistan’s nudge-and-wink approach towards some serious purveyors of violence has not just extracted a heavy toll outside its borders but inside as well, including 3,000 of its soldiers. The FATF also needs to be questioned about the effectiveness of its methodology that is six years old for Islamabad remains unreformed despite being put on the grey list and black list for a total of five years since 2008.Pakistan may not immediately feel the pinch of FATF’s listing because of the cushion of Chinese promises to fund the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. But its development needs far exceed what the yuan can provide and it will have to pay higher costs for international bonds and to borrow from multilateral bodies. At the same time, Pakistan requires time to implement the recommendations because its interim government has no mandate to make policy changes. Yet the leadership needs to realise that the screen of victimhood is no safeguard against the pain it suffers for using militancy as a permanent instrument of state policy.

NEW DELHI: If India wants to send Pakistan another strong message again, India “can definitely” hit them again with surgical strikes + , said the Army officer who oversaw the first such strikes on terror camps across the Line of Control (LoC), in a comment today to news agency ANI.

Lt General (Retired) DS Hooda also said the 2016 decision to hit the terror camps came from the Centre and the military agreed with it.

“Decision (on conducting surgical strikes) finally came from political leadership but military was in agreement that we needed to do something. If we want to send another strong response to Pakistan in the future we can definitely do it again,” said General Hooda.

Video footage of the surgical strikes + across the LoC, which took place on September 29, 2016, was aired on TV news channels on Wednesday. The eight-minute-long video shows how the Special Forces of the Indian Army crossed over the LoC and destroyed the targets on the Pakistani side of the LoC.The footage was reportedly shot from drones and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and was captured on thermal imaging cameras used by the Army to monitor the operation.

The operation was monitored from a control room in Udhampur, Headquarters of Indian Army’s strategic Northern Command,” General Hooda, the then Northern Army Commander told Times Now.

“One of the major challenges that the team that went across, faced was that the camps were located close to Pakistan Army posts,” Hooda added.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 27

In what will change the terms of employment and pension eligibility criteria for lakhs of jawans, a new proposal has been mooted by the personnel section of the Army which requires jawans to put in more number of years into service and also a change in pension rules.The proposal for change is for all infantry units and they have been asked to give their opinion by June 30, says an internal letter, a copy of which is with The Tribune.The move comes after the OROP was granted in September 2015. It led to a spike in the number of troops seeking premature retirement. In 2017, 17,438 jawans sought premature retirement. This is nearly double of the 9,296 jawans, who sought the same in 2015.The Army suggestion says the minimum qualifying service for pension be raised from 15 years to 20 years of service. At present jawans retire between ages 35-37 and they can seek premature retirement after 15 years of service. Their ‘term’ is deemed to be completed after 17 years of service.The letter says “due to improvement in life expectancy, an additional five years service spent till approximately 40 years of age may reduce the pension liability manifold”. Another model suggested is to ‘disincentive premature retirement’ which talks about graded pensions.

Proposals mooted

• Plan A: The minimum qualifying service for pension be raised from 15 years to 20 years of service. At present, jawans retire between age 35-37 and they can seek premature retirement after 15 years of service.
• Plan B: Give 75% of pension to those who put in 15-17 years of service; 85% to those serving for 17-20 years and 100% to those serving for more than 20 years. At present, the last pay drawn is calculated for OROP.

Blood, hair samples from car match; Amritsar mourns death

Prateek Chauhan &PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

New Delhi/Amritsar, June 25

Major Nikhil Rai Handa, arrested for killing fellow officer Major Amit Dwivedi’s wife Shelja, had gifted her a phone and made 3,000 calls this year, show call records. In judicial custody for four days, Major Handa will be taken to Meerut to reconstruct the crime. The police have arrested his uncle and a cousin for “helping” him.In Amritsar, where Shelja was cremated on Monday, her brother Sukaran Kalia, a lawyer, said his sister “did not have an affair with Major Handa. He had been stalking her. Such claims by the police have hurt the family”.The Delhi Police have recovered the clothes Major Handa was wearing when he allegedly killed Shelja as well as two Swiss knives. While fleeing to Meerut, Major Handa reportedly got his car washed to remove the victim’s bloodstains and also threw away her cellphone. But a forensic team took seven blood samples from the car which matched with Shelja’s blood group. The hair samples found in the car matched too. The dumped cellphone has been recovered.Shelja’s husband was to leave for Uganda on a UN peace mission in two months and had decided to move her and their six-year-old son to Amritsar, Shelja’s native town.“Just 10 days ago, we were celebrating her return to the city as her husband moved their belongings to the cantonment area. Now, we are mourning her death,” said Sukaran Kalia, her brother. He and his mother were in Shimla when they were informed of her brutal end.“I got a call from my brother-in-law. He said Shelja had gone missing. The police told him they had found a woman’s body. He identified my sister’s body from a tattoo,” he said. Shelja’s father Subhash Kalia was a local Congress man. He died two years ago.

Action that was being taken earlier would continue, Rawat asserted. PTI file

New Delhi, June 20

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday said the imposition of Governor’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir is unlikely to have any impact on ongoing anti-terror operations and noted that there was no political interference.

General Rawat’s response came after President Ram Nath Kovind approved the imposition of Governor’s Rule in the state with immediate effect earlier in the day.

Operations in the Valley would continue as earlier, Rawat told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

“Operations were being carried out earlier as well. Then we saw a phase of suspension of operations because we wanted people to get a chance to offer their prayers during Ramzan without any kind of problem. Despite that, terrorists continued with their activity, which is why the suspension of operations was cancelled,” he said.

Action that was being taken earlier would continue, Rawat asserted.

Referring to the imposition of Governor’s rule in the state after the BJP pulled out of its alliance with the PDP, he said, “We don’t think there will be any impact. We don’t have any kind of political interference.” There has, he said, never been any kind of restriction on the force on how it should conduct its work.

The security forces have very strict rules of engagement and “take action” in accordance with them, Rawat said.

The ceasefire announced by the Centre for the month of Ramzan was revoked on Sunday. Aurangzeb, an Army jawan, was killed by terrorists and journalist Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead two days ahead of Eid.

Today, Jammu and Kashmir was placed under Governor’s rule for the fourth time in the last one decade after the BJP withdrew support to its alliance partner, prompting Mehbooba Mufti to resign as Chief Minister. PTI

London, June 19

Pakistan continues to be ahead of India when it comes to possessing nuclear warheads, with China having double the quantity, according to a report by a leading Swedish think-tank.Pakistan is believed to have 140-150 nuclear warheads this year, 10 more than last year. In contrast, India is said to have 130-140 nuclear warheads, according to the annual nuclear forces data by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).Russia and the US hold over 92 per cent of the total warheads, it said. SIPRI said nine countries — the US, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea — had 14,465 nuclear warheads at the beginning of 2018, of which 3,750 were actually deployed.At start of 2017, the total nuclear warhead count was 14,935, it said. The reduction is largely due to arms control commitments by the US and Russia in 2010 Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. — PTI