Government today issued notification for implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) for ex-servicemen while Maj Gen Satbir Singh (Retd), Chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement termed it unacceptable.
The long-pending ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) scheme for ex-servicemen was tonight brought into force with government issuing a notification which will benefit over 25 lakh veterans and war widows.
However, the protesting ex-servicemen rejected the notification, saying their main demands have not been accepted and it has become “one-rank-five-pension.”
The notification is almost similar to the announcement made by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on September 5.
To begin with, pension would be re-fixed on the basis of pension of retirees of calendar year 2013 and the benefit will be effective with effect from July 1, 2014.
The veterans had demanded that the period for pension should be financial year 2013-14 and not the calender year.
Also, they wanted April 1 as the effective date instead of July 1.
The notification said that in future, the pension would be re-fixed every 5 years. However, ex-servicemen had been demanding revision of pension every two years, if not one.
In his immediate reaction to the notification, Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, Chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement spearheading the protest, said “the notification will not be acceptable to the rank and file. It is not One-Rank-One- Pension but One-Rank-Five-Pension”.
Another key element of the notification is that the armed forces personnel who opt to get discharged on their request would henceforth not get OROP benefits.
“It will be effective prospectively,” Defence Ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar tweeted.
The statement said the previous government had made a budget announcement to implement the OROP and made a provision of Rs 500 crore.
“The present government undertook the task earnestly and realised that the actual additional annual expenditure would be Rs 8,000 to 10,000 crore at present and will increase further in future.
“Notwithstanding the financial constraints, true to its commitment, the present government has issued the government order to implement the OROP in true spirit,” a statement by the Defence Ministry said.
The notification said pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners on the basis of the average of minimum and maximum pension of personnel retiring in 2013 in the same rank and with the same length of service. It added that pension for those drawing above the average shall be protected.
The veterans had demanded to take into account the maximum and not the average.
It said that the arrears will be paid in four equal half yearly instalments. However, all family pensioners, including those in receipt of Special/Liberalised family pensioners, and gallantry award winners shall be paid arrears in one instalment.
An important element in the notification was that personnel who opt to get discharged henceforth on their own request under Rule 13(3)1(i)(b), 13(3)1(iv) or Rule 16B of the Army Rule 1954 or equivalent Navy or Air Force Rules will not be entitled to the benefits of OROP. It will be effective prospectively.
The government has decided to appoint a Judicial Committee to look into anomalies, if any, arising out of implementation of OROP. The Judicial Committee will submit its report in six months.
Detailed instructions along with tables indicating revised pension for each rank and each category, shall be issued separately for updation of pension and payment of arrears directly by Pension Disbursing Agencies.
The Defence Ministry said the issue of OROP was a long standing demand.
Defence Forces had been demanding it for almost four decades but the issue could not be resolved.
However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a commitment to implement it for the welfare of the ex-servicemen and accordingly the government had announced modalities for implementation of OROP on September 5, the statement said.
It added that the the notification could not be issued due to model code of conduct.
Meanwhile, Maj Gen (retd) Singh said, “If it is revision every 5 years and average of the scale then it is not acceptable. This is not One Rank One Pension, but One Rank Five Pension. This is against what Parliament had announced”.
He questioned why has the government announced July 1 as the effective date. By not announcing it as April 1, the government is trying to deprive the veterans and war widows of the funds.
“At the face of it, we find this notification highly irrational,” he said.
Col (retd) Anil Kaul, Media Advisor to IESM said not all demands were met by the government, but there was a climbdown on the premature retirement. He, however, added that he had not read the notification.

IAF may acquire armed drones
Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 16

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is going in for a change in its unmanned arsenal. Two types of armed drones with capability to carry missiles are being finalised. The IAF is looking at the armed version of a drone made by US company General Atomics and the armed version of the Israeli “heron”, which the IAF currently uses for surveillance.
Sources confirm that talks are on to acquire 10 “Heron TP” version of the heron family. The Ministry of Defence had okayed the proposal in May last year. “We are working to finalise the deal that is estimated to be $400 million,” sources said. This could be the first drone in the Indian arsenal to have a missile-strike ability hence can be used to hit at targets without sending a man on the mission on board a fighter jet. The armed forces had proposed buying armed drones in 2012.

At present, the IAF has a fleet of “Harop” drones from Israel, which are self-destructing “kamikaze” style drones which can crash into high-value enemy military targets. The Air Force already has an inventory of around 110 of these and in February another 54 were okayed.
The difference is that the missile carrying drone like “heron” can return to the base after firing its missiles, while the “harop” self-destructs onto a target after a command from ground.

The IAF is also keen on getting an armed version of the drones the Indian Navy is acquiring for long range reconnaissance.

There is clarity within the IAF that the armed drone will be an important aspect in any future conflict.

The Indian Navy had first announced requirement for 22 Guardian drones in 2016 at an estimated cost of $2 billion. The Guardian is a variant of the Predator family of drones, which is optimised for maritime surveillance.

The IAF will get the “Predator-B” (designated MQ-9 Reaper by the US Air Force). It can carry up to 1.7 tonnes of external stores, including sensors, anti-tank missiles and guided bombs, weighing up to 230 kg each. The heavier payload gives it greater flexibility in striking a diverse number of targets on the ground.

Unmanned arsenal

• Talks are on to acquire 10 ‘Heron TP’ that has missile-strike ability. It can be used to hit at targets without sending a man on the mission on board a fighter jet
• It also plans to acquire ‘Predator-B’ (designated MQ-9 Reaper bythe US Air Force)

A group of 49 eminent personalities, including filmmakers, authors and actors, wrote to the prime minister on Tuesday, expressing concern over the recent instances of mob violence and lynching in the country. Photo credit: Instagram.

Kolkata, July 25

Actor Kaushik Sen, who is one of the signatories of the letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of mob violence, said on Thursday that he has received a threat call.

Police have been informed about it and the phone number has been forwarded to them, he said.

“Yesterday I received a call from an unknown number, where I was threatened of dire consequences if I don’t stop raising my voice against lynchings and intolerance. I was told that I would be killed if I don’t mend my ways,” Sen told PTI.

A senior police officer said the matter was being looked into.

“To be honest, I am not bothered about such calls. I have also informed other signatories about the call and forwarded them the number,” Sen said.

A group of 49 eminent personalities, including filmmakers, authors and actors, wrote to the prime minister on Tuesday, expressing concern over the recent instances of mob violence and lynching in the country.

The signatories also said that they regretted that “Jai Shri Ram” has been reduced to a “provocative war cry that leads to law and order problems, and lynchings take place in its name”. PTI

Lynchings in Ram’s name: Celebs to PM

Say democracy can’t exist without dissent

New Delhi, July 24

Fortynine celebrities, including artistes, have written a letter to PM Narendra Modi urging him to stop “religion-based hate crimes” and lamenting “Jai Shri Ram had been reduced to a provocative war cry with lynchings happening in its name”.

The letter, signed by the likes of Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aparna Sen, Ramachandra Guha, Ashish Nandy, Anurag Kashyap, Konkona Sen and Mani Ratnam, among others, seeks answers from the government on steps being taken to stop hate crimes.

“These are not the Middle Ages! The name of Ram is sacred to many in the majority community of India. As the highest executive of this country, you must stop name of Ram being defiled in this manner,” it said. “No ruling party is synonymous with the country where it is in power. Democracy can’t exist without dissent,” they wrote, noting anti-government stand shouldn’t be equated to anti-national sentiments. — TNS

As long as they serve usefully in that role, nations will seek means to neutralize them. The aircraft-carrier form has proven remarkably flexibly, serving in one way or another for nearly a hundred years. From the USS Forrestal on, the U.S. Navy supercarrier has existed in basically the same form since the 1950s, and is expected to continue operating into the latter half of the twenty-first century. At some point, the game will be up; carriers will no longer pack the offensive punch necessary to justify their vulnerability. It’s not obvious when that day will come, however; we may only find out after the destruction of one of the Navy’s prize possessions.

We know how to kill aircraft carriers—or at least we know how best to try to kill aircraft carriers. Submarine-launched torpedoes, cruise missiles fired from a variety of platforms and ballistic missiles can all give an aircraft carrier a very bad day. Of course, modern carriers have ways of defending themselves from all of these avenues of attack, and we don’t yet have any good evidence of the real balance between offensive and defensive systems.

But what of the future? How will we plan to kill carriers thirty years from now? Here are several of the problems that the next generation of aircraft-carrier architects will need to worry about.

Undersea Unmanned Vehicles

Submarines have long posed the deadliest threat to aircraft carriers. In World War II, every major carrier fleet suffered losses to submarines; in the Cold War, the U.S. Navy viewed Soviet subs as a critical problem. Against modern antisubmarine warfare capabilities, the biggest difficulties faced by a submarine involve finding a carrier, then getting into firing position (with either missiles or torpedoes) before the carrier’s aircraft and escorts can detect and kill the sub. If the boat’s commander isn’t suicidal, finding a potential avenue for escape is also an issue.

Unmanned submarines solve several of these problems. They can wait indefinitely along the likely avenues of approach, only moving to attack after they detect the carrier. And robot submarines don’t worry too much about how their families will manage once they’re gone. Armed with only a few weapons, undersea unmanned vehicles, operating autonomously under preset conditions, could give future aircraft carriers a very serious headache.

Aircraft carriers already consist of a terrifyingly complex system of systems, from the ship itself to the air group to the escort task force. The Ford-class CVs will expand this even farther, operating as part of a system of weapons and sensors that can span across hundreds, even thousands, of miles. The digital linkages of this network will be well protected, but hardly impermeable; it is likely that any foe will take steps to attempt to disrupt and compromise the computer systems that allow the Fords to have the greatest effect.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Autonomous UAVs, capable of using both stand-off and close-range weapons, have the flexibility to overwhelm air-defense networks, especially when they don’t need to worry about the survival of their pilots. They can dispatch weapons at various ranges, then close with the target and use themselves to inflict fatal damage on the carrier. There’s nothing in the world more dangerous than a robot with nothing left to lose. . . .

Pakistan has been extending just about 3,000 visas to Indian Sikhs every year for their visit to Nankana Sahib since many years. File photo

Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, July 18

To celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on November 12 , the Pakistan government would allow an over three-time increase in the number of members of Sikh jathas heading to Nankana Sahib from India to take part in the mammoth festivities — a first since partition in 1947.

There will, however, be no cap on the Sikhs visiting Nankana Sahib on the occasion from other countries like the North America, Europe, Central Asia, Australia and Europe.

A decision to this effect has been taken by a high-powered Religious Tourism and Heritage committee headed by Governor of Punjab (Pakistan) Chaudhary Mohammad Sarvar and comprising of Pakistan’s four federal ministers, three provincial ministers, representatives of the Evacuee Trust Property Board and representatives of Sikh bodies.

As a matter of practice, Pakistan has been extending just about 3,000 visas to Indian Sikhs every year for their visit to Nankana Sahib to take part in the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and there has been no increase in this number since decades.

The high-powered committee has urged Pakistan’s Federal government to make arrangements for the stay of pilgrims and for issuance of visas.

This was revealed by Pawan Singh Arora, Public Relations Officer to the Governor of Punjab (Pakistan), while talking to Tribune from Lahore over the phone.

“The decision has been taken so as to ensure maximum participation in the festivities by Sikhs from India. The preparations for the celebrations are going at a large scale and the Federal and the Provincial governments will extend a red carpet to the pilgrims from India and abroad,” said Arora.

Pakistan has acquired more land for the development of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur during the last week and the total land with the premises has increased to 104 acres.

The Government of Pakistan was also reaching out to the Sikhs based in the UK, Europe and other countries for making the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak as a gala event.

Pakistan Tourism Board Chairman Sayed Zulfiqar held a meeting with Sikhs of the UK in London on Monday.

He asserted in a meeting, organised by the Central Gurdwara (Khalsa-Jatha), London, that despite highs and lows of the Indo-Pak bilateral relationships, the work on Kartarpur corridor and preservation of other historic buildings has been going on unabated.

Zulfiqar, who was the Special Assistant to the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, said Pakistan was yearning to see the global Sikh community participating and contributing in the 550th birth anniversary celebrations in a big way.