Current Events :
NEW DELHI: India is likely to select by the year-end at least one fighter aircraft that will be manufactured by the private sector under the Make in India process for supply to the Indian Air Force, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said. He said there may be one or two more fighter plants, either operational or in the process of being set up, in the next three years or so.
Photo source: Thinkstock
New Delhi, March 18
In a move that will hit the common man, the government on Friday slashed interest rates payable on small savings, including PPF and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), in a bid to align them closer to market rates.
As a part of its February 16 decision to revise interest rates on small savings every quarter, the interest rate on Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme will be cut to 8.1 per cent for the period April 1 to June 30, from 8.7 per cent, at present.
Similarly, the interest rate on KVP will be cut to 7.8 per cent from 8.7 per cent, according to a Finance Ministry order.
While the interest rate on post office savings has been retained at 4 per cent, the same for term deposits of one to five years has been cut.
The popular five-year National Savings Certificates will earn an interest rate of 8.1 per cent from April 1 as against 8.5 per cent, at present.
A five-year Monthly Income Account will fetch 7.8 per cent as opposed to 8.4 per cent now. Girl-child saving scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Account will see interest rate of 8.6 per cent as against 9.2 per cent.
Senior citizen savings scheme of five-year would earn 8.6 per cent interest compared with 9.3 per cent.
“On the basis of the decisions of the government, interest rates for small savings schemes are to be notified on quarterly basis,” the order said announcing the rates for the first quarter of fiscal 2016-17.
Post Office term deposits of one, two and three years command an interest rate of 8.4 per cent but from April 1, a 1-year Time Deposit will get 7.1 per cent, 2-year Time Deposit will earn 7.2 per cent and 3-Year Time Deposit will attract interest of 7.4 per cent.
Five-year Time Deposit will fetch 7.9 per cent interest in the first quarter as against 8.5 per cent, while the same on five-year recurring deposit has been slashed to 7.4 per cent from 8.4 per cent.
The government had on February 16 announced moving small saving interest rates closer to market rates. On that day, rates on short-term post office deposits was cut by 0.25 per cent but long-term instruments such as MIS, PPF, senior citizen and girl child schemes were left untouched. – PTI
Martyrs’ families decline HPCA relief offer
Martyr Sanjeevan Rana’s wife and daughter break down in Dharamsala on Tuesday. Photo: Kamaljeet
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, February 16
“Don’t insult us,” said the families of martyrs Jagdish Chand and Sanjeevan Rana, who attainted martyrdom in the terror attack on Pathankot airbase while reacting to the recent proposal of the HPCA spokesperson Sanjay Sharma.
The HPCA spokesperson, in press conference on Sunday, had said that the HPCA would consider donating the income generated from the T20 World Cup India-Pakistan match scheduled at Dharamsala on March 19, to the families of the martyrs. He had said that the matter would be discussed in the meeting of the HPCA governing council.
The families of the martyrs visited the war memorial at Dharamsala today and declined the proposal of the HPCA. “We won’t accept anything from the India-Pakistan match as it would be an insult to the soldiers who had laid down their lives fighting a proxy war against Pakistan. Whatever the Indian and the state government had given to us was enough” said Pinki Rana, wife of martyr Sanjeevan Rana.
Shivani Rana, daughter of Sanjeevan Rana, said, “We shall support anyone who sits on fast during the India-Pakistan match at Dharamsala on March 19. We are not being misguided by anyone. It has been just a month since my father and many bravehearts of the Indian Army laid down their lives at Pathankot fighting terrorists. In such a scenario we cannot tolerate the Pakistan national flag flying high at Dharamsala that is just like home for us. We oppose the India-Pakistan cricket matches not only at Dharamsala but also anywhere else in the country”, she said.
Rajat Naryal, son of martyr Jagdish Chand who was also awarded Kirti Chakra, the second highest peace time gallantry award, said the India-Pakistan bilateral dialogue was suspended after the attack on Pathankot airbase. India has asked the Pakistan government to apprehend the culprits who perpetrated the attack. Why the cricket match between both the countries was so important? he asked.
Shivani Rana also said that BJP MP from Hamirpur Anurag Thakur has not found time to visit the families of martyrs. However, he was defending the cricket match at Dharamsala not caring about the aggrieved families of martyrs.
Following a campaign led by deputy advocate general of Himachal Vinay Sharma against the India-Pakistan match, the HPCA had accused Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh of abetting the kin of martyrs for protests.
Paris is beginning to acknowledge the possibility that India might not buy the Rafale fighter because of sharp differences over the price, and New Delhi’s insistence on enforceable guarantees regarding the fighter’s delivery, performance and availability.
A senior French official with a close view of the on-going negotiations between New Delhi and Paris for 36 Rafale fighters told Business Standard on condition of anonymity: “If some people in the MoD do not want to allow the Rafale deal to go through, so be it. We are currently building it for Egypt and Qatar, and we could have another customer in Malaysia.”
Underlining the irritation at repeated US offers to set up an assembly line in India to build the American F-16 Super Viper, the French official taunted: “If you don’t want the Rafale, go ahead and build the F-16 here. You can build it in India and supply it to Pakistan also.”
He was referring to Washington’s announcement last month of the sale to Pakistan of eight advanced Block 50/52 F-16 fighters for $699 million. Simultaneously, a senior Lockheed Martin official had publicly offered to “move our [F-16] production line from the US to India.”
Reminded that France too was supplying submarines to both India and Pakistan (DCNS is building six Scorpenes submarines with Mazagon Dock, after earlier selling Pakistan three advanced Agosta-90B submarines with air independent propulsion), he retorted, “That is different. Pakistan is getting a different submarine from what we are providing to India.”
The official dismissed the notion that an Indian order was critical for Dassault to break even in the Rafale project, in which tens of billion Euros have been spent on developing the fighter and establishing a production line. The official claimed, “The Rafale project is commercially viable based on the numbers that the French military requires, even if there is not a single export order.”
In fact, defence budget cuts have forced the French military to slash Rafale orders from over 300 originally planned to just 180 ordered so far. That is a small order, given that the Eurofighter Typhoon has over 700 aircraft on order; while more than 4,500 F-16s have been built over the years.
On New Delhi’s demands for sovereign guarantees from the French government, or a bank guarantee from Dassault, to cover the possibility of delivery or performance shortfalls in the Rafale, the official declared that the two countries would soon sign an inter-governmental agreement (IGA), which would function as a sovereign guarantee.
“The government of France is standing behind the sale. Surely India is not asking for a bank guarantee when it has the word of the French government?” asked the official.
When it was pointed out that the IGA would only outline a supply agreement in broad terms, without detailed binding clauses and penalties, the official responded that the IGA was a strategic agreement between Paris and New Delhi, and that “a phrase here or a sentence there would make no difference.”
“In 1917, when the United States abandoned its isolationism and sent a division of troops to France to fight in World War I, it was not because there was some document with a clause that required them to fight. It was because of a common strategic aim. New Delhi and Paris must have a common strategic aim on the Rafale.”
French officials argue that, if Dassault is required to provide a bank guarantee against possible shortfalls in delivery and performance, India should cover that cost, which is normally 3-4 per cent of the guarantee amount.
Meanwhile, the Cost Negotiation Committee on the Rafale has made little headway in bridging the gap between the French demand and Indian counter-offer, which are believed to be around Euro 12 billion and Euro 9 billion respectively. Issues of liability are further complicating the likelihood of a deal soon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while visiting Paris last April, had requested for 36 Rafales, after a breakdown in negotiations for a much larger order for 126 Rafales. The Indian Air Force had chosen the Rafale on January 31, 2012, after an exhaustive evaluation of six fighter aircraft.
THE MINISTRY DEFENDED ITS DECISION AT THE TRIBUNAL, SAYING THE OFFICER WAS “GRANTED STUDY LEAVE FOR PURSUING A PHD PROGRAMME IN WHICH HE HAS MISERABLY FAILED”
NEW DELHI: Bureaucrats who go on study leave for a doctoral degree but fail to get the degree cannot be forced to refund the salary paid to them during the duration of the research, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has ruled.
“It is well known that in case of a PhD programme, the student is not required to pass any examination,” the tribunal remarked as it struck down as “illegal” an order of the ministry of statistics and programme implementation seeking refund of salary paid to a senior bureaucrat who could not secure a PhD degree.
“In the instant case, the applicant admittedly has not secured PhD degree but at the same time, he definitely completed the course as certified by his research guide. No examination was required to pass in a PhD programme,” the principal bench of CAT at Delhi noted.
The verdict came on the plea of a 56-year-old senior administrative group (SAG) officer, Tushar Ranjan Mohanty, who had, in December 2000, applied for study leave to pursue a PhD programme in economics from a university in Bhubaneswar.
The ministry sanctioned him study leave of 24 months as per the terms of the Central Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, after the officer signed a bond under which he was obliged to pay to the government a sum of ` 6 lakh in case he failed to complete the course of study.
After availing the study leave, the officer returned to service but failed to secure a PhD degree.
Meanwhile, after a gap of over 10 years, the ministry in September 2014 ordered him to refund the actual amount of leave salary, study allowances, cos toffees, travelling and other expenses, if any, incurred by the government.
The ministry defended its decision at the tribunal, saying the officer was “granted study leave for pursuing a PhD programme in which he has miserably failed”.
The tribunal, however, noted that the research guide, while writing the annual confidential report (ACR) of the officer for the study period, has not commented adversely upon the work.
“The research guide, on the contrary, has certified that the applicant has duly completed the study course,” it said.
“He has also not contravened the terms of the bond executed by him in connection with the study leave,” it added. Interestingly, the tribunal upheld a decision of the ministry refusing the officer’s second bid to earn a PhD degree from another university.
It said the ministry was “well within their rights in rejecting the request” given the officer’s dismal track record.
To commemorate the contributions of Indian soldiers in 1971 liberation war, the Bangladesh government will organise programmes in eight different places in India to honour them.
“We are grateful to the Indian soldiers who fought for liberation of our country and sacrificed their lives. Our government has decided to organise functions in eight places in India to honour them,” Bangladesh Minister for ‘Liberation war’ AKM Mozammel Haque told reporters here today.
“We have intimated our decision to the Indian government and finalise the programmes in consultation with the appropriate authority,” he said.
An eight-member delegation from Bangladesh, led by Haque, today visited a park here constructed by Tripura government to mark the liberation war.
Chottakhola is a village near the Indo-Bangla border in South Tripura district, about 130 km from Agartala. The guerrillas of the liberation war established a camp in 1971 to launch a bush war against the Pakistan army.
“We are also grateful to the government of Tripura for constructing a park and museum in memory of the war,” he said.
Tripura was the war headquarters of the Bangladesh liberation war. The state had accommodated 14 lakh refugees from the war, which was more than its own population at that time
A file photo of a US F-16. —PTI
Washington/New Delhi, February 13
The US has decided to sell eight F-16 combat jets to Pakistan to “support (its) counter-terrorism and counterinsurgency operations”, prompting India to summon American ambassador Richard Verma to lodge its strong protest against the move.
Verma was summoned after India reacted strongly to the US decision taken on Friday.
“We are disappointed at the decision of the (Barack) Obama administration to notify the sale of F-16 aircraft to Pakistan,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement in New Delhi.
“We disagree with their rationale that such arms transfers help to combat terrorism. The record of the last many years in this regard speaks for itself,” it added.
The Obama administration on Friday approved the sale of eight F-16 Block-52 aircraft to Pakistan worth $699 million in the face of US lawmakers’ opposition to the deal over Islamabad’s alleged support for terrorist groups The US State Department has approved the sale, the Pentagon’s Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said as it notified US Congress of the possible sale.
“We support the proposed sale of eight F-16s to Pakistan, which we view as the right platform in support of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism and counterinsurgency operations,” a US government officialcited by DefenseNews said.
“These operations reduce the ability of militants to use Pakistani territory as a safe haven for terrorism and a base of support for the insurgency in Afghanistan, which is in the national interests of both Pakistan and the US, and in the interest of the region more broadly.”
The official, DefenseNews said, confirmed that there had been Congressional objections to the sale, but said that contrary to recent “erroneous reports”, “concerns were raised in regard to financing the sale, not the transfer itself.”
According to the DSCA’s statement, the proposed sale will “facilitate operations in all-weather, non-daylight environments, provide a self-defence/area suppression capability, and enhance Pakistan’s ability to conduct counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.”
According to the DSCA, Pakistan is not expected to have difficulty absorbing these additional aircraft into its air force. The sale is also meant to increase the number of aircraft available to the Pakistan Air Force to sustain operations, meet monthly training requirements and support transition training for pilots new to the Block-52.
The pending sale to Pakistan includes: eight F-16 Block-52 aircraft – two C and six D and models with the F100-PW-229 increased performance engine; 14 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems; eight AN/APG-68(V)9 radars; and eight ALQ-211(V)9 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suit.
The approval of the sale came days after Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker wrote a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry objecting to subsidised sale of up to eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.
Citing Islamabad’s relationship with the Haqqani network, an extremist group that has a history of destabilising Afghanistan, Corker in a February 9 letter to Kerry notified the Obama administration of his intention to block the F-16 deal.
“After years of pressuring the Pakistanis on this point, the Haqqani terrorists still enjoy freedom of movement, and possibly even support from the Pakistani government,” he wrote.
“This is highly problematic given the Haqqanis’ clear involvement in killing the very Afghan army and police we have worked for years to train,” Corker added.
“China is a strong supporter of the right to self-determination. The assertions of Omar Abdullah on the presence of the Chinese army in Azad Kashmir are half-truths, immature and meaningless.” Hurriyat Conference (Geelani faction)
Samaan Lateef
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, March 14
Hardline separatist faction Hurriyat Conference, led by Syed Ali Geelani, today confirmed the presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) saying that troops were there as part of the Sino-Pak trade agreement.“Unlike India, China has not attacked and forcibly occupied the Pakistan-administered Kashmir but the presence of the Chinese army in Pakistan-administered Kashmir is under a mutual agreement between Pakistan and China,” said Hurriyat spokesperson Ayaz Akbar.Maintaining a pro-Pakistan line, the Hurriyat spokesperson said the presence of Chinese troops in PoK was part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) process and “pro-freedom people have no reason to oppose this move”.Castigating former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for questioning the presence of Chinese troops in PoK, the Hurriyat said, “China is a strong supporter of the right to self-determination. The assertions of Omar Abdullah on the presence of the Chinese army in Azad Kashmir are half-truths, immature and meaningless.”After media reported that Chinese troops were spotted at forward posts along the Line of Control on the Pakistani side of Kashmir, Omar on Sunday hit out at separatist groups for maintaining silence.“How is it that Kashmiri leaders who have so much to say about Indian troops in J&K have nothing to say about Chinese troops across the LoC?” Omar had tweeted.
“Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) trains Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists,” said Musharraf.
“Pakistan army is not training civilians. Intelligence organisation on our side as well as on your side is involved,” he said in an interview to India Today TV.
When asked if he sees any progress in the Indo-Pak peace process, Musharraf said, “Everything will stop if you address the core issue. The unfortunate terrorists acts and the militancy will continue unless we address the core issue. That is what you don’t want to do,” he said.
“Kashmir continues to arouse sentiments in Pakistan,” the 72-year-old former president said as he defended terrorist activities in India.
“Anyone who is fighting in Kashmir is a freedom fighter,” he said.
“I don’t think we will move forward on the core issue.
You don’t want. You want to bulldoze us, you want to bully us and you want to dominate us. You only want to talk about issues concern you like terrorism, Mumbai and Pathankot. So I don’t feel, core issues are moving forward,” he said when asked to comment on Foreign Secretary-level talks that were postponed after Pathankot attack.
Speaking on Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley, who is currently deposing before a Mumbai court in connection with the 26/11 attack case, Musharraf said, “I don’t believe anything that Headley had said… Pakistan intelligence should interrogate Headley.”
When asked about JeM chief Mesood Azhar, who was involved in two attacks against Musharraf himself, the former military general said, “Anyone who is doing any other act in Pakistan like, I know that he attacks me, is a terrorist certainly.
Therefore I call him a terrorist.”
“LeT and Hafiz Saeed are not involved in terror activities in Pakistan,” he said.
He said India derailed peace process every time and wants to discuss only terrorism.
“You create hysteria in your country against Pakistan.
Whenever we try to speak ….You want to bulldoze us to whatever is your point of view.
He also accused India’s intelligence agency RAW for carrying out attacks in Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Indian Army has deployed various modern technological equipments for surveillance in strategically very significant Siachen Glacier, located at a height of 18,875 feet from sea level in Ladakh.
Officials told the media in Jammu that Indian Army had been using various modern technological equipments for surveillance in Siachen Glacier including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, different types of radars, etc.
Pointing out that these modern and latest technological equipments were well sophisticated and capable of keeping a strict surveillance on the neighbour, the officials said some more latest designed weaponry and equipments, which are specially meant for use in the Icy Heights, were also in the pipeline for the troops, which have been manning the Glacier in extreme adverse weather conditions.
