New Delhi, July 17

Police suspect that a female flight attendant, who allegedly committed suicide in south Delhi’s Panchsheel Park, was upset with her husband as she had recently discovered that he was a divorcee, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.The senior officer, who was privy to the probe, said Anissia Batra (39), who worked with a German airline, came to know a month ago that Mayank Singhvi was a divorcee.They had got married on February 23, 2016 and it was a love marriage.“He had not told her about his first marriage. After she found out about his earlier relationship, she was quite hurt. It is suspected that they must have had arguments over it,” said the officer.Batra had allegedly jumped from the terrace of her house on Friday. Her family alleged that Singhvi used to physically abuse her and they also accused his parents of harassing her for dowry.Singhvi was arrested yesterday and was today produced in a city court that sent him to judicial custody for 14 days.“We will apply for his custody after recording the statements of witnesses,” the official added.A family friend of the victim said the police informed them about Singhvi’s court hearing half an hour before her cremation.“The cremation was planned for 12 pm today. The police were aware about it. We were told that the hearing would take place at 2 pm but at 11:30 am we were informed that the hearing was re-scheduled for 12 pm. This is unacceptable and inhuman on the part of police,” said the friend who did not wish to be named.  She claimed that Batra’s brother did not even get a chance to say goodbye to her.The police said that it was the duty of the investigating officer to inform the complainant’s family about the hearing.           Her family also accused the police of not arresting Singhvi’s parents, despite them also being “responsible” for her death.“Singhvi’s family have used influence. We need media support. His parents should also be arrested because they have constantly instigated fights between them,” she alleged.Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Romil Baaniya said Singhvi’s parents had been granted exemption from joining the probe by the court till July 20 on personal grounds. They would be questioned after that, he said. The officer said the victim’s parents told the magistrate that Batra was harassed for dowry and they would be speaking to her parents.Baaniya also said they would try to ascertain the reason for the argument between the couple, following which Batra had allegedly jumped from the terrace.The victim had sent a message to her husband that “he would see her dead face” before taking the extreme step, police said. Batra’s family alleged that her husband used to “physically assault” her and also ask for money. Another issue the couple had a fight about was Batra selling off her flat in Vasant Vihar, he said.The officer said Singhvi, a software engineer in Gurgaon, used to earn Rs four crore per year and gifted luxurious items to Batra. He had even gifted her a BWW on her birthday. The BMW was seized by the police.Batra’s family claimed that Singhvi had started “physically abusing” her right from their honeymoon and in June this year, he had even assaulted her mother. — PTI

Sitharaman said that India’s defence relation with Russia has endured several decades and this has been conveyed to a US Congressional delegation which visited India recently.

New Delhi: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the S-400 missile deal with Russia will go ahead despite the threat of United States imposing economic sanctions on any country with military ties to Moscow.

Speaking to reporters at South Block, Sitharaman said that “negotiations are in final stages with Russia for the S-400 missile”.

e S-400 missile”.

Referring to CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act), under which the Trump administration has imposed sanctions on military deals with Russia, she said it is an American law and not a UN law and India has conveyed its position on the issue to the US.
On being asked if she means that the law does not apply to India, Sitharaman said “off course, it does not”.Our defence relation with Russia has endured several decades and we have conveyed about it to a US Congressional delegation which visited India recently,” Sitharaman told a group of reporters at her office in South Block.

The defence minister had last month too vowed to go ahead with the deal. The two sides were expected to discuss the matter at the 2+2 dialogue scheduled in Washington, but it was postponed by the US without giving any reason. This was the second such delay. The talks are now expected to be held in September.

The defence minister said it may take two-and-a-half to four years to implement the S-400 missile deal after it is signed.

There has been mounting concerns in India over the US sanctions against Russian defence majors including Rosoboronexport as billions of dollars of military purchases may be impacted because of the punitive measure.

The US had announced sanctions against Russia under the stringent law for its alleged meddling in the American presidential election in 2016.

CAATSA mandates the Donald Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence establishment of Russia.

India wants to procure the long-range missile systems to tighten its air defence mechanism, particularly along the nearly 4,000-km-long Sino-India border.

In 2016, India and Russia had signed an agreement on the ‘Triumf’ interceptor-based missile system which can destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. S-400 is known as Russia’s most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.

China was the first foreign buyer to seal a government-to-government deal with Russia in 2014 to procure the lethal missile system and Moscow has already started delivery of unknown number of the S-400 missile systems to Beijing.

The S-400 is an upgraded version of the S-300 systems. The missile system, manufactured by Almaz-Antey, has been in service in Russia since 2007

The 7-8 per cent jump in President Barack Obama’s approval ratings following the ‘taking out’ of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan by the elite Naval SEAL’s, lasted exactly two weeks. Even though the most wanted perpetrator of 9/11 was nailed, it was the looming concerns around the US economy that sucked up all the political oxygen and public concerns in the immediate aftermath. In the following year 2012, the re-pitch for President Barack Obama’s campaign was encapsulated by the slogan ‘Forward’. The successful campaign focused around the considered responses to the Great Depression, future of social-insurance, affordable care act etc; however, no political usurpation of the successful military action against the number one terrorist in the world was substantially made for electoral gratification. In popular culture, it was ‘SEAL Team Six’ that assumed mythic folklore as the heroes of the Osama Bin Laden raid, and contrary to some demands for the release of the Abbottabad raid footage, no release or information was put-out in conformity to the security and military codes, rectitude and sobriety. In mature democracies, matters pertaining to military deployments, actions or any form of political appropriation of the ‘soldier’ are shunned in order to uphold the bipartisan and strictly apolitical nature of the institution.In India, the overt use of the ‘Indian Soldier’ as a political prop has assumed grave proportions. The insidious insertion of muscular-nationalism by contextualising all related and unrelated political events to the ‘Indian Soldier’, is willy-nilly forcing a political colour onto the military uniforms. Veterans as ‘newsroom warriors’ on primetime TV, going beyond military analysis and instead, bolstering wholly political positions, albeit, in their unmistakable regimental regalia is rife. This brazen ‘covering fire’ by veterans is a marked change from the restraint, dignity, and prudence of earlier veterans-turned-politicians like Jaswant Singh or Rajesh Pilot, who certainly espoused the institutional concerns, but only after ‘hanging their uniforms’ and avoiding any political usurpation of the soldier’s imagery.

Today, immediately following the imposition of the Governor’s rule in J&K, news filtered in that the National Security Guards would now be deployed in J&K. This supported the political narrative of the ‘free-hand’ that was now ostensibly available to the armed forces, as if the state government earlier had a say in not deploying the National Security Guards or that the operational services of such – like Special Forces was not taken earlier. Much like the popular prefixing of the term ‘first ever’ to the surgical strikes that took place in September 2016, which suggested incorrectly, a hitherto unprecedented military tactic. Even the timing of the latest release of the eight-minute video footage pertaining to the military operations across the LOC by the Special Forces in destroying the targets on the Pakistani side is deliberate and disingenuous in its larger political import. The footage that is reportedly shot from drones and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) using thermal imaging cameras could not have been released without due approvals and deliberations, the intent of which is questionable by public mainstreaming of the same, now. Also, the fact that the footage released pertains to the surgical strike in Pakistan and not to the earlier surgical strike in Myanmar, which was conducted on a larger scale, is also pertinent in terms of the emotional-political mileage that is emanated by targeting Pakistan, as opposed to militant camps in Myanmar. The subtle and surreptitious milking of military matters for generating political currency is systematically underway. This relatively new project of tying bullets and ballots comes with the hazards of unfamiliar territory, as the political speeches invoking the gallant soldiers and the ‘sons of the soil’ are often mired in embarrassing inaccuracies and outright falsehoods, like in the Karnataka polls.

2014 was the turning point year in the focused targeting of the veteran community with the ruling dispensation’s manifesto capturing specifics like, “There have been intrusions inside the LAC (Line of Actual Control), loss of squadrons of combat aircraft by the Air Force, witnessing of a series of accidents by the Navy, leading to a loss in its combating capability….” The winds of societal polarisation seeped into the largely apolitical minds and the closed cantonments of the Armed Forces before these were subliminally, politically and then literally opened-up to civilian-political intrusion. With the 17th General Elections looming on the horizon, the essential nature of the imperatives governing the men, machines, materials, and morale of the Armed Forces remains unchanged with the retrogression in its warrant of precedence’s, unabated. Yet, the tactical power of symbolic-courting of the ‘soldier’ and spin-doctoring of uber-muscularity of policies, has both the civilian and a large part of the veteran community in throes of political affiliations and proselytising zeal. Similarly, President Donald Trump’s sudden proposal to have a Bastille Day-like military parade in Washington, for no specific reason, will divide public opinions on rationality and emotionality, thereby, only helping Trump’s polarising politics. The informal salesmanship of Trump militates against the professional ethics that insists on bipartisan integrity e.g. while commissioning aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, Trump alluded to his budget concerns by stating, “I don’t mind getting a little hand, so call that Congressman and call that Senator and make sure you get it” and added, “And by the way, you can also call those Senators to make sure you get health care!” 2019 Indian General Elections must spare the ‘Indian Soldier’ from political invocation, narration, and arrogation as an exclusive preserve of any political party. The standing Armed Forces have more than their fair share of operational commitments that can afford no non-professional distractions. There are enough pending issues, investments and promises to keep to the ‘Indian Soldier’ before any political party can rightfully claim to have done anything, substantially more than the ‘other’. The last bastion of sovereign hope, Constitutional correctness, and apolitical sincerity need not be forced into a divisive choice institutionally, though individually, and without the accoutrements, insinuations and spokespersonship for the entirety of the Armed Forces, the soldier should be concerned and involved in making a conscious choice. Lt General Bhopinder Singh (Retd) is a former Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands & Puducherry. The views expressed are strictly personal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on the ball — there cannot be a common GST rate for milk and Mercedes in India where the gulf between the rich and the poor is wide and there are huge income disparities. But all essential goods and services that are consumed by the poor can be easily exempted from GST. For example, all unbranded consumables essential for the living, including milk, should be kept in the zero duty slab. However, branded items, including milk packed in cans and cartons, should attract a higher tax rate. In a poverty-ridden country like India, Mercedes is rightly perceived in the category of sin goods and should fall in the highest tax bracket. Taking into account the socio-economic inequality, there cannot be one tax rate in the country. But, this does not justify multiple tax rates that have made the GST structure complex and convoluted.   Besides standard tax slabs — 0, 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent — there is an array of tax rates such as special rates for gold (3 per cent), precious stones (0.25 per cent), yacht and aircraft for personal use (3 per cent), cess and so on. After one year of implementation of the GST, the government must try to minimise the tax slabs without “fear and favour” to certain industrialists or industries. For example, items in the 12 per cent and 18 per cent can be easily merged into one slab of 15 per cent without sacrificing any revenue. Similarly, special rates could be assimilated in the main slabs by trimming the lowest rate of 5 per cent by a hundred basis point. Addition of valuable items in the slab will not only raise revenue, but also provide relief to the consumer who is currently paying 5 per cent duty on items like insulin and khakra. Thus, the principle of reasonableness, without pride, prejudice and politics, can easily resolve the problem of tax multiplicity from a reform that was initiated to simplify the complex indirect tax regime.  Admiringly, Arun Jaitley has given hints that tax slabs could be rationalised with the improvement of GST collections. But, it should be the other way around. Tax collection will increase by minimising rates, simplifying procedures and making compliance easier.

Inviting applications for lateral induction may be an effort to improve governance, but it also speaks volumes about the tension between the political masters and the bureaucracy

Ayesha Siddiqa

The Government of India recently invited applications to recruit talented people as lateral entrants at the level of joint secretaries. As per the announcement, the search is for 10 outstanding individuals with expertise in revenue, financial services, economic affairs, agriculture, cooperation and farmers’ welfare, road transport and highways, shipping, environment, forest and climate change, new and renewable energy, civil aviation and commerce. Once selected, these people will be hired on contract for a period of three to five years.While this may be seen as an effort to improve the government machinery, this speaks volumes about the tension between the political masters and the bureaucracy. The system of lateral entry into the service is likely to increase sourness of the relations and may have negative implications for the bureaucracy.  This is indeed a system that is used in Pakistan. There are two methods for lateral inductions in Pakistan. The first method is more structural as there is almost a 10 per cent quota for military personnel to get inducted into certain branches of the civil service, such as administrative services and the police. According to this method, the select number of armed forces officers bypasses the civil service examination by only appearing for the interview. A second method is inducting military personnel or politically favoured civilians into the foreign service at ambassadorial positions. The lesson is that while semi-lateral entry at the juniormost level tends to create less problems as the system of joint training tends to develop a sense of camaraderie, the senior-level inductions are extremely problematic. Bureaucrats already serving in the system tend to feel sidelined, thus, discouraged to work or improve their performance. Notwithstanding the lack of independence of Pakistan’s Foreign Office from the politically powerful army, the lateral entries at senior levels add tremendously to hurting the organizational ethos.Unlike Pakistan’s bureaucracy that was systematically weakened by both military and civil governments alike, the Indian bureaucracy grew as a force to reckon with. Indeed, the civil service was the backbone on which the political class depended, resulting in India earning the title of a civil-authoritarian state. Masters of state’s rules and regulation, the bureaucrats have stuck to their power, a situation that a strong political government seems to want to change. The signal that is sent through this advertisement is that the government is willing to bring in new people to shake the system. The South Asian bureaucracy trained in colonial traditions is indeed not a friend of people. It tends to generate power by complicating matters. However, what is required is a broader structural analysis of the system and its overall re-engineering rather than such temporary changes that are ridden with problem. For instance, it is incomprehensible how a joint secretary would navigate the old guard in a period of three to five years. The time it would take even the most talented person to learn the tricks, the contract would be over. The permanent corps feeling insecure would also tend to create problems for these joint secretaries. Moreover, there would be a temptation for politicians to manipulate lateral entrants,  adding to existing ailments of bureaucracy. If there is one thing that India could learn from Pakistan is how politicisation of bureaucracy, especially in the administrative services, revenue services and police weakens the state rather than strengthening it. The bureaucracy is the backbone of a state that needs to be handled carefully. The strengthening of regulatory frameworks and increasing level of accountability and transparency need to be considered. The colonial bureaucracy had well-trained men who were dedicated to protect interest of the British Crown. The culture has continued which needs to be changed. The process requires the vision of a genius that may be lacking in the Subcontinent at this juncture. The writer is author of Military Inc and research associate SOAS South Asia Institute

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, June 28

The people of the Pangi region in Chamba district are facing the problem of poor mobility between Keylong in the tribal district of Lahaul Spiti and Killar in Chamba district because of poor road condition. The road is narrow and bumpy due to which Himachal Road Transport Corporation is finding it tough to run its new model buses (star buses) on the route. The star buses are bigger in size as compared to the old buses.Regional Manager of the HRTC at Keylong Mangal Chand Manepa said a trial of 37-seater star bus was conducted on this route. During the trial the roof of the bus got stuck with rock cliffs at several places.Talking to The Tribune, Manepa said, “During the trial of a star bus on this route it was found that the road was not suitable for its plying. At several places the rooftop of the bus got stuck with cliffs on the roadside, which may pose a threat to the commuters for safe traveling. However, when we removed the carrier of the bus the trial was smooth.”“The old model buses are not in good condition but we have adequate number of new model star buses. To facilitate the people of Pangi region with better transportation facility we have urged the Border Roads Organization to widen this road”, he said.A large number of tourists and people from Lahaul and Pangi region use this 140-km-long road for travelling in summer season either to visit Lahaul or Chamba or vice versa.But bad condition of this road makes the journey tedious and risky.The Regional Manager stated that the HRTC wanted to run the 47-seater star bus service on this route to cope up with the rush of passengers provided the BRO develops the road for smooth travel. BRO Commander Colonel AK Awasthi was not available for the comment.Bus trial on the routeRegional Manager of the HRTC at Keylong Mangal Chand Manepa said a trial of 37-seater star bus was conducted on this route. During the trial the roof of the bus got stuck with rock cliffs at several places.

A member of the IAF, on Guard of Honour duty, faints during the ceremonial reception of Seychelles President Danny Antoine Rollen Faure at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on Monday, June 25, 2018. PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with an IAF soldier who fainted while presenting the guard of honour to visiting Seychelles President Danny Antoine Rollen Faure during his ceremonial reception, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday, June 25, 2018.  PTI

New Delhi, June 25

The summer heat took its toll on an IAF personnel who collapsed during the guard of honour ceremony organised at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for visiting Seychelles President Danny Faure.Faure, who is on his first bilateral visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Modi on Monday morning.After the ceremony ended and the dignitary had left, Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked up to the airman and enquired about his health.Modi asked him to be careful about his health.After spending a few minutes with him, Modi left for his official residence, sources in the Prime Minister’s Office said.The airman had fainted when the guard of honour was being presented to the visiting dignitary. He was attended by his colleagues and others present there. – PTI

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 20

Governor NN Vohra reviewed a wide range of security management issues relating to the state with senior civil, police, Army and Central intelligence agency officers in a meeting held at Raj Bhawan here on Wednesday.The meeting also reviewed important security issues related to the annual Amarnath yatra which is scheduled to commence on June 28, and identified certain issues to be dealt with on an urgent basis.Referring to a recent incident, the Governor stressed the need for prompt action being taken to ensure the safety and security of people at large by making full use of all available technologies.While reiterating the importance of maintaining constant surveillance of the ground situation, the Governor directed that immediate action must be taken on reports received from any quarters regarding any problem arising from security management. He directed the Chief Secretary to closely monitor and ensure prompt redressal of all difficulties and grievances relating to the felt needs of people and, besides, see that there was no delay in the implementation of welfare measures and developmental works on the ground.The Governor stressed the need of a cohesive action being taken to enforce constant vigil on the International Border and Line of Control, effectively maintaining internal security and ensuring the safety of protected persons, sensitive establishments and installations. In this context, he asked representatives of all the security forces and agencies to identify all existing gaps and ensure coordinated action on the ground for providing prompt and strong counter terror responses on all fronts.The meeting was attended by Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, Northern Command chief; BB Vyas, Chief Secretary; SP Vaid, Director General of Police; Umang Narula, Principal Secretary to the Governor; RK Goyal, Home Secretary; Muneer Ahmad Khan, ADGP, Home Guards and Security; and senior officers of the Central intelligence agencies.Resolve grievances of people: Vohra  The Governor directed the Chief Secretary to closely monitor and ensure prompt redressal of all difficulties and grievances relating to the felt needs of people and, besides, see that there was no delay in the implementation of welfare measures and developmental works on the ground. The Governor stressed the need of a cohesive action being taken to enforce constant vigil on the International Border and Line of Control, effectively maintaining internal security and ensuring the safety of protected persons, sensitive establishments and installations.

Yatra security reviewed

The meeting also reviewed important security issues related to the annual Amarnath yatra which is scheduled to commence on June 28, and identified certain issues to be dealt with on an urgent basis. The Governor stressed the need  to ensure the safety and security of people.