Chandigarh, November 23

The Grand Lodge of India (GLI), a fraternal association of eminent persons from all walks of life, will honour personnel of the armed forces and paramilitary forces who have laid down their lives recently while defending the country’s borders by giving five residential flats free of cost to the widows of martyrs.Widows of Army and paramilitary staff who have been killed in action undertaken after the September 2016 terrorist attack in Uri and those who have children would be eligible for getting the flat.The GLI has earmarked Rs 1.5 crore for the project from funds raised through donations from its members and other donors all over the country. The flats will be constructed in association with the President’s Gallantry Awardees Association of India.Association president SK Madan said the first such flat, a ready-to-move two-bedroom unit, is being given to the family of Havildar Satnam Singh of the Sikh Regiment, who was killed in Pakistan firing on the Line of Control earlier this month.Other recipients for the flats, which would be at a location of the beneficiaries’ choosing and preferably close to a military station, are being shortlisted. The flats would be registered jointly in the name of the widow and children and would be non-transferable till the youngest child attains the age of 21. — TNS

An Indian Navy sailor walks down the gangway of the destroyer INS Chennai in Mumbai on November 21. AFP photo

Mumbai, November 21

Marking the completion of the crucial Project 15A of the Indian Navy, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar commissioned the newest indigenously-built destroyer INS Chennai into the force here on Monday.“This is a historic day for the Indian Navy,” Parrikar said, lauding the indigenously designed and constructed, Kolkata-class guided missile destroyer built by Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai.Present on the occasion was Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba, as also top officers of Western Naval Command and other dignitaries.While INS Kolkata was the first ship in this class commissioned on August 16, 2014, the second, INS Kochi, was commissioned on September 30, 2015.After the commissioning, INS Chennai will be under the operational and administrative control of Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command.The INS Chennai will undergo certain additional sea trials of the ship-borne systems before she will be assigned to the Western Fleet and based in Mumbai. IANS

THE brightly-lit earthern Diwali lamps cast merry shadows as I walked my 90-year-old grandfather to the porch. The light glimmered in his eyes as his face lighted up on seeing his grandchildren together, after a long time.Holding his frail hand, I asked him to get well soon and promised to visit again the next day, knowing little that it was the last time I was seeing those kind eyes, for in a few hours, he would leave for his heavenly abode.A retired Colonel, he had spent his early days in the dusty lanes of a village in Amritsar. Born in a rural household, his future had already been decided by society, which was to lead a life in the company of cattle and fields. But he had changed the course of destiny by sheer hardwork and grit. From getting a degree in graduation to getting enrolled, and then going on to retire as a Colonel, he had travelled a long and tumultous way. He had led the way and his four sons had followed in his footsteps.Nehru’s Discovery of India had been his constant companion, read often and Glimpses of World History had been registered in his memory so well that he knew the book by heart. He had often narrated anecdotes from his school days when he would sit on the floor in the biting cold of January solving maths problems while his teacher and other students slept nearby. At the age of 85, he had especially ordered The History of Sikhs by Khushwant Singh and spent months pouring over the pages with a pen, marking the couplets and lines he liked best.My grandfather’s love of reading skipped a generation and has passed down to me, increased manifold in intensity.Far ahead of his times, for him, his granddaughters had always come first. His sons may be orthodox, but not him. He had changed with the changing times, all the while retaining his goodness of heart.In a state of deep pain a few days before his death, he had breathed through his barely audible words, blessing me and my brother and assuring others that we would do well in life. Such had been our grandfather’s love.

Selfless, encouraging, pure.

The man who had risen from nowhere to reach the pinnacles of success, thus shaping the future of all his generations to come. I remember him as a valiant soldier, a disciplinarian father and a doting great grandfather.

IG BSF DK Upadhyay and Nana Patekar pay tributes to soldiers

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 16

Exuding confidence that Centre’s demonetisation move would control flow of hawala money to the Kashmir valley, actor Nana Patekar today asked Kashmiri youth to shun the path of violence and join the mainstream for better future.Interacting with mediapersons at a BSF school here today, Patekar said, “It is high time for the youth of Kashmir to shun violence and join the mainstream of the country for their better future.”Praising the demonetisation move, he said the flow of illegal money in the country in general and the Valley in particular would be stopped with it. He said demonetisation would not only hit terrorism and unrest, but also put an end to fake currency in circulation.Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for it, he urged the common man to bear the inconvenience for some time. “As common people, we should tolerate the inconvenience for 10-15 days. It is only a small difficulty caused to us. The nation is facing a parallel economy of black money and fake currency,” he added.Patekar said, “The demonetisation has stopped those people who used to give Rs 500 notes for stone-throwing.”Calling the initiative a big blow to fake currency, being printed and sent by Pakistan to the country, the actor said, “We have now got rid of the fake money problem with it.”Earlier, Patekar paid homage at martyrs’ memorial in Jammu. The actor also met the parents and relatives of BSF constable Gurnam Singh who sacrificed his life on October 21 while defending the border against armed infiltrators in the Samba sector.Gurnam’s siblings want to join BSF     Jammu: The brother and sister of BSF jawan Gurnam Singh, who lost his life in a ceasefire violation by Pakistani snipers, want to join Indian defence services to serve the nation. The duo shared their wish with actor Nana Patekar when he met the family of the martyr. The 65-year-old actor met the parents and relatives of late BSF constable, who sacrificed his life while defending the border against armed infiltrators in the Samba sector along the International Border. “We wish to join the BSF to serve the nation and safeguard our border like my brother,” Gurnam’s sister Gurjeet Kaur told the actor during the interaction. Like his sister, Manjeet, the younger brother of Gurnam, also expressed his wish to join the BSF. “You are family of a braveheart. The nation salutes you. We are proud of you. He was the real hero,” Patekar said. The entire family of Gurnam, including his father Kulbeer Singh, mother Jaswant Kaur and grandfather, met the actor. Patekar also visited BSF Senior Secondary School, Paloura Camp, Jammu and met teachers and students. Thereafter, the actor met the BSF troops and their families deployed in Samba Sector. — PTI 

R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, November 15

The Supreme Court today endorsed the drive against black money, but asked the government to minimise the hardship being faced by the common man following the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.A Bench comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice DY Chandrachud asked the Centre to take immediate steps to control the collateral damage of the exercise.“You say it is a surgical strike against black money, terrorism and drug running, but the petitioners say it is carpet bombing” that affected all people holding cash, without discriminating if the money was white or otherwise, the Bench told Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi.The Bench made the remark while hearing four PILs on the problems the government’s sudden move had heaped on people. The petitioners are VK Sharma, Sangam Lal Pandey, S Muthukumar and Adil Alvi.Refusing to stay the drive, the Bench asked the government to file a status report on the steps being taken to help the general public before the next hearing on November 25. There was, however, no need for the government to dilute its focus on flushing out black money, it clarified.The Bench asked the government to consider the petitioners’ suggestions for helping people in need by letting them use the scrapped notes for essential goods, health services, travel and transport, marriages and other events and payment of fee to lawyers and bail amount.Arguing for one of the petitioners, senior counsel Kapil Sibal said “the government is responsible for the total chaos in the country” as it had taken the people by surprise instead of granting sufficient time. The AG, however, said such a drive could be successful only if it was done without notice.

Flip-flop on ATM limit

• New Delhi: The government has decided not to increase the ATM withdrawal limit to Rs 4,000 a day by this weekend as a majority of the ATMs are yet to be recalibrated for dispensing new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes. The ATM withdrawal limit from savings bank accounts will continue at Rs 2,500 a day for the time being. Cash withdrawal from current accounts, which have been in operation for at least three months, has also been restricted to Rs 50,000 in a week, a notification said. PTI

95% ATMs functional: SBI

• Mumbai: Country’s largest lender State Bank of India said around 95% of SBI Group’s ATMs are functional, with 140 machines re-calibrated to dispense new Rs 2,000 notes. The SBI Group has 55,000 ATMs and 7,000 cash deposit machines. PTI

No matter what the minister said, he was speaking in an official capacity and his comments can’t be taken lightly. This is part of a wider strategy to inject certain things into the public discourse that fits in with the belligerent, intolerant nationalism this government is pushing. ACHIN VANAIK, founder, Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar’s remarks about when and how nuclear weapons should be used came on the eve of a crucial meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Vienna that is expected to take up India’s application to join the elite club.

They also came at a time when India’s Prime Minister was preparing for a landmark civil nuclear agreement with Japan, whose sensitivities about atomic weapons are no secret.

The point of having a credible minimum nuclear deterrent and a nuclear doctrine that is largely out in public is that there is no need to talk about the nukes, or what India intends to do with them.

Parrikar, of course, tried to pass off his remarks as a personal opinion. “Why a lot of people say that India has (a) No First Use policy… I should say I am a responsible nuclear power and I will not use it irresponsibly… as an individual, I get a feeling sometime why do I say that I am not going to use it first,” he said on Thursday.

Experts, however, argued that the greater the ambiguity about a nuclear doctrine, the greater the deterrence. Some even contend that India erred by making public its draft nuclear doctrine in 1999, almost a year after the blasts in Pokhran, and by releasing parts of the doctrine on its adoption in 2003.

“The more ambiguity and opacity there is about a nuclear doctrine, the more it adds to deterrence,” Bharat Karnad, a national security expert at the Centre for Policy Research, told HT.

Karnad, who was part of India’s first National Security Advisory Board that put together the draft doctrine, said the members of the body were “aghast” when the government of the day decided to make the document public.

Achin Vanaik, one of the founders of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace, said it had become the norm for some Union ministers and chief ministers to make “outrageous” statements that were later rationalised.

“No matter what the defence minister said, he was speaking in an official capacity and his comments can’t be taken lightly,” Vanaik said. “This is part of a wider strategy to inject certain things into the public discourse that fits in with the belligerent, intolerant nationalism this government is pushing.”

Vanaik also questioned the nuclear stance of India and China, saying both weren’t “practising what they preach” about No First Use. He said, “No First Use implies these countries should have enough weapons only for a second strike but they’re both expanding their arsenals.”

Observers have contended that Parrikar’s remarks were an apparent retort to recent sabre-rattling by Pakistan, but Karnad argued that the neighbouring country did not even pose a “credible threat”.

Referring to a country’s capacity to absorb a nuclear strike, he said the “exchange ratio between destruction imposed and destruction absorbed” would be far greater for Pakistan.

The General Officer Commanding, Delta Force, offers floral tributes to Manjeet Singh at Dharmund. Tribune Photo

Our Correspondent

Batote, November 7

A soldier slipped to death while patrolling in the Chanderkot area of Ramban district on Sunday night.The slain soldier has been identified as Lance Naik Manjeet Singh of the 12 Rashtriya Rifles.According to sources, Manjeet Singh fell into a gorge after he slipped from the hill slope while patrolling at Kini Batti on Sunday night.His body was extricated on Sunday night and brought to Field Army Hospital in Batote. After a post mortem and legal formalities, his body was sent to his native Prem Nagar village in Doda today afternoon, the sources added.Besides various Army officers led by the General Officer Commanding of the Delta Force, Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Mohammed Aijaz, Senior Superintendent of Police, Ramban, Randeep Kumar, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mushtaq Choudhary, Commandant, 42 Battalion, Sashastra Seema Bal, Rajesh Ticku, Assistant Commandant, 84 Battalion, CRPF, Aditya Ruhela, tehsildar, Batote, Srinath Suman and naib tehsildar Saifullah Shah offered floral tributes to the soldier.In his condolence message, the General Officer Commanding, Delta Force, said the Army was proud of the brave soldier and assumed full responsibility for ensuring best possible lifelong care and concern for the bereaved family as per best traditions of the Army.

An administrative approval to relax norms is awaited. — File photo

New Delhi, November 7 A number of abnormalities or ailments which earlier rendered people unfit to gain entry into the Air Force or fly aircraft are soon set to go.With no scientific evidence to back notions like spinal deformities affect flying, the Air Force will soon modify its medical norms for pilots and new applicants declared unfit due to this reason.Also, with new medical technologies and better drugs available for treatment, several ailments like asthma, diabetes, coronary heart diseases and hypertension may also go off the list.The Medical Board of the Air Force has also removed 19 drugs like anti-diabetics off the list which were earlier considered as a “taboo” for flying.”After going through several national and international literature and various research we have done in our Institute Of Aerospace Medicine, we are trying to get some of the pilots, who are declared unfit for flying…”We are looking into those issues and taking out a new order for commissioning, selection and flying purposes and they will be declared fit (for flying),” Air Marshal Pawan Kapoor, Director General Medical Services (Air) said referring to spinal deformities.”There are 10-12 ailments which have already been taken off. Rest are in the pipeline and decision is likely in next 7-10 days,” he said.He said while medical approval has been taken, an administrative approval is awaited and the process will be done without compromising with flight safety.Kapoor was speaking at sidelines of 64th International Congress of Aviation and Space Medicine here, attended by experts across the world from the field of aerospace medicine from both civil and military aviation.The Air Force had formed a committee comprising spinal surgeons, neurosurgeons, physicians, radiologists and it was concluded that there is no evidence to show these spinal deformities can affect flight safety and physical capability and conditioning of the pilots.Referring to Schmorl’s nodes, a spinal abnormality, he said, “There was a perception that these nodes make you get prone to spinal fractures, backaches but no scientific literature was found.”Certain abnormalities like disk degeneration will be taken up on a case to case basis, Kapoor said. In his address, Chief of Air Staff Arup Raha said although modern aircraft with advanced technology are highly capable, human limitations — physical, physiological and psychological — at times do not allow the exploitation of these machines to their full potential.This gap, he said, is ably bridged by the aviation medicine specialists. — PTI 

Dehradun, November 4

Activists of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) held a symbolic funeral procession of Union Minister VK Singh over his statement on deceased ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal here today. The protesters said Singh should apologise for his statement.The protesters, led by NSUI state president Shyam Singh Chauhan, held a procession that passed through different routes of the city. Chauhan said, “Soldiers strive round the clock to safeguard the international boundaries but the Union minister tried to defame an ex-serviceman who ended his life for his dues.”“It’s the matter of proud that there is a huge representation from Uttarakhand in the defence forces. NSUI activists will not tolerate insult to army personnel,” he said.It may be recalled that after Grewal committed suicide in New Delhi, VK Singh had said, “Though OROP is said to be the reason behind the extreme step, no one knows the exact cause. We don’t know what his mental state was.” Singh had also said that the deceased was a Congress worker, who contested Sarpanch elections. — TNS