Tribune News Service,Jammu, December 29

Days after returning from his China visit, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen DS Hooda discussed the overall security situation in Jammu and Kashmir with Governor NN Vohra.General Hooda apprised the Governor of the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, security measures taken along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and winter strategy of anti-insurgency grid operating in the Kashmir valley.The Army Commander gave detailed briefing about the measures taken to counter transgressions by Chinese red army and understanding reached between both the countries to avoid conflict in future. He made a detailed briefing about the strategy to counter and neutralise the threat from local militants who are active in the Kashmir valley and pose a threat to peace.The Army has already created a three-tier security mechanism to counter infiltration from across the LoC and operations against militants operating in the hinterland.The Northern Army Commander led an eight-member delegation of the Army to China from December 14 on a six-day visit during which he met General Qi Jianguo, Deputy Chief of General Staff of People’s Liberation Army (PLA), at the Chinese army headquarters in Beijing during which they discussed steps to maintain peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).It is pertinent to mention here that it was the first visit of any Northern Command chief to China which in recent years had adopted an aggressive posture on the LAC leading to several transgressions and stand-offs.

Sanjeev Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 19

Date of implementation: Jan 1, 2016
Beneficiaries: 47 lakh staff, 52 lakh pensioners
In a windfall for Central Government employees, the 7th Pay Commission has recommended a hike of 23.55 per cent in salary and allowances which will entail an expenditure of Rs1.02 lakh crore on the government.
Justice AK Mathur submitted the 7th Pay Commission report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today. The Central Government constitutes the pay commission every 10 years to revise the pay scale of its employees. The Union Cabinet had extended the term of the panel in August by four months, till December. The 6th Pay Commission was implemented with effect from January 1, 2006.
The Finance Minister said the government would look into the report before its implementation.
The report has implications for 47 lakh employees of the Central Government and 52 lakh pensioners.
While the impact on the fiscal deficit will be 0.65 per cent, putting strain on government finances, analysts say the pay panel bonanza will lift consumption in the economy with increased spending on automobiles, consumer durables, real estate and discretionary items. The minimum pay in the government is recommended to be set at Rs 18,000 per month. The maximum pay has been set at Rs 2.25 lakh per month for apex scale and Rs 2.50 lakh per month for Cabinet Secretary and others at the same level.
The recommended date of implementation is January 1, 2016. The total financial impact for 2016-17 is likely to be Rs 1.02 lakh crore over the expenditure.
The impact on the fiscal side entails an increase of 0.65 per cent points in the ratio of expenditure on to the GDP compared to 0.77 per cent in case of the 6th Pay Commission.
Of the total financial impact of Rs 1.02 lakh crore, Rs 73,650 crore will be borne by the General Budget and Rs 28,450 crore by the Railway Budget. A new pay structure has been recommended by the commission. The report says in light of the issues raised regarding the grade pay structure and with a view to bring in greater transparency, the present system of pay bands and grade pay has been dispensed with and a new pay matrix has been designed. Grade pay has been subsumed in the pay matrix. The status of the employee, which was earlier determined by grade pay, will now be determined by the level in the pay matrix.
The rate of annual increment is being retained at 3 per cent. The report has made the performance benchmarks for MACP more stringent from “good” to “very good”.
The commission proposes against grant of annual increments in case of those employees who are unable to meet the benchmark either for MACP or for a regular promotion in the first 20 years of their service. The Military Service Pay, which is a compensation for the various aspects of military service, will be admissible to the defence force personnel only. As before, Military Service Pay will be payable to all ranks up to and inclusive of Brigadiers and their equivalents.
Short Service Commissioned Officers will be allowed to exit the Armed Forces at any point in time between seven and 10 years of service, with a terminal gratuity equivalent of 10.5 months of reckonable emoluments. They will further be entitled to a fully funded one year executive programme or an MTech programme at a premier institute.
The commission has recommended a revised formulation for lateral entry and resettlement of defence force personnel, which keeps in view the specific requirements of organisation to which such personnel will be absorbed. The panel has recommended abolishing 52 allowances altogether. Another 36 allowances have been abolished as separate identities, but subsumed either in an existing allowance or in newly proposed allowances. Allowances relating to risk and hardship will be governed by the proposed risk and hardship matrix.

Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 14
As the battlefield environment gets more information intensive and digitised, the Army has drawn up plans to upgrade its tactical communication systems to handle greater volumes of data transfer, but is unable to proceed ahead as it has not received a suitable response from the industry.
The Army is in the process of introducing high-capacity radio relay (HCRR) systems to provide reliable communication at ranges of 25-40 km in tactical deployment, which will complement and eventually replace the existing communication network that apparently has limited capacity to handle high data volumes.
The Directorate General of Signals at Army Headquarters had issued a request for information (RFI) for procurement of HCRRs in February this year. A few days ago a fresh global RFI was floated for the same which stated the qualitative requirements have not emerged clearly from the details made available by vendors in response to the earlier RFI.
Stating that today’s battlefield is characterised by simultaneous operating of a plethora of hi-tech electronic systems that include communication, non-communication, weapon control, surveillance and intelligence systems, the RFI points out that digital and data communiactions have become more pre-dominated in the battlefield. Since there is a growing need to converge voice, video and data applications on a single platform, a tremendous increase in bandwith is required.

Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, November 10

Ex-servicemen return their medals to Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav in Jalandhar on Tuesday. Tribune Photo: Malkiat Singh

Around 200 ex-servicemen today returned their medals to Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav on the eve of Diwali to protest the notification of One Rank One Pension (OROP) in its diluted form. The medals are to be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office.
“Till now, we were fighting for ourselves, but now we will stand up for our serving counterparts,” said Brig (retd) AS Minhas, vice-president, United Ex-Servicemen Front, and Punjab chapter.
The government on Saturday formally notified OROP for the over 24 lakh ex-servicemen and six lakh widows around the country that is expected to cost another Rs 8,000-10,000 crore every year.
The notification was almost identical to what Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announced on September 5, except for the provision that military personnel, who had earlier opted for premature retirement, would get OROP, but fresh candidates would be kept out of its ambit.
After returning the medals, Col (retd) Balbir Singh, secretary of the body, said, “We are returning these hard-earned awards because we want the government to review its notification. I hope the government pays heed to our demands.”
He further alleged the government had not resolved any of the seven main anomalies pointed out by them, adding the government did not accept their case for “pension equalisation or adjustment” every year.
Ex-Servicemen today also condemned the statement of Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, who asked them to accept OROP in its present form.
Raha, who is also the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, said on Monday that all veterans should accept OROP and if anomalies persisted, they could be sorted out in due course of time.
Brig (retd) SS Sandhu said the government and the bureaucracy was going against the financial interests of the defence forces and also lowering their status.
“Despite making repeated assurances in their election manifesto, no government has ever stood up to fight for the rights of the armed forces. Since the present form of OROP will mainly affect serving personnel, the service chiefs should come forward to safeguard the financial interests of their personnel,” said Brig Sandhu.
The veterans have also condemned the Centre’s move of asking a single member commission to review the implementation of OROP.
They have demanded that ex-servicemen be part of the commission. The veterans across the region will hold a Maha Sangram rally on November 15 to raise the issue.

Bone of contention
The government on Saturday formally notified OROP for over 24 lakh ex-servicemen and six lakh widows
The notification was almost identical to what the Defence Minister had announced on Sept 5
However, as per the notification, military personnel, who had earlier opted for premature retirement, will get OROP, and others will be kept out of its ambit

There are serious and objectionable anomalies, the most important being the dilution of OROP’s accepted definition, say servicemen.
Calling the latest One Rank One Pension (OROP) notification issued by the Defence Ministry a farce, the ex-servicemen from Maharashtra have decided to return their military medals as a mark of protest. The veterans from the state would start returning their medals to the respective district collectors from November 15, soon after the Diwali celebrations are over. The Defence Ministry on Saturday issued the OROP notification for ex-servicemen with a small change from its earlier notification, which too was rejected by the veterans. This time, the government dropped the controversial clause of excluding the the ex-servicemen — who had sought premature retirement — from OROP.
At the same time, the veterans’ demands like annual adjustment in pensions up to the maximum of the current pensioners and appointment of a committee on the issue were not included in the notification. A statement issued by the Maharashtra Chapter of Indian Ex-servicemen Movement (IESM) said, “The government’s implementation plan of OROP as declared on Saturday is a big sham. It is not OROP. The Defence Minister had accepted the OROP implementation plan as projected by the United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM) and had also cleared the file for notification. The veterans across the nation were absolutely certain that the notification will be as per the assurance.” The statement further said, “Even the announcement on September 5 was nowhere near the OROP as approved by Parliament as recommended by Bhagat Singh Koshiyari Committee. There are serious and objectionable anomalies, the most important being the dilution of OROP’s accepted definition. As per the definition, the pension benefit will be passed on to retired soldiers as and when the review takes place once a year. The government has said that it will be once in five years.” Veterans who are part of the UFESM, which has been formed by coming together of several ex-servicemen’s organisations, have also raised concerns about the one-man commission to look in to the anomalies. The veterans want a five-member commission, three of which will be the Ex-Service Men and one each from judiciary and services. Brig Sharad Luktuke (Retd) of the IESM said, “Veterans in Maharashtra will start returning their medals to the respective collectors from November 15 in protest against the way the government deceived them time and again on the issue. A half page advertisement with PM’s picture as attached appeared in newspapers and it said ‘future enhancements in the rates of pension would be automatically passed on to the past pensioners.’ So, even the PM has not kept his word.” At the national-level too, the veterans have announced that they will return their medals and observe Diwali as a Black Diwali.

New Delhi: The long-pending One Rank One Pension scheme for ex-servicemen was brought into force on Saturday with government issuing a notification that will benefit more than 2.5 million 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 5 September.

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 from 1 July 2014. The veterans had demanded that the period for pension should be fiscal year 2013-14 and not the calendar year. Also, they wanted the scheme to be effective form 1 April instead of 1 July.

The notification said that in future, the pension would be re-fixed every five years, against the demand by ex-servicemen for pension to be revised every two years, if not one.

In his immediate reaction to the notification, Maj. Gen. (retd) Satbir Singh, chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, 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. PTI

Debris of the MiG-29K fighter jet that crashed shortly after it took off on a training mission from INS Hansa in Goa on Saturday. PTI

Panaji, November 16

An Indian Navy MiG-29K trainer aircraft crashed outside a village in Goa on Saturday noon, a senior defence official said. Both pilots ejected safely, said Indian Navy Flag Officer, Goa, Rear Admiral Philipose George Pynumootil.

A major tragedy was averted as the pilot pointed the aircraft away from populated areas. The officer said the aircraft was on a regular training sortie when the incident occurred.

A villager said the aircraft crashed on a rocky plateau on the outskirts of Verna, 15 km from the state capital, around noon. The wreckage of the aircraft lay strewn in one-km area, he said.

The aircraft is attached to INS Hansa located near Dabolim in Goa. Taking to Twitter, the Indian Navy spokesperson said, “During a training mission, after take-off from INS Hansa at Dabolim a MiG-29K trainer aircraft suffered an engine fire. The pilots Capt M Sheokhand and Lt Cdr Deepak Yadav ejected safely”.

The pilots were provided first-aid and shifted to hospital in Vasco. — PTI

A gunfight between security forces and terrorists is still under way in Lawdara village, about 55 km from Srinagar. Tribune file

Srinagar, November 10

Security forces killed a terrorist in a village in Bandipora district of north Kashmir during an operation on Sunday, officials said.

A gunfight between security forces and terrorists was still under way in Lawdara village, about 55 km from Srinagar.

The encounter started when security forces launched a search operation following specific information about the presence of some terrorists, the officials said.

They said the terrorists opened fire on the security personnel, who retaliated, and in the ensuing gunfight, a terrorist was killed.

The identity and group affiliation of the terrorist killed is yet to be ascertained, the officials said.

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Tribune News Service
Sultanpur Lodhi, November 5

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday inaugurated the week-long main celebrations of the 550th Parkash Purb at the historic Sultanpur Lodhi.

At the event, which is held to mark the 550th birthday anniversary of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak, Captain said there should be no “politics” played at the auspicious event—referring to the controversy surrounding the celebrations.

There are two events scheduled at Sultanpur Lodhi to mark the day—one to be held by the state government under Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and the other being organised by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

The chief minister asked people to follow the Guru’s teachings of tolerance and harmony to counter the growing instances religious intolerance in the country. He invited the participants to the main function on November 12, and also to visit the Kartarpur Corridor, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 9 at Dera Baba Nanak.

On this occasion, the Captain announced a new administrative complex, and Rs 150 crore ring roads, around the heritage city of Sultanour Lodhi, to enhance its connectivity with other cities. The iconic, Quila Sarai, at present doubling up as the Tehsil administrative office, would be preserved by the state government as heritage building, he said.

Amarinder, along with Cabinet Minister Charnjit Singh Channi, also released four books related with Guru Nanak’s philosophy penned and edited by acclaimed Punjabi writers including Surjit Patar.

The books—Guru Nanak’s ‘Blessed Trail’, ‘Guru Nanak Bani’, Sone Ka Birkh’ (The Golden Tree) and Guru Nanak Dev Ji Life and Relics’—have been printed by the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs.

Besides, the Captain inaugurated two exhibitions containing relics, manuscripts and rare books associated with Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s life.

One, put up by the Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department, showcases 53 panels depicting the life of the first Sikh Guru, while the other has been curated by the Punjab Small Industries Export Corporation.

Upgrading and widening of roads, besides construction of new bridges and improvement of hospitals, had been undertaken at a cost of Rs. 235 crores, the Captian pointed out, adding that a Rs. 100 Crores project to develop all 70-odd Pahli Patshahi de Charan Chhoe Prapt Pind as model villages with proper amenities has also been initiated.

The Chief Minister announced that cleaning and lining of the right bank of the Holy Bein had been completed in the Sultanpur Lodhi section at a cost of Rs. 11 crores, in partnership with Sant Seechewal.

The State Government, said Captain Amarinder, had also secured approval from the Centre for its proposal to develop Sultanpur Lodhi as a Heritage Town for Rs. 271 crore on 50:50 sharing basis, and to set up a Centre for Inter-Faith Studies at GNDU Amritsar at a cost of Rs. 175 crores.

It had also proposed establishment of a Pind Babe Nanak Da (Museum in around 75-80 acres of land) at a cost of Rs. 300 crores, he added.

Widening of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Marg from Sultanpur Lodhi to Dera Baba Nanak Road via Beas and Raiyya had been undertaken at a cost of Rs. 102 Crores, the Chief Minister said.

Highlighting the world class arrangements made for pilgrims, the Chief Minister said that a tented city,  spread across 277 acres, for 35,000 people had been erected a cost of Rs. 53 Crores, with 2200 temporary toilets and 10 water vending machines, besides 18 parking sites spread over 542 acres to facilitate the devotees.

Special trains, including Prakash Purab Express from Delhi to Sultanpur Lodhi, had also being made operational. Punjab had also made efficient arrangements for running of special buses and mini buses as well as e-rickshaws, free of cost for the devotees in Sultanpur Lodhi, said the Chief Minister.

To mark the historic occasion, the Captain’s government has convened a Special Vidhan Sabha Session on Wednesday, which is to be addressed by Vice President of India M. Venkiah Naidu and former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

A Conference of scholars on peace and amity would also be organised at Chandigarh on November 7th and 8th besides Ik Noor Inter-Faith Conclave on November 9th at Amritsar, to be attended by many personalities including the Dalai Lama.

The Dera Baba Nanak Utsav would attract devotees from around the world from 8th to 11th November, while eminent Punjabis would be honoured at PTU Kapurthala on 10th, he added.

Capt launches week-long function, flags fears on Pak’s corridor moveword of caution Says ISI will use corridor to promote ‘Referendum 2020’, rejects claim that Modi is seeking credit for project

Jatinder Mahal

jatinder@htlive.com

Sultanpur Lodhi : Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday inaugurated the week-long celebrations of the 550th birth anniversary (Parkash Purb) of Guru Nanak at the historic town of Sultanpur Lodhi, with a word of caution against Pakistan’s move to open the Kartarpur corridor by terming it “suspicious”.

“Its agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is going to make full use of the corridor to promote pro-Khalistan campaign ‘Referendum 2020’ besides its own agenda. They want the sympathy of the Sikh community to back up ‘2020 Referendum’. Everyone is happy with the religious part but the neighbouring country’s political strategy is different and the situation is worse than before,” he said responding to a question on the sidelines of the inauguration of an exhibition as part of the celebrations.

Earlier also, the CM has blamed Pakistan for helping hardliner Sikh groups to disrupt peace and harmony in Punjab.

Amarinder rejected the claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking credit for the Kartarpur corridor saying, “It happened this time that the corridor is opening and he will inaugurate it being the PM. The project was in the pipeline for decades. During my previous term as CM, former prime minister Manmohan Singh had also taken the corridor issue with Pakistan.”

Modi on November 9 will formally inaugurate the Indian side of the corridor that will connect with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan.

‘Appeals against indulging in politics’

The CM appealed to one and all not to indulge in politics or one-upmanship and commemorate the auspicious event in the spirit of universal brotherhood as propagated by the first Sikh master.

Earlier, he launched the celebrations by performing ‘sewa’ (service) of Saroop of Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, before start of ‘Sehaj Path’ jointly organised by the state government, religious organisations and Sant Samaj at the main podium of the function.

He also announced a new administrative complex and ₹150 crore ring road around the heritage city of Sultanpur Lodhi to enhance its connectivity with other cities.

He also announced that iconic Quila Serai to be preserved as heritage building.

He released four books on Guru Nanak’s philosophy penned and edited by acclaimed Punjabi writers, including Surjit Patar. The books ‘Guru Nanak’s Blessed Trail’, ‘Guru Nanak Bani’, ‘Sone Ka Birkh’ (the Golden Tree) and ‘Guru Nanak Dev’s Life and Relics’ have been printed by the state department of tourism and cultural affairs.

Exhibitions on relics, manuscripts

Later, he inaugurated two exhibitions containing relics, manuscripts and rare books associated with Guru Nanak’s life.

The first, put up by the tourism and cultural affairs department, showcases 53 panels depicting the life of the first Guru, while the other is curated by the Punjab Small Industries Export Corporation.

Amarinder said repair and widening of roads and construction of new bridges besides upgrade of hospitals was undertaken at ₹235 crore.

A ₹100 crore project to develop all 70-odd ‘Pehli Patshahi de Charan Chhoe Prapt Pind’ as model villages with all amenities was also initiated, he added.

The state government, the CM said, will convene a special Vidhan Sabha session on Wednesday to be addressed by Vice President M Venkiah Naidu and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

A conference of scholars on peace and amity will also be organised in Chandigarh on November 7 and 8 besides ‘Ik Noor Inter-Faith Conclave’ on November 9 in Amritsar to be attended by distinguished personalities, including the Dalai Lama.

Women camping in city to serve langar to devotees

Women preparing food at a langar in Sultanpur Lodhi. Ht photo

Gagandeep Jassowal

gagandeep@htlive.com

SULTANPUR LODHI : Women from various parts of Punjab besides states like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Haryana are camping in Sultanpur Lodhi to serve meal at various langars (community kitchens) to lakhs of devotees visiting the town as part of the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak.

More than 70 large langars are set up here. Also, women from nearby areas are offering sewa (service) from morning till late evening. The langar organisers have arranged transportation service for those coming from nearby villages.

At ‘Bebe Nanaki Langar’, Sandeep Kaur, a resident of Sherpur Sadda village of Kapurthala district, said she along with 10 other women comes at 10am and stays here till evening. “Being from the surrounding area, it is our duty to host the pilgrims in a better way. Secondly, it’s a lifetime opportunity,” she says.

Gurmeet Kaur from Bilaspur town in Uttar Pradesh came with a jatha of 10 women on November 1. “We all belong to Bilaspur. It’s all about devotion to Guru Nanak”, she says. Veer Kaur, 75, who came with five women from Kashipur town in Uttarakhand, says, “It was like dream come true to attend the celebrations and contribute to the same by performing sewa.”

At another langar, Raj Kaur of Ali Kalan village of Kapurthala district says, “I am part of a group of 40 women who are cleaning utensils so that the devotees have not to wait for long.”

Baba Nidhan Singh ‘Hazur Sahib Wale’, who is running the largest langar, said 500 women from various districts of Punjab are offering sewa and are playing a key role in the entire process.