Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 27

The UT Administration will organise a polo match for the delegates of the G20 summit at the Indian Reserve Battalion ground, Sarangpur, on January 29.

A senior officer said an exhibition polo match would be played between 3 pm and 5 pm. As many as 170 delegates, including representatives of G20 countries, guest countries and international organisations will be participating in the two-day event on January 30 and 31.

“It is a matter of pride for the City Beautiful to host delegates from different countries,” said UT Adviser Dharam Pal. He called upon the residents of Chandigarh to play excellent hosts and make this event most memorable chapter of the G20 history.

Meanwhile, the first group of the delegates will be arriving in the city on January 29. They would be staying at two luxury hotels in the Industrial Area and one in Sector 35.https://a7b9bb460f9304c3e538e1eeb2688fbf.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

The UT Administration has decked up various roundabouts with flags of the G20 countries.

The UT will host two G20 meetings. The first meeting of the International Financial Architecture Working Group will be held on January 30-31 and another on agricultural issues in March.

The delegates will also be shown Chandigarh’s famous spots, including Rock Garden, Sukhna Lake and the Capitol Complex. Guides well-versed with various languages will accompany the visitors and share with them the City Beautiful’s history and other information.

Attitude of Def Secy at War Memorial on Republic Day. Casually standing with hands in pocket when RM is to place wreath. IAS do not care about army sacrifices

PTI

Kolkata, January 27

Amidst demands by some opposition leaders for proof of surgical strikes in Pakistan in 2016, GOC-in-C of Eastern Command, Lt Gen R P Kalita Friday said the Army does not look at keeping any evidence while carrying out an operation.

The nation trusts Indian forces, he said declining to answer a “political question” by scribes here on recent demands by some opposition leaders demanding proof of the surgical strikes.

“This is a political question. So I don’t like to comment on that. I think the nation trusts the Indian Armed Forces,” he said at a Meet the Press programme at the Press Club, Kolkata.

Asked if the Army keeps any proof while conducting an operation, he replied in negative

“When we are going to carry out any operation, we are not looking at keeping any proof of that operation,” he said.

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh had expressed doubts over the cross-border military operation recently during Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi in Jammu.

“They (Centre) talk about surgical strikes and that they have killed so many of them, but there is no proof. They are ruling by peddling a bundle of lies,” he had said.

The party, however, distanced itself from the remark and said it does not reflect its stand as it supports all military actions that are in the country’s interests.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had termed Singh’s comments “ridiculous” and said the Armed Forces are doing their job “exceptionally well” and do not need to give any proof.

AICC general secretary for communications, Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter that the view expressed by Singh was his own and the UPA government too had carried out surgical strikes before 2014 (when the BJP-led NDA came to power). Congress had supported and will continue to support all military actions that are in the country’s interests.

In September 2016, India conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) in response to a terrorist attack on an Army base in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

PTI

Kolkata, January 27

The situation along the eastern border with China is “stable” but “unpredictable” due to the absence of delineation of boundaries, said General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command, Lt Gen R P Kalita.

The Eastern Command takes care of the LAC in the Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim sectors.

Lt Gen Kalita also stated that the Army is constantly monitoring the activities across the border and is well prepared to meet any emerging challenges.

“The whole problem stems from the fact that the border between India and China is not clearly defined. There are different perceptions about the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which lead to problems.

“However, let me assure you that the situation in the eastern border in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh is stable but unpredictable due to the absence of delineation of borders,” he told a Meet the Press programme at the Press Club, Kolkata.

There has been a fresh spike in tension between India and China after troops from the two sides were engaged in a clash along the LAC at Yangtse in the Tawang sector on December 9.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament on December 13 that the Chinese troops tried to “unilaterally” change the status quo in the Yangtse area in Arunachal Pradesh, but the Indian Army compelled them to retreat with its firm and resolute response

Recently Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande conducted a comprehensive review of India’s military preparedness along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh after last month’s skirmishes in the Tawang sector.

“We have read reports that gradually there has been an increase in troop deployment (by China) opposite our sectors along with infrastructure development that the PLA has carried out in their bordering areas,” the GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command said.

He maintained that the preparedness level of the Indian Army remained “very high” along the LAC, and it has adequate forces and reserves in each of the sectors to deal with any situation effectively.

To a question on reports of China building alternate access to Chumbi valley in Tibet near Sikkim and how it would threaten the security of the Siliguri corridor, the senior Army officer said, “Siliguri Corridor is geo-strategically extremely important to us. Requisite measures and mechanisms are in place to ensure that there are no disruptions and maintenance of connectivity with the northeast remains intact.” Siliguri corridor, commonly known as the ‘chicken’s neck’, connects the mainland with the northeastern states. The corridor shares international boundaries with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

. One has to understand the methodology how pensions in OROP are worked out, what are the principles followed and how pensions of those who did not retire in calendar year 2018 for OROP – II are to be fixed for all the pre – Jul 2019 pensioners.
Pensions shown in OROP – II tables of Min of Def (ESW) are Average pensions for each length of service and for each rank.
If only one pensioner of any rank retired in calendar year, then his pension is taken as the Average pension.
For example your pension as Maj Gen for your length of service say 33 or more is same as the average pension of Maj Gen / R Adm / AVM who retired in calendar year 2018. It is ₹ 1,09,100 pm. How dd they come to this figure and Why is Average of pensions?
It is because all Maj Gens / R Adms / AVMs from 33 to say 39 years do not get same basic pay at the time of retirement in calendar year 2018. Those who get their rank of Maj Gen or equivalent earlier compared to his coursemates of other two services gets higher number of increment before he retires in the rank of Maj Gen or equivalent.
As you know Maj Gens of AOC, EME, Signals and even Engrs get their rank almost at 35 or 36 years of service. They hardly get two to three years in their rank before they retire. Whereas, their coursemates in Gen cadre get their rank of Maj Gen may be at 32 or 33 years of service. So they earn more increments as Maj Gen or equivalent and retire with higher pension in the rank of Maj Gen.
Therefore you need to work out the pension of Maj Gens and equivalents with QS of 33 to 39 years. You pick the pension which is highest and also the lowest of those retired in calendar year 2018. The average is thus worked out. That is the pension you and all Maj Gens / R Adms / AVMs will get for your length of service of 33 or more years. Whether you put in total service of 33 years or 38 year every one gets the same pension. This because Jt Secy to Govt of India generally retired at service of 33 years. Therefore your pension cannot be more than that of Jt Secy. The IAS member in the Central Pay Commission will ensures that.
Another principle adopted for any one length of service say 33 years or more , your pension as Maj Gen cannot be less than that of a Brigadier with 33 or more years of service.
One more aspect you got to know is the pension of those who actually retired in calendar year 2018 from Sepoys to Lt Gen HAG + is taken for each qualifying service right upto 33 or more years of service. The average pension for each length of service is worked for each rank.
For example if a Brigadier has retired with QS of 32 years of service in calendar year 2018 and no Brig with 32.5 or 33 year retired in calendar year 2018 then the average pension of Pre – Jul 2019 Brig / Cmde / Air Cmde with 32 years is found and that is fixed as Average pension of not only for QS of 32 but also to 32.50 and 33 years of service who retired prior to Jul 2019 in OROP – II.
Another aspect you should know is if a Brigadier with 31 or 30 has not retired then the pension of 31 years is taken as 3% less than Average pension of Brigadier with 32 years of service who actually retired. Pension of Brigadier with 30 years service is fixed at 3% less than that of Brigadier with 31 years of QS.
Defence pensions are complex and needs life long study.
Unless one knows these principles, one will write all non-sense to impress the innocent pensioners.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh leaves no opportunity to make public announcements that we will give a befitting reply to anyone eyeing our land. Post China’s 2020 aggression in Eastern Ladakh, he also stated in the Parliament that “we have not lost even one inch of territory” – a statement he has been repeating elsewhere. Prime Minister Modi’s remark Na Koi Aaya, Na Koi Ghusa has also been making the rounds on social media.

Articles that talked of losing control of some 1,000 sq km in Ladakh were aggressively repudiated by the mainstream media as well as by the ‘followers’ in TV debates. Concurrently, Rajnath also keeps saying that a “Free Hand” is given to the forces, which is to cover up the political pusillanimity, as would be apparent from the following.

In a recent three-day DGP-IGP Conference held under aegis of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), speakers of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) brought out the following:

Patrolling from the India side is restricted or there has been “no patrolling” in as many as 26 out of 85 Patrolling Points (PPs) starting from Karakoram Pass to Chumar. There is restrictive India patrolling between PPs 5-17, 24-32, 37, 51, 52 and 62.
Other than rapid infrastructure development and buildup of Chinese forces along the LAC, tough weather conditions and terrain were cited as “one of the main reasons” for lack of domination by Indian forces.
China occupies areas that have no Indian presence, which has led to shift of the border under Indian control towards the Indian side and buffer zones in all such pockets resulting in loss of Indian control in these areas.
PLA took advantage of buffer areas during de-escalation talks by placing cameras on highest peaks and is monitoring movement of Indian forces. This situation is seen at Black Top and Helmet Top in Chushul, at Demchok, at Kakjung, at Gogra Hills in Hot Springs and at Despang plains near Chip Chap River.
In December 2021, restrictions were placed on movement of Indian forces beyond Daulet Beg Oldi (DBO) towards KK Pass; it was feared that Chinese cameras would capture the movement leading to a confrontation with Chinese forces (sic).
The disengagement at PP-15 and 16 resulted in loss of pasture lands at Gogra Hills while pasture lands have also been lost in the north bank of Kakjung. This has resulted in loss of livelihood and changes in lifestyle, which has led to migration.
Use of technology, better coordination among forces and development of border villages along the LAC was cited as a way forward.
The above DGP-IGP Conference was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and NSA Ajit Doval.

The government’s official narrative now stands exposed with the disclosures reportedly made by the CAPF officers. The Military remains gagged from speaking the truth and the Army kept busy with rounds of talks with the PLA despite knowing that China would not budge from intrusions made deliberately and now consolidated. Our political class and, to an extent, the mainstream media and intelligentsia have tried to show that everything is hunky dory which is hardly the case.

The resultant lack of trust by the Ladakhis in the Centre may not be visible but it would be naïve to ignore it. Similarly, what would our neighbours like Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar be thinking of our inability to stand up to China?

With no ministry responsible for information warfare (IW), our IW appears solely focused on psyching indigenous population. An erudite scholar says that the omnipotent NSA is controlling the show notwithstanding the fact that we require a host of domain specialists, like psychologists, theme generators, mis-information handlers, social media specialists, evaluators in addition to technical hands – he seems to be all rolled into one. No wonder our effort is a ‘knee-jerk response’ and disjointed.

It is no secret that the MHA refuses to place the CAPF deployed in the show window of Ladakh under operational command of the Army and the government is sparing no effort to place the police forces above the military. Moreover, the 20-day national lockdown in 2020 denied movement of army’s reserve formations for exercising in Ladakh and China seized the opportunity.

In addition to losing control of some 1000 sq km territory, we also vacated the Kailash Range in our own territory apparently because of a Chinese threat conveyed through politico-diplomatic channels. To top this, stopping all movement from DBO towards KK Pass is pure “cowardice” – crow-flight distance between DBO and KK Pass is 17 km, road distance being 18 km. If we had the political will, we should have not only refused to vacate Kailash Range but also occupied KK Pass telling China to vacate the 20-km deep intrusion at Y-Junction in Depsang, as well as withdraw from the Indian side of Demchok.

Our border infrastructure has years to catch up not only in terms of end connectivity, but also the condition of BRO roads that are handed over to States. In a cabinet meeting under the then PM Indira Gandhi, a proposal was made to hand over the border roads to the States for maintenance. To this, the then COAS General Sam Manekshaw said yes prime minister but where will those roads be after 3-5 years. The matter was dropped. With reference to the recent clash at Yangtse in Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh, an Australian think tank has shown that end connectivity to our posts in Yangtse are not conducive to support open conflict.

China’s infrastructure including the two bridges over Pangong Tso are clearly for offensive purposes. In addition, Beijing has announced a second highway through Aksai Chin to be completed by 2035 which would touch Galwan and Gogra-Hot Spring. Our government has chosen to ignore the Chinese intrusions and is appeasing China by giving it much more benefit in bilateral trade than it was before 2020. The hope would be that China will not aggravate the situation before or during India’s general elections in the summer of 2024.

Chinese President Xi Jinping would love out pusillanimity but Xi is in a hurry, hungry for territory-water-minerals and faces an ageing population, which implies that a clash is inevitable. Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy tweeted last year that Xi distributed maps showing Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh part of China and J&K as part of Pakistan during the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan in September 2022, which was attended by PM Modi. This was a deliberate act indicating Xi’s resolve.

Finally, a hilarious comment on social media reads that next time Rajnath says “not even one inch of territory is lost” with reference to Ladakh, he is probably wearing diapers under his pyjama.

The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.

Lt Gen Prakash Katoch
A well known special forces officer of Indian Army, Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (R) is equally adept at writing expert and opinionated pieces on Defence Policies and Security. His Articles and Reviews are regulary. Lt Gen Prakash Katoch
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