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ANI
New Delhi, January 16
Further empowering female officers, the Army has cleared more than 30 women officers for command roles. The Army is holding promotion boards for 108 vacancies of select Colonel rank for women officers including batches from 1992 to 2005.
The initial list of over 30 women officers has been cleared from different arms and services including Corps of Engineers, Signals, Ordnance and Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Army officials told ANI.
More lists would be coming out soon as the boards would be compiled and results would be announced, they said.
The women officers clearing the boards would be given command roles and they could also be considered for future promotions also to higher ranks in the force.
Army headquarters officials said women are serving proudly and confidently in various operational theatres of the Indian Army.
“Women officers are being given opportunities at par with their male counterparts. The process for selection of women officers to tenant command assignments in Colonel rank is in progress,” they said.
Recently, a woman officer from the 57 Engineers regiment was deployed in the Siachen Glacier and has been tasked in operations there.
Women soldiers are also being inducted through the Agnipath entry scheme. The first batch of over 100 women Agniveers will join their training centre in Bengaluru in March 2023.
Army has also started deployment of women soldiers in joint exercises with friendly foreign countries and in peacekeeping missions.
“We have considerably stepped up the role of our women soldiers in various UN Peacekeeping missions. In consonance with the United Nations’ Gender Parity drive, we recently deployed an Enhanced Female Engagement Team comprising of two officers and 25 women soldiers to the strive torn Abeyi region of Africa to provide relief and assistance to women and children in one of the most challenging operational and terrain conditions under the UN flag,” an official said.
Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande is in favour of giving all possible opportunities to the women officers and soldiers and their entry into the artillery regiments is expected to be cleared soon. The Army has sent a proposal to the government in this regard and is also looking to open more avenues for them in line with the central government’s policy in this regard.
New Delhi, January 16
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated the first batch of Agniveers on being the pioneers of the Agnipath scheme, asserting that it is a transformative policy and a game changer in strengthening the armed forces and making them future-ready.
Virtually addressing the new recruits, he said this “path-breaking” scheme will further empower women.
According to an official statement, the prime minister said the young Agniveers will make the armed forces more youthful and tech-savvy.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the Agnipath scheme one of the “most important and unprecedented reforms” in the armed forces.
Addressing the Agniveers, the prime minister said technologically-advanced soldiers will play a “key role” in our armed forces, and added that the current generation of youth especially has this potential and Agniveers will play a leading role in the forces in the times to come.
The prime minister said “new India” is filled with renewed vigour and efforts are underway to modernise the armed forces and make them ‘aatmanirbhar’ (self-reliant). “In the 21st century, the way wars are fought is changing,” he said, speaking about the new fronts of contactless warfare and challenges of cyber warfare.
Lauding the potential of Agniveers, he said their spirit is reflective of the bravery of the armed forces which has always kept the flag of the nation flying high. “The experience they will acquire through this opportunity will be a source of pride for life,” he added.
The prime minister concluded by saying that they are the ones who are going to provide leadership to the nation in the 21st century, the statement said quoting Modi, who also added that the new recruitment scheme will further empower women.
The prime minister said he looks forward to seeing women Agniveers in all three forces, noting that they are leading armed forces on various fronts and cited examples of women posted in Siachen and driving modern fighter planes.
Defence Minister Singh said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has taken a number of decisions to empower the nation, terming the Agnipath scheme as one of the “most important and unprecedented reforms”, an official statement said.
Singh asserted that strengthening the security apparatus of the country is the government’s topmost priority amidst the ever-evolving global scenario and geopolitical uncertainty.
He appreciated the fact that the scheme received encouraging response, with a large number of applicants turning up for the recruitment and made special mention of the women Agniveers who are also being trained along with their male counterparts.
The defence minister added that several ministries, including the Defence Ministry, are coming forward for the welfare of Agniveers.
“Reservation is being ensured for Agniveers on a number of posts in various departments of Ministry of Defence, Central Armed Police Forces and Ministry of Railways. Arrangements are being made jointly by MoD & Ministry of Education to ensure proper education to the Agniveers.
“In collaboration with Ministry of Finance, arrangements are being made to provide loans at reasonable rates to Agniveers, who wish to start self-employment or any business after service. Agniveers will not only become Surakshaveers, but also Samriddhiveers,” he said.
Under the Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14 last year, the three services are recruiting youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years and 21 years for four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.
For 2022, the upper age limit was raised to 23 years.
Opposition parties have criticised the exercise but the government has said it will make the armed forces more youthful and cater to its current needs.
The prime minister’s address was telecast live on all Agniveer Training Centres and was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande and other senior MoD officers.
New Delhi, January 16
Discussing the new fronts of contactless warfare and challenges of cyber warfare and changing methods of war-fighting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said technologically advanced soldiers would play a key role in our armed forces.
The PM was addressing the first batch of Agniveers – the newly recruited troops of the Indian Armed forces – via video-conferencing. The first batch of Agniveers commenced training two weeks ago at multiple locations across the country.
Modi said the current generation of youth have this potential (the ability to use technology) and so the Agniveers would play a leading role in our armed forces in the times to come.
The ‘transformative policy’ was expected to be a game-changer in strengthening our Armed Forces and making them future-ready for the challenges that lie ahead, the PM said. The young Agniveers would make the Armed Forces more youthful and tech-savvy, he added.
The Prime Minster congratulated the Agniveers on being the pioneers of the Agnipath Scheme.
Hailing the potential of Agniveers, he said their spirit reflected the bravery of the armed forces which has always kept the flag of the nation flying high. He said the experience which they would acquire through this opportunity would be a source of pride for life.
The Prime Minister said the new India is filled with renewed vigour and efforts are under way to modernise our armed forces as well as make them Aatmanirbhar.
The Prime Minister also spoke about how the scheme would further empower women. He expressed happiness at how women Agniveers are adding pride to the naval forces, saying he looked forward to seeing women Agniveers in all three forces.
The Prime Minister also recalled how women are leading the armed forces on various fronts, citing examples of the woman soldier posted in Siachen and women flying modern fighter planes.
The Prime Minister said getting posted in different regions would give them an opportunity to get diverse experiences and that they should try to learn different languages, cultures and ways of living. He said teamwork and honing of leadership skills would add a new dimension to their personality.
Vijay Mohan
Chandigarh, January 16
About 36 years after a soldier was invalided out of the Army on medical grounds, he has been granted disability pension following judicial intervention by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT).
The Tribunal has held that considering the circumstances of the case and in light of the law laid down by the Supreme Court, the rejection of disability pension is neither legally or factually sustainable and he is entitled to disability benefits, including the service element of pension.
He had remained hospitalised multiple times. The invalidating medical board assessed his disability at 40 percent for two years, being constitutional in nature, but held it as neither attributable to nor aggravated by military service. Consequently, his claim for disability pension was rejected by the authorities.
In his petition, he contended that at the time of enrollment, he was subjected to physical and medical examination and found fit in all respects and hence his medical condition was on account of his military service. He added that his case was also covered by earlier judgements of the Supreme Court.
Observing that it is proved beyond all reasonable doubt that at the time the petitioner entered service, this type of disease or disability did not exist, the Tribunal’s Bench comprising Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary and Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said that it was not satisfied with the findings of the medical board that the disability is not attributable to military service.
“Otherwise also, the release medical board has not assigned any reason as to how the petitioner sufferedfrom such type of disability when the medical board which had conducted his examination at the time of recruitment and thereafter before commencement of training dis not find him suffering there from,” the Bench held.
Setting aside the earlier orders rejecting the soldier’s disability claim, the Bench ruled that he is entitled to disability pension at the rate of 50 percent against 40 percent for two years and directed the army to hold a resurvey medical board and proceed further in the matter for grant of pension to him.
When India was growing economically, Pakistan was reeling from one crisis after another
by Kamran Yousaf
After Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa’s retirement, several stories about key developments that took place during his 6-year term have surfaced. One revelation that was really fascinating was how Gen Bajwa pushed for rapprochement with India during his second term as an Army Chief. Senior journalist Javed Chaudhry, who recently met Gen Bajwa, disclosed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to travel to Pakistan in April 2021 as part of efforts to open a new chapter of friendly relationship between the two nuclear armed neighbours.
The visit was planned after a series of backchannel talks between then DG ISI Lt Gen Faiz Hameed and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Those efforts led to the renewal of a ceasefire agreement between the two countries along the LoC in the disputed Kashmir region in February 2021. The announcement was surprising since both countries were not having any formal talks. After many years, both sides issued simultaneous statements in Islamabad and New Delhi. The development was contrary to the state of relationship between the two countries especially after India unilaterally revoked the special status of the disputed Kashmir region in August 2019. Pakistan, in reaction, downgraded diplomatic ties and suspended bilateral trade with India. But as part of a confidence building measures following the renewal of the ceasefire, the two countries were to resume trade ties in March. The next move was to be the surprise visit of Modi. However, neither the trade was resumed nor did Modi’s visit materialise. The reason was that Prime Minister Imran Khan was warned of serious public backlash since the plan purportedly suggested freezing the Kashmir dispute for 20 years. His Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi warned Imran that any such move would be seen as Kashmir sellout. Hence, the plan remained a pipedream.
But let’s examine whether the proposal was in the interest of Pakistan? It has to be said without any doubt that Pakistan’s position on Kashmir has considerably weakened over the years because of our own follies. There was a time when India officially acknowledged that Kashmir is a disputed territory and needs a final settlement. Now, India does not even acknowledge that in public. Pakistan could have struck a far better deal on Kashmir when Indian Prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee travelled by bus to Lahore in a historic visit in 1998 after the two countries became nuclear. Vajpayee agreed to find a solution to the lingering dispute. The two countries had agreed on a composite dialogue but then Kargil happened. Even after the military coup, there were prospects of a rapprochement. Gen Musharraf resumed peace talks with the Vajpayee government and later continued the same with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
In fact, the peace process from 2004 to 2007 was considered as most promising for resolving the Kashmir dispute. The two countries even shared non-papers envisaging a roadmap for settling the lingering conflict. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was to travel to Pakistan in 2007 to sign agreements on Siachen and Sir Creek. But Musharraf’s move to sack then Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry triggered a lawyers’ movement that eventually saw the ouster of the military ruler. The November 2008 Mumbai attacks dealt a fatal blow to any chances of a thaw between the two countries. After that the two countries did try to resume the peace process but India by that time entered into a strategic relationship with the US and its growing economic clout meant hardening of its stance on Kashmir.
Let’s not forget when India was growing economically, Pakistan was reeling from one crisis after another. It was because of this reason that Gen Bajwa thought that a thaw with India was necessary to focus on resurrecting the economy. It may sound highly unpopular — even unpatriotic, to some — but Pakistan will have to freeze discussions on Kashmir for the time being and first put its own house in order.
Dnipro, January 15
The death toll from a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro climbed to 21 on Sunday, as rescue workers raced to dig through a huge pile of debris in search of survivors.
At least 35 people were still missing and 73 were injured, Mykola Lukashuk, head of the regional council, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “Burn in hell, Russian murderers,” he wrote.
The building in Dnipro, was partly destroyed during a series of attacks on Saturday, Russia’s largest wave of strikes in two weeks amid the ongoing war. — Reuters
The proposal is awaiting final policy sanction from the home ministry
New Delhi: More than 60 airports operational in tier-two and tier-three cities under the Centre’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN will soon be brought under a comprehensive anti-terror security cover of armed CISF personnel with the deployment of around 1,650 troops, officials said.
The proposal is awaiting final policy sanction from the home ministry. The bureau of civil aviation security (BCAS), in consultation with the ministry of civil aviation and the CISF, finalised the proposal for the “very important security measure” required for the safety of passengers taking flights from small air terminals across India.
Some airports such as Shimla which are under the regional connectivity scheme, are being guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) while the rest are secured by various state police forces or their special armed units and there is no uniform policy.
The regional connectivity scheme was launched under the name of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) on October 21, 2016, by the Union government to stimulate regional air connectivity and make air travel affordable to the masses residing in tier-2 and tier-3 cities and towns.
The civil aviation ministry is the regulating agency while the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is responsible for implementing the ambitious scheme of the Narendra Modi government.
According to the fresh blueprint accessed by PTI, 57 security personnel will be deployed at each of the airports operational under the UDAN scheme, with 27 armed personnel drawn from the CISF and the rest sourced from certified private security agencies.
The CISF is the national civil aviation security force as it guards 66 major domestic and international airports in the country.
A senior home ministry official said, “The CISF will get the fresh manpower to guard all the UDAN airports from the pool of 3,049 posts that were abolished recently, from the airports that it is guarding, and replaced by hiring a total of 1,924 private security personnel for these tasks.”
The state government concerned and the AAI will provide lodging facilities for the 57 personnel that are supposed to be deployed at each airport under the regional connectivity scheme, apart from putting in place security gadgets and equipment such as hand-held metal detectors for passenger frisking and baggage scanning x-ray machines, officials said.
These facilities need not be in the airport premises as the terminals are very small and there are very limited flights from there. The lodging facilities can be provided at a nearby government barrack or residential unit and in some cases the CISF will draw its manpower from its nearest available security unit from where the troops can undertake a short trip, to be in place before the departure, they said.
“As the passenger tickets under the UDAN scheme are priced low, the proposal sent to the home ministry has kept costs in check and security measures effective,” a senior security officer said.
The CISF will be overall in charge of the anti-terror and anti-hijack cover. It will also ensure surveillance and protection of the terminal on a quick reaction team (QRT) model where troops are stationed at vantage points to thwart any terrorist attack attempt, he said.
According to the blueprint, the CISF will deploy close to 1,650 personnel for the protection of airports under the regional connectivity scheme while the private security personnel for each airport will be certified and given a licence by the BCAS.
“The airports under regional connectivity scheme are as important as any other large airport. The fresh proposal aims to provide these small airports with a comprehensive armed security cover and it is expected to be notified as a policy soon,” the home ministry official said.
Nearly 1.15 crore Indians who had never before taken a flight were able to experience air travel through the UDAN scheme, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had informed the Parliament during the recently concluded session in December.
He said 11 airlines are currently part of UDAN, out of which three are startups, whereas 70 new airports have been established. “Apart from these, we are going to establish 68 new airports by the end of 2024 towards diversification of civil aviation sector,” the minister had said.
More than 2.15 lakh UDAN flights have been operated. The scheme has been able to provide air connectivity to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities at affordable airfares and has transformed the way people travel, the minister said in the reply.
The government of India has approved a budget of ₹ 4,500 crore for the revival of existing unserved or underserved airports and airstrips of the state governments, AAI, public sector undertakings and civil enclaves, he had said.
Colombo: The Sri Lankan Navy welcomed the Indian naval ship INS Delhi, which arrived in the north-eastern port city of Trincomalee on Sunday, with 390 crew members on board for a two-day official visit.
The INS Delhi is 163.2 metre-long, and is the lead ship of her class of guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy.
It comes days ahead of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to the island nation, scheduled from January 19 to 20.
During the ship’s two-day stay, the crew will participate in numerous programmes organised by the Sri Lanka Navy, with a view to promoting cooperation and goodwill between the navies of both the countries.
Such naval exercises enable both countries to overcome common maritime challenges, through enhanced cooperation.
