Rk Bhardwaj rkbhardwaj52@gmail.com Wed, 20 Sept, 2023 at 10:08 am
To: Dr Bhartendu Kumar Singh, IDAS Jt CGDA (Public Grievance Officer) bhartendu.singh@gov.in,
sparsharmyco.dad@gov.in, sparshmigration@googlegroups.com
Cc: andas.cgda@nic.in, maushumirudra.cgda@nic.in
Bcc: Shri Vijoy Kumar Singh IAS secyesw@nic.in, defsecy@nic.in
KIND ATTENTION – ALL THE JOINT CGDA (SPARSH)
Hon’ble Sirs/ Madams,

1. SPARSH has been introduced in the Indian Armed Forces for the Betterment and Welfare of the Ex-Servicemen
   Pensioners in payment of their Pensions.
2. Ex-Servicemen are Service Pensioners & Family Pensioners including Single Ladies. Their Age varies from 40 years
   to 100 years plus. Their Basic Education varies from Class 5 to Masters. All of them belong to different Areas and with
   different Regional Mother Tongues. All these areas are not having Satisfactory functional Internet Network. All the
   Pensioners are not Computer/ Smart phones SAVVY. Keeping in view the fraud, we can’t even visit the Cyber Cafe for
   these works.
3. It is beyond Anyone’s understanding, till now all the Details (Personal as well as Service), of the Pensioners were
   correctly held by PCDA Pensions. No problems were being faced either by Pensioners or by PCDA Pensions. How come
   so many mistakes have NOW occurred in Data of each of the Pensioners, while transferring it to SPARSH. It is
   surprising to Note that Most Important Data, like, Spouse LIVING have been shown NOT ALIVE and vice versa. NAMES
   OF SPOUSES BEEN SHOWN WRONG. In Spite of having Date of Birth of Spouses in the ePPOs, already held even with
   PCDA Pensions, Not been SHOWN Correctly OR Not Shown at all in the SPARSH Personal Data & in SPARSH PPOs.
4. Records of all the previous PPOs & Corr PPOs are held with PCDA Pensions in ePPOs. Why so many mistakes are
   found in SPARSH PPOs by most of the Pensioners, is not understood. It can only happen, due to the transfer of important
   data with lackadaisical attitude and hurriedness.
5. It seems No-one has thought of Rechecking the Data, in spite of having Financial affects, before launch of the
   System. Wrong Data have not only made the Pensioners suffer, but even Increased the Workload of PCDA Pensions,
   CGDA and Records Offices etc besides the Pensioners. Time taken is going to be in months & even in years in certain
   cases. It is still not late. The better option is to Correct the Data in SPARSH Portal by PCDA Pensions Staff only by
   tallying it with the Personal Files/ System of each of the Pensioners. It would not only be foolproof but would take less
   time.
6. It is very much appreciated that Problems are likely to occur during Initial Stages. We the Ex-Servicemen are there to
   help the System. But the SPARSH Environment has to be made User Friendly. There is the Need for Spreading General
   Awareness keeping in view Age, Education, IQ of the Pensioners. So that they are able to take on the problems in the
   right spirit and are able to come out of it at the earliest with your assistance. Actions/ Steps to be taken by the
   Pensioners for different types of problems being faced during login, can always be Posted in the SPARSH Portal &
   Website. That is, the Contact Details of those Persons/ Agencies to be Approached by Pensioners for different types of
   problems. But the same have Not been Circulated/ Posted anywhere. The Right place is SPARSH Portal and Website.
7. For example –
   (a). Non receipt of login id & password.
   (b). While login Demographic failure.
   (c). Non Submission of Declaration/ Ack.
   (d). Basic information Aadhaar, PAN, Mobile
   Not found Entered in Personal Details.
   (e). Difficulty in Update of Personal Details.

Upload of Documents (Asked for are un-
Warranted or Not Available).

(f). Non attendance of Service Request
Raised. Who are these agencies & can they be
Contacted to request for expedite & how ?
(g). Who is to be Contacted if Service Request
Not attended for days & months.
(h). If the Service Request Not Processed & is
Pending, another Service Request can’t be
Raised. It requires a relook. It is harassment.

(j). TDS not being Deducted. If deducted not
Seen in Form 26 AS, though shown in Form –

16. Thus making filing ITR Intime impossible.
    (k). NRIs living abroad Not permitted to login
    due to Geo-fencing. How does CGDA expect
    them to function ? Perforce NRIs are made to
    Use VPN. Aadhaar is not obligatory for them.
    But without Aadhaar they can’t login. Besides
    having difficulty in submission of Life Cert on
    line.
17. There are so many problems being faced by the Pensioners. We are willing to share the same with the CGDA. But
    kindly be practical and brief us in layman language, how to tackle i.e. whom to approach & how. In case of Delay in
    resolution, who is the Appellant authority ? We would Recommend, the Best solution is to Let the Data be Uploaded/
    Updated by PCDA Pensions SPARSH Prayagraj Staff for its accuracy & lesser time taken, to avoid increase in workload
    of other agencies e.g. Service HQs, Record Offices/ ORO & the Senior Citizens Pensioners.
18. Defence Secretary & Secretary ESW Only –
    Sir, We the Ex-Servicemen, have done our duty during Service for the Safety & Integrity of our Great Nation. We think,
    this is the least we Deserve and therefore Request your good office to make the last leg of our life Comfortable. May we
    Request that necessary Advise be given to CGDA to take Immediate actions in this regard and Instruct the PCDA
    Pensions SPARSH for Updating/ Uploading the Data by their Staff itself, instead of asking the Pensioners to Update.
    Once the Complete Data is available with them, why are they making the Life of Pensioners difficult besides making all
    other agencies like Service HQs, Records Offices/ ORO (MO 5 b) hardpressed, that is increasing their workload for
    Verification of Pensioners Data, which is already held with PCDA Pensions Prayagraj duly Verified.
19. We most humbly request the Concerned authorities to treat us like your Parents, Grandparents and Great grand
    parents. We are sure and look forward for Immediate response in this regard by making our last leg of our life easygoing,
    healthy & comfortable.
    Warm regards.
    Yours Sincerely,
    Lt Col RK Bhardwaj (Retd)
    Mobile – 9219603039

SPARSH FUNCTINING.Pdf

Lieutenant Colonel Avishek Sinha retired last month and was seen participating in a podcast on a social media platform the very next day, in uniform, defence sources said. 

New Delhi: A retired Lieutenant Colonel has been booked, on a complaint filed by the Army, for alleged misuse of uniform and social media directives, ThePrint has learnt.

Lieutenant Colonel Avishek Sinha retired last month (on 6 August) and was seen participating in a podcast on a social media platform the very next day, sources in the defence establishment said. 

According to the rules, retired officers are not allowed to wear their uniform. 

While the officer retired as a lieutenant colonel, he was seen wearing the uniform of a colonel (also called ‘full colonel’ colloquially), which is one rank higher, and he was thus not entitled to wear it even while in service, the sources said.

The FIR, the sources added, was lodged at the Ludhiana Police Station on 29 August, under IPC Section 140, which prohibits any individual who is not a soldier (also applicable for Air Force and Navy) from wearing the uniform of the Army (or equivalent services). 

The retired officer also violated the provisions under Paragraph 666 of Regulations for the Army, 2010 (revised edition), the sources said.

In May, the Army’s Additional Directorate of Discipline and Vigilance had issued a letter warning former soldiers with punitive action in case of any departure from norms that tarnishes the image of the forces. 

The advisory also called upon veterans to not misuse their uniform or accoutrements.

The Army had warned that this could result in the withholding or withdrawal of pension, besides possible registration of police cases.

On the issue of pension, the Army has cited the Regulations for the Army, 2008 (Part-I), Para 8, which states that “the competent authority may by an order in writing withhold or withdraw a pension or part thereof whether permanently or for a specified period, if the petitioner is convicted of a serious crime or is found guilty of grave misconduct”.

Furthermore, under Para 4 of the regulations, future good conduct is an implied condition for grant of pension allowance. Thus, the pension already granted can be withheld if the pensioner is found guilty by a competent authority of grave misconduct. 

In this regard, the competent authority is AG (adjutant general), the note stated.

A source in the defence establishment said the action of filing an FIR against the retired officer shows that the Army will take stern action against veterans misusing social media platforms.

(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)

Also Read: Army warns veterans against posting ‘false narratives’ on social media, says pensions could be withheld

Tribune News Service

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, September 23

Upholding the discharge of 48 trainees for failing to qualify in academics, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has held that compromising overall standards of the defence forces just to meet an individual’s personal aspirations or merely as a welfare measure in not desirable.

The trainees, enrolled under the Artificer Apprentice scheme, had been discharged by the Indian Navy as being suitable after they could not qualify repeatedly in the examinations conducted during basic training.They had consequently moved the AFT seeking directions that they be allowed to continue in technical training or alternatively be granted the opportunity to switch over to a non-technical trade.

The Tribunal observed that the trainees had failed to qualify in the examination in two chances given to them under rules and had also been repeatedly counselled and given numerous opportunities to improve themselves and qualify the course.

“It is an admitted fact that the Navy is a combatant force and technical competence for handling sophisticated equipment is necessary for the security of the nation. It cannot afford to have probationers who cannot pass technical subjects during training,” the Tribunal’s bench comprising Justice Rajendra Menon and Lt Gen CP Mohanty ruled.

The Bench also clarified the status of a trainee in the Navy as a probationer and said if the individual fails to meet the organisational requirement during training, the authorities had every right to discharge him from service.

The Bench also observed that the trainees were enrolled as Artificer Apprentice based upon the availability of vacancies in that trade as per organisational manpower requirements. Since they failed to qualify for that trade, the change in trade as claimed by them also has to be dependent upon the similar necessity for filling vacancies.

“If there are no such vacancies in an alternate trade, providing disqualified applicants from one trade to another merely as a welfare measure would dilute operational readiness and efficiency of the defence forces as a whole,” the Bench said.

‘Five Eyes’ network is an intelligence alliance consisting of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It is both surveillance-based and signals intelligence

PTI

Toronto, September 23

Admitting for the first time, a top United States diplomat has confirmed that there was “shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners” that had prompted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s offensive allegation about Indian agents’ involvement in the killing of a Khalistani extremist on Canadian soil, according to a media report on Saturday.

There was “shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners” that informed Trudeau’s public allegation of a “potential” link between the Government of India and the murder of a Canadian citizen, CTV News Channel, Canada’s 24-hour all-news network, reported quoting the US Ambassador to Canada David Cohen.

‘Five Eyes’ network is an intelligence alliance consisting of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It is both surveillance-based and signals intelligence.

The CTV’s report is based on its exclusive interview on CTV’s programme ‘Question Period with Vassy Kapelos’ that is to air on Sunday.

CTV quoted Cohen as saying that he confirmed: “There was shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners that helped lead Canada to make the statements that the Prime Minister made.” 

Col DS Cheema (Retd)

IN 1976, I was posted at Jodhpur as a Company Commander in the rank of a Major. When I arrived on the battalion premises, I learnt that the Commanding Officer (CO) was highly unpopular among the officers, including the 2IC (second-in-command), also a Major, and four company commanders because of his theoretical and undoable instructions that he would pick up from books and the pamphlets issued by our training establishment, the Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME). He had recently undergone the all-important Senior Officers’ course and believed that the words contained in the study material were the gospel truth that must be followed religiously. Incidentally, I was an instructor and the director for the same course for 10-odd years; during the later years, I understood well how wrong the CO was.

It so happened that the CO was appointed an umpire for an important Army exercise near the border with Pakistan; the 2IC was on leave and I, the next seniormost officer, was to officiate as the CO during the absence of the incumbent. Hours before he was to leave early next day, the CO briefed me about what all had to be done during his seven-day absence. I assured him that everything would be done exactly according to his instructions. One point that he had emphasised was punctuality — he wanted me to be in the office before 8 am to set an example for the officers, JCOs and men.

Next day, as the officiating CO, I exercised my discretion and reached the office at 8:40 am. As I was getting down the jeep, the CO’s stick orderly came running to inform me that the sahib was looking for me and wanted me to report to him immediately. I was left shell-shocked and my morale came crashing down. When I saluted him in the office, all hell broke loose and the dressing-down that I received sends shivers down my spine even today. Enquiries from various sources revealed that the GOC, whom the CO was to accompany, had changed his plans because of an urgent operational commitment.

In 1990, the same officer, a Lt Col who couldn’t get the next rank, was posted to the MCEME, where I as a Colonel was the Dean of Faculty of Industrial Engineering. As luck would have it, he had to report to me, even though I had requested the Deputy Commandant to avert this for obvious reasons. We worked together amicably for more than a year before he retired to settle in Ludhiana. I must confess that off and on, I would feel the temptation to get back at him. However, my wife helped me make peace with the unexpected turn of events.

He did have a good effect on me — since that fateful day in 1976, I have never been late for any event and have been trying my best not to breach the trust reposed by others in me.

The air force conducted 12 strikes on Black Sea Fleet headquarters, targeting areas where personnel, military equipment and weapons were concentrated

AP

Kyiv, September 23

Ukraine on Saturday morning launched another missile attack on Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, a Russian-installed official said, a day after an attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet left a serviceman missing and the main building smoldering.

Sevastopol was put on air raid alert for about an hour after debris from intercepted missiles fell near a pier, Gov. Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on the messaging app Telegram. Ferry traffic in the area was also halted and later resumed.

Loud blasts were also heard near Vilne in northern Crimea, followed by rising clouds of smoke, according to a pro-Ukrainian Telegram news channel that reports on developments on the peninsula.

Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, has been a frequent target for Ukrainian forces since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the neighboring country almost 19 months ago.

Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told Voice of America on Saturday that at least nine people were killed and 16 injured as a result of Kyiv’s attack on the Black Sea Fleet on Friday.

He claimed that Alexander Romanchuk, a Russian general commanding forces along the key southeastern front line, was “in a very serious condition” following the attack.

Budanov’s claim could not be independently verified, and he did not comment on whether Western-made missiles were used in Friday’s strike.

The Russian Defense Ministry initially said that Friday’s strike killed one service member at the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, but later issued a statement that he was missing.

Ukraine’s military also offered more details about Friday’s attack on Sevastopol. It said the air force conducted 12 strikes on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, targeting areas where personnel, military equipment and weapons were concentrated. It said two anti-aircraft missile systems and four Russian artillery units were hit.

Crimea has served as the key hub supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Sevastopol, the main base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet since the 19th century, has had a particular importance for navy operations since the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine has increasingly targeted naval facilities in Crimea in recent weeks while the brunt of its summer counteroffensive makes slow gains in the east and south of Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said. Military experts say it is essential for Ukraine to keep up its attacks on targets in Crimea to degrade Russian morale and weaken its military.

Elsewhere, Ukraine’s military said Saturday that Russia launched 15 Iranian-made Shahed drones at the front-line Zaporizhzhia region in the southeast, as well as Dnipropetrovsk province farther north. It claimed to have destroyed 14 of the drones.

Separately, Zaporizhzhia regional Gov. Yuri Malashko said that Russia over the previous day carried out 86 strikes on 27 settlements in the province, many of them lying only a few kilometers (miles) from the fighting. Malashko said that an 82-year- old civilian was killed by artillery fire.

In the neighbouring Kherson region, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said at least one person died and three were injured over the past day because of Russian shelling.

Russia fired 25 shells targeting the city of Kherson, which lies along the Dneiper River that marks the contact line between the warring sides, Prokudin said.

Residential quarters were hit, including medical and education institutions, government-built stations that serve food and drinks, as well as critical infrastructure facilities and a penitentiary, he said.

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, September 21

Major Chitra Pandey (33) died in a car mishap near Dhariwal this evening while her seven-year-old son Archit and driver Pankaj of the car were injured.

Major Pandey, an officer posted with the Army Supply Corps, was on her way to the Amritsar airport from her base in Pathankot.

After the accident, the driver of the truck escaped. The Gurdaspur police say that they will arrest the truck driver soon. Major Pandey was going to board a flight to Lucknow from the Amritsar airport.

The tricolour was installed by the Army in collaboration with the Flag Foundation of India

PTI

Jammu, September 21

A 70-foot-high national flag has been hoisted at the Ajote War Memorial near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, a defence spokesman said on Thursday.

The tricolour was installed by the Army in collaboration with the Flag Foundation of India, the spokesman said.

He said the national flag was dedicated to the people by Commander of 93 Infantry Brigade Brigadier Rajesh Bisht in the presence of senior district officials, including Poonch Deputy Commissioner Yaseen M Chaudhary, District Development Council Chairperson Tazeem Akhter and Senior Superintendent of Police Vinay Kumar Sharma.

A large number of veterans and ex-servicemen were also present.

The hoisting of the national flag at Ajote is of great significance for the people of Poonch as every resident identifies himself with this nation, the spokesman said.  

India’s Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, stated that he is willing to discuss the border standoff between India and China in the Lok Sabha. Singh made the comment during a discussion on the achievements of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and the importance of science in protecting the nation’s borders
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said he has the courage to discuss in the Lok Sabha the issue of the border standoff between Indian and Chinese militaries. While initiating a discussion on the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and other achievements in the space sector in the House, Singh referred to the country’s border security and the role of science in protecting the nation’s frontier.
At this, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury referred to the border standoff with China.
The defence minister responded that he has the courage to discuss the issue.
“Puri Himmat Hain (I have full courage). I am ready for a discussion, I have the confidence to discuss it,” he asserted.
The ties between India and China have been under severe strain since the deadly clashes in Galwan Valley in June 2020.
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks. India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the LAC were key for normalisation of overall ties.
India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the LAC were key for normalisation of overall ties.