To march from Nada Sahib to Raj Bhavan

Farmers protest at the Bastara toll plaza in Karnal. file photo

Tribune News Service
Panipat, June 25

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has put everything in place to hold a protest at the Raj Bhavans of Punjab and Haryana in Chandigarh tomorrow.

Thousands of farmers from Haryana will enter Chandigarh from the Panchkula side, while those from Punjab will come from the Mohali side.

The morcha had announced to observe June 26 as “Kheti bachao, loktantra bachao” (save farming, save democracy) day on the completion of seven months of the farmers’ protest and the 47th anniversary of Emergency in India.

Punjab farmers will gather at Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali, while those from Haryana will gather at Gurdwara Nada Sahib in Panchkula at 11 am tomorrow.

SKM leader Yogendra Yadav said the farmers would hold a protest march from Gurdwara Nada Sahib to the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh. “We will organise a peaceful march and submit a memorandum to the President of India through the Governor,” he added.

The two-day integrated bilateral exercise between Indian and US forces in the Indian Ocean Region concluded on Thursday.

New Delhi, June 25

Ending a two-day joint exercise with the US Navy, the Defence Ministry on Friday said the exercise has been another milestone in strengthening cooperation between the two countries and reinforcing the shared values as partner militaries, in ensuring freedom of seas and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order.

The two-day integrated bilateral exercise between Indian and US forces in the Indian Ocean Region concluded on Thursday.

The Indian Navy along with Indian Air Force participated with US Navy Carrier Strike Group in the exercise.

The exercise has been a key enabler in building interoperability and strengthening the defence coordination between the two nations and witnessed high tempo-naval operations at sea. — TNS

A multi-barrel rocket launcher test-fires Pinaka in Balasore district. PTI

New Delhi, June 25

The DRDO on Friday successfully test-fired enhanced range versions of its 122mm calibre rocket at the Chandipur test range in Odisha.

These rockets have been developed for the Army and can destroy targets up to 40 km, the Defence Ministry said. Four enhanced versions of the rocket were fired from a multi-barrel launcher with full instrumentation and they completed mission objectives, it said.

The DRDO also test-fired an extended range version of indigenously developed “Pinaka” rocket at Integrated Test Range in Chandipur off Odisha coast. — PTI

Attempt by Pak media to corner India on ‘uranium theft’ falls flat

Pakistan also remains the subject of investigation by FATF’s regional body, the Asia Pacific Group (APG) regarding “serious issues” on money laundering and terror-financing.

Sandeep Dikshit
TRIBUNE NEW SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JUNE 25

The global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to keep Pakistan on the grey list of nations requiring constant monitoring till it demonstrates that terror-financing investigations and prosecutions target senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist groups, FATF Chairman Marcus Pleyer told the media on Friday.

“Though the Pakistan government has made substantial progress and largely addressed 26 out of the 27 action points, it is still failing to implement global FATF standards in a number of areas. This means the risk of money laundering remains high in turn fuelling corruption and organised crime,’’ said Pleyer at the end of the FATF’s virtual plenary that ended today.

Pakistan also remains the subject of investigation by FATF’s regional body, the Asia Pacific Group (APG) regarding “serious issues” on money laundering and terror-financing. The implication is that even if Pakistan completes all 27 action points given by FATF, it will also have to clear the APG hurdle. Pakistan will also be subjected to on-site investigations by both FATF and APG before it is cleared.

FATF is the second international body where the issue of Pakistan’s mollycoddling of UN-designated terrorists, including from LeT and JeM, has been tabled. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) meeting of National Security Advisors on Wednesday, Ajit Doval, had proposed an action plan against LeT and JeM.

Doval also pressed for full implementation of UN resolutions and targeted sanctions against UN-designated terrorist individuals and entities as well as adoption of international standards to counter terror-financing, including an MoU between the SCO and FATF.

An attempt by Pakistani journalists to corner India on the issue of its police unearthing stolen uranium could not materialise. Pleyer said he was aware of the media reports in this regard but “will not comment on something in India we haven’t assessed”.

Says India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier to be commissioned next year

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh waves during a visit to the INS Vikrant in Kochi on Friday.

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 25

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the Navy’s forward deployment showed the country’s intent and readiness during the Galwan incident amid the military face-off in Ladakh between India and China.

“The Navy’s proactive forward deployment signalled our intent that we seek peace, but are ready for any eventuality,” he said during a visit to Kochi to review the construction of the upcoming indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC).

Much-needed boost

The aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, is a much needed boost for the Indian Navy’s capabilities as it currently functions with only one aircraft carrier.

At the review on the IAC, that is named INS Vikrant, the minister was informed that the warship built by Cochin Shipyard Limited would be commissioned in the first half of 2022, and would be the most potent sea-based asset.

The aircraft carrier is a much needed boost for the Indian Navy’s capabilities as the Navy currently functions with only one aircraft carrier.

The Defence Minister said commissioning of the IAC next year would be a befitting tribute to 75 years of India’s Independence.

The ship would operate MiG-29K fighter aircraft, Kamov-31 air warning helicopters and the soon to be inducted MH-60R multi-role helicopter.

The Defence Ministry said Singh expressed “satisfaction” at the progress of construction adding that the IAC was having nearly 75 per cent indigenous content from design to steel used in construction to key weapons and sensors.

He reaffirmed the government’s commitment towards a strong Indian Navy, saying, “The IAC and Project Seabird at Karwar, which will be the Asia’s largest naval base, are the examples of our unwavering focus”.

Laboratory disempanelled too | 12 arrests made so far in case

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 22

The Union Ministry of Defence has dis-empanelled seven hospitals and a lab of Amritsar for their alleged involvement in the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) scam, wherein huge amounts of government funds were bungled by claiming fake medical bills.

What Army probe suggested

• Army authorities found that several veterans misled genuine ECHS beneficiaries and collected their cards
• In connivance with hospital managements and doctors, records were fabricated to usurp claim funds from the Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare
• On the basis of an inquiry by the Army, an FIR was lodged against 24 persons on October 2

The hospitals and the lab named by the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare in a notification dated June 18, 2021, include Verma Hospital, Meerankot chowk; Neelkanth Hospital, Fatehgarh Churian Road; Life Kare Hospital, Nirankari Colony, Fatehgarh Churian Road; Gupta Multi-specialty Hospital, Race Course Road; Akashdeep Neuro Trauma and Multi SS Hospital; Madaan Hospital (Multi-specialty) Majitha Road; and Nijjar Scan and Diagnostic Centre, Court Road.

Sandeep Malik, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, had been holding an investigation into the case. “At least 12 arrests have been made so far. Others who evaded arrest had managed to procure interim bail from the High Court, but they have been asked to join the investigation. We are also awaiting some forensic records pertaining to the case,” he said.

Gurmeet Singh Bablu, president of the Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Youth Front, alleged that the police gave immunity to various doctors and hospitals from the FIR without involving the Army authorities. He demanded a CBI or at least a vigilance probe into the case. “Why were the police taking the Army probe leniently? I shot a letter to the Punjab Chief Minister with copies to the Punjab DGP and Bureau of Investigations as the city police acted in a biased manner while investigating the case,” he said.Army authorities found that several veterans misled genuine ECHS beneficiaries and collected their cards. Later, in connivance with the hospital managements and doctors, records were fabricated to usurp claim funds from the Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare.

A 204-page Army inquiry report was submitted to the Cantonment police by Brig MD Upadhyay, Station Commander, Station Headquarters, Amritsar Cantonment. Following this, an FIR was lodged against 24 persons, including owners, managing directors and doctors of six private hospitals on October 2.

Brig Upadhyay, in his complaint to the police, alleged that hospitals had made false admissions with an intention of fraud with the cardholders “without providing them the services that are as per the files of the hospitals”. Also, the cardholders were kept in the hospitals “for a few days” even when the records suggest they stayed longer.

India and China were locked in a military standoff at multiple friction points in eastern Ladakh since early May last year.

India and China were locked in a military standoff at multiple friction points in eastern Ladakh since early May last year

New Delhi, June 23  

India and China are likely to hold another round of diplomatic talks this week on eastern Ladakh with a focus on moving forward in disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.

They said the talks under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) are expected to focus on broad principles to bring down tensions between the militaries of the two countries in eastern Ladakh.

The talks may take place on June 24, said one of the people cited above.

The last round of WMCC talks took place on March 12.

It is learnt that another round of Corps Commander-level talks will be held following the diplomatic dialogue. 

India and China were locked in a military standoff at multiple friction points in eastern Ladakh since early May last year. However, the two sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the North and South banks of Pangong lake in February following a series of military and diplomatic talks.

The two sides are now engaged in talks to extend the disengagement process to the remaining friction points. India has been particularly pressing for the disengagement of troops in Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang.

According to military officials, each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control in the sensitive sector.

There was no visible forward movement in disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points as the Chinese side did not show flexibility in their approach on it at the 11th round of military talks.

Last month, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said that there can be no de-escalation without complete disengagement at all friction points in eastern Ladakh and that the Indian Army is prepared for all contingencies in the region.

Gen Naravane also said that India is dealing with China in a “firm” and “non-escalatory” manner to ensure the sanctity of its claims in eastern Ladakh and that it was even open to initiating confidence-building measures. PTI 

A couple of aerospace companies are also among the targets of the agencies, an STF officer said

Han Junwe. File photo

Kolkata, June 22

The Chinese national who was arrested recently in West Bengal’s Malda district informed his interrogators that several agencies of his country are trying to hack various websites of the Central government including those under the Ministry of Defence, sources in the Special Task Force (STF) probing his case said on Tuesday.

They have targeted a Bengaluru-based company which is associated with the ministry and the BSNL, Han Junwe who was intercepted while trying to illegally enter the country through the India-Bangladesh border has told the sleuths.

A couple of aerospace companies are also among the targets of the agencies, an STF officer told PTI on condition of anonymity.

“He has said that the Chinese are trying to take a sneak peek into India’s defence system and hence they are trying to hack the websites of the Indian Defence Ministry,” the officer said.

The STF is trying to find out Junwe’s connection with these agencies and the role he is playing in India, the officer said.

The sleuths are still trying to unlock the sophisticated mobile phone and the laptop seized from the Chinese national who was arrested on June 12.

“Where he was heading to is still not known. We suspect that someone was waiting somewhere to guide him to Kaliachak in Malda district,” the officer said.

The STF is also trying to find out whether or not he had any connection with the banned Maoist outfits.

“He may have some role in providing financial assistance to the Maoists,” the IPS officer said.https://750401a4eb15ce69bd6370009abdcc5e.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

The 35-year-old man believed to be a resident of Hubei in China was arrested by the BSF earlier this month.

The BSF had said on June 11 that Junwe told the investigators that he and his associates have smuggled as many as 1,300 Indian SIM cards into their country by hiding them in undergarments.

These SIM cards were allegedly used to hack accounts and carry out financial frauds.

The BSF had said that Junwe used the India-Bangladesh border to enter the country as he failed to get an Indian visa after his business partner Sun Jiang was arrested by the Lucknow Anti-Terrorism Squad in a case of fraud recently. PTI

St. Edward’s School alumnus, was born & raised in Shimla

Lt Gen Ajay Kumar Suri

Shimla, June 22

Lt Gen Ajay Kumar Suri has taken over as Director General and Colonel Commandant of Army Aviation in the Indian Army. He was born and brought up in Shimla. A pass-out of St. Edward’s School and Kendriya Vidyalaya, Jakhoo, Suri was commissioned as Second Lieutenant on June 8, 1985, from the IMA, Dehradun, and he joined the artillery regiment.

Later, he earned his flying badge in June 1990 and has over 6,000 flying hours to his name. Lt Gen Suri recently moved a proposal for women helicopter pilots via the Chief of Army Staff and as a result two women officers joined training in Nasik after a rigorous selection process. — TNS

The actual allocation of funds to DIO would depend on how much money the finance minister is able to allocate each year for this purpose
by Amit Cowshish
On June 13, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved budgetary support of Rs 498.8 crore for the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO). This will enable DIO to provide funds to nearly 300 aspiring entrepreneurs and 20-odd Partner Incubators (PIs) to undertake R&D and innovation projects. The funds will be released by the Department of Defence Production (DDP) over the next five years.
Considering that the budgetary allocations are made annually in the federal budget, the approval given by Rajnath Singh can best be described as the indicative budget for the next five years. The actual allocation of funds to DIO would depend on how much money the finance minister is able to allocate each year for this purpose.
This five-year budget includes Rs 450 crore for funding the projects, Rs 29.6 crore for the PIs and Rs 19.18 crore for the DIO’s internal operations, including administrative and management cost and the expenditure on monitoring and evaluation of projects.
During the current financial year, DIO is expected to be allocated Rs 66.1 crore. It is now known whether the DDP already has sufficient funds from which this amount will be released, or it will now approach the Ministry of Finance for additional allocation.
Incorporated in 2018 under Section 8 of the Company Act, 2013, DIO is a not-for-profit organisation that manages Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme. The aim of this scheme is to create ‘an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, start-ups, individual innovators, R&D institutes and academia and provide them grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D development which has good potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs’.
This nascent organisation is managed by a Board of Directors, with Secretary (DDP) as the Chairman, Additional Secretary as the Chief Executive Officer, and CMDs of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), and the MD of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), as members.
The DIOs’ activities have so far been largely confined to organising Defence India Start-up Challenge, or DISC, though currently it also seems to be running a 45-day awareness programme since June 1 for the aspiring innovators.
The iDEX challenge is open to start-ups, MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), R&D institutions, academia, and individual innovators. They are required to work on the problem statements prepared by the armed forces, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) -now facing the prospect of being broken up into seven corporations- and by other agencies which have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with the DIO.
Milestone-related financial assistance in the form of grant, equity, debt, and other analogous arrangements is provided to the maximum limit of Rs 1.5 crore to entities shortlisted for taking up the challenge and, following an elaborate process of assessment and evaluation, the winners are announced by the DIO.
Four challenges have been conducted so far under the iDEX framework. In addition, at least one challenge seems to have been conducted exclusively for the armed forces personnel.
The iDEX scheme also envisages funding the PIs for undertaking similar activities to the extent of Rs 40 lakh if the program is deemed worthwhile. It, however, remains unclear if any partner has benefitted from this provision so far.
As for the outcome of the past three years that DIO has been in existence, the picture is hazy, as the information available on the iDEX website is too sketchy, disorganised, and difficult to collate. However, a rough count shows that so far at least 72 individual innovators, small companies, military personnel and one institution -IIT Palakkad- have won 30-odd challenges posed by the armed forces, Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), BEL and HAL.
A wide range of prototypes and technologies have been successfully developed by the winners. The list includes Individual Protection System, See-through Armour, Secure Hardware Encryption Device, Unmanned Surface/Underwater Vehicles, Computer Generated Targets for Virtual Training, 4-G tactical Area Network, Autonomous Underwater Swarm Drones, AI based Satellite Image Analysis, Foliage Penetration Radar, and Remote Real Time In-Flight Health Monitoring of Aircrew.
Credit must be given where it is due. The fact that the four rounds of challenges held so far have elicited good response and quite a few prototypes and technologies have been developed by a cross-section of innovators is both impressive and heartening. However, the mystery surrounding the scheme endures, not least because of the incomprehensibility and disjointedness of the information posted there. Nevertheless, three issues stand out.
First, though many prototypes and technologies have been developed, this cannot be an end in itself. It is not known how many of these have been, or are being, integrated with the in-service, under development or under production equipment, platforms, and weapon systems. This is the only yardstick that can be used to assess the ultimate utility of the solutions developed by the innovators.
Second, the commercial viability of developing the solutions, which may also require the innovators to partially fund the projects themselves, would depend on their ability to sell the product. No information is available on the DIO website about the solutions developed by the innovators being bought by the Indian industry or the MoD, or their export by the innovators.
Third, the iDEX scheme seems to run in parallel with the Technology Development Fund (TDF) managed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to promote self-reliance in technology development. It would be disingenuous to argue that there is a nuanced difference between the objectives of both these schemes.
Even if it is conceded for argument’s sake that these schemes serve somewhat different purposes, there is no denying that a synergised approach to innovation and R&D can produce better results. Turf war between DDP and DRDO seems to have trumped the need for such synergy.