Soldiers near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at Chushul, 59 kilometres from Pangong lake in Leh. (Express Photo: Shuaib Masoodi, File)

As tensions remain high between Indian and Chinese soldiers, the number of recorded Chinese transgressions across the disputed India-China border surged by 75 per cent in Ladakh in 2019, and the Chinese forays into Indian territory in the first four months of the current year have also witnessed an increase compared to the same period last year.

What exactly is a Chinese transgression?

A Chinese transgression across the border is recorded once the Indian border guarding forces in an area – either the Army or the ITBP – are “reasonably certain” that the Chinese soldiers had crossed over to the Indian side of the LAC. A Chinese transgression – in air, land or the waters of Pangong Tso lake – can be recorded, officials said, if it is visually observed by border posts, through use of surveillance equipment, in face-offs by patrols, indicated reliably by locals, or based on evidence left by the Chinese in the form of wrappers, biscuit packets etc to show their presence in an unmanned area.

What does the ‘Indian side’ of the LAC mean?

The border is not fully demarcated and the LAC is neither clarified nor confirmed by the two countries. Except for the middle sector, even the mutual exchange of maps about their respective perceptions has not taken place between India and China. This has led to different perceptions of the LAC for the two sides, and soldiers from either side try to patrol the area up to their perception of the LAC. Essentially, what Indians believe to be ‘their side’ is not the same as what the Chinese believe to be ‘their side’ – this is different from the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan where everything was agreed upon by the two armies following the 1971 War.

What are the various sectors on the India-China border?

India-China border is divided into three sectors, where the LAC in the western sector falls in the union territory of Ladakh and is 1597 km long, the middle sector of 545 km length falls in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and 1346 km long eastern sector falls in the states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The middle sector is the least disputed sector, while the western sector witnesses the highest transgressions between the two sides.

Also read | India builds road north of Ladakh lake, China warns of ‘necessary counter-measures’

Do the higher number of Chinese transgressions matter?

A higher number indicates that the Chinese soldiers are coming to the Indian side more often, and their movements are being observed and recorded by the Indian soldiers. This can be seen as an indicator of increased Chinese assertiveness, but as long as there are no major incidents, it means that the established border mechanisms between the two sides are working. So far, there has been no major standoff between the two sides after the 73-day Doklam standoff on Sikkim-Bhutan border in 2017.

But PM Modi and President Xi met in Wuhan, following the Doklam crisis, and passed some instructions. What were they?

Yes, Modi and Xi had met for their first informal summit at Wuhan in April 2018, where the two leaders had “issued strategic guidance to their respective militaries to strengthen communication in order to build trust and mutual understanding and enhance predictability and effectiveness in the management of border affairs”. They had also “directed their militaries to earnestly implement various confidence building measures agreed upon between the two sides, including the principle of mutual and equal security, and strengthen existing institutional arrangements and information sharing mechanisms to prevent incidents in border regions”.

Also read | China engaged in provocative, coercive military activities with neighbours, including India: White House report

Has the Wuhan spirit vanished?

That is hard to say but tensions between India and China have shot up suddenly in 2020, even as both countries grapple with containing the spread of COVID-19. A terse statement by the Chinese foreign ministry on Tuesday was responded to by the Indian foreign ministry in equally strong terms on Thursday. Besides tensions at Naku La in Sikkim and at Galwan river and Pangong Tso in Ladakh, Indians have been worried about the Nepal government’s recent behaviour on the border map issue. Army Chief General MM Naravane didn’t leave much to imagination when he said that Nepal was doing it at “the behest of a third party,” ostensibly referring to China.

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Should one be worried?

India and China are both nuclear-armed countries with strong militaries. Although not a shot between them has been fired since 1976 or a military skirmish happened after 1967, the fact that Indian and Chinese soldiers are in an eyeball to eyeball situation at two places in Ladakh, with strong statements coming from both sides, can’t be construed as a very happy situation. Because matters on the border have always been resolved peacefully by the two countries in the past four decades, there is hope that the tensions will soon subside.

India Wednesday sharply reacted to Nepal’s new official map that includes disputed territories, saying “such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted”.

ThePrint asks: Nepal map row: Has India provoked Kathmandu or is China instigating trouble for New Delhi?

India has escalated tensions with Nepal and China is party to it

Kanak Mani Dixit
Senior Nepali journalist

This is a clear case of India having provoked Kathmandu. In fact, China is very much a party to this affair, on India’s side.

Nepal has historically regarded the 335 sq km triangle (Limpiyadhura-Kalapani-Lipu Lekh) as its territory, defined by the Sugauli Treaty with the East India Company, which has not been superseded. A bilateral foreign secretary-level committee exists to resolve Nepal-India frontier disputes, and Nepal has been demanding talks for years. Kathmandu had also sought to send a special envoy to Delhi in early December.

South Block has remained unresponsive to all approaches. Instead, India carried out four escalatory actions in a row. First, in May 2015 it signed an agreement with China to use the Lipu Lekh Pass for trade; Kathmandu immediately protested to both New Delhi and Beijing. Second, in November 2019 India published a new map that showed Kalapani within its territory. Third, India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a road link to Lipu Lekh amid Covid-19 and an ongoing political crisis in Kathmandu. Fourth was the statement by Indian Army Chief General M.M. Naravane, implying China had instigated Nepal to lay claims on the area.

We need immediate status quo in the Limpiyadhura triangle to help de-escalation between Nepal and India.

Nepal’s revised map an unfortunate attempt to artificially expand its territorial claims

Ashok Kantha
Former Indian Ambassador to China

I don’t see any provocation coming from India through construction of this road to facilitate Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage via the Lipu Lekh Pass. This area has historically been part of India which has been exercising effective control over it.

One may recall that the Lipu Lekh Pass was one of the border passes in the agreement on trade with Tibet, signed by India and China in 1954. In 1962, we closed the Lipu Lekh Pass, but in 1981, under a bilateral understanding with China, Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage was resumed through the Pass. In 1991, India and China restarted border trade across the Lipu Lekh Pass under another bilateral agreement. The alignment which our pilgrims and traders have been following for accessing the Pass has been made motorable now.

The Chinese have acknowledged the Lipu Lekh Pass as falling on the India-China boundary/LAC and signed agreements to conduct trade and pilgrimage with India through this pass. Limpiyadhura, which Nepal is now claiming, is on the India-China boundary, rather than Nepal-China boundary.

Nepal’s revised map is an unfortunate attempt to artificially expand its territorial claims. Perhaps this unwarranted move is linked to domestic politics, or it has been made due to nudging by China, or both. I don’t want to speculate. There are reports suggesting that China has been interfering in Nepal’s internal affairs, most recently through intervention by the Chinese ambassador to shore up support for the Oli government.

Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Oli is aggressively playing the China card against India

Kanwal Sibal
Executive council member, VIF, and former foreign secretary

Nepal publishing a map that shows Indian territory in the Kalapani area as belonging to it is highly ill-advised. It has created a situation from which it cannot step back. The diplomatic route to a solution has been jettisoned. India has summarily dismissed Nepal’s artificial claims to its territory. Nepal’s decision to
aggressively bring to the fore a sensitive territorial issue, which involves the route to Lipu Lekh Pass and the India-China-Nepal trijunction, is a serious provocation. It touches on India’s defence and security against China.

Nepal citing a new Indian map showing Kalapani in India to justify its decision distorts facts, as Indian maps have always shown this area as Indian. Intriguingly, China had similarly protested when India issued a new map showing changed internal boundaries in the north, after separation of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir. This suggests some Nepal-China connivance.

Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Oli, stubborn and unabashedly pro-China, is responsible for this development. He is playing even more aggressively the China card against India, which is an enduring feature of Nepal’s policy. He is mismanaging relations with India by adopting a virulent anti-Indian posture to help him in handling internal
dissensions.

Inappropriate to say China instigating Nepal against India. Nepal has border dispute with China too

Kamal Dev Bhattarai
Political editor, The Annapurna Express, Kathmandu

The Nepal-India border boundary dispute is becoming more complicated with more hardened positions being adopted by both sides. This is because of the lack of negotiations on time. For the longest time, both sides have recognised that there are boundary disputes in Susta and Kalapani. During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Nepal in 2014, both sides agreed to instruct their foreign secretaries to take up the matter.

In 2015, India and China agreed to boost border trade via Lipu Lekh, without consulting Nepal. Nepal strongly objected to the move and sent diplomatic notes to India and China. China promptly responded, but India remained silent. China said that there was room for improvement, and if necessary, it was ready to revise the India-China agreement. Despite the understanding that it is a disputed territory, India took unilateral steps one after another, from releasing map in November 2019 to inaugurating roads which made matters worse.

The statement made by Indian Army Chief M.M. Naravane last week was totally inappropriate. Nepal is taking up border disputes with China as well. It is inappropriate to say that China is instigating Nepal. Instead, Nepal feels that two giant neighbours, India and China, are taking unilateral decisions on Nepali territory. Nepal has issued the new map Wednesday with sufficient historical proofs in hand, including the Sugauli Treaty of 1816.

As far as Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Oli’s coronavirus remark is concerned, I think he was trying to say that people who came from China and other countries showed mild symptoms, but people traveling from India possess strong symptoms. Still, what Oli spoke about virus and other bilateral issues was inappropriate. Immediate dialogue without any pre-condition is the only way forward.

India, Nepal never worked on the agreed mechanism to solve the dispute. Road ahead only gets difficult

Nayanima Basu
Diplomacy Editor, ThePrint

This is a case of misunderstanding between two friends who share open borders and free movement of people. While most of the border issues have been settled between both the countries, the disputed areas of Kalapani and Susta remained unresolved.

Both sides had an understanding that the issue had to be resolved politically. But that never happened. The matter was kept on the back burner for long, before the Narendra Modi government came to power in May 2014.

The high-level dialogue mechanism, consisting of foreign secretaries of both the countries, to settle Kalapani and other issues was finalised by then external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj during her visit to Nepal in July 2014. This was subsequently committed by Prime Minister Modi when he first visited the Himalayan country in August 2014.

However, the agreed mechanism never saw light of the day. The inauguration of the new road to Kailash Mansarovar and Nepal PM Oli’s statement Wednesday, has left the relations strained. Now, even if both sides meet, as India had promised to meet after the Covid crisis, not much room is left for any kind of compromise or maneuvering.

As relations with Nepal become strained, India is facing additional pressure from China now concerning repeated incidents of scuffles in the border areas.

The Army is keen on Tour of Duty to boost recruitment but a 2015 report, by a defence ministry panel, had recommended making the Short Service Commission more attractive.

The proposal had been formulated by a group of experts constituted by the Ministry of Defence.

While questions have been raised on the financial viability of the Tour of Duty and of carrying out training of individuals and losing them in the two-three years, the 2015 report had asked the ministry to revert to the minimum five years of short service rather than the now 10 years.

In an interaction with the media on 14 May, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat had said the Tour of Duty concept is still at a nascent stage and under the Army chief’s consideration. If it works out, it’s good, he said, but added that its viability needs to be studied.

“It will require a year of training. The tour of duty will be in Kashmir and the Northeast,” he said. “One year of training costs… Equipping him and doing everything for him and then losing him after four years. Is it going to balance out? It will require a study.”

As reported by ThePrint earlier, the Tour of Duty is for three-four years, which also includes training period. While the Army is keenly studying this, the CDS is looking at making the SSC more attractive.

Also read: IAF chief contradicts CDS Rawat, says plan is to buy 114 foreign fighters besides LCA Tejas

Solution could be in 2015 report

The solution to the recruitment debate could lie in the 2015 report.

The expert committee, in its 509-page report, had listed 75 recommendations in areas concerning service and pension matters, discipline and vigilance issues, matters concerning promotions and confidential reports, military justice, issues related to civilian employees and other potential areas of disputes.

It noted that the SSC is a very important scheme for individuals who would not like to make the defence services their permanent vocation and a scheme that would also cater to the shortage of officers in the three services.

For a long time prior to 2006, the SSC was applicable for a period of five years, extendable for another five years and then for a further four years.

A person released after five years was granted gratuity and also ex-serviceman status, having been released on completion of terms of engagement.

In 2006, however, ostensibly to make SSC more attractive, the earlier 5+5+4 years system was changed to 10+4 years, thereby making the initial tenure of 10 years mandatory for earning benefits, including ex-serviceman status.

“Though from the organisational point of view, a period of 10 years may seem important so as to retain officers for a sufficient period, however from the point of view of an individual, the said period in a way becomes exploitative since neither is a person granted pension nor guaranteed employment after 10 years thereby leaving him or her “neither here nor there” at an important phase of life thereby setting him/her back by 10 years as compared to other peers from civil life,” the committee noted.

It felt that to balance out the rights between the organization and individuals, “the scheme needs to be reverted back to 5+5+4 years so that a person has the option for release after 5 years of service to enable him/her to start afresh on the civil side with the additional skills gained in the defence services”.

Sources told ThePrint that the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar was actively discussing the idea of reverting SSC to the 5+5+4 system when he was moved out as Goa CM in 2017.

They said Parrikar wanted to bring SS officers on the contributory New Pension System (NPS) on par with civilians and further expand the scheme to bring down pension bill by keeping SS officers on NPS on par with a similar short service entry scheme of the Indian Coast Guard.

Also read: Not bullets but explosives cause maximum injuries to Army personnel: Study

10-year service makes it difficult to start afresh: Report

The report had also highlighted that it is difficult to start afresh in the civilian world once a SSC tenure ends. It must be appreciated that when a person is released from the military after 10 years of service, he or she is in his early 30s which is an age when it becomes difficult to start new innings, the report said.

“However, in case the organization feels that it is more beneficial to retain officers for at least 10 years, then additionally, to attract and retain talent, the Ministry could provide higher pay-outs and benefits to all those who serve for 10 years and still higher to those who serve till 14 years,” it added. “Hence, a graded structure of benefits can be incorporated for officers who serve for 5, 10 and 14 years.”

It also recommended a Contributory Pension Scheme on the lines of the NPS be considered for all future SSC officers who serve for a minimum 10 years.

Gen Rawat has said the military is looking at offering incentives to make the prospect more appealing for applicants.

“For an officer who will just serve for 14 years, you don’t want to give him a pension, what then can you do for them? Can you give him training that will make him stand on his feet?” Rawat said.

As an incentive, a lump sum amount should also be paid to the SSC officers on retirement, he added. “We are yet to decide on the amount,” he said.

Incidentally, the MoD has implemented two recommendations.

Earlier, only outpatient medical facilities were granted to short service officers in military hospitals but on recommendations of the committee of experts they were granted ECHS facilities with full outpatient facilities and truncated inpatient reimbursement for serious diseases.

Earlier, ex-servicemen status was granted only to those who completed the terms of SSC, for example five or 10 years, and not to those who sought release during extended terms. This was also deprecated by the committee and the Delhi High Court.

A clarification has been issued that SS officers who are released during extended terms will also now be granted “ex-serviceman” status.

Also read: CDS Bipin Rawat to work on items for import ban, artillery guns could be included

Both India and China continue to patrol the LAC and try to restrict the other. However, no physical clash has taken place since the evening of 5 May.

New Delhi: India and China have held military talks through established channels, amid continued friction at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, where troops from both sides have been challenging each other’s patrol on a daily basis. But sources told ThePrint that a solution is yet to be agreed upon.

Sources said the talks were held Tuesday, and that more will take place.

Clashes on the evening of 5 May, which left several soldiers injured on both sides, have led to tensions on the LAC. A large group of Chinese soldiers armed with sticks and stones attacked Indian troops on the northern bank of the Pangong lake, and destroyed some small temporary structures, setting off fresh tension along the LAC.

On 10 May, it was reported that even though the official disengagement happened on 6 May, additional troops have been moved up by both sides.

India and China have also built up additional infrastructure to cater to the increased number of troops, including setting up tents, sources said, adding that China has also moved in several vehicles and more monitoring equipment, and set up about 80 tents.

ThePrint had reported on 14 May that Indian and Chinese armies were working out the dates for the next formal discussions between “higher military authorities” in the Ladakh sector to sort out the tensions arising out of the recent violent face-off in the area.

Chinese state media reported that their troops have made the “necessary moves” and “enhanced control measures” at the Galwan Valley.

Also read: IAF’s Sukhois on sorties in Ladakh amid tensions with China but no jets ‘scrambled’

No face-off

While there is no “face-off” in a literal sense, additional troops have been stationed on either side of the LAC.

“There is no face-off. But whenever a situation arises, soldiers are moved from one location to another, depending on the need. No additional troops have been brought in from any other sector, but juggling of strength has taken place,” a source explained.

While Army chief Gen. M.M. Naravane has said there is no link between the clash in eastern Ladakh on 5 May and a fist-fight between troops in north Sikkim, multiple points of friction have come up in the eastern sector.

“Both sides continue to patrol through their perceived area of LAC and both continue to stop the other. However, no physical clash has taken place since the evening of 5 May,” a source said.

Sources explained that this is a regular feature during summer time, and proper channels have been established to ensure that the situation does not get out of hand.

Construction riled up China

Sources said India and China have increased the frequency of patrols along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, and also along the Pangong lake.

The 5 May clash between the troops happened on the northern bank of the lake, which resulted in several casualties on both sides. A clash had taken place in the same area last year too.

However, the main bone of contention in the sector this time is a series of border infrastructure construction activities that India is carrying out near the Galwan river in eastern Ladakh. Even though the construction is taking place nearly 10 km inside the perceived LAC, the Chinese have been objecting to it.

The road construction activities are important to India from a military point of view, vis-a-vis the key base Daulat Beg Oldi in sub-sector north in eastern Ladakh.

India’s Border Roads Organisation had built the Shyok-DBO road last year, much to China’s discomfort.

But sources say what really riled up the Chinese was the construction of a bridge over the ‘nallah’ (rivulet), which would also be useful to the locals.

Chinese state media had reported that the Indian side “built defence fortifications and obstacles to disrupt Chinese border defence troops’ normal patrol activities, purposefully instigated conflicts and attempted to unilaterally change the current border control situation”.

Also read: Pakistan’s 40-yr-old Gilgit-Baltistan dam project could finally be a reality, with China help

An aide-de-camp in the armed forces primarily functions as a protocol officer, who looks after implementation of the protocols, and as an executive assistant.

New Delhi: The Army is reviewing its policy on providing aides-de-camp (ADC) to the governors of states as it faces an acute shortage of young officers, ThePrint has learnt.

In a letter earlier this month, the Army headquarters has asked military secretaries of all the commands across the country to review if ADC should continue to be posted on deputation with the governors of states, keeping in view their functional utility and the current shortage of young officers in the Army.

The Army has also told the commands an ADC may be required in states having substantial army presence.

While states such as Punjab, Rajasthan, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have a large Army presence, states like Odisha and Jharkhand, have comparatively fewer Army establishments.

What is ADC in armed forces?

An aide-de-camp (official position) in the armed forces primarily functions as a protocol officer, who looks after implementation of the protocols, and as an executive assistant.

An ADC is also responsible for carrying out liaison with the local military authorities and looks after the professional requirements of the officer/governor he is attached to.

An ADC should have five to seven years of experience in the armed forces. He is selected on the basis of his professional performance and an interview.

Besides the governors of states, aides-de-camp are authorised to senior officers in the armed forces and the President of India.

Also read: Bipin Rawat’s plan to train jawans for officer role is Army admitting staff shortage, quality

President has five aides-de-camp

The President of India has five aides-de-camp — three from the Army, and one each from the Navy and the Air Force.

Each state governor has two aides-de-camp — one comes from either the Army/Navy/Air Force, and the other one from the state’s police force.

As many as 16 aides-de-camp are provided by the Army to the governors, while the rest come from the Navy and the Indian Air Force.

Earlier, Vice-Presidents were not assigned an ADC, but ever since Venkaiah Naidu took over as the Vice-President, he has been assigned two aides-de-camp from the military.

Over the last few years, several senior Army officers have been replacing their ADC with a staff officer, who has about 16-18 years of experience and is usually a “non-empanelled lieutenant colonel” because of a shortage of young officers in the Army, a senior Army officer told ThePrint.

Doing away with ADC system will be ‘worst decision’

The Army’s move to review the policy has evoked a mixed reaction. While some felt it would help address the redundancy of the job associated with the position, others said it is a legacy that should not be done away with.

A second senior Army officer told ThePrint the system of ADC to governors has “its roots in our legacy”.

“The service to the governor is the first point of military contact available to the state and one of the best selected officers is sent for the job. Continuing this is not only the interest of civil-military relationship, but also critical as the Army’s participation in democracy,” the officer said.

“Doing away with this out of narrow, perceptional gains will be the worst decision we can take, as it gives an exposure to the officers in military administration,” the officer added.

A third Army officer, however, said it is not yet a policy and at a preliminary stage. “Only views have been sought as of now on the idea,” the officer said.

Just a vestige of the past: Ex-Himachal governor

Some former governors were largely supportive of the idea to do away with the legacy of ADC.

Former governor of Mizoram Lt Gen. Madan Mohan Lakhera (Retd) told ThePrint: “There are so many times that the officer (police or military) ensures a smooth tour programme for the government (among other tasks). However, if the Army feels that there is a shortage of officers, military ADC can be withdrawn as the governor deals with mostly the civil population.”

V.S. Kokje, former governor of Himachal Pradesh, said the Army has initiated a good move.

“I feel it is just a vestige of the past. The roles performed by a military ADC attached to a governor can also be performed by others and they can contribute much more in their core jobs,” he said.

Nikhil Kumar, who has been the governor of both Kerala and Nagaland, however, said ADCs are personal secretaries to the Governor and are hence “an asset”.

“Special care is taken to select officers with a smart bearing and very good service record. He is expected to have high grade general knowledge and local sensitivities in his work as Personal Assistant of the Governor and is thus an asset,” he told ThePrint.

“He (the ADC) is also an Ambassador of his parent service/cadre expected to be at his best in assisting the Governor,” he added.

Also read: This is how more Army jawans can become officers under new Bipin Rawat plan

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 21

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld the acquittal of an Indian Army sepoy accused of raping the doctor wife of a lieutenant colonel. The prosecutrix had claimed that she was pregnant and had returned home from a visit to a hospital when the alleged incident occurred.

“Long silence regarding the alleged occurrence of prosecutrix and her husband, both of whom were well educated, creates doubt regarding the prosecution story,” the Bench of Justice Rajan Gupta and Justice Karamjit Singh observed.

The Bench also dismissed the prosecutrix’s application for grant of leave to appeal after terming it as “devoid of merit”. An FIR in the matter was registered for rape and criminal intimidation under Sections 376 and 506 of the IPC at Sujanpur police station in Pathankot against the sepoy. But Pathankot Additional Sessions Judge acquitted the accused after giving him the benefit of doubt in his judgment dated January 20, 2016.

In her complaint to the police lodged in February 2015, the prosecutrix had alleged that the incident had taken place in March 2014. She was pregnant and had gone to the hospital for medical check-up in her husband’s official vehicle driven by the accused. He followed her inside the house while carrying a bag of groceries before the incident occurred.

The Bench asserted the explanations put forth by the prosecution regarding delay in lodging the FIR did not appeal to the mind of the court.

The prosecutrix claimed she disclosed the alleged incident to her husband in January 2015. Even her husband stated the same. But the doctor treating her admitted that the husband of prosecutrix informed him about the incident in November 2014.

The Bench asserted it was not clear why the prosecutrix and her husband did not report the alleged incident dated March 4, 2014, to the police till February 2, 2015. The prosecutrix, while appearing in the witness box, admitted she kept accompanying the accused in the official vehicle to the hospital for her medical check-up during the next 15 days.

ribune News Service

New Delhi, May 21

Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar on Thursday said ways were being found to reduce the wage and pension bill at the Ministry of Defence. Addressing a wider strategic issue, he said the Indian Ocean Region was becoming “a threat” like the South China Sea (SCS).

The latter was the obvious unstated reference to China’s recent activities in the Indian Ocean, including building artificial islands near Maldives and the ongoing tussle in the contested hydrocarbon rich waters of the SCS.

He delivered a talk on “Covid-19, Resource Crunch and Defence modernization” and later answered questions at a web-seminar conducted by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) here.

On the Indian Ocean, he answered questions on “blue economy” euphuism for marine, fishing, minerals and energy, when he said security needs in Indian Ocean will have to be addressed, adding that the means of doing it are best left to experts.

On pensions, he said expenses rose from Rs 32,000 crore few years back to Rs 1,33,000 crore. “We have to look at ways to reduce pension and wage bill to free money for capital and modernisation,” he said. Possible extension of service (for jawans) which will reduce pension bill and long-term pension liabilities,” Dr Kumar said.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 21

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the manufacturing sector had been the worst-hit by the lockdown and the disruption in supply chains, and the defence sector was more aggravated than others as the only buyer of its products was the government.

Addressing a video conference on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) e-conclave, Singh said: “There are more than 8,000 MSMEs and partners of many organisations — ordnance factories, DPSUs and service organisations. They contribute more than 20 per cent of the total production of these organisations”.

The MoD, he said, had taken several steps for industries, especially MSMEs, such as extension of response dates of tenders and early clearance of pending payments. The definition of MSME has been revised for expansion. At the same time, there will be no distinction between manufacturing and services sector MSMEs.

In government contracts (procurements) of value Rs 200 crore or less, global tenders will not be allowed. This will help MSMEs to grow their business. In the event of being unable to participate in trade fairs due to Covid-19, e-market linkages will be ensured. The government and PSUs will also ensure the clearance of all outstanding payments in the next 45 days.