In late 2001, the BJP-led NDA government had proposed to register agents by recording their contractual, banking and financial details. At the time, the MoD reluctantly conceded that though agents performed ‘useful functions’, their working needed stricter regulation. But the conditions imposed for agents’ registration were so harsh, invasive and draconian that the proposal was scrapped, leaving the agents to function in a twilight zone that was to the advantage of all concerned.

UNDER A CLOUD: Payment of euro 1 million was detected in purchase of Rafale fighters. PTI

Rahul Bedi

Indian armament agents or ‘middlemen’ appear to have an explanation for the recent French media reports regarding the ‘unexplained’ payment of 1 million euros

(Rs 8.64 crore) by Dassault to a local businessman following the euro 7.87 billion (Rs 59,000 crore) deal with New Delhi for 36 Rafale fighters in 2016.

Several such intermediaries claim that the euro 1 million paid to the Gurgaon-based Defsys Solutions was a ‘success fee’ for assisting in the government-to-government Rafale buy for the Indian Air Force (IAF). “In all likelihood, this fee was for organising meetings between Indian and French officials and providing related logistic support for the tender,” said the representative of a European armament vendor in Delhi. The amount of 1 million euros, he added, was too paltry to be deemed a bribe in the euro 7.87 billion deal.

France’s Mediapart, an online investigative journal, had reported on

April 5 that their country’s Agence Francaise Anti-corruption (AFA) — analogous to India’s Comptroller and Auditor General — had stumbled upon this curious payment to Defsys whilst auditing Dassault’s business records. Dassault, for its part, had declared this to be a ‘gift’, which under French — and Indian — law is illegal in all military deals. Established in mid-2017, the AFA operates under France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, auditing government and privately-run companies in a bid to stem corruption.

Mediapart further stated that euro 1 million was disbursed to Defsys, headed by Sushen Gupta, to make 50 large replica models of the Rafale fighters, which the IAF is presently inducting into squadron service at Ambala, and thereafter in Hashimara in the north-east. Mediapart also disclosed that though Dassault could not furnish any proof to the AFA that these models had, indeed, been delivered to India, it intriguingly opted against referring the matter for prosecution. The journal also disclosed that Dassault was unable to provide the AFA with even a single document or photograph proving the Rafale models’ existence.

“It seems Defsys, which had allegedly played a major enabling role in several previous IAF combat aircraft and rotorcraft purchases, was in some way associated with the Rafale tender, possibly in providing administrative support to the French company,” said one other ‘facilitator’ in Delhi, working for a Western armaments manufacturer.

In a contract of this kind, he declared, there were innumerable managerial details that needed working out, which could only be expedited by an outside party for a variety of reasons. Consequently, payments to any and all such individuals or companies, could not be made public, prompting the vendor to ‘shroud’ their fee under innocuous heads, like making life-sized models of Rafale fighters, he stated.

According to media reports, Gupta, who is a US national, had worked as a Dassault representative in India and was reportedly associated in an undefined manner with the Rafale purchase. He is presently on bail after being arrested in March 2019 by the Enforcement Directorate in the Rs 36,000-crore import of 12 AW101 helicopters, which was terminated in January 2014 for wrongdoing, and remains under investigation.

But military and Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources said this was not the first time that ‘facilitation or enabling’ services had been employed to effect military purchases by India. Operating between the lines, several such agents like Gupta had, over decades, become vital to India’s weapons acquisition processes, helping the buyer and seller navigate the Byzantine MoD procurement guidelines.

Armament industry executives said the periodically revised procurement procedures were so convoluted that few at home or abroad could fully comprehend or decipher them. Consequently, the omnipresent agent, essentially an entrepreneur with a flair for public relations and man-management, gradually became indispensable to the country’s materiel procurement process. And, through experience, patience and tenacity in dealing with the Indian bureaucracy and the MoD’s hidebound systems, he unravelled for his principals the multi-tiered tortuous procurement processes. In return, he received handsome retainers and working expenses and a hefty commission on contract closure, similar to what probably transpired in the euro1-million payout in the Rafale contract.

Successful agents had also perfected the tactic of marshalling their clout to intervene in contracts nearing closure in a process that was compared by the former Army Chief General VK Singh, to a game of snakes-and-ladders, where there is no ladder, but only snakes. “If the snakes bite you somewhere, the whole thing comes back to zero,’ he had said in an explanation of why Indian defence equipment purchases took ages.

Privately, Indian military officers concede that no materiel can be imported without assistance from agents or local representative of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). “We frequently meet these agents to exchange information, discuss requirements and above all liaise for trials, which in themselves are a complex bureaucratic affair requiring innumerable clearances,” a senior military officer said.

In late 2001, the BJP-led NDA government had come up with a proposal to register agents by recording amongst other minutiae, their contractual, banking and financial details. At the time, the MoD reluctantly conceded that though agents performed ‘useful functions’, their working needed stricter regulation to prevent them from influencing decision makers. But the conditions imposed for agents’ registration were so harsh, invasive and draconian that the proposal was scrapped, leaving the agents to function in a twilight zone that was to the advantage of all concerned.

However, unlike media reports glamourising agents, their expensive accoutrements and playboy lifestyles, there is little allure attached to their work, which in reality is a gruelling, at times, soul-killing and humiliating enterprise. It requires them to ingratiate themselves with grasping military men, unscrupulous MoD officials, politicians and power brokers, continually flattering them, in addition to proffering incentives for clearing their deliberately delayed paperwork in labyrinthine military departments and the MoD in the Sena Bhawan and South Block, respectively.

French news portal puts a face to Rafale allegations

The French investigative news portal, Mediapart, has claimed that there was indeed a middleman in the much-debated Rafale deal. – File photo

The French investigative news portal, Mediapart, has claimed that there was indeed a middleman in the much-debated Rafale deal. At the very outset, the Rafale deal struck by the NDA government had come in for attack from the Opposition over the pricing of the twin-engine medium multi-role combat aircraft. The Opposition had claimed that while it was in power, it had struck a much better bargain with the same Dassault Aviation for the delivery of 126 jets at a lower price with transfer of technology to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited than what was finally agreed to in 2016 for the off-the-shelf purchase of 36 aircraft at 7.87 billion euros. The agreement was vetted by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the allegations of corruption were heard and dismissed by the Supreme Court twice, first in 2018 and then in a review petition in 2019. Now, the Mediapart investigation has dug up dirt on the deal and put a face to the allegations.

According to this online journal, French anti-corruption watchdog Agence Francais Anti-corruption in its routine audit of the contract found that Dassault had agreed to pay an Indian company — middleman Sushen Gupta’s Defsys Solutions — one million euros for producing large replicas of the Rafale jet. But, according to Mediapart, the audit did not find any proof of the replicas being actually made and that ‘the head of the French Public Prosecution Services’ financial crimes branch, Eliane Houlette, shelved investigations into the evidence of corruption behind this deal despite the contrary opinion of her colleagues’.

US national Sushen Gupta was arrested for his involvement in the UPA-era VVIP chopper kickback case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and is now out on bail. His name getting linked to the Rafale deal brings to focus the omnipresence of middlemen in India’s defence sector and exposes the hollow claims of successive governments. Whether as brokers routing billion-dollar bribes or as puny go-betweens pocketing million-dollar facilitation fees, Indian taxpayers cannot afford these shadowy characters of the netherworld of defence contracts. The Mediapart allegations should be investigated.

Kurukshetra MP Nayab Singh Saini said police had a tough time in getting him away from the protesters

Kurukshetra MP Nayab Singh Saini. File photo

Kurukshetra (Haryana), April 6

Protesting farmers on Tuesday blocked a BJP MP’s car, smashing its windscreen as he tried to leave a party worker’s home, police said.

Kurukshetra MP Nayab Singh Saini said police had a tough time in getting him away from the protesters at Shahbad Markanda, 20 kms from here.

Farmers protesting over the three new farm laws were sitting on a ‘dharna’ in front of Jannayak Janta Party MLA Ram Karan Kala’s home when they learnt that the MP had reached a BJP worker’s home in nearby Majri mohalla.

They then gathered outside the BJP worker’s home while Saini had tea inside, police said.

According to Saini, when he tried to leave the place over 50 protesters ‘gheraoed’ it.  A few of them jumped over the vehicle while someone smashed the windscreen with a stone or a lathi, he said.

He said it was with great difficulty that police got him out of the area in the SUV.

The Kurukshetra incident was the latest in a series of protests by farmers against ruling BJP-JJP coalition leaders in Haryana.

The MP said those who indulge in acts of violence against elected representatives cannot be farmers. Such people are defaming farmers, he added.

Police were deployed in large numbers in the after the incident.

Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police Himanshu Garg said police are investigating the matter and would file a case against those found responsible for the violence.

On Saturday, farmers had held a protest against Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Rohtak, forcing authorities to shift the landing site for his helicopter.

Farmers also held a protest last week against Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala outside Hisar airport.

Farmer leaders have said they would continue their “peaceful social boycott” of leaders from the BJP and its allies.

The Centre says the new laws will free farmers from middlemen, giving them more options to sell their crops.

The protesting farmers, however, say the laws will weaken the minimum support price (MSP) system and leave them at the mercy of big corporates. PTI

One of the major challenges faced by the TA Directorate was the management of increasing LMC personnel in TA units

Photo for representation only. Source: iStock.

Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 6

With over 16 per cent of Territorial Army (TA) officers at present being in the low medical category (LMC), the Armed forces Tribunal has observed that having unfit officers would deprive the country of benefits of having a physically and mentally fit and robust officer leadership for units employed in the security of the nation, with direct consequences for the entire country.

“The organisation has authorised a total of 503 TA officers of which 396 are posted. Of these, 65 officers are LMC,” the tribunal’s bench comprising Justice Rajendra Menon and Lt Gen PM Hariz observed while vacating the stay imposed earlier on the disembodiment of several officers because of poor physical fitness.

In addition to TA officers, the organisation is also authorised 172 officers from the regular army.

One of the major challenges faced by the TA Directorate was the management of increasing LMC personnel in TA units.

Keeping in view the overall security environment prevailing since May 2020, the TA Directorate at Army Headquarters commenced improving the operational fitness of its units and sub-units, according to the Tribunals orders issued on April 5.

Accordingly, in the cases of junior commissioned officers and other ranks, that personnel unsuitable due to their medical condition were disembodied and discharged from service.

In the case of officers, the TA Directorate issued instructions to units to initiate cases for LMC officers to be placed on Special Unattached List (SUL).

Instructions were also issued to the officers concerned to get themselves medically upgraded where possible during the period in which they are on SUL, failing which case for their termination of service from TA would be initiated.

Officers could seek embodiment once they were declared medically fit by the competent authority.

Some of the officers aggrieved by this move moved the Tribunal, challenging their placement on the SUL.

They averred that they did not meet the criteria for being placed on the SUL, there were no adverse comments by superior officers on their demonstrated performance and no show cause notice was served to them.

The Army contended that the concept of TA encompassed the employment of physically and medically fit gainfully employed civilians to support, supplement and augment the resources of the regular army in times of need.

Unlike the regular army, TA does not provide a full-time career and apart from mandatory training, additional embodiment was subject to organisational requirements or specific tasks. Further, the policy for the management of LMC cases in the TA was different from that of the regular army.

Pointing out that of late there has been an increase in LMC officers in the TA the army claimed that it was seen that many were not keen to get upgraded to take benefit of disability pension on retirement.

This attitude defeated the very concept of TA and such officers not only failed to maintain their fitness but owing to such disabilities posed a threat to the mission of their unit and the men under their command.

The Tribunal’s bench observed that considering the overall security and operational environment in the country and the continued employment of TA in active operational areas, it was vital for the organisation to institute such measures to ensure the operational effectiveness and capabilities of its units and subunits.

Stressing that it was implicit and axiomatic that the TA took necessary measures to ensure fitness standards in the leadership provided by TA officers, the bench remarked that having LMC officers with various medical disabilities and employment restrictions not only affected the successful execution of the mission of TA units but also directly impacted the life and sustenance of the men these officers lead.

At present, about 85 per cent of TA infantry units and sub-units are embodied and deployed in an operational role.

Several other issues relating to the concept of TA and present rules and regulations governing the TA raised by the petitioners would be heard by the Tribunal in due course.

The court also sentenced assistant garrison engineer rank official to five-year jail term in the case

Photo for representation.

Dehradun, April 6

A special CBI court here has sentenced a Lt Colonel to 10-year rigorous imprisonment in a five-year-old bribery case.

The court also sentenced assistant garrison engineer rank official Manish Singh to five-year jail term in the case.

While delivering judgment in the matter on Monday, CBI judge Sujata Singh imposed a fine of Rs 55,000 on Lt Col Bharat Joshi while Manish Singh was fined Rs 15,000.

Lt Colonel Joshi, who was at that time working as a garrison engineer in the Military Engineering Services, demanded a bribe of Rs 38,000 from a contractor for clearing his bills.

His deputy Manish Singh, who was working as an assistant garrison engineer at the time was convicted of mounting pressure on the contractor to pay the amount to Lt Col Joshi in one go.        

The contractor who wanted a completion certificate from the army officer for a two-storey building in the Instrument Research and Development Establishment campus paid him Rs 10,000 as the first instalment of the bribe.         

At the same time, the contractor also lodged a case with the CBI against Lt Col Joshi and his deputy.

The investigation agency laid a trap for the duo and arrested them when they were taking the second instalment of the bribe from the complainant, according to prosecution lawyer Satish Garg. PTI

On Haryana’s disease graph, Vardhan said the infection spreading to smaller towns is a matter of concern

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. File photo

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 6

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday said the COVID-19 spread in Punjab was mainly event-driven with marriages, local body elections and farmers’ agitation playing their part.

In a virtual interaction with the health ministers of 11 high burden states, including Punjab’s Balbir Singh Sidhu, this evening, Vardhan said about Punjab, “In Punjab, the UK variant of the virus has been found in over 80 per cent cases. Cases are surging and genome sequencing has also established the presence of the variant. This case surge is mainly event driven with marriages, local body elections, and farmers’ agitation playing a part.”

On Haryana’s disease graph, Vardhan said the infection spreading to smaller towns is a matter of concern.

“What is happening calls for introspection and action. Laxity is evident in this constant surge. Even right now everything is in our control and if we stick to strategies that helped us contain the infection until February we can bring down the cases,” said Vardhan.

He said 50 central teams in Punjab, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh will send daily feedback on containment progress to the Health Ministry for corrective action.

The minister also said the recent spate of elections, Kumbh, reopening of offices, outdoor events by people and complete disregard for masks had led to the current surge.

“The fight against COVID is no rocket science. We just need to do more of the same—masks, hand hygiene, social distancing,” Vardhan said, urging states to stringently remind people of the lost lessons.

Seventy-five new forest fires were reported from across the state in which 105.85 hectares of green cover was gutted, they said

Photo for representational purpose only

Dehradun, April 6Advertisement

IAF helicopters doused forest fires at three places in Uttarakhand on Tuesday, even as more broke out at 75 new spots, destroying 105.85 hectares of green cover in the state, officials said.

The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) MI-17 helicopters moved to the Kirti Nagar forest division of Tehri district to control the fires by spraying water collected from Shri Kot dam in buckets with a capacity of 5,000 litres, they said.

Forest fires were doused in Bariargadh and Sarkyana in Kirti Nagar range and Khirsu in Pauri district on Tuesday, Chief Conservator of Forest Garhwal S K Patnaik, under whose supervision the exercise was carried out, said.

The firefighting operation lasted three-and-a-half hours, he said.

However, in the Kumaon region, IAF helicopters could not be utilised as bad weather prevented them from taking off, the officials said.

Seventy-five new forest fires were reported from across the state in which 105.85 hectares of green cover was gutted, they said.

As many as 414 forest fires have been reported from Uttarakhand in April so far and 645.3 hectares of forests destroyed, they said.

Nainital, Almora, Tehri and Pauri districts are the worst hit by forest fires. -PTISHARE ARTICLE

No plans for Russia-China military alliance; such ties are counterproductive: Lavrov

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before a meeting in New Delhi, on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. PTI

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 6

Far from being dissuaded from the US threat to impose sanctions, New Delhi and Moscow discussed the additional production of Russian military equipment under PM Modi’s make-in-India initiative, said visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after meeting his counterpart S Jaishankar here on Tuesday.

Noting that Russia is the only partner that transfers cutting-edge military technology to India, Lavrov said talks touched on manufacturing of state-of-the-art weapon systems.

“In this strategically important area, Russia is a major foreign contractor for New Delhi. I am sure deepening of Russian Indian military cooperation serves the national interest of both countries,” said Lavrov.

Denying that he had said US exercises pressure on India, Lavrov said there were no discussions on statements from the US against arms trade with Russia.

In a departure from top US officials advising India to cut down on arms purchases from Russia, Lavrov said Moscow respected the right of India to diversify ties in these areas. Both sides also touched on cooperation in energy, including nuclear, peaceful exploration of space and manned programs, rocket engine building, satellite navigation, the Russian Far East and the Arctic.

Fresh from a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month, Lavrov said though Russia-China relations at the summit-level are at their highest levels in history; there are no discussions on a military alliance. Whether it was a Russia-China military alliance or talks of a Middle East NATO or an Asian NATO, “we believe it is counterproductive. Our Indian friends have the same position,” he observed.

Lavrov hinted that in addition to an in-person summit of BRICS leaders in India next month, Moscow was also encouraging the idea of a Russia-India-China summit.  

In a pre-visit interview, he said Russia was closely watching the process of normalisation at the LAC and welcomed the agreements reached after the Jaishankar-Wang Yi telephone conversation on February 25 aimed at resolution of the situation.

Afghanistan was a major area of discussions between the two Foreign Ministers as were other “thorny issues” in the neighbourhood such as Yemen, Syria and Iran. Lavrov described India as a “key player” for a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan and “definitely should be engaged in international efforts supporting Afghan national reconciliation process”.

Jaishankar, back from Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process conference in Dushanbe last week, said he stated that a durable peace would require harmonising interests of all, both within and around that country.

Jaishankar said the agenda of discussions also included UNSC issues, Myanmar, ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific. Larger backdrop of global political changes provided the context, he added.

The Army always remembers and never forgets its own. Colonel GT Thampi of the 2/4 Gorkha Rifles turned 100 and the regiment sent representatives all the way from Ranchi to Thiruananthapuram to make him feel special. Colonel Thampi was friends with Sam Bahadur.

Indian Army (representational image) | PTIText Size: A- A+

New Delhi: The Indian Army is discussing a proposal to directly enrol Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) in all arms of the service to address the shortage of nearly 14,000 officers.

JCOs — a link between the officers and other ranks in the Indian Army — are currently enrolled as jawans and few of them get promoted to officers over a period of time based on their performance and on their ability to clear promotion examinations.

Currently, a few JCOs are directly enrolled as religious teachers and in certain technical arms such as the Corps of Engineers.

However, fighting arms of the Indian Army do not have any provision for direct enrollment of JCOs. The Army has been promoting JCOs to officers from among their own ranks.

What the proposal states

According to the proposal, the Indian Army will directly induct JCOs who have cleared the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview. The UPSC will conduct an entrance examination, which would be followed by an SSB interview and a medical examination.

Selected candidates would then be trained for one and a half year before joining the units as JCOs. Subsequently, they would be promoted to officers up to the rank of Colonels based on their length of service and qualifications.

The proposal states that four direct entry JCOs will be authorised to a unit having 14 officers, five to those with upto 19, and six to units with 20 or more officers.

The proposal is likely to be presented during the Army Commanders Conference which is likely to be held later this month.

Also read: Army to equip all infantry battalions, not just frontline troops, with US Sig Sauer rifles

‘Will not impact current promotion prospects’

A senior Army officer told ThePrint that the JCOs enrolled directly will be offset against officer vacancies in units and not impact the existing promotion prospects of other ranks.

Though select JCOs and other ranks have an opportunity to get promoted as officers, the numbers are inadequate, primarily due to lack of necessary qualifications, because of which many get rejected at the SSB interview conducted for aspirants.https://2641c9617fda347ac476fb8ddebca1cb.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

The new proposal looks at directly enrolling JCOs who will subsequently be promoted to officers in a shorter time frame, thereby addressing the problem of shortage of officers to a large extent.

A second senior Army officer said that, at present, jawans usually are promoted to JCOs upto the rank of Subedar, with a select few being promoted to the rank of Subedar Major.

“The new proposal will not not impact these vacancies or the promotion prospects for jawans,” the officer said.

“The proposed direct entry JCOs would be inducted against entry level vacancies of the officer cadre,” the officer added.

The vacancies of promotion of jawans were also increased during the last Cadre review, when the number of authorised JCOs in all arms were enhanced, the officer said.

Also read: Probe in Army recruitment scam finds candidates in defence academy who paid ‘bribes’ to get in