As a part of the exercise, some jawans had jumped into the lake from a helicopter to hone their skills in saving a drowning person
Photo for representation.
Jodhpur, January 7
A captain of Army’s 10 Para (Special Forces) was feared drowned in a lake here on Thursday during a training exercise to rescue people trapped in water bodies, said police.
Captain Ankit Gupta of 10 Para (SF), the Army’s specialised unit for desert warfare, jumped into the Kalyana lake from a helicopter as part of the training exercise, but could not come up with other trainees, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar police station’s SHO Jai Kishan Soni said.
The SHO said the Para 10 (SF) had been conducting the training exercise at the Kalyana Lake on outskirts of Jodhpur on Thursday afternoon.
As the captain did not show up after jumping into the lake, a rescue operation involving policemen, SDRF personnel and divers was launched promptly but his body could not be located till late in the evening, said the SHO.
As a part of the exercise, some jawans had jumped into the lake from a helicopter to hone their skills in saving a drowning person. They were supposed to hold the drowning person and rescue him safely back to the helicopter, he said.
The para 10 SF personnel initially tried to locate Capt Gupta on their own, but when they failed to do it, they informed their seniors, who rushed to the lake and a search operation involving experts was launched, said the SHO.
On getting the information, the police also rushed to the spot and roped in SDRF, the civil defence team and some private divers to search the drowned officer.
According to some sources, Captain Gupta had come out and had been holding the hands of the rescuers during exercise but slipped and fell back into the water. — PTI
Dassault Aviation eyes Made-in-India Rafale, looks to raise investment in country
A Rafale jet at the induction ceremony in Ambala. | Photo: Praveen Jain/ThePrint
New Delhi: Looking to increase its investment in India, French defence giant Dassault Aviation is game for manufacturing Rafale fighter jets in the country, and will make a fresh pitch for it to the Narendra Modi government, ThePrint has learnt.
French sources in the know of developments said Diplomatic Advisor to the French President, Emmanuel Bonne, who is on a visit to India, will make a pitch of the French government’s offer to make the Rafale fighters in India — if the numbers in play are closer to 100.
If a smaller number comes to pass, the French maker would not manufacture the Rafale in India as a whole but would increase the procurement of parts from the country, sources said.
The offer comes at a time when India is in the middle of induction of the 36 fighter jets ordered in 2016 by the Modi government. While these 36 jets were procured under the emergency clause, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is working on a tender for 114 new fighters.
However, there is speculation in Indian power corridors that it is easier for the country to buy another 36 Rafale fighters, along with indigenous Tejas Mk-2, than to opt for a fresh procurement process.
Top government sources told ThePrint that any call on additional Rafale fighter jets would be taken only after the delivery of the first 36 are complete. However, they noted that the Rafales are expensive.
In October 2020, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria had for the first time officially indicated that the decision to buy two more squadrons of Rafale fighter jets is under consideration.
ThePrint reached Dassault Aviation via email for a comment but there was no response till the time of publishing this report.
Speaking to ThePrint, a source said, “The French government has already told the Indian government that Rafale can be made in India if there are higher numbers. This will also be raised during the strategic level talks and interactions between the two sides at various levels.”
In 2017, France had written to the Modi government to opt for Make in India route for the Rafale jets.
Sources said Dassault Aviation is working on setting up a third hangar at the Nagpur facility, a joint venture with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence.
“The idea is to have five hangars in total. Dassault Aviation already manufacturers and procures engine doors and the canopy from India. The idea is to scale it up with time,” a source said.
On 11 June 2019, ThePrint reported that Dassault Aviation is likely to start manufacturing parts of Rafale fighter jets at its India facility even though it was not part of the original plans.
The Nagpur facility of Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL) started making cockpits for the French manufacturer’s Falcon business jets, besides other parts. The idea is to eventually build the Falcon 2000 entirely in India.
Higher order needed
Dassault Aviation would need a higher order of around 100 aircraft to start a Rafale production facility in India, said the sources. The chief executive of the French firm had said the same during the Aero India show in 2019.
“If that is done, Dassault Aviation will have two production lines, one in France and the other in India. The Indian plant will also produce Rafale for other countries,” a source said, pointing out that the fighter is in fray for orders from Greece, Malaysia, Indonesia and Switzerland.
Asked if there is a possibility for Make in India if the French get additional orders for lesser numbers, the sources said it would not be possible but the French firm will increase sourcing of parts from India.
Army men help the woman and her family cross a snow-covered stretch on way to a Kupwara hospital. Tribune photo
New Delhi, January 7
The Army troops waded through knee-deep snow in Kupwara district to carry a pregnant woman to a hospital. The woman and her infant boy are doing fine.
It had been snowing for nearly 24 hours, when at 11:30 pm on January 5, the Army’s company-level operating base at Karalpura, Kupwara, received a distress call from Manzoor Ahmed Sheikh, a resident of Pharkian village in the same district. The Army unit is under the Hajipir Brigade. Sheikh informed that his wife Shabnam Begum was undergoing labour pain and needed to be evacuated to a hospital immediately.
However, due to the heavy snowfall and inclement weather neither the community health service vehicle nor any civil transport was available and would be possible only after the snow was cleared from the road. Keeping in mind the advanced stage of pregnancy and the plight of the family, the Army troops at Karalpura along with battlefield nursing assistant and medical needs, reached the spot. The Army men escorted the woman and the family for about 2 km in knee-deep snow to reach the road head, from where she was taken to Karalpura hospital. On reaching the hospital, the woman was immediately attended to by the medical staff. The coordination was carried out beforehand by the Army with the civil administration.The father of the infant came to the Army base to distribute sweets to all troops. — TNS
Army plans to keep 2 strike corps for mountains facing China amid Ladakh crisis
I Corps, deployed on western border with Pakistan, is being realigned to focus on northern theatre, while 17 Corps will focus on eastern theatre.
Representational image of an army convoy moving towards Ladakh | File photo: ANI
New Delhi: Amid the continuing stalemate with China in eastern Ladakh, and with the proposal for Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) yet to come into effect, the Army is looking to keep two strike corps for the mountains facing China as part of a larger restructuring plan, ThePrint has learnt.
Defence sources said two existing strike corps — I Corps and 17 Corps — will be slightly restructured to focus on the northern and eastern theatres respectively, to tackle any threat from China. The restructuring is likely to be implemented by this month.
ThePrint reached the Army for an official comment via email, but it said details and implications of force structures cannot be shared.
The Army currently has four strike corps — the Mathura-based I Corps, the Ambala-based II corps, the Bhopal-based 21 Corps and the partially-raised 17 Corps. The primary role of a strike corps is offensive trans-border action against an adversary.
A defence source said the I Corps, which was earlier responsible only for the western theatre bordering Pakistan, is now being realigned to also look at the northern theatre.
“Similarly, the Panagarh-based 17 Corps, which is the only existing mountain strike corps, will keep its focus only the eastern theatre,” the source said.
The eastern sector broadly covers Sikkim and Northeastern states’ borders with China. The northern sector broadly covers areas of Ladakh and J&K, while the central sector covers the areas south of eastern Ladakh and the borders that Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand share with China.
Currently, the I, II and 21 Corps focus on the western border facing Pakistan, while only the 17 Corps focuses on China. The 17 Corps, sanctioned in 2013, was supposed to have two divisions instead of the regular three, but only the 59 Division now based in Panagarh was raised — the other was among the raisings shelved due to financial constraints. Earlier this year, some elements of the 17 Corps had also been deployed in eastern Ladakh.
The sources said the plan is to get the I Corps to also focus on the northern theatre with two infantry divisions. An armoured division, earlier part of the corps, is likely to be employed as an Army headquarters reserve focusing on the western theatre.
The 17 Corps, meanwhile, will be given an additional division from an existing corps to enhance its capability and focus on the eastern theatre. This will not be a fresh raising, and it is not clear where this division will be based.
The 17 Corps debuted last year in a massive exercise called ‘HimVijay’, which also saw the IBGs concept in action. ThePrint had earlier reported that there are also plans for the 17 Corps to get its own artillery brigade.
Last year, Army chief General M.M. Naravane had said it is expecting a green light from the Union government to set up the first of the IBGs — self-contained, agile, brigade-sized fighting units — at 9 Corps, which is deployed at the western border with Pakistan. However, the plans got delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A division for central sector too
Sources said the Army is also planning to realign a division from an existing corps to focus exclusively on the central sector with China. This division is likely to be under the central command and will focus on the central theatre, thereby strengthening the offensive options in case of any protracted conflict with China.
“The western theatre is being reorganised in such a way that two strike corps continue to focus on that front with adequate support from the existing holding corps (those deployed for defensive options) to retain the offensive options against Pakistan,” a second defence source said.
The M777 Ultra Lightweight Howitzers — meant for mountainous terrains — will be handed over to the artillery regiments allotted to these formations facing China.
Asked about the need for the restructuring, the source quoted above said the decision is especially critical given that the stalemate with China continues in eastern Ladakh, and talks have been unable to break the impasse.
“After the restructuring comes into place, troops will train according to the new operational tasks and be prepared for contingencies in the mountains in any sector,” the source said.
Farmers participate in a tractor rally to protest against the newly passed farm bills at Singhu border near New Delhi on January 7, 2021. Reuters
New Delhi, January 7
Had it not been for the farmers’ protest against the new agri laws that began over a month ago, 22-year-old Navpal Singh would have never planned a trip home at this time from Texas in the US, where he is a student.
“This protest forced me to come here,” said the mechanical engineering student whose father and grandfather are farmers.
“The last time I had come home was less than a year ago…in March, so I had no plans whatsoever to visit again, but the way this protest has taken over this country and also the world, I couldn’t stay away,” he said.
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting at multiple Delhi borders against the new agri laws.
Singh arrived in India on Monday and has been travelling between Singhu and his ancestral village in Punjab’s Jalandhar every day since.
Even though he is not a farmer himself, Singh felt the need to be part of the protest because of his farming roots that have provided for his education.
“People might think I have no direct connection with farming…that I am studying in the US, I will also work and get married there, but my father and grandfather are farmers.
“I wouldn’t have been able to have my life in the US without the farmers. And now it is my responsibility to come forward and stand with them in their fight for their rights,” he said. Several rounds of talks with the government have failed to break the deadlock with the government pushing the new legislations as important reforms in the agricultural sector.
The next round of talks is scheduled on Friday.
The farmers on the other hand have maintained that they want the three laws to be repealed. They have also threatened to enter Delhi on January 26 if their demands are not met.
About the stalemate between the government and the farmers, Singh said it was the former’s way of “breaking their spirit”.
“By scheduling talks after talks, the government is trying to simply drag the protest as long as it can, and hoping that it would eventually break our spirits, but they are mistaken.
“A movement like this does not happen every now and then. Today’s rally alone has shown our strength and numbers,” said Singh, who will return to Texas on January 18.
Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.
However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the MSP and do away with the “mandi” (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. PTI
Giving an impetus to the use of indigenous items, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will be using ‘khadi durries’ (rugs) manufactured by the cottage industry.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) will be procuring 1,71,520 cotton ‘khadi durries’ for use by the CAPF that functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The value of the order is Rs 8.5 crore.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard has been signed with the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) by the ITBP.
Western Command tests offensive concepts amid Ladakh standoff
Various units of Ambala-based Kharga Corps carry out field drills as part of winter training
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 6
Amidst a volatile security atmosphere in the subcontinent, the Army’s Western Command conducted an integrated training exercise involving all arms to fine tune its battle drills in line with its operational role along the western front.
Various units of the Ambala-based Kharga Corps, the Army’s most potent strike formation, carried out the field drill over the past few days as part of its winter training cycle. The exercise took place even as a large number of troops, including armoured, artillery and engineer elements, continue to maintain eyeball to eyeball confrontation with the Chinese along the Line of Actual Control in the northern sector in a stand-off that has been continuing for the past about nine months. Some units from the western theatre were also moved up to eastern Ladakh.
The exercise is aimed at validating evolving military concepts and offensive manoeuvres meant to inflict a swift punitive blow to the adversary while operating in a networked and informationalised domain. Tactical air support, heli-borne operations and sub-conventional warfare also feature in such exercise.
Are protesting farmers taking precautionary measures against Covid, SC asks Centre Ensure COVID-19 guidelines are followed, says concerned CJI
Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 7
As hundreds of farmers continue with their protest against the three farm laws in the national capital, the Supreme Court on Thursday expressed concern over the possible spread of COVID-19 and asked the Centre if they were taking precautionary measures against the pandemic.
“You must tell us what is happening? I don’t know if farmers are protected from COVID-19. Same problem may arise in the farmers’ protest too,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said during a hearing of a PIL seeking a CBI probe into Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in March last year in violation of restrictions imposed due to COVID19.
The petitioners alleged the congregation led to faster spread of COVID-19 due to “inaction” on the part of the Centre and the Delhi government, putting others’ lives at risk.
As Solicitor General Tushar Mehta replied in the negative and said he will find out the status and file a report in two weeks, the Bench said it could give rise to a situation like Tablighi Jamaat event at Nizamuddin.
“We are trying to ensure that COVID-19 doesn’t spread. Ensure guidelines issued are followed,” the CJI said.
The top court was hearing petitions challenging the validity of the three farm laws passed by Parliament last year.
One of the advocates said Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad was not traceable and his whereabouts were not known.
Granting time to the petitioners to file a rejoinder, the Bench said the matter will be taken up on Monday along with other petitions on the issue.
Noting that there was no improvement in talks between agitating farmers and the government, the top court had on Wednesday said it would take up petitions against farm laws and those against farmers’ protests on January 11.
“There is absolutely no improvement in the situation,” CJI Bobde had said during the hearing of a PIL by advocate ML Sharma on the issue.
Attorney General KK Venugopal had told the Bench, “There is a good chance that the parties may come to some conclusion in near future.”
The CJI – who had on December 17 indicated constituting a committee of independent and impartial persons, including agriculture experts, to end the stalemate between protesting farmers and the Centre – had said, “We understand the situation. We want to encourage the talks. We will keep the matter on Monday and will adjourn if you say so.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had pointed out that since healthy talks were going on between farmers and the Centre, it would not be advisable to take up the matter immediately.
What to expect from eighth round of talks between Centre and farmers Small and marginal farmers comprise close to 85 per cent in the country
As farmers, braving adverse weather conditions, draw elaborate plans for the month for Lohri, January 23—Netaji Subhas Chander Bose’s birth anniversary—and Janaury 26, it seems the government, too, is prepared for a long haul. PTI/file
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 6
While unions/ ‘jathebandis’ and government are working hard to keep alive the communication channels, after the January 4 meeting it is more or less clear the government has ceded all it intends to persuade farmers to end the agitation.
As farmers, braving adverse weather conditions, draw elaborate plans for the month for Lohri, January 23—Netaji Subhas Chander Bose’s birth anniversary—and Janaury 26, it seems the government, too, is prepared for a long haul.
Ahead of the January 8 talks with farmers (eighth if the meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah is discounted), top sources say the government has already relented on the proposed Power Act, the Ordinance on stubble pollution and offered amendments to the three Acts and this is about as far it is willing to go on the issue.
“Otherwise, they (farmers) should tell us something new, we are ready to discuss the three Acts threadbare, clause by clause,” they say.
Given the kind of support/traction the agitation has received from common people, the matter has moved out of the hands of union’ leaders for any resolution on a middle path now, this too farmer and government negotiators know well.
“It is now a people’s movement,” says a union leader.
Besides, as Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has pointed on many occasions, it is the matter of the entire country and not just Punjab and Haryana.
“Politically it is the question of 23 seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha (of Punjab and Haryana),” they say.
The small and marginal farmers comprise close to 85 per cent in the country. Moreover, if the government relents any further, it will only end up opening prospects of more such protests.
The government, “which has visibly toned down/softened on agitators and the agitation”, seems to have offered a “joint committee on MSP”, which unions rejected, sticking to their demand for a legal framework to ensure minimum support price.
It is not just the three laws, farmers have also junked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim of implementing recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission and are demanding a guaranteed MSP on 23 crops so that they can “diversify” from paddy and wheat.
Kisan-Farmers Movement-Agri Acts Dec 2020 Tractor march held by farmers around the Delhi borders makes history
Delhi, January 07, 2021: A massive tractor march was held by the farmers, protesting at the Delhi borders, today in a bid to oppose the three controversial agriculture ordinances. The march witnessed several thousand tractors to and from Tikri border and Singhu border. Notably, the march was conducted by the farmers a day before the meeting of farmers’ leaders with the central government.
The march kickstarted around 11am from both the major borders and ended around 4 pm at a central point between both the borders. A large number of farmers across the states including Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan took part in the tractor march with great enthusiasm.
As per the farmers’ unions, this march was conducted to perform a rehearsal as the leaders have already announced to conduct a massive tractor march into Delhi on the occasion of republic day. The farmers’ unions said that the march was successfully conducted today as a large number of farmers took part in it excitedly and they are hoping to see see more number of farmers in the coming tractor march.
It is to be noted that the farmers unions will conduct a meeting on Friday with the central government at the Vigyan Bhawan to discuss on the controversial three agricultural ordinances. Although the farmers have not been satisfied yet after attending the meetings with the central government.
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