Jammu, April 1

A civilian was injured on Monday as heavy firing exchanges took place between Indian and Pakistani troopers on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, police said.

The civilian, identified as Muhammad Sharief, was injured by a mortar splinter and has been shifted to hospital for treatment, the police said.

Authorities have also closed all educational institutes close to the LoC following the ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Army at the Shahpur and Kerni sectors that began at 7.45 am.

According to Defence Ministry spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand, the Pakistani troops resorted to mortar shelling and firing of small arms.

The Indian troops retaliated effectively in the firing which is continuing intermittently. IANS

http://

Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, March 25

The Indian Air Force on Monday formally inducted Chinook helicopters at Air Force Station 12 Wing in Chandigarh.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa attended the induction ceremony. Also, teachers from four different religions were present at the ceremony.

The helicopters were flown to Chandigarh, which would be the choppers permanent base. Two hangars and a maintenance bay along with associated technical and logistics facilities were to have been set up here for the purpose.

Chinooks have a payload capacity of about 10 tonne and will provide much-needed fillip to the IAF heavy-lift capability, a role earlier being fulfilled by Soviet origin Mi-26s, also based at Chandigarh.

The IAF had four Mi-26, but now is left with just one serviceable machine. Chinooks will lift artillery, vehicles, road construction and engineer equipment as well as troops and supplies to mountainous sectors in North and North-East.

Chandigarh is no stranger to Chinook. Three of them belonging to British Royal Air Force had been airlifted here from the UK for onward journey to Nepal for flood relief operations in 2015. After being re-assembled and test-flown, these spent a few days here before being recalled home

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh completes two years of his second term in office today. In an interview with The Tribune, he recounted his government’s achievements. Excerpts:

How would you rate the performance of your government?

More than satisfactory. We have made progress on all fronts, despite an acute financial crisis. We have put the economy back on track and alleviated the woes of lakhs of farmers with our debt waiver scheme. Investors and industry are now coming to Punjab. We have been able to break the backbone of the drug mafia. Most gangs have been eliminated. We’re facilitating employment with 5.76 lakh youth getting jobs every day in the government and private sectors.

We brought an end to VVIP culture within days of taking over. Other states followed suit. There is a lot more — development of infrastructure, particularly link roads, upgrading standards of education and making healthcare more accessible and affordable. We have raised the quantum of funds for social welfare schemes and launched Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana to ensure the benefits reach the intended beneficiaries. Most importantly, we have brought transparency in governance.

There is a perception that several ministers, especially Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sukhjinder Randhawa, are not on the same page with you.

I am not clear what exactly you are referring to, but in a democratic institution, everyone has the right to opinion on issues. Navjot felt differently on the issue of travelling to Pakistan for Imran Khan’s swearing-in. But as I have stated earlier there were personal reasons. It has been the Congress culture to allow members to speak their mind and yet be on the same page on a majority of issues. I am sure Navjot is on the same page as me when it comes to national security. His remarks on the IAF airstrikes need to be read in the same light. He is an emotional man.As for Sukhjinder, like other ministers, he wants quick action in sacrilege cases. But I have made it clear to him, and to everyone else, I cannot just rush to throw someone behind bars, without proper investigation. The judiciary will take action once investigations are complete. Sukhjinder knows I don’t believe in vendetta.

Have you been able to deal with the drug and liquor mafia and organised crime?

Very effectively, I would say. As I have said many a time, we have broken the backbone of the drugs mafia and saved our youth. Owing to efforts by the STF formed to tackle the menace, 19,443 cases have been filed under the NDPS Act, 22,933 persons arrested and 469 kg of heroin seized, besides other substances. Simultaneously, we are focusing on treatment and rehabilitation of the affected youth.

Coming to organised crime, our police has made a major breakthrough and eliminated notorious gangsters who had a free run under the previous regime. The figures with me show 1,332 gangsters and 18 terrorist modules have been busted and three terrorists and 22 foreign handlers either arrested or neutralised.

What about the outcome of the SIT probe into the role of bigwigs in sacrilege cases?

Let me clarify the SIT is not investigating the role of bigwigs in sacrilege cases, it is probing all aspects of the crime and the subsequent police firing. As to when the SIT will complete the probe is not for me to say. It is an independent agency. It will submit its findings to courts after the investigations are over. Those who have tried to divide us by inciting communal hatred and those behind the killing of innocent persons have to face the consequences of their actions. They have already gone scot-free for long.

Your party MLAs feel it is the bureaucracy, not elected representatives, who are calling the shots.

There were some complaints initially from MLAs but those were resolved. I personally told the bureaucrats that they must respect the MLAs, who are a bridge between the government and the people. They have been told that any lack of respect to elected representatives will not be tolerated. The bureaucracy and elected representatives are now working closely in the interest of the people. They are both pillars of my  government. I will ensure they continue to work in harmony.

The bureaucracy and elected representatives are working closely in the interest of the people. They are both pillars of my government. I will ensure they continue to work in harmony. — Capt Amarinder Singh, Punjab CM

As the Supreme Court asked the Attorney General, if the documents are genuine, does it matter if they are stolen?

At one point, especially after the CAG report, it appeared the government had weathered the worst of the Rafale controversy. Ideally, there could have been no comparison between the UPA’s Rafale deal and that of the NDA since, despite 10 long years of negotiations, there was no UPA deal; it was just an unending conversation and merely a statement of intent. The deal was stuck on costs since the Indian partner – the public sector HAL – was going to produce the aircraft at a higher cost than Dassault in France and, more important, Dassault was not willing to stand guarantee for the aircraft HAL produced even though these would be under license. The fact that the UPA wasn’t able to sign a deal while the Indian Air Force found its fleet rapidly depleting would, in normal circumstances, be enough to ensure the Congress party kept quiet on the deal. Indeed, the recent statement by the then defence minister AK Antony, that he had intentionally delayed the deal in the national interest – he has not explained what he meant – makes the UPA’s position even more untenable since the story is no longer just one of the usual delays in defence procurement, it is a lot more worrying.

Despite this, however, the CAG made some assumptions in order to compare the NDA’s deal and the UPA’s non-deal, and concluded that the NDA’s was a bit cheaper than the UPA’s despite the number of aircraft being much smaller – usually, smaller deals cost more. While some have argued that the assumptions made by the CAG for this exercise are incorrect, in times when few have the patience to hear detailed arguments, the headline is what really matters, and that favoured the NDA.

Given this, and the fact that The Hindu had published stories critical of the Rafale deal even earlier, it is indeed odd that Attorney General KK Venugopal should now ask the Supreme Court to not consider the latest story because it was based on stolen documents; he even said the government may file a case under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) since stolen official papers were used. Not surprisingly, the judges were quite caustic and asked him why stolen papers shouldn’t be used if they shed new light on the matter. One judge even asked Venugopal whether the courts should refuse to look at documents that proved a person’s innocence just because the documents were stolen. Such a defence, to even those sympathetic to the government’s dealings in the Rafale case, indicates that the government has something to hide. In the past, in fact, when The Hindu published a story last month suggesting irregularities, the defence minister had given a convincing reply without bringing in the allegations that the documents were stolen. Indeed, the Attorney General should be asked to name a single case of corruption where the documents used to prove the case were not ‘confidential’ government files and which, going by his stance, should have resulted in arrests under the OSA. And if national security – another tag that is being invoked – is to be used each time a journalist publishes government documents, surely this would apply to other corruption cases as well, including Bofors? More so when even fairly routine papers are marked classified or top secret.

Apart from the fact that it is not a journalist’s job to protect the government’s interest – in exposing official lies, the journalist is answerable to a larger cause, that of society or the country – the Attorney General should have kept in mind that, over time, governments all over the world including India are moving towards removing the veil of secrecy that covered most official dealings; India’s Right to Information attempts to ensure citizens have enough information to expose the wrongdoings of officials. Sadly, it is not just the BJP – though it stands exposed right now – most political parties speak in different voices at different times on laws like official secrets or sedition; they want them scrapped when they are in the opposition but use them quite liberally when they are in power.

Get live Stock Prices from BSE and NSE and latest NAV, portfolio of Mutual Funds, calculate your tax by Income Tax Calculator, know market’s Top Gainers, Top Losers & Best Equity Funds. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

On 26 February, twelve Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Army were chosen for a “non-military, pre-emptive strike” on the camp of the terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) inside the Pakistan territory. The Mirage 2000 jets were chosen due to their advanced capabilities of hitting long-range targets with “pin-point” accuracy and dropping a range of bombs and missiles including laser-guided ones, Indian government sources had said earlier. The weapons used by the Indian Air Force at its targe in Balakot, about 60 km from the Line of Control, were Israeli-developed SPICE-2000. The SPICE, which stands for Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective, is a guidance and maneuvering kit manufactured by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The SPICE kit adds a sophisticated guidance system—consisting of inertial navigation, satellite guidance and electro-optical sensors for pinpoint accuracy—and control fins to a conventional unguided bomb.

The SPICE-2000 is reportedly the biggest conventional bomb that can be delivered by the IAF. It is used on French-origin Mirage-2000 jets. The IAF acquired SPICE-2000 for use against fortified & underground command centres. The SPICE-1000 kit, which is available for 500kg bombs, has a glide range of nearly 100km, while the SPICE-2000 (meant for 1,000kg bombs) has a glide range of around 60km. Weapons like the SPICE-1000 and the SPICE-2000, are also difficult to detect by most ground-based radars. SPICE can overcome errors in locating the target, GPS jamming and reduces collateral damage.

The Indian Air Force is in the process of equipping its Su-30MKI with Israeli SPICE-2000 laser-guided bombs, it is being reported. Once the Spice-2000 smart bombs are integrated with the Sukhoi Su-30 jets, it will be a major upgrade for the Indian Air Force as a major part of its fleet will be able to launch these smart bombs.

Maj Gen Raj Mehta

India’s patriarchal landscape is evolving. Today, a woman is no longer solely dependent on a man or merely a baby-producing machine.  She is different no doubt, but his equal too. And she is feisty as well. Whether she is a civilian, a service officer or his wife, even widow, courage is in her DNA.

Gauri Mahadik, wife of Maj Prasad Mahadik

After Major Prasad Mahadik was killed in the line of duty in December 2017 in Arunachal Pradesh, his widow Gauri (32) did not just mourn her husband’s death, she wanted to pay him a befitting tribute by ‘wearing his stars and uniform’. She didn’t want to ‘just sit and cry ’but to do something for him and make him proud. She decided to follow in his footsteps and started preparing for Service Selection Board (SSB) examination in the widow category. Recently, she topped it. Gauri Mahadik will be inducted into the Army as a lieutenant by March 2020 after completion of training.

Gauri had made a seminal, epochal statement that she would wear her late husband’s uniform accoutrements, thereby taking on the implied challenges of wearing them. There have been other brave military widows who have followed her path before but no one has made her intent so clear.

Nitika Dhaundiyal, wife of Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal

These modern women have the gumption to look the world in the eye and bid adieu to their departed braveheart husbands without tears, like the heroic Kashmiri woman Nitika Kaul Dhaundiyal. Her husband, Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal, a resident of Dehradun, was killed in an encounter with JeM terrorists in Pulwama on February 18.

A bride of just 10 months, Nikita was a picture of courage at his funeral. While paying her last respects to her husband, Nitika whispered her love and respect for him, before proudly shouting out a farewell Jai Hind to him. Her last words were a statement in resilience. “I’m really proud. We all love you. The way you love everyone is entirely different because you sacrifice your life for the people who you may have never contacted, but still you decided to give your life for them. You are such a brave man. I am very honoured to have you as my husband. I’ll love you till my last breath. I owe my life to you.”

“Yes it’s hurting that you’re leaving but I know you will always be around. I’ll request everyone not to sympathise, rather be very strong because this man holds a position larger than any of us standing here. Let’s salute this man. Jai Hind”.

Indian women are like that; capable, gritty and resolute in their resolve. While these are examples of Army widows who are as valiant as the force they married into, there are many women who wear the Olive Green with as much courage and valour.

Lt Babita

In August 2004 as GOC 19 Division at Baramula, North Kashmir, I was informed that a fidayeen had rammed his explosive-laden car into a fully-occupied Uri-bound Army bus carrying officers and soldiers at Pattan on the Srinagar-Baramula-Uri highway.The SSP Baramula and I rushed to the site. There were scattered body and vehicle parts and shattered glass all around.

In the crushed bus was young Babita then a lieutenant, on her first day of military service in the war zone. Still conscious, this heavily bleeding young officer murmured to me in Hindi, “Sir, maa ko mat batana. Fikr karegee. Main theek hone par badla loongi.” Later on, when my wife and I visited her at the Srinagar Base Hospital, she remarked with a typical Haryanvi humour. “See ma’am, my face is OK; Shaadi ho jaye gi. Jatni hoon, aisi waisi nahin! Her infectious smile was strangely uplifting. This was the standard response expected from brave, motivated male officers and she was their equal.

Lt Col (Dr) Deepika Pathak

Lt Col (Dr) Deepika Pathak was the no-nonsense second-in-command of a field ambulance unit at Pattan in the notorious Baramula-Pattan-Sopore triangle. By the nature of her appointment, she was also responsible for the security there. On a surprise visit, I found flaws in her security setup, and took her to task about it. When I re-visited a week later, she had everything buttoned up. She then also firmly pointed out the supply-side laxity that was responsible for security stores deficiencies. She could hardly have responded like this if the Army did not encourage mature interaction that disregarded gender.

Lt Himani Thapliyal

In February-March 2005, when officiating as GOC 15 Corps during the unprecedented snow tsunami that claimed 240 lives, the Army, as always, reached out to help its Kashmiri brethren. With BB Cantt, Srinagar, also impacted, snow had to be removed from rooftops of soldiers’ quarters to prevent collapse. On finding fresh-from-young-officers-course the then Lt Himani Thapliyal, from engineers corps on a high, slippery rooftop with a shovel, I asked her to come down if she felt like it. “I’m a pahari and can do the job better than my men,” she replied firmly.

Capt Sukkriti Shukla

There was another heroic officer there — Capt Sukkriti Shukla, a GIS/IT expert. A captain then, she liaised with NRSA and SASE at Hyderabad and Chandigarh, respectively, post the snow tsunami for flood/earthquake zoning of the Kashmir Valley with intelligence and deep understanding of these complex issues.

Capt Devika Gupta

It was a cold evening in January 2004. Baramula had the reputation of being the terrorism hub in North Kashmir. As GOC, I was informed of a grenade blast casualty of 28 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion. The soldier, his intestines hanging out, was stitched up by the then duty MO, Capt Devika Gupta. “We must move him in an open jeep ambulance to Base Hospital, Srinagar, Sir, if he is to survive,” she told me. She disagreed with my suggestion for her and her patient’s safety of moving in a mine and bulletproof vehicle. “I’m the doctor, Sir. Let me do what is best. And should I be targeted en route, I have my husband to grieve over me,” she said tersely. I did the only right thing with a hundred-odd soldiers watching their GOC being “sorted out”.

Despite her Gurkha escort vehicles breaking down at Pattan, Devika proceeded unescorted; joined in the operation, then called back to report success. She was then in her second trimester of pregnancy and requested half a Sunday off for tests. Two days later, the Chief of Army Staff awarded her his recommendation for bravery.

Spending seven tenures in J&K or with operational tasking in J&K, I came across many Army women climbing the Himalayan slopes with men, carrying 30kg packs; doing combat firing, commanding medical troops, being staff officers/doing bridging training on the Chenab, engaging in Navodya border school teaching/Army school management; running orphanages, running GIS and IT software with skill; helping build a war museum that was much praised on its inauguration in December 2004 by President APJ Abdul Kalam.

Women’s physiological differences as a combat disqualifier are issues that need review. But we should let the women decide whether they want to opt for combat roles or not. Most do not worldwide. However, what we need is sensitive perception management, taking women along. They seek progress, respect and acceptance as equals even if they are different.

Are we listening?

New Delhi, March 2

The chiefs of the Indian Air Force and Navy will get Z-plus security cover after a fresh assessment of their threat perception by the security agencies, officials said.

The decision was taken after a thorough review of the threat perception of IAF chief Air Marshal BS Dhanoa and chief of Naval staff Admiral Sunil Lanba in the wake of heightened tension with Pakistan.

The chiefs of Air Staff and Naval Staff would be given the Z-plus security, a government official said.

Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat has already been given the Z-plus security.

The official, however, said close proximity security of the chiefs of Air Staff and Naval Staff would continue to be given by the commandos of the respective forces, and the peripheral security would be given by the central and state security agencies.

Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after 40 CRPF personnel were killed and many injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a JeM suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district.

Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. PTI

New Delhi, February 15

The terrorists might have got the information about the movement of a large number of CRPF personnel in Pulwama district, which led to the high number of casualties, officials suspect.

The deadliest terror attack on CRPF in recent times in Jammu and Kashmir claiming at least 39 lives so far took place when over 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora in south Kashmir around 3.15 pm.

Usually, about 1,000 personnel are part of a convoy but this time it was a total of 2,547 personnel.

Not ruling out violation of Standard Operating Procedures when such a huge movement of central forces is taking place in the troubled state, officials requesting anonymity said a clear picture on loopholes, if any, will be known after a thorough probe. 

“Such a large movement of troops must have been known to a lot of people. There is a possibility of this information reaching to terrorists,” a security official suspect.

Moreover, the number of personnel travelling back to the Valley was high as there was no movement on the highway for the last two to three days because of bad weather and other administrative reasons, they said.

The experts of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and NSG have been asked to assist Jammu and Kashmir police in the investigation of the attack.

All aspects of the attack will be probed by the concerned agencies, they said.

The security forces have not faced such a severe terror attack in recent time in the Valley.

On September 18, 2016, four terrorists had attacked Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri at 5.30 am in which 19 soldiers were killed.

It is the second deadliest attack faced by the CRPF since 2010 when a team of naxals had ambushed its troops in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh killing 76 personnel of the force.

Seven years later, the force again lost 25 of its men to a similar attack by naxals on April 24, 2017 in Sukma, Chhattisgarh.

In the Valley, the force had faced an ambush on June 25, 2016 when Lashkar-e-Taiba militants attacked its convoy in Frestabal area of Pampore on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway killing eight of its personnel. PTI

Rs 3,18,931 cr defence budget (Rs 1,12,080 cr has been separately allocated for pensions to veterans)

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 10

Though the Narendra Modi government has, in the Interim Budget, allocated the highest-ever sum of over Rs 3 lakh crore for the defence sector, it would still fall short by around Rs 17,000 crore to meet the existing liabilities of purchase of new weapons and equipment and also for future needs.

The liabilities are fixed installments to be paid periodically for new equipment or works and projects to be executed. The budget, announced by interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on February 1, allocated a whopping Rs 1,08,248 crore as capital expenses for the 2019-20 fiscal. This is meant for new equipment, weapons, aircraft, naval warships and Army vehicles.

The allocation would need to be augmented, said sources, adding Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had been informed and the Finance Ministry was aware of the matter too.

A hike probably would be affected once the new government was elected and full budget presented again sometime in June. The existing sum allocated for capital for the forces is some 32 per cent of the total Union Government’s capital expenditure.

For the coming year, the Army needs another Rs 6,300 crore over and above its capital allocation of Rs 29,700 crore. The Navy has been allotted Rs 22,227 crore. The existing liabilities for capital acquisition alone stand at Rs 25,461 crore, a shortfall of Rs 3,000 crore.

The Air Force needs Rs 47,413 crore for the forthcoming fiscal while the allocation is Rs 39,347 crore. The IAF will be paying for Rafale jets, the Chinook helicopters and also the Apache attack copters.

In all, Rs 3,18,931 crore ($44.74 billion), including the capital, has been allocated to the Ministry of Defence. A sum of Rs 1,12,080 crore has been separately allocated for defence pensions. The combined budget for operations, salaries, pensions and capital stands at Rs 4,31,011 crore, which constitutes 15.5 per cent of the government’s spending.

The salaries and establishment expenses and pensions continue to add a burden on the resources. The services are literally weighed down by bulging “establishment” costs—salaries and pensions. The salaries of the three services and the civilians work out to be Rs 1,19,559 crore and now form 37 per cent of the budget. The salaries and pensions, as such, take up more money than what is allocated for modernisation.

Chandimandir Military Station gets 2 MW solar power plant

Lt Gen Surinder Singh, general officer commanding-in-chief, Western Command, during the inauguration of a 2MW solar power plant in the Chandimandir cantonment on Tuesday. The ₹10-crore project is the largest in the Western Command. The plant will generate about 29 lakh electricity units annually.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 5

A two megawatt solar power plant has been set up at Chandimandir Military Station, which is stated to be the largest solar power project within the Army’s Western Command.

Involving an investment of Rs 10 crore, the plant will generate at least 29.5 lakh units of electricity annually or about 2.45 lakh units per month resulting in approximate savings of more than Rs 2 crore annually.

Spread over an area of 9.5 acres, the plant consists of a total of 6,250 Indian-origin solar panels and solar cells. It was inaugurated by Lt Gen Surinder Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, today.

The Military Engineering Services (MES) tendered a 2 MW solar project to be developed at Chandimandir in Haryana. The bid-submission deadline is June 28, 2017. The estimated project cost is Rs.136.5 million (~$2.11 million).

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, the MNRE has allocated 356 MW of solar to be developed by defense sector in India at premises of defense establishments or on land occupied by cantonments and other military establishments inside the country.