Jaipur, January 14

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said military veterans inspired the government to create the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

“The veterans are the ones who provided inspiration for this,” he told ex-servicemen at an event here. The event was also attended by the first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and Army Chief Gen MM Naravane. Creating the CDS post was much needed and when he became the Defence Minister and made a suggestion in that regard in 2018, the PM made a declaration to that effect during his Independence Day speech, Rajnath said. — O

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 14

In a major development, India is set to induct the BrahMos missile-equipped Sukhoi 30-MKI fighter jets at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.

The formal induction will be done next week under the re-raised the 222 Squadron — The Tigersharks — of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The Russian-origin Sukhoi’s will be mandated for a maritime role. In lay parlance, the jets can be used for sea strikes using the BrahMos missile, sources said. So far, the IAF had been using the Jaguar for a sea-role and also in the past the MiG-27 was used. The range of the Sukhoi is far greater and is capable of carrying the air-version of the BrahMos which weighs about 2.5 tonnes.

The IAF will have the only air-launched supersonic weapon of its kind in the world that can be fired from an air platform at a target at sea.

The BrahMos has a minimum range of 290 km. The Sukhoi 30 MKI, has a flight radius of some 1,000 km extendable by mid-air refuelling, hence allowing a strike at target far-off at sea.

The IAF’s capability to fire the supersonic cruise missile from the Sukhoi 30-MKI, will allow pilots to stay away from the reach of enemy missiles.

On December 17, the IAF had carried out the third successful firing a BrahMos missile from the Sukhoi-30 MKI, completing the integration of the supersonic missile with the fighter jet.

The test was conducted in ‘user configuration’ meaning it was in a configuration as it would be used by the IAF in a real-time scenario.

New Delhi, January 13

The Aviation Ministry on Monday announced a scheme providing a window up to January 31 for voluntary registration of all drones and their operators, days after top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone attack.

Those who fail to register will face action under the Indian Penal Code and the Aircraft Act.

In a notice, the ministry said, “The presence of such drones as well as drone operators has come to the notice of the government which do not comply with the CAR (civil aviation requirements).”

“In order to facilitate the identification of civil drones and drone operators, a one-time opportunity for voluntary disclosure of such drones and drone operators is being provided… All persons in possession of drones are required to complete the process (of online registration) by January 31, 2020,” it added.

The number of illegal drones in India is likely to be between 50,000 and 60,000, co-chair of a FICCI committee on drones, Ankit Mehta, had said on October 22 last year.

Major General Soleimani, 62, the head of Iran’s elite al-Quds force and architect of its regional security apparatus, was killed when a US military drone fired missiles at his convoy while it was leaving the Baghdad International Airport on January 3.

A senior Indian government official said the attack “precipitated the government to take action to regulate hundreds of non-compliant drones” that are operating in the country.

“What happened at Gatwick airport in December 2018 was already there on our mind,” the official added.

Gatwick airport, Britain’s second-busiest after Heathrow airport, remained closed from December 19-21, 2018, when multiple rogue drones were seen flying over the perimeter fence. During the three-day period, around 1,000 flights had to be cancelled or diverted to prevent any untoward incident.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on August 27, 2018, had issued the CAR to regulate the use of civilian drones in the Indian airspace.

Under these regulations, a process has been prescribed for drone operators to obtain Unique Identification Number (UIN), Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP) and other permissions.

Called the “No Permission-No Take Off” regulation, a drone operator has to use the DGCA’s software programme DigiSky to obtain valid permissions before operating drones in India.

In the notice issued on Monday, the ministry said, “On successful submission of voluntary disclosure of possessing drone, a Drone Acknowledgement Number (DAN) and an Ownership Acknowledgement Number (OAN) will be issued online which will help in validation of operation of drones in India.”

However, the DAN and the OAN do not confer any right to operate drones in India if it does not fulfil the DGCA’s drone regulations, the ministry clarified.

“Further, ownership of drones in India without a valid DAN or OAN shall invite penal action as per applicable laws. This database will be issued to process each case as per the regulations by seeking further information, if required,” the ministry stated.

Smit Shah, Director – Partnerships, Drone Federation of India (DFI), said on Monday,”We believe that such a step taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation will provide an accurate number of existing drones in India.” “This data should ideally become the base for understanding the scale of drone operations in India and for taking further policy decisions. This may enable flying of drones easily in the future while maintaining high standards of safety, security and accountability.” said Shah.

The Drone Federation of India (DFI) is an association of drone companies such as Asteria Aerospace, Quidich Innovation Labs, AutoMicroUAS, Aarav Unmanned Systems and Indrones. PTI

The arrest of drug couriers who used drones as drug mules on the Indo-Pak border near Amritsar is both a cause for concern and satisfaction. The police should be commended for busting the gang. Yet, the operation itself, as well as the sophisticated means used to courier drugs that allowed the smugglers to bypass many security barriers, is worrying. The Punjab Police have recently been quite active in ferreting out criminals dealing in illegal drugs. However, action against the big fish is awaited.

For too long, there has been a tendency to blame Pakistan for the drug trade. The demand for drugs is domestic, and thus while it may be convenient to blame the neighbour, there is a need for a deeper look within too. These drones are being used by Indian smugglers who fly them across the border to fetch the contraband. So, the police need to nab the local smugglers who have caught up with hi-tech drone technology before they turn more lethal using better technology. Efforts should also be made to provide proper treatment and care to drug addicts. Only a multi-pronged approach, along with a concerted campaign by the police to find and apprehend the drug smugglers, will help achieve long-term results.

The misuse of drones has raised security concerns across the world, and the government of India too is seized of the matter. Indeed, after an all-out ban on drones was found impractical, a new policy to license drones came into effect from December 1, 2018. It has been rightly criticised for being too bureaucratic. However, the need for effective control of drones has been driven home time and again. Governments worldwide are struggling with means to govern the proliferation of drones, and thus prevent their misuse. The Punjab Police deserve credit for intercepting the gang, but this is not a local issue. It has serious national ramifications, which the Centre should appreciate.

Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 10

On the second day of their Jammu and Kashmir visit on Friday, the group of 15 foreign envoys visited the Jagti Camp township housing 10,000 displaced Kashmiri Hindus. It’s for the first time in three decades that such a large group of diplomats from various countries have visited any of the camps housing J&K Pandits.

The envoys reached Jagti in a convoy of 21 vehicles late in the afternoon and met a small gathering at a community centre, spending nearly 40 minutes there. The displaced Pandits told the visitors that the scrapping of Article 370 had rekindled hope of New Delhi soon starting a rehabilitation process.

US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster gave a patient hearing to the issues raised by the camp inhabitants, along with other envoys, who were handed over a memorandum.

“We spoke of Pakistan’s role in supporting terrorism and the subsequent exodus. We also told the envoys that with Article 370 gone, it was now time to resettle Pandits at one place in Kashmir,” said Ashwani Chrangoo, a senior community member, who said they presented a seven-point ‘agenda of future’, including resettlement of Hindus and Sikhs forced to flee Kashmir during insurgency, reservation of five seats for the two displaced communities in the UT Assembly and a legislation to preserve religious heritage of minorities in the Kashmir valley.

“We are happy that our voice is being heard. We told the envoys the plight of our youth. We are hopeful the world will understand why scrapping of special status was necessary,” said Desh Rattan, Virander Raina, KK Khosa and SL Koul.

The envoys were greeted with ‘Free Kashmir from Islamic terrorism’ posters. For more than four hours, two protesters stood outside the community centre carrying these, one saying: “We are here to deliver a message that the world should unite against terrorism.”

Arun Joshi

Fifteen envoys, prominent among them from the US and South Korea , were on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir to see the ground situation in the aftermath of doing away with the special status and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories (UTs) on August 5.

About the human behaviour, they went by what they saw, but did not hear much. The meetings were very few, and dominated by anti-Pakistan narrative and the “good work” that the Centre had done after making J&K, a UT, something that in the overall discourse is not accepted by any one, barring those who have developed a tendency to be shepherded for their own reasons.

The spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Raveesh Kumar noted that the visit for the envoys was “to see the efforts being made by the government to bring the situation to normal and see first-hand impact of series of steps taken by the local administration to normalise the situation in recent weeks.”

It was obviously to give push to the discourse of normalcy in Kashmir in the international eyes.

An innocuous question, why the GoI wanted envoys to see the process of normalisation in J&K? The mention of August 5 and the situation that followed was taken out of reference .It was mystifying, as the normalcy had come under threat only after what had happened on August 5, which Kashmiris had neither expected nor accepted. Kashmir had a conflict zone of its own, but the restrictions they experienced were a never-before phenomenon – Internet continues to be shut, political leaders, including three former chief ministers are in detention and the overwhelming presence of troops tells its own story.

Indeed, the major threat to peace and normalcy emanated from Pakistan.

Islamabad that had never recognised Article 370 as a link highlighting J&K’s irrevocable relation with India suddenly became champion of the restoration of the special status of J&K. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan delivered provocative speeches at the UN and within Pakistan with a clear design to instigating bigger troubles in the Valley.

Pakistan that had stoked armed militancy and was responsible for several thousand deaths in Kashmir attempted yet again to ignite a fresh round of trouble on this issue, knowing the special status was an article of faith for Kashmiri Muslims.

On January 10 before the envoys concluded their visit, the Supreme Court reprimanded the government on the Internet shutdown, now close to six months, and also took the administration to task for the frequent issuance of orders on the restrictions.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Baig said it very succinctly, Kashmir is calm, not normal.

Normalcy is a vibrant participation in daily life with a promise of assured future.

The roadmap to future is seen in good governance, roads, bridges and economic assuredness on which the administration under Lt-Governor GC Murmu is working. But Kashmiris want more. The Centre should decipher that, before opening the situation for diplomatic analysis.