New Delhi: Even as it prepares to deal with any emergencies due to the Covid-19 crisis, the Army is launching a cyber security exercise this month to assess its operational preparedness in the cyber domain.

In a recent interview to Economic Times, India’s National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) Lt. Gen. Rajesh Pant had said almost 4,000 fraud portals related to coronavirus have been created across the globe by cyber criminals and mafia organisations in the last two months.

The Army too had, in March, issued an advisory that said targeted campaigns on the theme of coronavirus have been undertaken in the last few weeks by India’s adversaries to compromise email or other accounts and also to infect official or personal IT assets of defence personnel.

Army sources told ThePrint the annual exercise will help assess the defensive cyber security preparedness of the Army, data security and in evaluating compliance to the Army’s existing cyber security policies.

“The exercise is aimed at looking for vulnerabilities in the network and coming out with corrective actions. The exercise will generally help take a relook at the existing procedures, verify if reported issues have been resolved and carry out additional checks to secure the force’s cyber infrastructure,” an Army source said.

While preparations for the exercise had begun last month, it is likely to conclude by November, after which a final report will be prepared, sources said. The exercise was conducted last year too.

Also read: Ready to operate beyond mandate to fight the pandemic: CDS Bipin Rawat

Exercise to evaluate cyber awareness

Defence sources said cyber security exercises, in general, evaluate cyber awareness and precautions taken by every individual in the service apart from strengthening intra service networks from cyber attacks. These include phishing or denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which are a malicious attempt to disrupt normal traffic of a targeted server, service or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic.

For three months in 2019, India faced the most cyberattacks in the world, according to a reportreleased by Subex, a Bengaluru-based firm providing analytics to telecom and communication service providers.

The report, released on 27 February, notes that while the US was the most cyber-targeted nation in 2019, India held the top spot in April, May and June.

ThePrint had earlier reported that the Indian Army faced at least 23 cyberattack attempts last year. Lt Gen D.B. Shekatkar (retd), president of the think-tank Centre Knowledge Sovereignty India, had then said there would be an increase in cyberattacks from India’s adversaries in the years to come, which could be “deadlier” than terrorist attacks and can also affect a nuclear facility, or the air traffic control system, the power grid or even disable the war machinery during a war.

Also read: Soldiers failing to disclose Covid-19 information will invite action under Army Act

The Army, Navy and Air Force are putting in place separate measures after the Indian military’s first case of COVID-19 was detected in Leh.

New Delhi: From restricting the entry of veterans and essential civil contractual staff, to staggered langar (meal) timings for troops — the Indian military has put in place strict drills to stop coronavirus from getting into its bases.

The drills are being strengthened after the Army reported its first case of COVID-19 — a 34-year-old jawan in Leh. It has quarantined all soldiers and colleagues of the soldier, who is attached to the Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre.

A senior Army officer had earlier told ThePrint that the Army is dealing with the outbreak in three stages: Prevention within the force, assistance to the civil administration, and planning for contingencies, which may arise if the coronavirus threat reaches the next stage.

Also read: Military’s isolation camps on standby, Army ready to deploy facilities to fight COVID-19

Why military is being extra cautious

Military bases can accommodate up to a few thousand personnel and their families, living as a community with close interactions.

Thus, in the eventuality of even a single person contracting COVID-19, the spread is likely to be at a faster rate, not just affecting the community, but also operational preparedness, defence sources told ThePrint.

What the Army is doing

Among the multiple measures being put in place, the Army has restricted retired personnel and any civil porters, contractual maintenance workers or vendors into the garrisons. Many of these civilians work regularly in the garrisons.

“Only bare essential movement from within or outside the garrisons is being permitted. Permissions are only being given on a case-to-case basis,” an Army source told ThePrint.

The Army has extended leaves of its personnel across the country until 15 April, and for the limited troops coming back from leave, temporary duties or courses, sources say there are separate quarantine barracks being created with beds and other basic facilities at the unit level.

The returning personnel will have to undergo a two-layered medical screening at field areas — first at transit and then at the units — after which they will be required to spend two weeks in the quarantine barracks. Every barracks will have about 15 to 25 people.

Additionally, isolation barracks are being created for suspected cases with flu-like symptoms, where they will stay put for two days. If their health doesn’t improve, they will be evacuated.

Meals for the troops will also be served barracks-wise at staggered timings, to avoid crowding. Only one designated person will be serving the troops, according to the missive. Personnel have also been advised to restrict visits to places of worship.

This aside, the Army is setting up multiple hand-washing points, minimising congestion in barracks, shutting down non-essential stores and canteens inside the garrison. It will also display instructions, banners, posters and play of audio messages across the units.

“The initial drills set up are being upgraded in minute details. The essence lies in ruthless implementation of the drills set up,” a senior Army officer said.

The Army has also has set up a mechanism to trace contact history by asking each individual to maintain a daily contact log.

Also read: Defence Ministry proposes leasing of military equipment and specialised trial wing

‘Naval dockyards empty’

The Navy, too, is in the process of shutting down offices not considered essential, and enforcing work from home for all officers.

“The men will go into a two-watch system. There will be bare essential manpower required to run the offices,” a senior Navy officer told ThePrint.

The Navy has also restricted the entry of non-uniformed people into dockyards. Since then, the dockyards are virtually empty, given that regular civil staff can’t come in after public transport was stopped, sources say.

Entry of domestic help and guests has also been restricted in the Navy’s residential areas.

Navy personnel who have been on ships deployed in foreign countries will be quarantined for 14 days on return.

“We are still deciding the full modalities of work from home with the security overlays and procedures,” a Navy source said.

IAF restrictions

Sources in the Indian Air Force say regular briefings are being conducted on the measures to be undertaken by its personnel.

The IAF has also restricted manpower at workplaces to 50 per cent, while the other 50 per cent work from home. It has also directed the Director General Medical Services to work out a disinfection plan for office complexes of Air Headquarters.

Also read: Rafale production halts in France due to COVID-19, jets’ delivery to India could be delayed

New Delhi: The Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) in Gwalior has started conducting tests for COVID-19 cases, while also producing hand sanitisers in small quantities.

The DRDE, which is a part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is the nodal lab for the development of chemical-biological defence technologies and works on national preparedness against the use of such agents in warfare.

The body was selected by Madhya Pradesh health authorities to carry out the detection tests for people suspected of being coronavirus patients.

A senior DRDO official said the tests will be carried out with protocols “duly standardised in accordance with National Center of Disease Control (NCDC)”.

Also read: By failing to scale up testing coronavirus, India may have lost crucial time

Production of sanitisers

The DRDE has been producing hand sanitisers in its lab in accordance with the World Health Organization’s guidelines. It has produced at least 14,389 bottles of 500 ml each.

The formula is a tried-and-tested product that is already a part of DRDO’s inventory.

These sanitisers have been distributed to top security establishments, such as the National Security Council Secretariat, Special Protection Group, the defence forces and the Prime Minister’s Office. It has also been supplied to the National Technical Research Organisation, Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau and government think-tank Niti Aayog.

“We are a R&D organisation and don’t have big production facilities. Some of the other DRDO labs have also been authorised to produce the sanitising solution in limited quantities,” the DRDO official said.

The DRDE might scale up its production based on future requirements, according the senior official.

Also read: How the hand sanitiser came about — from 12th century to 1997

DRDO implements extra measures

In addition to running tests, the DRDO has set up multiple screening mechanisms for its personnel and their families coming from abroad. At DRDE, which is a Biosafety level – 3 lab, such screenings have already begun, according to the official.

Multiple awareness programmes are also being run regularly and hand sanitisers distributed to all DRDO labs across the country. Further, DRDO has set up a 24X7 helpline to field questions on COVID-19 daily.

In an interview, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, DRDO chairman and secretary, Department of Defence R&D, said the Gwalior-based lab has developed diagnostic kits against enlisted biological agents like Anthrax.

Also read: Work from home, more sick leaves, no visitors: How Modi govt is keeping staff COVID 19-free

New Delhi: The Army has initiated Covid-19 testing in their hospitals as India gears up to test more people amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to senior Army officers, five Army hospitals have been conducting testing of Covid-19. These facilities are Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Command Hospitals in Udhampur, Lucknow, Bangalore, and the R&R Army Hospital in Delhi.

The decision in this regard came earlier this month, Army sources said.

The move comes at a time when the country — with just 52 government laboratories — clearly lacks adequate testing facilities.

With the rising number of confirmed cases, India has already expanded Covid-19 testing to private labs and asked every state to earmark at least one hospital to treat coronavirus patients.

The Indian Council of Medical Research, the country’s apex health research body, has put out a series of guidelines for Covid-19 testing in private laboratories.

Also read: Military’s isolation camps on standby, Army ready to deploy facilities to fight COVID-19

Army to be trained to fight Covid-19

Sources said Army personnel are being nominated for training in various reputed medical institutes across the country, such as the National Institute of Virology, Pune, PGIMER, Chandigarh, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, and AIIMS in New Delhi to be better prepared to deal with the pandemic.

The Indian Air Force, meanwhile, has designated the Command Hospital Air Force, Bengaluru, to conduct Covid-19 testing.

“To monitor the prevailing situation and provide immediate response and assistance as required, a 24×7 crisis management cell has been set up at Air Headquarters and various Command Headquarters. IAF aircraft are continuing to fly in medical supplies and doctors to Leh and flying out blood samples for Covid testing to Chandigarh and Delhi,” an IAF statement read.

The Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) in Gwalior has also started conducting tests for Covid-19.

The DRDE, which is a part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is the nodal lab for the development of chemical-biological defence technologies.

Army issues fresh guidelines

The Army Thursday issued fresh instructions on measures required to fight the pandemic.

This included identifying additional infrastructure for setting up of quarantine or isolation centers in each station for the troops, extending the Army’s network of hospitals and laboratory facilities to assist civil administration in areas affected by the novel coronavirus.

The instructions further said a plan should be prepared for sidestepping medical personnel from lesser-affected areas to augment healthcare in severely-affected areas if required, and additional training of the Army’s own medical personnel at various hospitals to be better prepared to fight Covid-19.

The armed forces have put in place over a dozen isolation facilities across the country, of which, five are housing 1,073 people — most of them have been evacuees of different countries.

ThePrint had earlier reported that the military has put in place strict drills to stop coronavirus from getting into its bases, which included disallowing entry of civil contractual staff and staggered office and meal timings.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Thursday met Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General M.M. Naravane, IAF chief Air Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria and Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh to review the action plan of the Defence Ministry with regard to dealing with Covid-19.

Also read: Indian Air Force cancels Services Selection Board interviews amid coronavirus outbreak

New Delhi: The Indian military has identified six more of its hospitals to carry out Covid-19 tests and earmarked 28 other facilities across the country to exclusively deal with the outbreak.

ThePrint had earlier reported that five Army hospitals have been conducting Covid-19 testing.

Speaking to ThePrint, Lt General Anup Banerji, DG Armed Forces Médical Services (AFMS), said, “As of now, there are five hospitals across Army, Navy and Air Force which can carry out Covid-19 test using RT-PCR. Six additional hospitals are also being equipped shortly with the resources to begin testing.”

The military is also in the process of procuring additional personal protective equipment (PPE) to tide over the crisis. The armed forces have been directed to augment medical resources for civil health set-ups too.

Lt General Banerji also said the Armed Forces Medical College has initiated four research studies on coronavirus.

“The findings of these studies will be shared with all other departments. This will hopefully help better understanding of the coronavirus,” he said.

The top medical officer also pointed out that the National Institute of Virology is working on a vaccine for the coronavirus.

Also read: India ramps up Covid-19 assistance to SAARC nations, team set to leave for Nepal

‘Have adequate PPEs for use in hospitals’

The military’s move comes at a time when the country — with only 52 government laboratories — clearly lacks adequate testing facilities.

Asked if the military hospitals are equipped with enough PPEs, Lt Gen Banerji said their availability was a challenge, both at the national and global levels.

“The rational usage of PPEs is very crucial and we have issued necessary advisory to that effect to the services. We, as AFMS, are presently geared up with adequate PPEs for use in our hospitals,” he said.

Asked about medical precautions being taken along the Line of Control with Pakistan and the Line of Actual Control with China, the Army officer said isolation wards at peripheral hospitals at these formations have been geared up.

“Intensive information, education and communication campaigns are going on for serving personnel. Leave extension of those on leave as well as curtailment of leave to bare minimum have been imposed. Segregation facilities have been set up to observe troops already back from leave from various states,” he said.

As of now, the Army has reported one case of coronavirus, a 34-year-old jawan in Leh whose father had travelled to Iran.

“He was on leave at his home in Leh, taking care of his father who had returned recently from Iran and suffering from Covid-19. The soldier has made an uneventful recovery,” Banerji said.

Also read: 3 US Navy sailors test positive for Covid-19 aboard aircraft carrier with crew of 5,000 

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 27

Chandigarh reported a new coronavirus case on Friday, an official said—the eighth case in the city.

UT Adviser Manoj Parida said in a tweet that authorities were trying to track down the people who might have come in contact with the person, who travelled to Dubai recently.

The latest case was a 22-year-old man from Sector 30 in Chandigarh who returned from Dubai on March 11. He developed fever on March 25, the 15th day of his return—considered unusual for the virus, which usually has an incubation period of between 2 and 14 days.

“Bad news, one new corona positive case in Chandigarh. Dubai returned.  Symptoms detection on 15th day. Unusual. Tracing his contacts. All will be quarantined,” Parida said in a tweet.

A press release by Chandigarh’s Department of Public Relations said that the patient was admitted to GMCH 32 on March 25. Health Department then tracked down 57 of his contacts—both primary, incluing his family, and secondary—and put them under home quarantine.

This number includes his mother, who the press release says is a “high-risk contact”.

High risk people in terms of this disease are either the elderly or people with pre-existing health conditions.

He’s been kept in an isolation ward and is “totally asymptomatic and fully stable”, the release said.

This brings Chandigarh’s coronavirus tally to eight. Seven people were  previously tested positive for the global pandemic that has wreaked havoc across the world.

India’s coronavirus tally has crossed 700, with 17 deaths. Chandigarh is under curfew to prevent spread of the disease.

Powers have been given to Army commanders, area commanders, sub-area commanders to spend on work related to setting up of quarantine facilities & other services.

New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence has granted emergency financial powers to Army commanders, corps commanders as well as division or sub-area commanders to expedite procurement related to establishing and running quarantine facilities, among other things, to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Army commanders will have the full financial powers, while corps commanders or area commanders can spend Rs 50 lakh, and division commanders or sub-area commanders can spend Rs 20 lakh on work related to setting up of quarantine facilities in their respective jurisdiction, according to the ministry’s Friday letter addressed to Army chief General M.M. Naravane.

The finances, which would be met from the defence budget, would include augmenting the isolation facilities with items, materials, equipment, stores, ration, hygiene chemicals, among others, as well as provision of other services needed for effective handling of Covid-19 outbreak.

In the letter, the defence ministry said the powers have been delegated for a period of three months from 27 March, and can be revised or extended, if need be.

Also read: It is war. Modi govt must deploy Indian military to fight coronavirus

Powers applicable in cases of military necessity

The ministry’s letter said the emergency powers have been delegated under “Schedule 23 of ASP in DFPDS-2016”.

DFPDS stands for Delegation of Financial Powers to Defence Services and ASP is Army Schedule of Powers.

Schedule 23 of DFPDS-2016 deals with emergency financial powers for procurement of stores, equipment, vehicles, hiring of special services, manpower, machinery or other expenditure connected with exercises or operations.

These powers are applicable in cases of urgent or immediate military necessities relating to military preparedness to meet eventualities such as a war-like situation, natural calamities, etc.

The idea of delegation of these powers is to expedite procurement, repair of equipment, items, material stores and provisioning of services urgently required for a successful operation.

Powers exercised during wars, calamities too

According to Schedule 23, these powers are exercised as and when the government notifies an event through an order declaring war, hostility, natural calamity or disaster or when the defence minister declares and orders military preparedness for emergency or other immediate military necessities.

It will also be applicable as and when a proposal, mooted by the service chiefs, is approved by the defence minister for immediate action to be taken in case of a series of incidents or when the Army is requisitioned for internal security duties.

Procurement powers under various heads vary and are enhanced in consultation with the Integrated Financial Adviser (IFA), who is from the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA).

However, full powers without IFA’s consultation are extended only in emergencies or extraneous circumstances, a senior Army officer said.

Another armed forces officer, meanwhile, told ThePrint that the financial year is coming to an end and it’s unlikely that the forces would have any money left in the military coffers.

He said the grant of emergency financial powers would not mean much on ground unless additional funds are made available to the forces.

These funds, the officer added, could be given from unspent funds of other ministries.

Whenever the military is used for the purpose of helping the civil administration, the expenditure is raised to the central government to reimburse the amount spent in that connection.

This report has been updated to reflect the correct full-form of the abbreviations IFA and CGDA

Also read: There is a reason India turned to Armed Forces Medical Services when it came to coronavirus

Amit Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 25

Extending help to vagabonds, poor and needy people, Chandigarh Police personnel have come forward to provide them food during these hard days when they have nowhere to go. Various SHOs in Chandigarh are identifying such people in the area of their police stations to provide all possible help during the curfew imposed in the city.

A team of the Industrial Area police station, led by the SHO, Inspector Jasbir Singh, visited a 38-year-old visually impaired man, identified as Billu, a native of Bihar, who has been living under a tree in Sector 29 for the past two years.

Billu, an alumnus of Panjab University, is an MA and BEd, and has no one to take care of him.

Inspector Jasbir said he would be taking care of Billu by providing him food till the time the situation in the city returns to normalcy.

The police today got his hands sanitised and also got his surroundings cleaned.

A similar initiative has been taken by Inspector Narinder Patial, SHO of the Sector 26 police station.

Inspector Patial has identified eight persons living either in the market corridors or in the open, who are being provided food.

“On the first day, food was provided twice to five persons. However, today the number has increased to eight and I will look for more such people to extend help to them,” Inspector Patial said.

Interestingly, the food for these people is cooked by Patial’s wife Sonia. “I don’t feel any burden of cooking food for so many people. In fact, I am ready to help more people in the time of need,” she said.

Needy people at Sarangpur were also distributed food by the SHO, Inspector Ram Rattan.

A police official said these people were also provided masks and their hands were sanitised.

Meanwhile, other cops are also taking other initiatives at their end to ensure the safety of city residents from Covid.

In one such effort, newspaper vendors in Mani Majra were also provided masks and hand sanitisers by the SHO, Mani Majra, Inspector Jaswinder Kaur.

New Delhi: The Army has made a composite list of all those who retired in the last two years for possible recall if the need arises to fight the war against coronavirus.

Army sources said they are focusing on all those with medical expertise and specialised technicians.

The military has a system of recall by which it can ask all those who retired in the last two years to rejoin the forces and offer their services.

These kind of recall measures have been put in place as part of the steps to be taken in times of war.

“We have made a composite list. This basically focuses on those with medical backgrounds and those with technical expertise who can be recalled if the need arises,” a senior Army officer told ThePrint.

He added that the Commands have the required details of all these individuals.

“It is not that everyone will be recalled. It all depends on the need. For example, if there is a requirement in Chandigarh, a person from Kerala would not be recalled,” the officer said.

Retired personnel yet to be contacted

Asked if retired personnel have been sounded out, the senior officer said, “No, they have not been contacted. A two-year period of recall is something that every officer, JCO and jawan is aware of. Whenever a situation emerges, they know they could be called back.”

While initially, the military’s help was limited to just setting up quarantine centres for those evacuated from abroad, the government has started roping them in more in the fight against Covid-19.

The Indian military has identified six more of its hospitals to carry out Covid-19 tests and has also earmarked 28 other facilities across the country to exclusively deal with the outbreak.

Speaking to ThePrint, Lt General Anup Banerji, DG Armed Forces Médical Services (AFMS), had said that armed forces have been directed to augment medical resources for civil health set-ups too.

The military is also conducting four research projects on the coronavirus.

Also read: It is war. Modi govt must deploy Indian military to fight coronavirus

Dear Veterans ,

  Number of ESM organisations have again started fooling ESM and asking for donations into their accounts , directly on whats app, emails or through face book.

We all are aware that every ESM had donated during our fight for OROP either by cash,cheques,or spending from pockets for the buses. The total amount collected was  more than cores of Ruppees but till today no one knows where is that amount , how much collected in cash, by cheques and recieved from NRIs.

We equally know about the great threat of Cronavirus looming over our heads ,rather entire India and World. You can adopt any of the following way to contribute  financially so that it does not go in wrong hands.Though your motive is to help out no guarantee in whose pocket it will go as happened in the past

1. Send your cheques in favor of  Indian Govt ” Prime Minister Relief Fund” or to your own state  Govt” Chief Minster Relief Fund” to obtain satisfaction. All States are having CM Relief Funds like for Punjab CM Fund as below . Can be directly deposited . 

PRIME MINISTER RELIEF FUND OPEN CHALLAN FOR BELOW

PMNRF-CONTRIBUTION-CHALLAN_20190410112456

3.   PLEASE DON’T DONATE CASH TO ANY BODY IT IS ALSO SUGGESTED TO BUY IN KIND AND DISTRIBUTE TO POOR AND NEEDY : 

(A) MASKS

(B) MEDICINE AS PER PATIENTS PRESCRIPTION

(C) GREEN VEGETABLES FOR POOR

(D) FRUITS FOR THE SICK

(E) ATTA ,DAL, RICE, SALT, SUGAR,TEA ,MILK ETC AS YOUR WISH

HOWEVER DONATIONS FROM ABROAD CANNOT BE RECEIVED AS TRANSACTIONS ARE BANNED 

4. ONE OF THE MESSAGE BEING FLOATED ON FACE BOOK BY AN ESM ORGANISATION WHICH DE-FRAGMENTED ITSELF FROM ALL ESM ORGANISATION  AS OTHERS WANTED  ACCOUNTS OF DONATIONS COLLECTED IN CRORES.TODAY AGAIN AT ITS BEST TO HELP THE NATION LIKE AFTER RECIEVING  OROP DONATIONS