Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 31

The Ministry of Defence has decided to locally produce 106 upgraded Light Combat Aircraft “Tejas” jets to replace the ageing fleet of MiG fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force.The “Tejas Mark 1-A” will have 43 improvements over the existing Tejas currently being test-flown by the IAF for various parameters and slated for final operation clearance in March. The existing project is running years behind schedule.Sources told The Tribune that a decision has been taken to produce 106 “Tejas Mark 1-A” jets and the same has been conveyed to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), besides the manufacturer — Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a public sector undertaking owned by MoD.The MoD has set a 2018 deadline for the first aircraft to be ready with a target to complete its production by 2022-2023. In September, new specifications were agreed upon and the IAF accepted 43 modifications that could be carried out without changing the existing design.On the list of modifications are five major improvements, including an AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar, which the HAL will co-develop with Israel firm Elta; air-to-air refuelling facility; externally fitted self-protection jammer to prevent incoming enemy missiles from homing in using radar signature; and a new layout, involving 27 modifications, of internal systems to iron out maintenance issues.The plane will be 1,000 kg lighter than the existing version, which currently weighs 6,500 kg, but will use the same engine — General Electric’s 404. “The power of the engine is more than enough,” said a senior functionary. Fitting the newer and more powerful GE-414 engine would entail fresh design and airframe studies.The HAL has been asked to produce 16 jets annually and a Rs 1,252-crore modernisation plan has been okayed to ramp up capacities from the present six-seven planes annually.The decision will go a long way in keeping the IAF battle-ready.  The upgraded jets will fill the void created by MiG-21s and MiG-27s that will be phased out by 2022.There are 260 Soviet-era single-engine MiG-21 and MiG-27 jets in the IAF fleet. The air force needs 400 jets over the next 10 years.

Mark 1-A expected to be ready in 2 years

• ‘Tejas Mark 1-A’ will fill the void created by MiG-21 and MiG-27 jets that will be phased out by 2022
• Jets will be manufactured locally with 43 improvements
• First aircraft will be ready by 2018; production of entire fleet would be over by 2022-2023

IAF security audit

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force has completed security audit of almost 950 flying and non-flying bases in the aftermath of Pathankot terror attack and is likely to seek permission of the Defence Ministry to induct more Garud commandos. The audit has identified chinks in security and measures would be taken to plug them. — PTI

IAF completes security audit of 950 bases

AIRBASE ATTACK 6th terrorist killed by security forces as guns fall silent after 82-hour operation ASSURANCE Nawaz Sharif says his govt is working on leads provided by India; will investigate the matter VITAL LEADS Parrikar says NIA, which is probing atta

Rs 6 cr project to be ready by March 2017, will accommodate 20,000 people

The new spectators’ gallery in Attari. Photo: vishal kumar

GS Paul

Tribune News Service,Amritsar, January 27

The spectators’ gallery at the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post (JCP) is being redesigned not only to expand its capacity but to raise the sitting pedestals’ height to provide a better viewing angle to watch the flag-lowering Retreat ceremony between the two border forces of India and Pakistan. The ‘Swarn Jyanti’ dwar (gate) is also being dismantled for a fresh structure.In the wake of the revamp, scores of people throng the spot, especially during weekends. The existing gallery can accommodate 5,000 people and has been partially dismantled to pave way for the new one meant for 20,000 visitors.The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which is undertaking the project, has targeted to execute it within 13 months. The work is being carried out in a phased manner so that the lowering of the flags ceremony, which attracts thousands of tourists daily, doesn’t get affected.Officials said the project had commenced in May 2015 after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh laid its foundation stone on March 22, 2015.Sumer Singh, BSF DIG, Amritsar Sector, said the expansion of gallery would be readied by March 2017. “The work is on war footing. It will cost around Rs 6 crore. Special emphasis is on giving the gallery a curve so that people sitting at the last get better viewing angle. Normally, over 15,000 people visit the spot daily,” he said.However, once executed, it will also be a big relief for the BSF too. The extraordinary rush at the check-post is no less a headache for the on-duty jawans who virtually struggle to accommodate people. Sometimes, they have to remove the chairs to accommodate the visitors while being standing. The construction underway for new gallery had also reduced the sitting capacity. Consequently, a large number of tourists had to return without being able to see the ceremony.On their part, the BSF authorities have put up an LED screen at the ‘Swarn Jayanti’ dwar so that tourists, who could not sit inside the gallery, should at least watch the ceremony on the screen.Another added attraction would be the museum coming up parallel to this project. It has been learnt that this museum would depict the glorious history of Border Security Force (BSF), its achievements, weapons and other related aspects.

Celebrations cut short by 25 mins to break monotony, address security concerns

Ajay Banerjee,Tribune News Service,New Delhi, January 1

This year’s Republic Day Parade will be shorter by 25 minutes to address security concerns and break the monotony of witnessing repetitive marching contingents of uniformed personnel.The parade, which marks the country’s annual show of military might and cultural diversity, will be 90 minutes long, down from 116 minutes in 2015. Even “Beating the Retreat” on January 29 to mark the end of the Republic Day celebrations will see new “fusion” music instead of the long tradition of only military music.The march-past — conducted down the Rajpath, New Delhi’s central vista at the India Gate — has been trimmed in terms of number of marching contingents. The parade is organised by the Ministry of Defence.Officials said the decision had been taken at the “highest level”. After a review of last year’s parade, in which US President Barack Obama was the chief guest, it was felt the march-past was too long, said senior officials today.The authorities also took into view the monotony of witnessing almost-identical marching contingents and the security risk surrounding VVIPs, who remained seated for longer periods out in the open.Unlike previous R-Day celebrations, all tableaux and music bands will be showcased for three days — till January 29 — at the Red Fort. The bands will play at regular intervals. Sources said the number of Army marching contingents had been reduced from eight to six. Marching contingents of the Navy had also been reduced. The IAF will put up a single marching contingent.Unlike previous years, veterans will also not march past the Rajpath this year. Instead, they will ride in a truck-mounted tableau.The six central paramilitary forces will put up only three marching contingents instead of one each. The flypast by the IAF, however, has been retained.The Navy will showcase its “Make in India” efforts by putting up models of under-production indigenously made aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and submarine INS Kalvari.The IAF will showcase its “Humanitarian and Disaster Relief” activity during the year. The force had last year rescued 14,000 people in different operations in Yemen, Nepal and Chennai.The Army will go out with its theme “Marching ahead with Incredible India”. The bullet proof enclosure this year will have a roof, unlike last year when dignitaries sat through pouring rain. French President Francois Hollande will be the chief guest this year.

The changes

• This year’s parade will be 90 minutes long, down from 116 minutes in 2015
• The ‘Beating the Retreat’ on January 29 will see ‘fusion’ music, besides military music
• All tableaux and music bands will be showcased for three days at the Red Fort
• Veterans will not march past the Rajpath and will be part of a tableau
• The bullet proof enclosure will have a roof

A ceremonial Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) was conducted on January 1, 2016 at Chinese BPM hut at Moldo Garrison of Chushul Sector of eastern Ladakh.

New Delhi, Dec 27 (PTI) A parliamentary panel has found that women personnel constitute only a little over 9 per cent of the Delhi Police force and asked the Home Ministry to ensure that their numbers are enhanced and reaches up to 33 per cent.

The department related parliamentary standing committee on Home Affairs said that the set objective of enhancing the representation of the women in Delhi Police to 33 per cent should be achieved within a time-frame.

“The committee notes that as on date, the representation of women in Delhi Police is 9.27 per cent only.

“However, on March 20, 2015, Government of India has approved reservation of 33 per cent for women horizontally and in each category (SC, ST, OBC and others) in direct recruitment in non-gazetted posts from constable to sub- inspector in the police forces of all Union Territories, including Delhi Police,” the Committee observed.

The panel noted the steps taken by Delhi Police in the post December, 2012, Delhi gangrape phase to curb crimes against women, including instilling confidence in girls through various gender sensitisation programmes and propagating fear of the law among sexual offenders.

“However, the incidents of crimes against women have a disheartening trend, be it incident of recent murder case of Anand Parvat or alleged molestation of American citizen. The Committee, therefore, feels that there is a need for sensitisation programmes on behaviour towards women,” it said.

The Standing Committee, meanwhile, also said that Delhi Police must ensure, through the education department of Delhi government, that all schools designate one teacher as road safety coordinator so that regular road safety programmes are organised for raising awareness among children in this regard.

Simran Sodhi,Tribune News Service,New Delhi, December 26

During his “surprise” visit to Pakistan yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the means to take forward the bilateral talks with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif.Sources privy to the discussions said the two leaders assessed the Bangkok meeting of the National Security Advisers (NSAs) and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s recent visit to Pakistan, where she met Sartaj Aziz, Foreign Adviser to the Pakistan PM.Sources said the two leaders “agreed to keep talking” amid a realisation that there were elements who would disrupt the process. “It was a personal meeting between the two Prime Ministers and by stopping over in Lahore, Modi wants to send across a message that leaders should be able to visit each other normally, without any hype,” a source said.Sources also discounted reports that the two leaders discussed Kashmir though Pakistani news channel Geo TV claimed: “The two leaders reportedly discussed a range of bilateral issues, including Kashmir.”Though projected as a surprise visit, Modi’s Lahore stopover now appears to have been planned with a few being informed about it.Modi had travelled to Russia in an Air India Jumbo flight. However, an Indian Air Force plane later reached Russia with greater security apparatus onboard, which surprised quite a few people. In a parallel move, security personnel were moved from Delhi to Kabul for the PM’s Friday stopover.Once the PM’s trip to Russia got over, most of the official delegation boarded the Air India flight and returned to the National Capital. However, Modi along with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and a few other officials boarded the IAF plane for Kabul. Sources said there was some speculation of a possible stopover in Pakistan but Sharif was in Lahore, not in Islamabad. Later, Modi called up Sharif to convey birthday greetings and reportedly told him that he would have loved to meet his Pakistan counterpart, who was busy with his granddaughter’s wedding in Raiwind, near Lahore. To this, Sharif reportedly replied that they could meet in Lahore.However, the arrangements in place point to the fact that the plan to stop by in Lahore was already in the PM’s mind, with very few people in the PMO and MEA being aware of it. One, the enhanced security arrangements in Kabul were a sign that the security setup would give them the leeway to stop in Lahore. Geo TV in Pakistan reported that the visit “was not that surprising” as the Lahore Air Traffic Control had been told about it on Thursday.Apparently, the plan was kept a secret even from the Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad who were informed about it only in the noon after which they rushed to Lahore.

The announcement comes a day after Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had assured ex-servicemen on OROP implementation before Diwali.
The defence Ministry issued the official notification for One Rank One Pension (OROP) for ex-servicemen late on Saturday evening. The government has reversed its contentious proposal to exclude ex-servicemen who had sought premature retirement from the ambit of OROP, but has not conceded the demands for an annual equalisation of revised pension, for pegging the pension to the maximum of the current pensioners, and for appointing an expert commission with serving military personnel and ex-servicemen representatives.
According to the notification, the government will pay the arrears of OROP in four equal half-yearly installments. However, all family pensioners, including those receiving special or liberalised family pension and gallantry award winners, will get their arrears in a single installment. The pension of past pensioners would be fixed on the basis of the pension of retirees of 2013, and the benefit will be granted from July 1, 2014.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had announced on Friday that the notification would be issued before Diwali.
The notification, which was to follow Parrikar’s formal announcement of the acceptance of OROP on September 5, was delayed after the Model Code of Conduct for the Bihar assembly elections came into effect.Ex-servicemen who have been protesting at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi since June, rejected the notification issued by the defence ministry. “This is not OROP. At best, it is a one-time increment. We totally and outrightly reject it. It reflects a lack of maturity on the part of the political leadership of the government,” Wing Commander (retd) C K Sharma, treasurer of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), told The Sunday Express. On Friday, Group Captain (retd) V K Gandhi, IESM general secretary, had announced that ex-servicemen across the country would return their medals at prominent locations in their cities on November 9-10. The veterans had also announced that they would observe a Black Diwali this year. OROP means military personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service would get the same pension, irrespective of their date of retirement. Currently, a Colonel who retired earlier — under the mandate of earlier pay commissions — receives lesser pension than a Colonel who retired after the Sixth Pay Commission came into vogue in 2006. With the Seventh Pay Commission scheduled to submit its report by the end of the year, this difference would have increased further. The demand for OROP had been accepted by the Koshiyari Committee in its report to Parliament in 2011. At an election rally in Rewari in 2013, Narendra Modi, who was then the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, promised the implementation of OROP. In his first budget in July 2014, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for OROP, but that amount lapsed at the end of the last financial year. As protests by ex-servicemen intensified this year, with some veterans going on an indefinite hunger strike, the defence ministry considered various formulae for OROP. The proposal forwarded by Parrikar to the finance ministry entailed an expenditure of around Rs 8,300 crore this year. That proposal was modified during the announcement made by Parrikar in September, when it excluded veterans who had sought premature retirement. The veterans protested the exclusion, saying that keeping premature retirees out of OROP would exclude 70 per cent of military pensioners. That clause has been removed in the notification, but the government has said that the benefit of OROP will not be extended to military personnel who seek premature retirement now on. The government has, however, stood its ground on other demands of the ex-servicemen. The veterans wanted equalisation of pension every year, or at least every two years, but the government has notified that it would happen only once in five years. They had wanted the revised pensions to be fixed at the maximum of the pension being received by current retirees, but the government has announced that only an average of the maximum and minimum will be given. But the pensions of those who are receiving a higher pension than average will not be reduced. The government has also notified the appointment of a judicial committee to look into anomalies of OROP. The panel will submit its report in six months. The veterans had wanted representation from the military and ex-servicemen in the committee, and its report within 90 days.