Indian Army: News & Discussion

[VinodTK]

U.S. Proposes WMD Defense Exercise with India

he United States has proposed conducting a joint military WMD defense training drill with India, the Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday (see GSN, March 15).

[putnanja]

Infiltration up, Jammu and Kashmir troop cuts on hold

The government has put a brake on the withdrawal of troops, which saw 36,000 army personnel leave Jammu and Kashmir over the last 18 months, because of renewed infiltration attempts from across the border.

"Further reduction in troop presence was to take place in current months but it has been suspended,” a senior government source told Hindustan Times, refusing to be identified
...
...
Nearly 110 terrorists had infiltrated into J&K in 2009, twice the 58 who entered India after breaching the multi-tiered security cordon along the fenced border with Pakistan in 2008.

“There was an increase in infiltration attempts as well,” an official at the Home Ministry said. In January alone, security forces recorded 62 attempts to sneak in, or increasingly fight their way into India, through the snow-bound mountains. “We are preparing for a hot summer,” he said.
...
...

[Kartik]

This is fantastic news ! The fact that it's an ex-army tank man Col. Ajai Shukla stating this and not some other unknown reporter means that no one will question his sources. Also validates what a recently retired Armoured Corps Brigadier had told me about the Arjun being superior to the T-72 in every single way and T-90 in most aspects, except for its higher profile meaning it could be targeted from a farther distance. But then being better armoured than the T-90, its still got an advantage in this arena.

Weren't there some guys on BRF stating that DRDO was deliberately leaking reports that the Arjun did well in these comparative trials so that anything against the Arjun by the IA afterwards will be counted as sabotage or deliberate mud-slinging? Ajai Shukla has clearly stated that multiple sources ALL confirmed that the Arjun did better than the T-90. So that line of thinking can be safely thrown out the window and only the most avid DRDO baiters will still try to bicker.

The fact that an IA officer stated that it even took senior Army officers aback (I'm amazed at their smugness, sitting there waiting for the Arjun to fail, smile knowingly and then say its not good enough, we don't want more) shows it must have thumped the T-90 well and good. We could hope that they won't know which excuse to hide behind now (although lack of bridges that can support a 60 ton Arjun is what they're touting now), but I know the IA's top brass is imaginative and will come up with some excuse to say no, we don't want more.

I guess that settles the argument about who was right for the past 2-3 years since when every report indicates that the Arjun has finally come of age..if only the IA had shown some faith in DRDO and inducted more earlier and improved it in batches.. . Had this been the IN, we'd have seen hundreds of Arjuns ordered. The attitude and thought process of the top leadership is what is markedly different between these 2 services. Every single Admiral's interview I've read, they talk about indigenisation as a top priority. The less said about IA Generals in this regard, the better.

[Surya]

Bah humbug kartik

Shukla is just one man -pah

The fact that an IA officer stated that it even took senior Army officers aback

what is this amorphous reference??

be specific - give names

[CalvinH]

Calvinji, I don't know about the regular trend, but the main head of banglore SS on Caban road in '98, who took a 1-on-1 in his chambers was indeed introduced to us as a Maj/Lt Gen. Perhaps i got it wrong, but i will still stick by it. He was a sikh & he had studied in Lawrence school, Sanawar.
I knew that many senior army officers have studied in Lawrence school, hence threw it in to see if it softened him up. It did a bit .
He said my -4 sight was below permissible levels. I said i would go in for surgery if need be. he said its still not allowed. and finally I 'gave up'. Perhaps he was just toying with me. Later i felt i gave in too soon, but what use would it have been fighting against rules.
End result: army found others. I lost the life of being in uniform.

What is IO? the officers who took our daily tasks were a Lt.Colonel & a Major.
In the end i was bitter that they did not take me but took some whom 'i' felt were 'questionable' and 'undeserving'.

In 1998 most of the SSB center would be headed by Brig or Maj Gen (max) and in your case it seems he himself turned as an IO (Interviewing officer). IO is third of the trio in SSB namely pschyologist, GTO (usually Major) and IO (senior most of them all). Sometimes its said that IO opinion counts the most as he is the senior most among the all but I think pyschologist opinion may count the most as he has things written by you to prove his case.

Sometimes IO/GTO just checks your resolve by persisting on one of your weakness and your case seems to fit the description. during our outdoor tasks 2-3 guys got injured and at least two of them seems to have a suffered a fracture. GTO persisted with both of them and tried instilling fear and regret. One of them was reduced to tear whereas the other one did all his single outdoor tasks afterwards by running on one leg. This guy was smiling throughout and didnt let his injury affect his performance. He was selected. I am sure GTO would have recommended him.

I liked the GTO (he was a major). He talked at length later about how one of his friend joined IAS and how another is making money in private sector but how he is happy and contended with where he is and how IA is different than others.

[shukla]

Shukla is just one man -pah

Just to clarify.. Ajai Shukla is not a relative

[CalvinH]

Disagree in entirety. Government services are squiffy about parity. When one falls in parity, and a Colonel finds himself being told by a DM with 5 years service that he is senior to him, it hurts. And his kids and everyone else knows it.

Nowadays SSB Center East is commanded by a MajGen btw. But IO is a brig.

I understand that once you are in the services parity becomes an issue especially at higher roles but its certainly not an issue for applicants to NDA after 12th and IMA/OTA through CDS. I think the constituency of applicants for Govt services like ICS and IA differs a lot and have lot lesser in common to be decided based on parity in ranks as major factor.

One factor that I have noticed and which IMO is leading the new generation away from IA is change in socio economic enviornment. Now its the money which commands the respect in society and there are lot of avenues available to make it. During 50- 80s when there wasnt so much money floating around it was position and rank that commanded respect in society. I am pretty much sure that quality of aspirants in ICS must be going down too.

When I was there if I remember correctly it was headed by a brig. My IO was a colonel and GTO Major. I had a very good time.

[sawant]

I think we can groom the Arjun for defensive formations.... but they shd try and make it 100% indigenous for that ... the low T-90 silhoutte is good in an aggressive formation... the Arjun can do better in local conditions.... and I think we need to shift to better tank designs and crew comfort... else we will face shortage of quality officers and soldiers... as a first shelve all worn out T-72s and replace them with Arjuns.... and start working on the Mk2 ..else there will be some T-100 to compete with in 10 years... and my kids will have to say these lines again

[somnath]

The protocol pecking order is archaic? Official India lives and dies by protocol.Given how frequently and what a large part of the armed forces are engaged in counter insurgency/riot control/disaster relief and management/saving people from wells etc., the pecking order is of critical importance. These people have to interface often with people in the civil administration. It DOES matter what the protocol says in these cases.

US forces so rarely operate on own soil and deal with own civil administration that I expect it doesn't come up much. It might be interesting to see if such issues came up on said rare occasions like the aftermath of Katrina. The cases of the two countries are widely divergent however and it makes no sense to draw up a comparative study. Does any other 'advanced' democracy have the armed forces cleaning up messes created by the civil services left, right and center for perpetuity?

Nor is any of this particularly misleading re:recruitment. Every officer I've spoken to in the recent past brings this protocol disparity up. When people want to join a profession the usual practice is to actually find someone belonging to it and speaking to them. When there is near universal disenchantment in the armed forces on the treatment meted out to them by a 'grateful' country, it isn't hard to imagine this being communicated to youngsters and future officers. This will and does stifle recruitment.

Finally the army as an organization has a far, far steeper pyramidal structure than the civil services. This means the achieving each higher rank is much harder than for an equivalent member in the civil hierarchy. Even with this, courtesy of the manipulation of the pay bands, the armed forces find it hard to maintain even parity. Are you under the impression this does not come up during similar career advisory sessions?

Anjan ji, in all CI areas, the Army has complete primacy in decision-making, regardless of what the official gazette might say about protocol precedence..Heck, in areas under AFSPA, servicemen cant even be prosecuted as per "normal" procedures..

I dont really understand your point...Are you saying somehow that American soldiers (and those from other democracies) have easier lives (relative to their civvie counterparts) to lead compared to Indian soldiers and hence the latter should have higher protocol precedence? Even if one were to take your axiom as true, it calls for what is termed as "hardship compensation", not protocol precedence...Stretching the example, we have an office in Afghanistan - obviously the CEO Afghanistan has a much tougher and riskier life than CEO-India..Does it mean that CEO Afghanistan is "ranked" higher than CEO-India? No, the chap in Afghanistan however is rewarded for the risk premium in many other ways...

Would you care to explain the bolded part of your statement? Where is the systemic evidence of the services having to "clear up" the mess created by civilians? The semantic is very similar to those used by the Paki military..

So when people talk of how rank-parity is "lower" in India, what is the datum level of such assertions? We have seen the US..Below are examples of some other countries:

BRazil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_ ... precedence

Turkey (which has had a "militarised" history)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_or ... precedence

You can go on and on - how are the Indian "precedence" orders any different from any of these countries?

In case better quality people need to be attracted to the armed forces, there are other issues to be tackled (creatign an expanded SSC and leaner PC, better pay across the board and so on)...Pay parity is an absolute non-sequitor..

[shukla]

After Ajai Shukla now Shiv Aroor reports on Arjun trials...and like Ajai Shukla, cites "reliable sources"..

"Arjun In Present Form Can Never Be Our MBT, 2 More Regiments Possible"

I had a candid chat with an Army officer who was part of one of the trial teams, and I have to admit he's the first Army tankman I've spoken to so far who's admitted that the Army is as much to blame for the Arjun's "situation" (his word) as DRDO.

"The Arjun performed all its objectives to the full satisfaction of the trial team. I should point out that there was little doubt in our minds at this stage that any major issues would crop up in the platform. The Arjun has reached a level of maturity after several trial rounds, so we were quite confident that we would not encounter any developmental or serious technological issues."

"In its current form and configuration, I think the Army has already made it very clear that the Arjun cannot be the mainstay of the armoured corps. There are several reasons for this, including some intangibles which everyone is aware of, but to be fair to the Army, there is logic to the argument that the Arjun belongs to a certain design and configuration philosophy that the Army does not want in its future tank. These trials have given deep perspective into where the Arjun fits in our battle order."

"Although it is not definite at this stage, and may change in the course of the days ahead, several key decision-makers in the Army have in-principle agreed to the suggestion that the Arjun in its present form can occupy four tank regiments. But there is resistance to this idea from the field. The just concluded trials could support the possibility of a total of four Arjun regiments focused on desert operations."

"The Army should share the blame also for not expediting its requirements for a future main battle tank (FMBT). There have been internal studies for years, but to this day, there is no definite picture of what our FMBT should have, look like or be capable of. So when the people at DRDO blame us for indecision and mid-stream QR changes, they do seem to have a case. As they did with Arjun."

"The Army is quite clear. We need to close one chapter and begin another. Call it Mark-2, call it something else. But things need to move forward. It is unhealthy how things have progressed, though I can say in the last three years there appears to be a much greater empathy between the Army and DRDO about how to take things forward. Let's hope it continues."

"Admittedly, the trials may not go a long way in resurrecting Arjun as some quarters have been led to believe, but it has been a healthy exercise and the Army is in a strong position now to use the Arjun to the best of its abilities. The tank has been given its due."

[pmund]

Dear Aditya, as Calvin said, the SSB is headed by a Brig or Maj Gen (in my case it was a Brig, T-Arjan Datta) and the GTO is more likely a Lt Col than a major. The trimurti -- IO, GTOand psych -- take the decision on candidates jointly so that there is an even less chance of error. Candidates pass through so many 'filters' that it is 99.9% impossible to cheat/bluff/mug ur way through. If it was that easy to cheat SSB all those coaching types would get selected in droves, right? As for your experience, it was a delightful read. Great the way you took it But abt the guys u disapproved of, all i can say is this: you missed something that the trimurti spotted. You would be surprised to find how the best and bravest of soldiers don't look the part. One of the ass adjus in NDA had got a shaurya chakra for killing a couple of pigs in hand-to-hand combat. You would pass him on the street and not give him a second glance. Hell, u wouldnt believe it if someone told u he was ex-NDA and a gallantry medal winner. A Surya Kiran pilot I know got 48% in Plus-II (about the same he weighed) and was a consistent 4-pointer in NDA. He flies Mirages now. Read Field Marshal William Slim. Good for bedtime reading.

[Pratyush]

After Ajai Shukla now Shiv Aroor reports on Arjun trials...and like Ajai Shukla, cites "reliable sources"..

"Arjun In Present Form Can Never Be Our MBT, 2 More Regiments Possible"

I had a candid chat with an Army officer who was part of one of the trial teams, and I have to admit he's the first Army tankman I've spoken to so far who's admitted that the Army is as much to blame for the Arjun's "situation" (his word) as DRDO.

"The Arjun performed all its objectives to the full satisfaction of the trial team. I should point out that there was little doubt in our minds at this stage that any major issues would crop up in the platform. The Arjun has reached a level of maturity after several trial rounds, so we were quite confident that we would not encounter any developmental or serious technological issues."

"In its current form and configuration, I think the Army has already made it very clear that the Arjun cannot be the mainstay of the armoured corps. There are several reasons for this, including some intangibles which everyone is aware of, but to be fair to the Army, there is logic to the argument that the Arjun belongs to a certain design and configuration philosophy that the Army does not want in its future tank. These trials have given deep perspective into where the Arjun fits in our battle order."

"Although it is not definite at this stage, and may change in the course of the days ahead, several key decision-makers in the Army have in-principle agreed to the suggestion that the Arjun in its present form can occupy four tank regiments. But there is resistance to this idea from the field. The just concluded trials could support the possibility of a total of four Arjun regiments focused on desert operations."

"The Army should share the blame also for not expediting its requirements for a future main battle tank (FMBT). There have been internal studies for years, but to this day, there is no definite picture of what our FMBT should have, look like or be capable of. So when the people at DRDO blame us for indecision and mid-stream QR changes, they do seem to have a case. As they did with Arjun."

"The Army is quite clear. We need to close one chapter and begin another. Call it Mark-2, call it something else. But things need to move forward. It is unhealthy how things have progressed, though I can say in the last three years there appears to be a much greater empathy between the Army and DRDO about how to take things forward. Let's hope it continues."

"Admittedly, the trials may not go a long way in resurrecting Arjun as some quarters have been led to believe, but it has been a healthy exercise and the Army is in a strong position now to use the Arjun to the best of its abilities. The tank has been given its due."

The question to ask is what are the GSQR S that are met by the current fleet of IA tanks and what GSQR is met by the Arjun. If the Arjun meets the Current GSQRs then it has a place in the current armed forces else it does not. But the army today will never come clean regarding it. So the tank will not have a future. But the T 90 will. Why are they even talking bout FMBT in place of Arjun if they have not decided on the GSQRs for it.

I think we can look at the same kind of exercise with FMBT as was conducted for Arjun.

[bhavani]

The whole FMBT thing is a big smoke screen. Even US plans for FMBT are changing constantly and the battle experiences in najaf and other places have taught them that the so called lean fast tank envisaged for the future may not be really feasible and you need a T-Rex of the battle field.

Our whole neighborhood is going towards heavier tanks and we are thinking of FMBT. A classic smoke screen. No FMBT is going to come into existence in the next 10 years even if some come into existence in next 15-20 years they are likely to complement the bigger ones rather than replacing them.

[AdityaM]

Candidates pass through so many 'filters' that it is 99.9% impossible to cheat/bluff/mug ur way through. Read Field Marshal William Slim. Good for bedtime reading.

Thank you for suggesting the read on FM Slim. just reading up on him.
Now that u spoke of filters, the GTO tried their 'truth extraction' strategy on me. I was asked how i prepared for the SSB before coming. (I had not prepared at all, except reading a book on SSB during the 2 day delhi-Blore train journey) I answered by saying i haven't prepared.
The GTO got angry!-'How can you come unprepared for this..., surely you should have taken some training...'. I could see through that he raised his voice to make me cower and reveal that i had prepared, making me feel that taking a training is the right thing to do. But since i had not, so i stuck to the truth. these guys can play the mind games!
Irrespective of what i may have felt then, the IA has done a fine job of selecting fine men who have served this nation like no other.

[Amit J]

Indian army to use chilli grenades to fight terror

Guwahati, Mar 24: Indian Army will now be armed with world's hottest chilli for defence.

Defence officials said that after innumerable tests, military has come up with the decision to use 'Bhut jolokia', a variety of chilli, grown and eaten in northeast, to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize terror suspects.

"The chilli grenade has been found fit for use after trials in Indian defense laboratories, a fact confirmed by scientists at the Defense Research and Development Organization," Col R Kalia, a defence spokesman in Assam said in a news agency report.

Bhut jolokia was declared as the world's spiciest chilli by Guinness World Records in 2007.

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/03/24/indi ... error.html - Full Article
---

The terrorists are going to cry their eyes out, hope a few gouge themselves, anyway hopefuly this will help in saving the lives of our Officers and brave jawans of the IA while being succesful in apprehending or eliminating the terrorists

[shukla]

Indian army to use chilli grenades to fight terror

Matey, no offence but it would be great if you could read older posts on the topic before posting. This news has been posted and discussed almost a week ago.. This report hasnothing new to add.

[Vivek K]

Major fire at Panagarh army depot in West Bengal

Such incidents seem to be a regular occurence in the Army. They could be caused due to sabotage, but still, the inability to mainatain Ammo Dumps must be cured.

[pmund]

Aditya, I had a similar exp and I had gone 'uncoached' as well. I remember a funny incident with a stud-type, who we thought would SURELY get through. We were so naive. He did the obstacle course thrice and was beaming away to glory. The GTO patted him, praised him to heaven, took him to the Tarzan swing and asked if he would jump off without the benefit of the rope. The stud said yes, and jumped. The GTO congratulated him profusely. Stud didnt make it. It took me a month in NDA to realise why

[Amit J]

Indian army to use chilli grenades to fight terror

Matey, no offence but it would be great if you could read older posts on the topic before posting. This news has been posted and discussed almost a week ago.. This report hasnothing new to add.

Oops ! - I had actualy checked a couple of pages and posts dated prior to the news article date

[Rahul M]

some good news.

http://chhindits.blogspot.com/2010/03/i ... ncert.html

Minister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal, released a book titled ‘The Indian Army – A Glorious Heritage’ today at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor, Director, NCERT Prof G Ravindra and other dignitaries from the Army and the ministry were also presented during the function. .

The book published by NCERT specifically compiled for the young age group contains authentic inspirational accounts from India’s wars, traces the history, sacrifice and evolution of the Army and provides details on the entry system in to its ranks. The book attempts create an awareness towards army in a readable style.

I wonder subject this book is for, as a light reading for english ?

[Katare]

Major fire at Panagarh army depot in West Bengal

Such incidents seem to be a regular occurence in the Army. They could be caused due to sabotage, but still, the inability to mainatain Ammo Dumps must be cured.

How many incident we had in last 1 year?

I thought this was a major problem upto 2004-05 but since than they have almost solved the problem by building better indoor facilities for storage.

[shukla]

Russia may unveil new 'super-tank' in summer 2010

Russia's new main battle tank (MBT), the T-95, could be exhibited for the first time at an arms show in the Urals Region this summer, the developer and future manufacturer of the tank has said. The development of the new tank dubbed "Item 195" began at the Uralvagonzavod design bureau in the early 1990s. Russia will become the first country in the world to have the 5th-generartion MBT if the military commissions the vehicle.

"The work on the project has been conducted for many years. If the government gives us a 'green light' we will exhibit the tank at the [Russian Expo Arms 2010] arms show in Nizhny Tagil this summer," general director of the Uralvagonzavod plant Oleg Siyenko told RIA Novosti in an exclusive interview. "I cannot disclose the characteristics of the tank, but I can assure you that we have met all the requirements put forward by the military," he said.

According to unofficial sources, the T-95 will feature better firepower, maneuverability, electronics and armor protection than Russia's latest T-90 MBT or comparable foreign models. It will weigh about 55 tons and its speed will increase from 30-50 kph to 50-65 kph (19-31 mph to 31-40 mph). The new tank may be equipped with a 152-mm smoothbore gun capable of firing guided missiles with a range of 6,000-7,000 meters. In contrast to existing designs, the gun will be located in a remotely-controlled turret to improve 3-men crew survivability.
Meanwhile, the T-90 MBT, developed in the 1990s on the basis of the T-72B tank, will be the backbone of the armored units until 2025, according to the Russian military.

What are the chances of this one making its way into the Indian Army somewhere in the future?? I am not betting against it..

[Gerard]

Fire breaks out at huge Indian arms depot

[jaladipc]

SC OKs building border road overlooking China

The Army will construct two roads in the sensitive international border area in Sikkim, facilitating a strategic access route virtually overlooking China, a demand which had been pending clearance from the SC since 2005

Clicky

[nachiket]

SC OKs building border road overlooking China

The Army will construct two roads in the sensitive international border area in Sikkim, facilitating a strategic access route virtually overlooking China, a demand which had been pending clearance from the SC since 2005

Clicky

We have to get our priorities straight. An important border road that is necessary for the Army to ensure a safe border is held up for five years because some trees have to be cut?

[Yayavar]

deleted

[Kersi D]

]SC OKs building border road overlooking China

The Army will construct two roads in the sensitive international border area in Sikkim, facilitating a strategic access route virtually overlooking China, a demand which had been pending clearance from the SC since 2005

Clicky

We have to get our priorities straight. An important border road that is necessary for the Army to ensure a safe border is held up for five years because some trees have to be cut?

Where is SC when the builders in Mumbai, Dilli, Banglaore etc chop down hundreds of tress to make money err.. I mean houses ?

[rohitvats]

We have to get our priorities straight. An important border road that is necessary for the Army to ensure a safe border is held up for five years because some trees have to be cut?

nachiket, I on the other hand appreciate such checks and balances....the road does pass through an ecologicaly sensitive area and construction of road will involve felling thousands of trees.....the problem is with our judicial system. They should have fast-track system to address such important matters of national security.

[nachiket]

We have to get our priorities straight. An important border road that is necessary for the Army to ensure a safe border is held up for five years because some trees have to be cut?

nachiket, I on the other hand appreciate such checks and balances....the road does pass through an ecologicaly sensitive area and construction of road will involve felling thousands of trees.....the problem is with our judicial system. They should have fast-track system to address such important matters of national security.

Can't the Ministry of Environment take these decisions? Why does the judiciary have to get involved?

[shukla]

Singapore minister of State for defence visits bilateral armour exercise in India..

The Singapore Armed Forces and Indian Army participated in a bilateral armour exercise in central India Saturday morning. Codenamed "Bold Kurukshetra", the exercise was witnessed by Minister of State for Defence, Koo Tsai Kee.

MINDEF said Associate Prof Koo observed a live-firing exercise between the two armed forces, who interact regularly through policy dialogues, visits and courses. This is the sixth collaboration in the month-long exercise. MINDEF said the visit also underscores the warm defence relations between the two countries.

"The SAF and the Indian Army have been working together on bilateral army exercises since April 2005," Assoc Prof Koo said. "We appreciate the opportunity to train and exercise with the Indian Armed Forces. The successful conclusion of Exercise Bold Kurushektra 2010 demonstrates the capabilities and professionalism of both armies.”

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 15/1/.html

[jaladipc]

We have to get our priorities straight. An important border road that is necessary for the Army to ensure a safe border is held up for five years because some trees have to be cut?

nachiket, I on the other hand appreciate such checks and balances....the road does pass through an ecologicaly sensitive area and construction of road will involve felling thousands of trees.....the problem is with our judicial system. They should have fast-track system to address such important matters of national security.

Woow....I appreciate your concerns of having checks and balances and that toooooo regarding trees and plants.If a war does brokeout, then the very ecology in such areas will go down the drain while taking 1000`s of human life with them as well.

Maybe our policies need to be changed.And its really sad that not even SC scare about national security.After all.....all these laws were made by congress howleysss........much cant be expected!!!!!

JAI HIND.

[rohitvats]

Woow....I appreciate your concerns of having checks and balances and that toooooo regarding trees and plants.If a war does brokeout, then the very ecology in such areas will go down the drain while taking 1000`s of human life with them as well. Maybe our policies need to be changed.And its really sad that not even SC scare about national security.After all.....all these laws were made by congress howleysss........much cant be expected!!!!!

JAI HIND.

Sigh! do you think for a moment before you post? Is it difficult to understand that National Security, with out proper checks and balances, cannot be allowed to be the over-riding criteria for everything? If a solution can be found which serves both the purposes, ecological preservation and defense, is it bad? And as for the delay, the newspaper item forgot to mention this (from here: http://news.webindia123.com/news/articl ... 73706.html):

The Indian Army and CEC were blaming each other for the delay in clearance for construction of road within 50 metre radius of Indo-China border. Army blamed red tapism and CEC while the Supreme Court appointed committee blamed lack of co-ordination between Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Defence and had contended that the Army projects have been cleared on priority basis keeping in view the security interest of the country.

And what has the permission and clearance delay got to do with Congress? Is it difficult to leave these biases and CT behind and look objectively at the situation at hand? And how about researching a bit on the topic before flying off the tangent?

For records sake, a detailed report on the subject is as follows (from here -http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/mob ... blabel=TOI):

This sum Rs 71.4 crores is more than total commission alleged to have been paid in the procurement of Bofors guns,but the Army is not complaining as the apex court cleared its long pending proposal to construct a strategic road near the trijunction of Tibet,Bhutan and Sikkim.

This payment made towards compensatory afforestation fund would allow the Army to construct two roads in the sensitive international border area in Sikkim facilitating a strategic access route virtually overlooking China,a demand which had been pending clearance from the SC since 2005.

The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) was asked by the SC to study the proposal as it involved Border Road Organisation (BRO) constructing a new road between Flaghil and Dokhala passing through Pangolakha wildlife sanctuary.The Army had said that the road is required for operational purposes and to meet strategic requirement of the nation.

After a detailed site inspection by CEC members M K Jiwrajika and Mahendra Vyas and amicus curiae A D N Rao,a report was submitted to forest bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices S H Kapadia and Aftab Alam on Friday.The report said,"The entire alignment of the proposed road passes through the high altitude alpine areas of the sanctuary and would involve felling of 3042 trees,9769 shrubs,14018 herbs and about 5000 bamboos".

However,it agreed with the Army that the proposed road,adjoining the international border is of vital strategic and defence importance and therefore has to be constructed at all costs notwithstanding the fact that it involves the use of a very sensitive area falling in the Pangolakha wildlife sanctuary.

Recommending clearance of the project,the CEC said the Army has to pay 5% of the estimated project cost of Rs 3,570 crores (that is Rs 71.4 crore) with the compensatory afforestation fund for undertaking conservation and protection works in the sanctuary. { it is possible to meet the twin objectives together.Is that a bad thing?}

With the Army agreeing to the conditions,including a clearance from the National Wildlife Board,the apex court said the money deposited by the Army towards afforestation would be released to Sikkim Forest Department to carry out the protection and conservation work in the sanctuary.

[VinodTK]

Joint India, Singapore military exercise ends in Madhya Pradesh

Babina (MP), Mar 28 (ANI): A two-day-long joint military exercise by Indian and Singaporean armies - code-named Bold Kurukshetra - aimed at validating inter-operability between the two forces concluded here on Saturday.

[Gerard]

Govt, army disagree on changing harsh law

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised to consider amendments to AFSPA to make it more “humane”, but the army has found a draft proposal prepared by the home ministry “too drastic”, according to government sources.

[Pat]

Pmund while this is not the right thread anecdotal references do not count for instance I have heard quite a few ex service personnel or even those in service say " services are not what they used to be they don't attract as many good men as in my days " sounds like more of a rant to me but the point is every system can be gamed and bad apples exist everywhere and SSB is no exception to that , the major issue is SSB process as such is completely opaque when it comes to an appraisal of a candidate and at least this in this aspect it has remained unchanged since its inception during the British Raj , most of the grievances can be traced back to this aspect alone .

As far as attracting good/quality men is concerned again I don't believe it , if services cannot find enough good men from a pool of second largest population in the world (may be largest in terms of % of young men in age group 15-25yrs) and despite offering a pretty decent package as remuneration then there is something seriously wrong with their approach towards selecting candidates .Again to clarify imho it is more to do with the lengthy and otherwise dated process involving inviting applications, conducting exams , SSB interview and finally preparing the merit list and sending communication to the candidates .
If services and UPSC can revisit above aspects alone I am sure they would improve their chances of attracting many more candidates .

Negi: Army gives a good package but but there are other factors that are against army like - job risk, constant postings etc..

Most army officers that I have seen leaving army are making at least double the anount within a year or so.. So clearly the salary gap is huge and life is tough. If army wants to recruit better guys then they will have to be innovative like the US or other western armies and provide other non-monetary rewards.

BTW: I have been to SSB and did not see any bias the results were very predictable.

[sumshyam]

No troop pullout this year: Army

"There is no major troop pullout or withdrawal in the state this year. There have been redeployments and relocations of troops as per the security assessment from time to time," Brigadier General Staff (BGS), 16 Corps, Brig Gurdeep Singh told reporters in reply to a question about troop withdrawal.

[sumshyam]

Lt Gen V K Singh to take over as 26th Army chief tomorrow

NEW DELHI: Lt Gen V K Singh, the senior most infantry officer with vast experience in counter-insurgency operations and the present GOC-in-C of Eastern Command, will take over as the next Army chief here tomorrow.

59-year-old Singh will take over from Gen Deepak Kapoor, who retired from service today.

He will be the 26th chief and will stay at the helm of the 1.13 million personnel-strong Army for over two years.

[jai]

U.S. Proposes WMD Defense Exercise with India

What do they want to check out now PAD/AAD ?? and push sales of Patriot ??

[ASPuar]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 746561.cms

General V K Singh takes over as new Indian Army chief

PTI, Mar 31, 2010, 02.42pm IST

NEW DELHI: Gen V K Singh, the senior most infantry officer, was on handed over charge of the Indian Army, the world's second largest, on the forenoon of Wednesday, 31st March 2010 by outgoing chief Gen Deepak Kapoor. He will formally assume his new office tomorrow.

He will be the first trained commando to take over as the Army chief.

Gen Singh, who has vast experience in counter-insurgency operations and till lately was the GOC-in-C of Kolkata-based Eastern Command, was handed over charge by Gen Kapoor at a ceremony in the South Block here.

Kapoor retired from the Army after over four decades of service and would formally cease to be the Army chief at midnight tonight.

Singh, who picked up the four-star rank of General today, will be the 26th chief and will stay at the helm of the 1.13 million personnel-strong Army for over two years.

The defence ministry had on January 23 issued the order appointing Singh for the top post after the Cabinet Committee on Appointments cleared his name a day earlier.

Singh was in the news recently when he recommended action against four General-ranked officers indicted by a probe in the Sukna land scam in Darjeeling district of West Bengal.

A third generation officer from the Rajput regiment, Singh had participated in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War as a young captain. He is a graduate of the Wellington-based Defence Services Staff College as well as the US Army War College at Carlisle. He also did a Rangers Course, a prestigious commando training, at Fort Benning in the US.

The new chief belongs to the Rajput Regiment just as Field Marshal K M Cariappa, the first Indian to become the Army chief in 1949.

Singh was commissioned in the Rajput Regiment in June 1970 and commanded the same unit when it was positioned along the Line of Control with Pakistan.

Experienced in counter-insurgency, Line of Control and high altitude operations, Singh was awarded the Yudh Sena Medal for his distinguished service during 'Operation Pawan' against the LTTE in Sri Lanka.

Singh, who has seen action in the 1971 war, also served in the Military Operations Directorate at the Army Headquarters and was Brigadier General Staff of a Corps during 'Operation Parakram' when troops were mobilised on the border in the wake of the 2001 terror attack on Parliament.

He also commanded the Jalandhar-based 11 Corps and Ambala-based Strike Corps and was an instructor in the Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) headquarters in Bhutan.

Singh was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for distinguished service while commanding a counter-insurgency force.

The General has an illustrious record in the Army for standing first in the Young Officers Course of Infantry and again being awarded the Commando Dagger for standing first in the Commando Course.

Singh will be the 24th Indian to be the Army chief, as the first two Indian Army chiefs were British officers General Sir Robert Lockhart and General Sir Roy Bucher.

The Indian Army has so far had 14 Infantry, six Armoured and five Artillery officers, including Gen Kapoor, as its chiefs.

[Juggi G]

Future War on Two-and-A-Half Fronts ?
The Times of India