Command and control of red tabs over troops decline by the day

Ordered to do menial tasks, Army jawans desert Patiala unit
Last Updated: Friday, November 02, 2012, 18:40
Zeenews Bureau
Chandigarh: In yet another breach of discipline in the Indian Army, around 16 soldiers of an armoured regiment based in Patiala left their unit after being forced by their seniors to perform 'menial tasks'.
As per reports, the jawans were part of the 56 Armoured Regiment stationed at Patiala as part of the elite 1 Armoured Division.
The jawans were allegedly asked by some officers to carry out 'menial tasks'. They allegedly protested stating that they belonged to Army's clerk cadres and were supposed to do specific tasks only, The Indian Express reported.
Reports stated that the soldiers returned to their regimental centre in Ahmednagar after the Commanding Officer (CO) issued orders to punish them for showing dissent.
CO had the jawans put through a 'Battle Physical and Proficiency Test (BPET) which requires one to run several kilometres and cross obstacles in full battle gear. They were then forced to do a 'route march’.
The newspaper added that queries to Western Command's Chandimandir-based headquarters went unanswered and no statement was issued in this regard.
Over a 1,000 soldiers have committed suicide since 2003, with the yearly toll regularly climbing over 100. Incidents of fragging (to kill or wound a fellow soldier) have also become a regular phenomenon in the 1.13-million strong Army.
A report by the Defence Institute of Psychological Research had held that "perceived humiliation and harassment, over and above occupational and familial causes", by their superiors often serves as the final "trigger" for jawans in stress-related cases in the forces.
The Army has, meanwhile, ordered a probe into the matter.
Ordered to do menial tasks, Army jawans desert Patiala unit
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Comment: The red tabs (only the symbols on uniforms) of all full colonels need to be done away with immediately to reduce the psychological barrier between the troops and unit commanding officers. This gesture is likely to assuage the feelings of the troops under command. The VIP status and VIP culture ingrained in Officers must be slowly got ridden off. Generals need to meet the expenses of batmen, dhobis cooks and waiters from their own funds. No appointment comes with free services and privileges. Now a days there are adequate high tech gadgets to do away with combatants working in Generals houses needlessly in peace areas especially in AHQ and all Command/ Area HQ's.

India produces the finest Generals it possibly can

My Response to Ajay Shukla's "Wake Up Generals"... Click here
Dear Ajay,
(Ajay left the Army a few years ago as Lt Col/Col. He was in the Armd Corps I think)
I feel very very sad and disenchanted to read your article written for the Business Standard. You left the Army and became a journalist. Great. You have significant inside knowledge of the Army and the other two services. One thought you would use it to educate the Indian polity about National security matters, and not write trash as you have done in this article.
Let us try and imagine what will be the end effect of this article. Will it create better impression of our army in the minds of the general public, the politicians, the bureaucracy, the youngsters aspiring to join the Army. What about the negative effect on serving officers and men!!
Writing about how many people work in the Army House should be below the dignity of Ajay. How can a NDA/ IMA trained gentleman officer stoop so low!!
Also do you think this article would be considered a journalistic achievement of yours and raise your stock amongst the new fraternity you have chosen as a result of your second career!!
Ajay dear, I am from the 1st Course JSW/ NDA. Joined in Jan 1949. Have seen the Army since then. I have also seen the US Army/ Marine Corps some what. Worked with TATAs also. I see the Indian Army now. There are changes even since I retired in 1991 but let me inform you that these are more visible in peace areas. These are as a result of societal changes. The Army cannot be divorced from the rest of the nation. But in the field/ operational areas officers and soldiers are doing commendable job. You are fully aware that it is extremely difficult to rise in the Indian Army and one has to be really lucky in addition to having professional capabilities to pick up a flag rank.
I wrote this to the Shekhar Gupta after the most derogatory article published on the front page of the Indian Express a few weeks back.
THIS IS THE BEST GENERALS OUR COUNTRY CAN PRODUCE. INDIA HAS FOREIGN HOCKEY, CRICKET, BOXING COACHES. IF YOU OR THE NATION ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE GENERALS, IMPORT THEM ALSO FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES, ESPECIALLY ITALY!!
I would be happy if with your experience in the Army you can come out with some positive suggestions on how to improve the quality of our generals. Deep selection is no answer, as we Indians are experts in beating any system. Also every policy has its pros and cons!!
Whatever we do, we should not hand over the process to the politicians and the bureaucrats.
Ajay please please do not throw muck on the Army of which you are a product. Please do ponder over the ill effects.
Best wishes.
Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh (Retired)

NDA, IMA and OTA train military leaders
A General leads his men by his example. He expects his men to do their duty to the fullest extent of the word. He will send no man to do what he himself would not do of his own accord. He will enforce discipline, and will establish that he is in charge. He must never hold himself higher than a deity, or have his men treat him as such. He must approach warfare from many angles, being flexible direct or aggressive as the situation warrants. He must also not be afraid of losing everything. The General who does not commit himself fully to victory will lose without honour.

Tatra Trucks: CBI has evidence of links with a shadowy set of former defence officers

CBI probing Tatra’s two decades of monopoly
Neeraj Chauhan, TNN | Oct 21, 2012, 05.52AM IST
NEW DELHI: The CBI, which registered a case against Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh on Saturday for allegedly trying to bribe then Army chief General VK Singh to clear the purchase of Tatra trucks for the Army, is conducting a parallel inquiry into the complaint regarding the monopoly Tatra has enjoyed for two decades in supplying all-terrain trucks to the defence forces. Sources said the chargesheet in the case is in the final stages and could be filed in a Delhi court shortly. The agency is expected to charge officials of Tatra and the public sector Bharat Earth Movers Limited.
Sources said the raids were conducted at the residences of Rishi's aide Gautam Thadani, MD of Global Healthline Private Ltd, Rajan Madhu, director of F-Bar in Ashoka Hotel and Rishi's employees Anil Mansaramani and Vikram Kakia. CBI sleuths recovered Rs 98 lakh from Thadani's house.
CBI sources said preliminary investigation established Tejinder Singh's meeting with the then Army chief as well as that the latter was unhappy with what had transpired. During its probe, the CBI also established Tejinder Singh visited General V K Singh on September 22, 2010 because "the file related to procurement of Tatra trucks was lying on the table of army chief that day" and that "Tejinder Singh offered bribe on behalf of Ravi Rishi as he is closely associated with the latter".
Defence minister AK Antony's confirmation of General V K Singh's "oral complaint" was found to be strong corroborative evidence.
But what strengthened the case for a formal investigation was evidence of Tejinder Singh's alleged dealings with lobbyists for arms manufacturers, including a Korean company. Tejinder Singh has been booked under section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Under Section 12 of the Act, a person who abets the offence of making a public servant accept illegal gratification, whether or not that offence is committed in consequence of that abetment, can be punished with a minimum punishment of six months in jail which may extend to five years.
"We have evidence of his links with a shadowy set of former defence officers who were on the payroll of arms manufacturers and suppliers," said a senior CBI source.
CBI probing Tatra’s two decades of monopoly
Comment: "We have evidence of his links with a shadowy set of former defence officers". Do they include 2 decades of former chiefs? It is logical all must be investigated top downwards. MOD and AHQ need to gear up to let out their skeletons. Will they?

Culpability for Wastage of Funds by the Army Commanders

Reference: Army chief, top generals wasted crores, shows defence ministry audit
Response
Culpability for Wastage of Funds by the Army Commanders by Major General Mrinal Suman
Elements inimical to the services are at it once again. Senior army commanders are being accused of wasting crores of rupees through improper purchases made under Special Financial Powers of the Army Commanders. As per the press reports, a post-audit has been carried out of 55 transactions pertaining to financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11 by the Controller of Defence Accounts. The audit report has estimated the total loss to be to the tune of Rupees 103.11 crores. It is a serious indictment and deserves elaboration.
With a view to impart enhanced autonomy in administrative and operational functioning, various financial powers have been delegated to the Army Commanders. As per the recommendations of the Committee on Defence Expenditure, the Ministry of Defence decided in November 1991 that exercise of such delegated financial powers should be with the concurrence of local financial advisors. It implies that such delegated financial powers are neither absolute nor discretionary, and can be exercised by the Army Commanders only with the prior consent of their Integrated Financial Advisor (IFA).
The system of IFA aims to reduce delays and provide pre-contract expert advice to the executives for ensuring financial prudence and prevent irregularities.
Role of Financial Advisors
Commanders have to obtain prior financial concurrence of their IFA before incurring any expenditure as there is no provision for ex-post facto acquiescence.
IFAs are tasked to carry out a careful and intelligent scrutiny of all proposals involving expenditure from the public funds to ensure economy, efficiency and propriety in public finance. Before according financial concurrence, it is their duty to seek complete and comprehensive justification for the proposals. They are authorised to even challenge the necessity for incurring projected expenditure for a given purchase.
Unless IFA accords Acceptance of Necessity and approves the quantity to be procured, no proposal can be progressed. He questions the proposed mode of tendering and checks the list of prospective vendors. All tender documents are vetted by IFA prior to their issuance.
Most importantly, IFA is always a member of the Commercial Negotiation Committee and participates in the following functions:

Appraisal of bids as regards commercial terms, delivery schedule, performance warranty, guarantee terms and acceptance criteria.

Determination of fair and reasonable price of the product. Preparation of a ‘Comparative Statement of Tenders’ to determine lowest bidder. Undertaking negotiations with the lowest bidder to obtain best possible terms. Diligent drafting of contract to safeguard Government’s interests.

Post-contract management to monitor adherence to the terms of the deal and timely invocation of penalty provisions in case of default.

As is obvious, IFA exercises total and all-encompassing oversight over the complete procurement process. He can stall any procurement proposal if not convinced of its financial propriety.
The Question of Culpability
The said audit report faults the Army Commanders for disregarding guideline while buying foreign equipment, procuring equipment from Indian agents, accepting equipment rejected by another army entity and purchase of Chinese products which may have been embedded with malignant software.
As seen above, IFAs guide commanders at every stage of the procurement process and keep a close oversight. If that be so, onus for rendering faulty financial advice or clearing faulty cases rests on them. They should be asked to explain alleged irregularities and infirmities. How can an Army Commander be blamed for adhering to the advice of his IFA? If that be so, why have IFAs at all?
Most outrageously, the audit report states that the local financial advisors are intimidated by military officers in command. One has not come across a more preposterous and bizarre statement. No IFA ever gets intimidated. On the contrary, they are overbearing, domineering and suffer from an acute ‘rank-equivalence-complex’. They keep comparing their pay scales with those of the service officers to draw equations with different ranks. This complex manifests itself in their condescending attitude as they tend to assume the role of dispenser of favours while according financial concurrence. Therefore, the question of their getting intimidated is all baloney.
Inadequacies of the Current Dispensation
It is incongruous that a duly pre-audited procurement process is found to be flawed in post-audit. Interestingly, both pre-audit and post-audit are carried out by the officials of the Defence Finance and their roles are inter-changeable.
Unfortunately, the prime reason for the current weakness of the system is the failure of the Defence Finance officials to deliver. They are expected to act as defence financial advisors but are ill-equipped for the task.
They know nothing about the armed forces, their equipment and functioning. Worse, most are equally ignorant of financial management tools. During a survey of the educational qualifications of the top 50 Defence Finance officers, it was seen that most of them did not possess even elementary knowledge of finance/economics – only 8 percent had studied economics at the post-graduate level. Most were post-graduates in subjects like Political Science, English, Sociology and Sanskrit. Such officials cannot be expected to grasp minutiae of financial imperatives and perform defence economic advisory functions.
Finally
Let us look at the unenviable position of the Army Commanders. They have been asked to follow the advice of their IFAs while exercising their delegated financial powers. They are justified in assuming that all procurement proposals vetted and cleared by IFAs are in consonance with the Government rules and regulations. Therefore, it is absurd that the Army Commanders be held responsible for any alleged irregularities or omissions.
It should be for IFAs to justify the procedure followed. They and they alone should be held accountable for faulty advice and oversight. Quite appallingly, IFAs disown any responsibility under the plea that decision making is the prerogative of the executives and they cannot be held accountable for the same. It is a most ludicrous excuse.
The fact of the matter is that the armed forces are a soft target. The said audit report is a part of the well-orchestrated campaign to denigrate them through planted selective leaks.
Comment: No Army Commander will sign a purchase order unless the FA certifies that every thing is in order. The media has lost all perspective and is out to make headlines even at the cost of reputation of senior army generals. The nexus of IFA Officers and dealers/ spurious vendors need to be investigated.
Of Matters Military - Probity and Formation Commanders
Of the last dozen cases of corruption that we heard about, how many involved officers from the EME, ASC or Ord? It is common knowledge in formations today that the 'meat' lies in op wks, S&S Imprest, ACG/ATG, MI Fund and CHT Fund. Rations and spares are passe.
Probity and Formation Commanders

Brigadier VS Saini under scanner for $5 million bribe demand in chopper deal

Brigadier under scanner for $5 million bribe demand in chopper deal
Published: Friday, Oct 26, 2012, 19:16 IST
Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI
A brigadier is under the scanner for allegedly demanding bribe of $5 million from an Italian company in a helicopter deal, with the Defence Ministry today seeking details from the government there and assuring "strong action" against the culprits.
The allegations were levelled against the brigadier, who is currently posted at the Officers' Training Academy in Chennai, during an ongoing probe in Italy into the alleged involvement of Finmeccanica in paying kickbacks to secure defence deals including the Indian contract for 12 VVIP choppers.
Finmeccanica is the parent company of Agusta Westland and is under the scanner after a few arrests were made in Italy including personnel suspected to be the middlemen in the Indian contract.
"The Defence Ministry has asked the Italian government and concerned agencies through the External Affairs Ministry to provide the name and relevant documents relating to the alleged involvement of a brigadier in the ongoing process for the acquisition of 197 helicopters for the army.
"We will take strong action against offenders detected through this probe," Defence Ministry said in a release.
The allegation have been levelled against the officer in a letter allegedly sent by an Agusta Westland official in India to his superiors in Italy saying that the Brigadier was seeking $5 million for facilitating the deal in their favour. The letter was submitted by Italian prosecutors in a court there.
The ministry officials said the Italian government has been requested to provide details of the existence, if any, of any middlemen of any individual or Indian entity in the above contracts.
Agusta Westland has already won the Indian deal worth over Euro 560 million for supplying 12 AW101 VVIP choppers while its bid was rejected in the 197 choppers deal where Eurocopter and Russian Kamov are still in the race.
Brigadier under scanner for $5 million bribe demand in chopper deal
Related Reading
Did Indian Brigadier demand bribe to swing copter deal for AgustaWestland? Probe documents say so
Comment: The name of Brigadier V.S. Saini, a serving Indian Army officer, has surfaced in a document that Italian investigators have found in the course of their probe into possible kickbacks or commissions paid by Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer Augusta Westland (AW). Earlier Brig VS Saini, was Brigadier Aviation, Northern Command and now posted in OTA, Chennai. Will General Deepak Kapoor (30 Sep 2007 to 30 Mar 2010) be linked to this deal? Brig VS Saini could not have pulled off such a scam without blessings of the Chief. CBI should investigate all sources of income of Gen Deepak Kapoor who is a master spinner (Adarsh/ Tatra Scam to his credit and many more).

Drunk Army Personnel offer cops a sip too

Drunk armymen offer cops a sip too 22/10/2012
It came as quite a shock to Kaushal Mahendrabhai, an on-duty cop, when two drunk army men offered his superior liquor.“Drink this and let us go. Don’t make a fuss” was what they said. They were caught by Mahendrabhai in an inebriated state near the entrance of the Vibrant Navratri festival at GMDC ground in Ahmedabad.
The jawans were identified as Bhomaram Chopal, 30, native of Dhimipur village in Rajasthan and Tanmay Kundu, 28, native of Shivgam in West Bengal. According to Vastrapur police, both of them are deployed in the 11th division at Shahibaug army camp.
Mahendrabhai, a lok rakshak of Vastrapur police, was deployed at GMDC ground. At around 10.30pm, he saw two persons creating a ruckus near the entrance to the ground. “Two jawans were misbehaving with visitors and teasing girls. When I confronted them, they abused me and claimed that they were from the army. However, they were not wearing uniforms and didn’t have any ID cards. Since they were drunk, they were taken to our control room and I called our superior officer, ML Makwana, a police inspector from Rajkot,” said Mahendrabhai.
When Makwana decided to arrest them for consuming liquor, the duo allegedly misbehaved with him as well and offered him liquor in exchange for letting them go. The cops called Vastrapur police and had the miscreants arrested. While searching them, cops found 200ml of liquor on Chopal and 300ml of liquor on Kundu. The liquor was stored in plastic bottles and kept in their pockets. Cops have also seized their army jeep and taken it to the police station.
In addition to being drunk, both gave their wrong name and cadre. They were caught when their superior officer, Subedar Kanwarsinh Chauhan, came to the police station with their ID cards. Apart from the complaint of consuming liquor, cops have filed a case of misleading police by furnishing false information against Chopal and Kundu.
-via DNA.
Drunk armymen offer cops a sip too

Army HQ’s telephone cables stolen

Army HQ’s telephone cables stolen, high security phones left dead
by FP Staff Oct 12, 2012
The civilian government experienced a communication gap with the military on Thursday, when over 1,000 phones in the Army headquarters in the national capital went dead, after thieves made off with copper wiring used for telephone lines.
Over 1,000 phones including Remote Access Terminal phones that are used by army officials to communicate with ministers and government officials went dead, initially prompting fears of a security breach. However the incident was later verified to be the result of the theft of several tonnes of copper wires used in a junction box inside the guarded army headquarters, according to an Indian Express report.
“It is not possible to carry away such a massive quantity of heavy copper wire on foot. The thieves seem to have used a vehicle, probably a mini truck. It is suspected that they came in the guise of MTNL staff,”a police official who is investigating the theft was quoted as saying.
Since the rise in prices of copper, theft of telephone wires for extraction or reselling of copper is hardly uncommon. In a recent incident, over 10,000 phones in a Mumbai suburb went dead due to thieves stealing over 100 metres worth of wiring in order to resell it. And in Hyderabad, thieves made off with thousands of kilos of metals from industrial units.
However, in this case the choice of target in this case is more bold than most cases reported earlier.
Army HQ’s telephone cables stolen, high security phones left dead

Rank Pay and SCPC Anomalies: Military discipline and morale on the decline?

Recipe for disaster for the military
by Arun K. Singh.
The writer, a vice-admiral, retired as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam
The state of morale in the armed forces in general, and the Army in particular, should be a cause for worry because of the latter’s rapidly declining combat capability. Moreover, an Army with low morale, insufficient manpower and lacking in the required combat equipment is a recipe for national disaster at the hands of foreign invaders.
The recent Supreme Court ruling giving “rank pay” to those officers who were in military service between 1986 to 1996 following a 25-year-long court battle by a few retired officers shows how this rank pay, given by the fourth Central Pay Commission (4th CPC), had been withheld by unaccountable bureaucrats, who had issued the final implementation orders. Even if the rank pay is finally given in the coming months, many of those eligible have passed away or are bed-ridden, and, many had received lower pension also. Today, there are 39 unresolved anomalies from the 6th CPC, which gave its award in 2008...
The Army, for its part, needs to set its own house in order, weed out corruption, reward merit and concentrate on regaining its past glory, which was based on pure professionalism, discipline and leadership. Can the Prime Minister do something drastic to improve morale and combat capability of the military?
Extracted from original article click here for more

OROP: Army faces shortage of officers

VINAY KUMAR The Hindu Sunday September 30, 2012
Programmes under way in several colleges and universities to motivate the youth to join the force
The Indian Army is facing a peculiar problem – not enough youngsters are attracted to join the 1.1-million strong force as officers.
Expressing concern at the situation, the Army Chief, General Bikram Singh, has said that about 10,500 officers are needed. The shortage, he said, was impacting the officer-jawan relationship.
According to official figures, the shortage is around 10,500 in the Army, 1,400 in the Navy and 1,100 in the Air Force.
Union Defence Minister A. K. Antony has said the shortage is “partly attributable to accretions from time to time, tough selection procedures and difficult service conditions coupled with perceived high degree of risk involved in recruitment and training.”
He said a number of steps to attract youth to the armed forces have been taken. These include increase in tenure of Short Service Commission (SSC) officers from 10 years to 14 years, increasing promotional avenues for officers by implementing the A.V. Singh Committee recommendations on restructuring of officers’ cadre of the Indian Army and implementing the suggestions of the Sixth Pay Commission report. Last week, the Government had broadly rolled out the one rank-one pension scheme for ex-servicemen and also hiked family pension.
For the purpose of recruitment, the country is divided into recruiting zones and every zone is allotted a quota based on a percentage of its population and ethnic grouping. A legacy, slowly being diluted, is that of combat arm units or regiments recruiting from a particular zone or mixture of ethnic groups.
The shortage of officers has been plaguing the force for several years, resulting in poor management at the unit level. The Army’s sanctioned strength is about 46,600 officers. Army officials attribute the shortage to accretion in force levels from time to time and say that as a career option the job is characterised by hardship in the form of unsettled life, disruption of children’s education, risk factor and early retirement age. Every year about 600 officers retire as Lt. Colonels and Colonels at the age of 54.
The Army Chief said programmes were being held in several colleges and universities to motivate the youth to join the force.
“The youngsters feel motivated to join but their motivation level goes down when they discuss the Army as a career option with their parents. We intend to reach out to parents. Risks are everywhere but in the armed forces these are managed well,” said General Singh.
“We are taking measures like spreading awareness and convincing parents to send their children into the force to address the shortage. The disenchantment is also affecting soldiers as more than 10,000 took pre-mature retirement from the force last year. In 2011, 10,315 soldiers opted for premature retirement, while the figure for 2010 and 2009 was 7,249 and 7,499 respectively. The jawans, who are better educated than in the past, retire around a productive age of 35 years to look for greener pastures instead of continuing in the force,” senior Army officials added.
They said the Government has sanctioned establishment of two additional Service Selection Boards (SSBs) under the selection centre in the North at Roopnagar, Ropar, in Punjab which would facilitate the intake of more officers.
With its motto of “Live for something rather than die for nothing”, the Army is planning intensive publicity campaigns targeting both urban and rural areas. Officials said a number of “image projection campaigns” have been launched by the recruitment directorate to attract quality youth and spread awareness about the “Army as a career”.
Army faces shortage of officers
Realted Reading
General Bikram Singh sees officers’ shortage behind face-offs

Pathribal Fake Encounter: GCM starts against 5 officers

Pathribal Fake Encounter: Court martial starts against 5 officers 22/09/2012
The Army has commenced General Court Martial (GCM) proceedings at Nagrota-based 16 Corps headquarters against its five officers allegedly involved in the Pathribal fake encounter killing of five innocent men in Anantnag district of Kashmir more than 12 years ago.
“On Sept 20, the Army initiated disciplinary proceedings against the accused Army Officers in the alleged Pathribal fake encounter case”, an Army officer said.
Consequent to the Supreme Court’s Order, the Army had taken over the case from Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, and thereafter attached these officers to its Nagrota-based 16 Corps, he said.
Lt Gen A S Nandal, GOC 16 Corps in the capacity of Commanding Officer, heard the charges preferred by CBI against these officers and directed summary of evidence to be recorded against them, officer said.
Lt Gen Nandal heard the evidence led by Ashok Kalra, the CBI Inspector who had investigated the case, he said adding he also produced the document filed by CBI before a CBI court.
“All witnesses examined by CBI during its investigation will now be summoned to appear before the officer recording summary of evidence. After the summary of evidence is recorded, the final charge-sheet will be prepared for the next stage of proceedings”, he said.
On the aspect of change of location of the Court Martial proceedings, the Army spokesperson stated that GOC 15 Corps had contested the case on behalf of the accused persons right up to the Supreme Court and therefore, it was just and proper as also fair to the victims’ families that the disciplinary proceedings be conducted by another commander.
In the fag end of June month this year, the Army decided to try in GCM its five officers allegedly involved in the Pathribal fake encounter in March, 2000.
The Army moved an application before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar, the designated CBI court, seeking transfer of the case to the GCM.
The CJM directed transferring the records including the charge sheet and other material evidence to the GCM through the Army’s authorised officer.
The Army’s decision came after the Supreme Court on May 1 gave eight weeks’ time to it to decide whether the accused officers will be tried in the GCM or face a trial in the civilian court.
Brig Ajay Saxena, Lt Col Brajendra Pratap Singh, Maj Sourabh Sharma, Maj Amit Saxena and Subedar Idrees Khan were chargesheeted by the CBI in 2006 for killing five civilians and later dubbing them as foreign militants.
As per the CBI investigation, the five civilians were killed and branded as militants days after 35 Sikhs were massacred in the nearby Chattisingpora village.
The CBI had filed the charge sheet against the accused officers in 2006 but the Army contested maintainability of the charge sheet claiming that prior sanction from the Centre was required under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which provides immunity against prosecution to Army personnel deployed in disturbed areas.
The Army’s plea was rejected by all courts, including the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, till the Apex Court partly agreed with it saying prior sanction was required for prosecution.
Pathribal Fake Encounter: Court martial starts against 5 officers
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Army Jawans seek instant redressal

Army jawans ransack police station, beat up cops
PTI | Sep 11, 2012, 07.28PM IST
JAMMU: Army jawans allegedly ransacked a railway police station and beat up cops on duty, injuring six of them, in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir. Cases were registered against the army troopers for allegedly beating up and injuring the cops last night, police officials said here today. The trouble erupted following an altercation between an Army jawan and GRP personnel, they said.
The jawan had allegedly unplugged the metal detector installed at the railway station to charge his mobile phone.
When the policemen objected to this, an altercation ensued between them after which the armyman was taken to the police station. On getting information about the incident, the jawan's colleagues, including some officers, reached the police station and allegedly went on a rampage, the officials said. They beat up the policemen on duty injuring six cops, they said. They also took away the jawan with them. The army jawans were waiting for a train at the Kathua railway station for their journey outside the state.
Police booked the jawans for beating and injuring the cops, the officials said. When asked about the incident, the PRO Defence said the Army was yet to come out with a statement on the matter. The jawans belonged to the 225 field regiment stationed at Janglote in the Kathua district.
Army jawans ransack police station, beat up cops
Lessons Learnt
Jawans do not have access to online booking because they are posted at a location without internet or telephone. The only thing the Railways can do is to give them one bogey for hundreds of Jawans going on leave from J & K. Alternatively the units need to book their tickets online in bulk for the leave party. Jammu Railway Station is always chaotic and unfriendly.

Indian Army’s growing morale problem
Today the cost of living has risen much more than the wage increments. Given increased land prices and other avenues of income, the army has lost some of its sheen as a sought-after employer. A recent comment in the Indian media reads:
“An objective review of the manner in which the pay, allowances and status of the military have been lowered over the last two decades reveals some startling facts. The average ‘fauji’ (soldier) retires at a much younger age than the civilian counterpart who serves up to age 60. Many anomalies abound.”
Indeed, it is important for New Delhi to closely look for solutions to pre-empt the disgruntlement among the jawans turning alarming levels. There are already rising instances of industrial unrest in India.
Dissatisfied workers of car manufacturer Maruti brutally assaulted management cadres recently, killing a senior executive and injuring several others. The Maoist violence in large tracts of Central and Eastern India is linked to mining companies exploiting the local tribal populations resulting in deep grievances.
Unlike its neighbors Pakistan, Bangladesh or Nepal, the Indian army has remained largely apolitical and has worked well under civilian political leadership since India’s independence in 1947. The Indian jawan deserves his due.
(Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist. He can be reached at sidsri@yahoo.com)
Read the full article of declining Morale of Troops
Indiscipline growing due to disconnect in the command and control structure: This video clip proves the point!

Equal pension is no favour to soldiers

Anil Kaul says the government needs to change its attitude towards the armed forces...
VETERANS,
MY friend, have to choose between being forgotten, mocked or used. As for being understood: never.”
Albert Camus words are ringing true in case of Indian army veterans, who are threatening to intensify their four-year-old agitation unless the government accepts their demand for one rank one pension (OROP) by 15 August.
One rank one pension implies uniform pension for army personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement, and mandates that any future enhancement in the rates of pension be automatically passed on to past pensioners. The demand was raised way back in 1981 and still remains unresolved. The six-member committee under Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth that has been looking into it, has been asked by the government to finalise its recommendations and submit a report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by 8 August. The PM is likely to announce some welfare measures for defence veterans including ‘one-rank-one-pension’ on 15 August. It has already been discussed in detail by a Rajya Sabha Petition Committee headed by Bhagat Singh Koshiyari. Given below are some examples how the recommendations of the Koshiyari committee negate the very spirit of pension laid down by the Supreme Court — that it is not pay but payment for services rendered — and parity in its allotment.
1. “The pre 1 Jan 2006 retirees get the same pension as the post 1 Jan 2006 retirees by matching the three factors that govern the pensions of ex-servicemen i.e. the rank, the length of service and the trade (in case of all ranks below officer ranks only). After this is affected, any future increases be automatically applied to old pensioners. The family, disabilities and dependents’ pensions be included for the purpose of this definition. This, however, does not mean the grant of pensionary benefits such as DCRG and additional value of commutation pension.”
This definition, by no stretch of imagination, includes annual increments in pensions as is given to serving soldiers.
2. Notwithstanding the Rajya Sabha Committee Report that was presented on 19 December 2011, in 2013, a post 2006 retiree Brigadier (equivalent to a deputy secretary) will get more pension than a post 2006 retiree Major General (equivalent to a joint secretary). The protection clause for the Major Generals would have to be applied or Military Service Pay will have to be extended to Major Generals. This is the mess created by the government in the 6th Central Pay Commission. Now compare this with pre 2006 retirees. The pension of a post 2012 retiree Colonel (equivalent to a director), on both time scale and selection grade is Rs 35,841, whereas a pre 2006 retiree Major General’s pension is Rs 26,700. You cannot have three rank juniors getting more pension than the seniors. OROP is being demanded for army personnel because it is a rank-based hierarchy, whose terms and conditions are different from other professions. As such armymen under the same rank and with same years of service should get the same pension irrespective of their dates of retirement and should continue to get it in perpetuity. But in their desperation to fool the unwary veterans, the bureaucrats have added the point of annual increment in pension as per the serving soldiers to the award of OROP. But ex-servicemen (ESM) don’t want annual increment in pensions. A serving soldier gets annual increment for a year’s service, how can a pensioner claim the same for his retired service? OROP, as per the definition given, means full parity with the latest rates of pension for past pensioners. Once granted there are no increments till a revision by a CPC.
3. Successive governments in the past have claimed that OROP was untenable and meeting it would cost a bomb. The anomaly was created by the 5th and 6th Pay Commissions. The Congress had promised OROP in its poll manifesto in 2004. However, the UPA government rejected the OROP demand in December 2008, after which ex-servicemen returned their gallantry medals to the President. Following protracted protests, a committee was set up under Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar to review the OROP issues. On the panel’s suggestion, the Centre has now agreed to substantially hike the pension of JCOs and other ranks. The pension of such personnel who retired before 10 October, 1997 will be brought at par with the pension of those retired after that date. The pension of those who retired before 1 January, 2006 — including the 1997 group — will be substantially hiked to come close to those who retired after the cut-off date of 1 January, 2006. This is not OROP but near parity.
Soldiers rightfully deserve better than this after the sacrifices they make. The government needs to address this trust deficit in all earnest. Half-hearted measures won’t help.
Kaul, a retired officer, is the author of Better Dead Than Disabled. The views expressed here are personal.
vrcanilkaul(at)hotmail(dot)com
Click here for the original post- Tehelka
Comment: The MOD Bureaucrats having destroyed the command control structure of the Armed Forces are now in the game of reducing Ranks in the Military to a Mockery- Now we see the true results- Revolts in the Services. Will the Defence Minister take Charge?

Indian Army: Shortage of Officers proves costly

Shortage of officers is the root-cause
By Major General Mrinal Suman
Independent India is 65 years old. If the nation remains united today, the credit goes entirely to the armed forces. They continue to be the sole source of hope for this beleaguered country. They are the last bastion against the fissiparous forces that are inimical to its existence. Therefore, every issue that affects the well-being of the armed forces must be taken seriously.
The recent incident at Sambha is a cause of grave concern. Without sounding alarmist, there are three developments that do not portend well for the health of the army – increasing cases of suicides and fratricide; growing tendency to approach courts for justice; and recent cases of collective indiscipline. Such occurrences were extremely rare earlier.
Indian soldiers are reputed for their mental and physical robustness. They fought a war in sub-zero temperatures in lofty Himalayas without proper winter clothing in 1962 without a word of protest. Have there been any disquieting changes that are compelling them to resort to desperate acts? Why have the soldiers become so restless? Where have the things gone wrong?

Cases of Suicide and Fratricide
On 08 August 2012, the Defence Minister informed the Rajya Sabha that a total of 1,028 soldiers from the army had committed suicide since 2003. During the same period lives of 80 soldiers were lost due to fratricide. There were 102 cases of suicide in 2011 and 62 soldiers had taken their lives till July this year. According to the studies conducted by the Defence Institute of Psychological Research, stress is one of the key factors that drive soldiers to take the extreme step.
Although stress is a biological term, it is commonly used in a metaphorical sense. It has also come to be accepted as a euphemism for describing difficulties faced by an individual. Failure to adapt to challenges results in perceiving them as threats, which in turn generates pressures. Extreme pressures become stress. When stress surpasses ability to handle, it becomes a threat to both physical and emotional well-being.
Challenges in military life are different from those faced by civilians, both in terms of emotional security, psychological equilibrium and physical well-being. Resultant stresses generate the “fight-or-flight” response in many soldiers.
Rapport, which is a function of inter-personal communication between a commander and his troops, is the best protection against stress related break-downs. Therefore, suicides and fratricides are entirely due to the lack of necessary interaction between officers and their men.

Court Cases
There has been an exponential increase in the number of court cases being filed by service personnel to seek justice. Over one lakh cases pertaining to the armed forces personnel are pending in various courts and the trend has acquired alarming dimensions. The most important reason for the surfeit of court cases is loss of confidence in the fairness of the system. Soldiers feel aggrieved when they feel deprived of their rightful due, leading to dissentions and litigations.
The army has an institutionalised arrangement for an effective internal complaint-redressal mechanism. While the commanders keep the troops informed of the latest issues through ‘sainik sammelans’, soldiers can seek audience with their commanders (‘arzi report’) to apprise them of their complaint and seek redressal. If not satisfied, they can submit written appeals to the Chief (non-statutory complaints) and the Government (statutory complaints).
Unfortunately, the above mechanism has become defunct and lost its credibility. Interview or ‘Arzi Report’ has degenerated into a worthless ritual. Most non-statutory and statutory complaints keep shuttling up and down on technicalities, without the complainants getting any response.
As officers are hardly available to attend to troops’ grievances, soldiers feel neglected and are forced to knock at the doors of the courts. Once again, the reason is lack of regular interaction between the officers and the troops.

Collective Indiscipline
Collective indiscipline in a unit is highly ominous. Indian soldiers are too disciplined to resort to insubordination unless driven to it. They are inherently very strong mentally and have a very high threshold of endurance.
Such incidents do not occur as a result of impulsive outburst but are a manifestation of simmering discontentment over a long period. Unconfirmed reports, conjectures and even rumours can give rise to antagonism against the organisation.
A large number of grievances are due to lack of information and are misplaced. A minor misconception or misunderstanding can take the form of major dissent if not noticed and addressed in time. As per press reports, false news of the death of a soldier in the hospital acted as a trigger for collective indiscipline in an artillery unit in Leh. Had the leaders been in regular communication with the troops, they could have scotched the rumour and prevented the events from taking an ugly turn.
Through regular interaction, vigilant commanders can learn about issues of disconcert and take necessary steps to put the soldiers at ease. It is certainly a failure of command, purely due to lack of required communication with troops.

Shortage of Officers is Proving Perilous
Management of stress faced by troops and redressal of their grievances are command functions. Regular interaction acts as a safety valve – perceptive leaders can discern warning signals and take steps to prevent acts of desperation by some over-stressed soldiers.
The current worrisome developments show that the existing bond of camaraderie between the officers and the men is becoming tenuous due to a dilution of communication between commanders and the soldiers.
Acute shortage of officers is the primary cause for the increasing gulf between the officers and the men.
All units are being asked to make do with ‘hard scale’ of officers’ strength. With normal commitment of courses, temporary duties, annual leave and attachments, some units have to function with 7 to 9 officers. Resultantly, a company which should have 4-5 officers is being manned by a single officer. It is well nigh impossible for him either to know all soldiers in his company or to look after their welfare adequately.
Quite unfairly, a commanding officer is expected to train and administer his unit with a handful of officers – a most daunting task. Command of a unit has become an unenviable challenge.
The army is facing a shortage of a whopping 26 percent – carrying a deficiency of over 12,000 officers against the sanctioned strength of 46,500. Authorities are rightly seized of the matter and the intake is being increased. But it will take decades for the deficiencies to be made up fully.
There is a need to take immediate action to mitigate the problem to the extent possible. Some recommendations are as follows:

Presently, all staff appointments are fully subscribed and units are kept under-posted. It should be the other way around. It is better to carry deficiencies on staff.

A fresh look should be taken at all courses being run and their utility – is the value of the course worth depriving the unit of the officer’s services. Courses should not be run purely to sustain training establishments.

Every single young officer should be recalled from ERE duties. No young officer should be detailed as ADC to the President, Governors and the formation commanders. It is a most undesirable sight to see young officers being wasted on ceremonial clap-trap while the units are deprived of their presence.
There should be a total ban on the attachment of unit officers to formation headquarters. Most station duties should be performed by staff officers. To many, the above suggestions may appear to be too radical. But drastic problems need drastic cures. It must be appreciated that units are the real punch of the army and allowing the current drift to continue can prove perilous.

Revolt of Field Regiment in Ladakh: An Analysis

Blame the Army's cover-up culture, not ‘colonial-era institutions'
Manvendra Singh The Hindu, May 23, 2012
Praveen Swami caught the wrong end of a long stick in his article “Ladakh troop revolt underlines Army class tensions” (The Hindu, May 13, 2012). His interesting analysis of the indiscipline and disorder by personnel of the Ladakh-based 226 Field Regiment was based on two arguments. His main argument was that the Army continued to run on antiquated arrangements which then created the conditions for troops and officers of the Artillery regiment to come to blows. Combustion is inbuilt in the functioning of the Army and the fracas at Nyoma in Leh was waiting to happen. He makes two points to underline this argument.
First, the Army continues to run on “colonial-era institutions” and, second, that it remains “divided rigidly between sahibs and men, which allowed, enabled, or rather created conditions for tempers to boil over in Nyoma. Before responding to his line of reasoning, it is important to firstly condemn the incidents that happened in Nyoma. There are no grounds to justify, or let alone explain, the fisticuffs during the bara khana after the regiment had completed its field firing practice. It must be understood that a bara khana is standard procedure following any field firing, by any unit. That an Army tradition came to be marred by unforeseen incidents is a sad commentary on the calibre of officers who were holding staff and command appointments of the 226 Field Regiment. For they are the principal beneficiaries of what Praveen Swami has called “colonial-era institutions.”
His first line of attack is on the continued practice of employing combat trained soldiers as the personal valets of officers — once called batmen by British Indian Army officers and now known as sewadars, sahayaks, and also buddies in many units. His argument is that this institution is outdated in today's India. It humiliates the soldier detailed for such duties with an officer. And because of its misuse, the Nyoma incident happened. Class tension is inherent in the structure of the Army, hence the fires of revolt in the 226 Field Regiment.
There is a basic flaw in this reasoning. For if that were the case, the Army would long have been reduced to an institution wrecked by confronting its thousand inbuilt mutinies. But that has not happened and neither will the Army go that way. Regiments and battalions under far greater combat stress, and with far higher levels of battle training, would also have been stricken with this ailment. Infantry units, the primary application of force by the Republic of India, would not have been able to perform their basic military tasks if the “colonial-era institutions” remained the prevailing atmosphere in the battalion. The institution of sahayak is certainly an outdated one, and there can be no two views on that score. But it is not responsible, whatever its levels of misuse, for the acts of indiscipline in Nyoma.
The second point raised in the report was about the Army being a house “divided between sahibs and men.” Sahib is an honorific bestowed on those who have attained certain ranks, officers or men. Officers are taught by tradition to address as “Sahib” those who have achieved such ranks even if they are junior in the command structure. Consider this: India's Army achieved one of its greatest military feats 25 years ago during this time of the year. On June 26, 1987, the 8 Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry captured Quaid Post from Pakistan in the battle to dominate Siachen. The success of that operation was because of the extreme bravery of late 2/Lt Rajiv Pande who began the operation, that was completed by then Naib Subedar Bana Singh, for which he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra. To come to the point — even in the midst of the highest combat ever fought, Pande and Bana Singh would only address each other as “Sahib,” despite the vast difference in age and rank. That has been the practice ever since the Indian Army came to be made, and it will remain so. The addressing of someone as “Sahib” doesn't cause divisions in the Army. And neither does the presence of the ‘Sahib culture'. What causes divisions, and which lie at the root of the problems on display in Nyoma, is, in fact, of far more recent origin.
The armed forces of India, unlike other government services, have a sharply pyramidal structure, both within a unit and as institutions as a whole. The competition of ranks is far higher in the armed forces than anywhere else in the country. And this is as true for officers as it is for enlisted men, for the number of junior commissioned ranks are few and far in between. This competition for higher ranks has created a culture of command that revolves around the “zero-error syndrome.” Simply explained, this essentially means the avoidance of risk so as to sail the waters calmly. When no risks are taken, no mistakes are made. So annual confidential reports remain sanitised to the last line and the grading is excellent. Thus, promotions are easier achieved provided the examinations and courses are also graded well. True of men as also of officers. But human life is not so mechanical, and military life less so. The lure of higher ranks, however, requires that the record be spotless, so units do what they know best: brush the mess under the carpet. Lapses are routinely covered up, and command failures remain un-reported, or at best under-reported.
The failings of command, thus, come to be hidden, from platoon level upward. It is plain to the eye who is and is not fit for the higher ranks. But the military bureaucracy only looks at sterilised pieces of paper in the Military Secretary's Branch. Who they select for commanding a combat unit may really not be fit for that appointment, intellectually, physically or even morally. Murphy's Law is the most popular dictum in the armed forces, and it catches up some time or the other. In Nyoma, it caught up with the 226 Field Regiment. It is certain that this regiment has had numerous incidents of indiscipline in the past. None came to be reported, or they were covered up. Indiscipline to the point of revolt does not only affect those in the unit, but even those commanding higher formations. Accountability in the Army is lateral and vertical. So to avoid stains, some in the past have ignored goings on inside the 226 Field Regiment. All that it required was an incapable officer and an incapacitated soldier to come together, and they did in Nyoma. First-rate officers and first-rate soldiers in other units continue to perform commendably by “colonial-era institutions.” It is obvious the first-rate are not in the 226 Field Regiment.
(Manvendra Singh is co-convener of the Bharatiya Janata Party's defence cell. He was a member of the Standing Committee on Defence in the 14th Lok Sabha.)
Blame the Army's cover-up culture, not ‘colonial-era institutions'

Military Promotions: Bureaucrats want a say in the command structure

Once bitten, Defence Ministry cautious on promotion policy
K. V. Prasad of The HINDU
Refers to Law Ministry issue of discretionary evaluation marks to Army officers
Once bitten — following the controversy over the age of Army Chief V.K. Singh — the Defence Ministry is cautious on the issue of promotion to Army officers. It has sought the opinion of the Law Ministry on the Army awarding discretionary evaluation marks under a promotion policy to officers being considered for senior ranks.

Defence Ministry sources said the decision was taken after the Army sent a list of officers for promotion from Brigadiers to Majors General and Majors General to Lieutenants General based on the promotion boards held during October last with grading that includes discretionary marks.

Army sources said they were awaiting a decision which had been pending for over four months amid the possibility that some recommended officers would be entering the zone of retirement. As per rules, a Brigadier would have to retire on attaining the age of 56 and a Major General on reaching 58.

As per the evaluation marks policy, the collegium consisting of the Army Chief, the Vice-Chief and Army commanders has the discretion of awarding up to 5 marks to a candidate being considered for promotion while the rest 95 are quantified on the basis of work and achievements and other parameters during the service period.

Army sources said that while the evaluation marks had been in place for the last few years, including in the other two Services, the Defence Ministry had sought to question it. However, Ministry sources said that in the light of how the controversy over the date of birth of the Army Chief played out, the government is keen to ensure that everything is in black and white and there are no grey areas leading to litigation
Once bitten, Defence Ministry cautious on promotion policy

Forces, CAG lock horns over audit of unit run canteens

Wednesday, 14 September 2011 00:54
The armed forces and Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) are at loggerheads over the auditing of the 4,500 unit-run canteens which have an annual turnover of Rs 10,000 crore.

Documents available with The Pioneer show that the chiefs of the Army, Air Force and Navy have refused to comply with the direction of the Defence Secretary to permit the CAG to audit the unit canteens. The Secretary had conveyed the direction of Defence Minister AK Antony, who had received a complaint from the CAG on the denial of audit by Army Headquarters.

“Since no headway has been made in this regard, the CAG has written to the Raksha Mantri on this issue and has requested his intervention for providing audit parties access to unit-run canteens (URC) as early as possible,” noted the Defence Secretary’s letter to the three service chiefs, marked ‘secret’.

“It has been observed by the CAG that considering the facts that URCs are located in Government premises, are run in most cases by service personnel, use Government transport and, most importantly, receive substantial funds from the Consolidated Fund of India, such denial violates provisions of the Constitution of India regarding the powers and duties of the CAG,” it added.

“It is, therefore, requested that necessary instructions may kindly be given to the concerned for allowing audit personnel to access information from the URCs under their control so that RM is apprised of them,” the Defence Secretary wrote.

Meanwhile, on September 7, Public Accounts Committee chairman Murli Manohar Joshi summoned the vice-chiefs of the Army, Air Force and Navy and directed them to provide access to the CAG for auditing unit-run canteens.

Earlier, in the second week of January, Joshi had summoned heads of the three forces on the same issue.

According to sources, the Vice Chiefs, who were representing the heads of the three Services, vehemently objected to the auditing of CAG in the Unit Run Canteens and claimed that each canteen is audited by chartered accountants. At this point Joshi told them that this argument was not tenable and questioned the reasons for preferring Chartered accountants over the Government Auditor.

While Vice Chiefs contended in the meeting that it was not possible for CAG to audit all 4,500 canteens, the CAG officials countered that they would audit on random basis and if they found irregularities, would consider further auditing.

Joshi directed the three forces to submit a detailed report on how to make way for audit of unit run canteens within a week and suggested for a high level committee of auditors and forces to resolve the issue.

For the past two years CAG and forces are locking horns over the auditing of Unit Run Canteens. In India, the forces supply system is managed by 34 depots of Canteen Stores Department (CSD), which is distributed through the 160 lakh end users through more than 4500 canteens, controlled by each unit. The Unit Run Canteens would take a margin at an average of four percent on the supply and the profit is expected to be around Rs.500 crore in the annual turn over of more than Rs.10000. Though CAG got access to audit the 34 CSDs, forces object the auditors when they demanded to check the accounts of Unit Run Canteens, where the actual sale takes place.

The forces get the money from the Consolidated Fund of India and enjoy Quantitative Discounts approved by the government, apart from the avoidance of taxes on most of the supplied items.

The CAG has argued out that as the fund is made available from the Consolidated Funds, they have the right to audit where as the forces claim that the affairs of the Unit Run Canteens are “purely private ventures of each units” and hence no need of auditing.
Forces, CAG lock horns over audit

Col KN Nair (Retd) comments
The CAG should have audited these URCs long back. Misuse of tax payer's money is in any case not in the interest of Nation. In this transperancy era, the Services cannot say no to the Govt Auditor. It is certain that the huge profits earned out of URC venture were/are being used by the Service Officers left and right. If the URC records are audited, this will come out as another major scandal. The CAG should act now.

Joint Command a Myth

Joint command
Jointness in armed forces
Politics of Chief of Defence Staff
by Rakesh Datta
This refers to the article, “Jointness in armed forces” (August 26). There is no likelihood of the CDS coming up at least in the foreseeable future. First, there is no jointness; the three Services Chiefs hold divergent views. Secondly, there exists an unwarranted fear of army takeover in the mind of the politicians that is fuelled by vested interests in the bureaucracy. And thirdly, the all-powerful bureaucracy is afraid of losing its superiority.

The fear has even led to a systematic dilution of the status of the Services Chiefs. They have been brought down in precedence from their once exalted position. The million-strong Army has been virtually sidelined. It has lost its say even in the matters that directly concern it. And sadly, the Army has sheepishly allowed itself to be relegated to the inferior position. All this needs to be undone.

The government should get rid of its imaginary fear, the bureaucracy should shun its misplaced superiority complex, and the Army should assert its well-deserved importance. Give the Army its rightful due. This will be in the interest of national security.
Wg Cdr CL SEHGAL (Retd), Jalandhar

Monetary allowance for gallantry awardees enhanced

Monetary allowance for gallantry awardees enhanced 19 April 2011 | 1:41 PM
The Ministry of Defence has enhanced the rates of monthly allowance for gallantry awardees.
The new rates shall be applicable with effect from 30 March 2011. Following are the enhanced monthly amounts
PVC Rs 10,000
AC Rs 6,000
MVC Rs 5,000
KC Rs 4,500
VrC Rs 3,500
SC Rs 3,000
SM / NM / VM (G) Rs 1,000
The MoD has already forwarded the letter to Services HQrs.
Monetary allowance for gallantry awardees enhanced

Previous Gallantry Allowances
Particular of Gallantry Award rate of monetary allowance
(Rupees per month)
Param Vir Chakra 3000
Ashok Chakra 2800/-
Maha Vir Chakra 2400/-
Kirti Chakra 2100/-
Vir Chakra 1700/-
Saurya Chakra 1500/-
Sena/Nao Sena/Vayu Sena Medal awardees Rs 500/-
Comment: The enhancement for PVC is 333% and others less than 250%. Salaries and Pensions have increased over 300% by the Sixth Central Pay Commission. Why this measly enhancements for the Gallant Jawans?

Amazing Grace: Corps of Signals Pipes and Drum

A photograph of the Bagpipers playing the tune Amazing Grace (Hymn), who form part of Corps of Signals Pipes and Drum, during Centenary Celebrations at Jabalpur on 14 Feb 2011
Corps of Signals Indian Army celebrated its Centenary at Jabalpur, where No. 1 Signal Training Center is located, from 13-15 Feb 2011 in a very beffiting manner.
One of the soul stirring and inspiring event was a Band Concert after dark in the Gowrishankar Parade Ground (named after one of our illustrious Signals general, who earned a Maha Vir Chakra-a very high gallantry award while commanding a brigade in Dera Baba Nanalk Sector, in Punjab, during 1971 War with Pakistan).
A poignant item in the Band Concert was playing of the Hymn 'AMAZING GRACE' by nearly thirty Corps of Signals Bagpipers. They came marching in slow time in two columns well separated by a large screen, each column lit by soft blue light, playing beautifully the haunting tune of the Hymn. As they came nearer, the sound of the bagpipes gradually increasing.
The Pipers formed up in two rows in front of the audience continued to play the tune and then slowly returned the way they had come; the sound fading away in the semi darkness and leaving everyone spell bound and may be with some moist eyes as well!!
A recorded version of the same tune played by US Marine Bagpipers can be seen and heard on this video below:



The Corps of Signals Pipers played absolutely in the same manner and I feel even better, except that the setting was more serene and stirring, being in the quietness of night under subdued light!

WHAT IS AMAZING GRACE HYMN?
"Amazing Grace" is a Hymn written by English poet John Newton in 1973 and published in 1779.
Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He joined the Royal Navy and became a sailor, eventually participating in the slave trade. One night a terrible storm battered his vessel so severely that he became frightened enough to call out to God for mercy. After a few years he quit going to sea altogether and began studying theology.
Ordained in the Church in 1764, Newton began to write hymns with poet William Cower. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773.
Gradually it was sung in Churches and congregations and over time set to many types of music. However, perhaps it sounds the best when played by Bagpipers.
Each Regiment and infantry battalion in the Indian Army has a Pipes and Drum Band. Corps of Signals has two such bands, one located with each of its two Signal Training Centers.
All Praise for Brig SK Pillai, Commandant 1 STC and his Team for masterminding and showcasing such amazing events, which make the Corps of yesterday and today so proud.
Harbhajan Singh
Lt Gen
Former Signal Officer-in-Chief and Senior Colonel Commandant

Corps of Signals- The “21st century arm of our forces"

Ministry of Defence 17-February, 2011 18:59 IST
Antony Asks Forces to gear up to Fight Cyber Wars
The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony has called upon the Armed Forces to be vigilant against emerging cyber threats. Addressing the centenary celebrations of the Corps of Signals here today, he called upon the forces to keep abreast of latest technologies. Terming the Corps of Signals as the “21st century arm of our forces”, Shri Antony said it has a major role in promoting inter-Service synergy and joint operations.

“The Corps is at the forefront of transforming the Indian Army to a network-centric force. It must continuously enhance its ability to absorb latest technologies in collaboration with the Industry and R&D establishment. The Corps has done commendable work, be it in fielding futuristic strategic defence communication networks, or development of state-of-the-art tactical communication systems. The contribution of the Corps in enhancing cyber security is worth a mention. However, the Corps needs to be ever vigilant, as cyber threats continue to multiply and intensify by the day,” Shri Antony said.

Speaking on the occasion the Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju said that besides being vital to the Armed Forces, Telecommunication and Cyber Infrastructure is a national and strategic asset as various other key sectors such as the Railways, Airlines, Banks and Industry depend on it. Shri Pallam Raju said that I&CT will be a key factor in reshaping the methodology of war fighting in the future.

“Any serious disruption can jeopardise our functioning including our responses to the war being raised by our adversaries. The ramification of cyber attacks launched by an unknown adversary or individual has necessitated a relook at the planning and security of Command and Control infrastructure at the highest levels of national governance,” Shri Pallam Raju said.

Underlining that the modern warfare has undergone a paradigm shift, the Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh said that the Corps of Signals has emerged as the proverbial “nervous system” of the Armed Forces in contemporary times.

“In all future wars, information superiority will be one of the key battle winning factors and future battlefield milieu would require communication system that are secure, responsive and reliable,” said General Singh. HH/NN (Release ID :69874)
Antony Asks Forces to gear up to Fight Cyber Wars

Definition: Nervous System
System of specialized cells (neurons, or nerve cells) that conduct stimuli from a sensory receptor through a neuron network to the site (e.g., a gland or muscle) where the response occurs. In humans, it consists of the central and peripheral nervous systems, the former consisting of the brain and spinal cord and the latter of the nerves, which carry impulses to and from the central nervous system. The cranial nerves handle head and neck sensory and motor activities, except the vagus nerve, which conducts signals to visceral organs. Each spinal nerve is attached to the spinal cord by a sensory and a motor root. These exit between the vertebrae and merge to form a large mixed nerve, which branches to supply a defined area of the body. Disorders include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, chorea, epilepsy, myasthenia gravis, neural tube defect, parkinsonism, and poliomyelitis. Effects of disorders range from transient tics and minor personality changes to major personality disruptions, seizures, paralysis, and death.
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