Ex-servicemen reject hike in pension, say it is ‘misleading’

Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 25, 2012
As the fine print of the Cabinet’s decision on additional pension for ex-servicemen emerges, it is clear that the government stopped short of accepting the ‘one rank, one pension’ (OROP) formula but there will be an across the board increase in pension for all those who retired before January 1 2006.
Depending on which side you stand, opinions are sharply divided on the hike and the last word on the matter is yet to be spoken with ex-servicemen groups rejecting the additional pension benefits.
The basic pension of all officers who retired before January 1, 2006 will increase between Rs 1,800 and Rs 3,600. The existing 65 per cent of dearness allowance will also be admissible over the increased amount. However, this is not as per the OROP formula.
Despite the increase, officers who retired after January 1, 2006 will get pensions that are way ahead of those who retired before January 1, 2006. The other measures on dual family pension and family pension for physically and mentally handicapped children after marriage have been welcomed.

Sources said as per calculations made so far, the following will be the tentative hike in basic pension for officers who retired before January 1, 2006: Captain Rs 13,850 (existing) to Rs 15,350 (after hike); Major Rs 14,100 to Rs 18,205; Lt Col Rs 25,700 to Rs 26,262; Colonel Rs 26,050 to Rs 27,795; Brigadier Rs 26,150 to Rs 29,145 and Major General Rs 26,700 to 30,350. These figures could be more, depending upon several other factors. This DA would be paid as per prevailing rates. Other payments of military service pay and grade pay factored into the pension calculation formula remain unchanged.
Maj General Satbir Singh (retd), vice-chairman of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, rejected the announcement terming it as “misleading”. “What has been given, albeit grudgingly, does not even meet provisions of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) judgments on the matter,” he said in letters shot-off to the Prime Minister with copies to Defence Minister AK Antony and the three Service Chiefs. Two summers ago, the General had led a march to Rashtrapati Bhawan where hundreds of retired personnel returned their medals.
Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa and Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda have welcomed the decision. Bajwa said the remaining demands of serving officers should be met immediately, while Hooda praised Sonia Gandhi for the move.
Explaining the intricacies of OROP, Maj General Singh said, “OROP means that defence personnel with the same rank and same length of service must draw the same pension irrespective of the date of retirement and any future enhancement would be automatically granted to them. What has been announced is not OROP.” The hike has come about after a change in calculations. Till now, the pension for ex-servicemen retiring before January 1, 2006 was calculated as per the lowest pay in the existing pay band.
Ex-servicemen reject hike in pension, say it is ‘misleading’

Will the Government Kill the RTI Act?

RTI applications now expensive and difficult; will the move kill the act? Reported by Sidharth Pandey Updated: April 29, 2012 16:00 IST
New Delhi: It was hailed as the UPA's big achievement when the Right to Information Act was passed in 2005. Now it seems like state governments and public authorities across the country are making it increasingly expensive and at times a virtually impossible task for people to seek information.
In states like Chhattisgarh, the Vidhan Sabha or state assembly has recently hiked the fees for information to Rs500 for each query. This means, that anyone asking questions like details of how many days their elected representatives have attended the assembly, or the expenditure on their foreign trips, will have to shell out 500 rupees each time. That's 50 times the price as envisaged under the original 2005 RTI Act. The Uttar Pradesh assembly has been asking 500 rupees for years now.
It doesn't stop there; in fact citizens should avoid asking for any photocopied documents from the Chattisgarh assembly unless they are ready to pay 15 rupees per page as charges to the assembly. That's 15 times the market rate for photocopying.
Will the move to make RTI applications expensive kill the act?
RTI applications now expensive and difficult
So while in some states the cost of applying for information has become expensive, other states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh have set a word limit to just 150 words.
It now seems that Madhya Pradesh too is about to set a word limit and also double the fees for seeking information from Rs. 10 to Rs. 20.
The justification to hiking fees and limiting queries given by various authorities is that the move is aimed at curbing frivolous applications that end up over burdening government officers with answering frivolous applications. But these changes in the rules have not gone too well with activists who have been fighting to strengthen it.
Shekhar Singh, the coordinator for the non profit organisation, National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI), says the present and proposed changes may be ok in the letter but not in the spirit of the law. Singh, who was a key player in drafting the 2005 landmark information act, says that citizens should challenge the change in rules.
"Even if we agree to the Rs. 28 income a day, as the line that divides the poor according to the planning commission that means a person will have to save his entire months income just to file one RTI. It in effect takes away a person's fundamental right indirectly" explained Singh.
But changing rules is one thing, changing the act is another.
"More and more exemption provisions are being made than what are there are in the original law and this is not acceptable," said Satyanand Mishra, India's Central Information Commissioner (CIC).
As the CIC, it's Mishra's job to ensure that the RTI is implemented across the country. He also plays the role of chief referee between information seekers and public authorities, often ruling on appeals filed by citizens who have been denied information by officers.
But increasingly he's had to pass orders asking public authorities to not only give information to citizens but also re-look at the changes made by them which have altered the nature of the law.
The RTI is heralded as one of the most important laws since independence, by civil rights campaigners. It's allowed ordinary citizens get a host of basic services from water connections to passports. But now with many states and authorities making this process difficult and expensive, the RTI could soon be a mere act in government books.
Government intent to kill the RTI Act

BEML chief should stop playing and start praying

BEML chief under CBI scanner
Ritu Sharma Express News Service Last Updated : 03 Apr 2012 10:30:20 AM IST
NEW DELHI: The head of a ‘navratna’ Defence PSU Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML) V R S Natarajan is under CBI scanner for alleged irregularities in supplying sub-standard Tatra trucks manufactured by Vectra group to the Indian Army.
According to sources, the Defence Ministry has ordered the CBI to investigate Natrajan’s role, the BEML Chief for a decade now, in the dubious deal.
Defence Minister A K Antony had sanctioned the order on February 21 after a probe by the Ministry and BEML officials beginning 2009 confirmed the foul play.
The Ministry has been keeping the details under wraps for fear of jeopardizing the CBI investigations, sources said.
However, Natrajan refused to comment on the issue when contacted by ‘Express’ saying he has already given a public statement on the Tatra trucks.
The BEML Chief has been batting for the trucks that have been sold to the Indian Army at exorbitant prices.
BEML used to manufacture the trucks in India under license from Vectra. By now BEML was envisaged to indigenize the trucks completely, but, only 60 percent of the heavy duty vehicles’ components are manufactured in India.
“We have supplied 7,000 vehicles in the last 26 years. For last 10 years, I have been the Chairman of the company, not a single complaint has come from the Army Headquarters or any of the directorates. We never got complaints about Tatra vehicles that shows these vehicles are performing excellently... no complaint of any nature has come to us so far either directly or indirectly on performance,” Natrajan had said during a press conference.
BEML had come under scanner, after Antony’s cabinet colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad had written a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi alleging irregularities on the part of Navratna Company in the Tatra truck deals. The letter was then forwarded to the Defence Ministry for investigation.
According to the Defence Ministry, the vigilance wings of the Ministry and BEML have been examining the matter and there have been communication between the CBI and the Chief Vigilance Officer of BEML on these allegations. It was after this inquiry that Antony sanctioned a CBI probe into the matter in February this year.
BEML chief under CBI scanner
Following Former Chiefs must be investigated for taking bribes and tweaking the GSQR in favour of scamsters

General Nirmal Chander Vij: 31 December 2002 to 31 January 2005, Infantry - Dogra Regiment PVSM, UYSM, AVSM

General Joginder Jaswant Singh: 31 January 2005 to 30 September 2007, Infantry - Maratha Light Infantry PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC

General Deepak Kapoor: 30 September 2007 to 31 March 2010, Regiment of Artillery PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC

Tatra Deal: GSQR tweaked to suit scamsters?

CBI also looking into ‘non-indigenisation’ .
Tuesday, 10 April 2012 13:14 Rakesh K Singh | New Delhi
The CBI that is probing the deal between UK-based Tatra Sipox and BEML for supply of Tatra trucks to the Army is also investigating the reasons for the failure on the part of defence PSU for non- indigenisation of the component manufacturing for the all-terrain vehicles.
According to the original agreement between BEML and Omnipol, Czechoslovakia for manufacture of the all-terrain vehicles inked in March 1987, a maximum of 80 per cent of indigenisation of the component manufacturing was to be achieved by 1991-92.

The Department of Defence Production had paid `5.49 crore as technical documentation fee to the collaborator Omnipol and made an additional investment of `29.45 crore between 1986-87 and 1990-91 for creation of necessary infrastructure for production of targeted 250 Tatra trucks per annum from 1988-89 onwards.
“These targets, in respect of production as well as indigenisation were, however, never achieved,” said a 2000 CAG report on the performance of the defence PSU.
The report, gathered by the CBI during the ongoing probe of the Tatra trucks deal between intermediary firm Tatra Sipox and BEML inked in 1997 in contravention of the defence procurement rules, further said, “the indigenisation programme was virtually abandoned after 1991-92 when the order level dropped drastically from an average of 146 during the preceding three years to just 2 and indigenisation attained was 50.65 per cent.”
The CAG has also pointed out that BEML also accumulated as many as 748 non-moving inventory and 182 slow-moving inventory. The auditor had also slammed the defence PSU for not making significant profit from the investments made in the creation of facilities for Tatra trucks as BEML could mange a return of 8.28 per cent against the estimated return of 17.7 per cent by 1990-91 (year of stabilisation of the truck production).
The Central auditor had also pointed out that the Tatra trucks supplied to Army were virtually cross-subsidised by the Bharat Dynamics Ltd and Vehicle Research and Development Establishment.
While the FIR registered against Vectra chief Ravi Rishi, UK-based Vectra group and BEML has mentioned the year 1997 after which the supply of the trucks is being probed but sources said the agency is mulling over to enlarge the ambit of the probe.
CBI also looking into ‘non-indigenisation’

BEML Officials Quizzed
The CBI on Monday examined three senior officials of finance and vigilance wings of BEML regarding the alleged irregularities in the deal for supply of Tatra trucks. Agency sources did not name the officials but said they were asked questions about different aspects of the deal between BEML and the UK-based firm. The sleuths asked from the officials the reasons for entering into an agreement with Tatra Sipox UK which was not the original manufacturer in 1997 and the renewal of the contract for supply of the trucks in 2003. The CBI is also probing if the General Staff Qualitative Requirement for procurement of the vehicles was formulated to suit the intermediary firm.
BEML Officials Quizzed
Comment: The former Army Chiefs are also culpable for tweaking the GSQR to suit the Tatra Scamsters. Their role needs to be investigated and exposed.

Army Vice Chief, MoD officials likely to face House panel today

TNN | Apr 4, 2012, 02.11AM IST
NEW DELHI: The Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen S K Singh and senior officials of the ministry of defence (MoD) could face several hostile questions regarding the military preparedness and alleged corruption in the Tatra deal on Wednesday, when they appear before the parliamentary standing committee on defence.
Sources said Lt Gen S K Singh could be appearing before the standing panel, where the demand for grant for the military was slated to be the official agenda. However, in the wake of recent controversies kicked up by Army chief Gen V K Singh's startling disclosures, the meeting could focus on the Army's poor preparedness. Besides, discussions could centre on Gen Singh was offered a Rs 14-crore bribe by a retired Army general for clearing the purchase of "sub-standard" Tatra trucks.
The committee members are concerned about Gen Singh's claim that military preparedness was at an "alarming level", when the Army and ministry leadership has been regularly telling them that force was ready to protect the country.
In the last two years, the MPs were told that the military spending was on course, and that in 2010-11 they were able to exhaust the entire budget after several years. In 2011-12, save for Rs 3,000 crore of the Army's capital allocation, the Services spent the entire sum. The Army chief's recent letter to the PM about the poor state of affairs flies in the face of such assurances.
click here for the original report

Gen VK Singh is a thorn in the flesh of the corrupt
Among the chatterati in Delhi, it is being openly discussed that Gen Singh is a thorn-in-the-flesh of the corrupt, be it the services, the bureaucracy or politicians. Being the Army chief, he has to be party to any decision, especially those involving huge financial outlfow, but if he himself is above board, it makes life hell for those whose "livelihood" depends on corrupt practices. Poor fellas! Little wonder, therefore, the dirty tricks department has the daggers out for Gen Singh at all times.
Army chief vs govt: Another slap on you know who!

Why DRDO is compelled to contradict Army chief on Tatra Truck

DRDO contradicts Army chief, says Tatra trucks 'outstanding'
PTI Mar 31, 2012, 09.40PM IST
NEW DELHI: Contradicting Army Chief General V K Singh, DRDO chief V K Saraswat on Saturday said Tatra trucks were "outstanding" and there was nothing substandard about the vehicles used as base for launching all important missiles like Prithvi and Agni. "Tatra truck is an outstanding truck... They have a very good cross country capability and can move at good speeds," Saraswat said at a press conference at Defence Expo here.
DRDO contradicts Army chief, says Tatra trucks 'outstanding'
DRDO: The True Face
S.Venugopalan (Pune) 06 Feb, 2011 11:19 AM
I feel embarrassed to say that I served in DRDO for about 25 years. It IS true that it is a fast rotting organisation, mired in total inefficiency, mysterious unaccountability, atrocious nepotism and favouritism and above all, the dangerous culture of bluffing the public about its "achievements". Huge amounts of taxpayers' money is going into the drains in the name of DRDO budget in a country where millions do not get food to eat even twice a day. All committees appointed to review the performance of DRDO after a lot of public outcry are all bogus and eyewash committees which make some cosmetic recommendations in the form of bulky reports. The Govt. must seriously think of dismantling DRDO and resort to the import of ammunitions and weapons or think of complete privatisation.
Click here for more comments

Declining standards of medical treatment for Veterans

Ex-servicemen’s families in Ahmedabad share their problems
Published: Monday, Apr 2, 2012, 15:50 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
A seminar was held at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel memorial, Shahibaug, in the city on Sunday to address the issues of ex-army officials and their families. The seminar, titled 'Ex-servicemen welfare seminar' discussed issues and problems faced by families of defence personnel. National convenor of Defence cell, General NS Malik who was the chief guest at the seminar, heard and addressed the issues of several army families present at the event.
Speaking to DNA, General Malik said that protection of the nation is a burning issue presently, which needs to be handled at the earliest. "For this, every citizen is equally responsible and needs to be informed about country's defense." He further said that awareness programmes have been planned for the country's youth as part of which activities like talks, lectures will be held.
Various issues and problems of defence personnel were discussed at length during the session. Stating their problems, Mann Singh Tomar, a resident of the city, said, "My father was in army. After his death, my mother and I had to struggle a lot to receive the pension." He further complained to Malik that to start receiving pension one has to submit documents at the regiment office to which the deceased belongs. "In our case, my father belonged to Kumaon regiment and we had to go to Uttarakhand thrice for pension," added Tomar.
Tomar suggested that every state should have an office of the regiments, so that army families after transfer in different states do not have to face much problem for pensions. Malik replied that such an office is being planned in every state.
Others complained about issues of land allotment by the government and irregular medical treatment.
Ex-servicemen’s families in Ahmedabad share their problems

Army Chief and the Arms Lobby

An Outlook Cover Story
Officer, Gentleman And The Army Mess
One too honest to back off, the other honest to a fault. And the army suffers.
10 Unanswered Questions In V.K. Singh Affair
1. Have Gen V.K. Singh and defence minister A.K. Antony squandered their Mr Clean image through their recent actions and inactions?
2. Is somebody out to get Gen V.K. Singh? Could the powerful arms lobby and their agents and middlemen be behind leaks and plants?
3. Would Gen Singh have revealed the Rs 14 crore bribe had his version of DoB been accepted?
4. Was V.K. Singh’s letter to the PM leaked to protect A.K. Antony, who was on the mat? Or to deflect attention from the offer of bribe?
5. Does the flurry of charges have something to do with PM’s absence, the BRICS summit and defence expo in Delhi?
6. Are defence dealers who lost out on the £11.6 billion Rafale deal at work?
7. Could Gen Singh’s predecessors— Deepak Kapoor and J.J. Singh— get embroiled in the crosshairs?
8. What impact will V.K. Singh’s campaign have on successors Bikram Singh and Daljit Singh?
9. Could the V.K. Singh saga end up exposing top politicians across parties mired in arms deals, a la Bofors?
10. Will the armed forces retain the same glint in the eye of civilians henceforth? How does all this affect army rank and file?
Officer, Gentleman And The Army Mess: click here for the full cover story

Dubious Track Record of Ravi Rishi of Tatra Vectra Fame

Army Chief controversy: Vectra’s Ravi Rishi left India in 1983
March 30, 2012 By LALIT SHASTRI DC BHOPAL
Ravi Rishi, promoter of the Vectra Group, which is under the scanner in relation with the V.K. Singh controversy, left India over a quarter-century back, after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence registered a case against his company, Rishi Electronics, in 1983 under the draconian Cofeposa law.
Army Chief Gen. V.K. Singh had disclosed that a huge bribe was offered to him for clearing the purchase of 'substandard' vehicles from the Vectra Group.
Mr Rishi, who later acquired British citizenship, set up businesses in several countries. He is alleged to have got a lot of help from a 1979 batch IFS officer with over three dozen vigilance cases against him.
After the Soviet collapse and Czechoslovakia’s breakup, Mr Rishi’s Vectra Group acquired a majority stake in Tatra, based in the Czech Republic, which has operations in India and Eastern Europe.
A COFEPOSA case against Mr Rishi's previous company was closed since it became time-barred after 10 years. In the meanwhile, Mr Rishi also got roped into a customs case in 2008, when his company Global Vectra Helicorp Private Limited, along with a few top industrialists, got entangled in the customs net on the charge of evading duties by misrepresenting facts during the import of helicopters and luxury jets.
On the Vectra-Defence link, the Vectra Group had earlier told this newspaper that Tatra a.s. is based in the Czech Republic and has no relation with the Indian ministry of defence.
However, on inquiry it was revealed that Vectra Group was the largest shareholder of the consortium Tatra Holding s.r.o. that owned Tatra a.s. The Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) has been making trucks for defence and other purposes under licence from Tatra. Hence technically it is BEML that has been directly linked with MoD but Vectra stood to gain from each truck supplied to the Army by BEML.
The Vecta Group was in the news earlier when due to certain discrepancies in the evaluation process, the ministry of defence had scrapped an ambitious Indian Army tender for light observation helicopters.
One of the frontrunners in the race was Eurocopter, along with Bell. Global Vectra Helicorp, one of the Vectra Group companies, was the agent for Eurocopters in India. These companies had scored over Augusta of Italy and the Russian Kamov and Kazan.
In December 2007, the lid was off from the 'dubious' evaluation process when contrary to the MoD claim that Eurocopter had engaged someone for liasoning.
Inquiries also revealed that Vectra Group had acquired maximum shares in India Exposition Mart Ltd (IEML) established for improving the "potential of exporting Indian Handicrafts".
This facility is Located in Greater Noida, close to New Delhi. This acquisition by Vectra Group is also said to be linked to the Vectra Group promoter Ravi Rishi’s close association with the suspended IAS couple Arvind Joshi and his wife Tinoo Joshi.
Ms. Joshi, who was Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office between 1988 and 1990, was later posted as Development Commissioner Handicrafts, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India (2004-07) and member secretary of All India Handicrafts Board. The Board’s mandate was to advise the Government on the formulation of the overall development programmes in handicrafts sector.
She was also Secretary General Federation of Indian Export Organisations. It is the apex Export Promotion Body set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India.
Vectra’s Ravi Rishi left India in 1983
IAS Crooks: Couple Tinoo Joshi and Arvind Joshi linked to Ravi Rishi
MP: Suspended IAS couple asked to pay over Rs 45 cr tax
Comments: Sounds like the repeat of Bofors Scam never unearthed- kingpin Italian Quattrocchi equated to Ravi Rishi in the new Indian avatar!

Babudom holds back pay scale upgrade for armed forces

Babudom holds back pay scale upgrade for armed forces
Ajay Banerjee/TNS
New Delhi, March 28
Away from the media spotlight, the three armed forces — the Army, the Navy and the IAF — are fighting a tough “battle” to get their personnel’s status and pay structure restored that were wrongly lowered in 2008.
The paramilitary forces and civilian officers were pegged at a higher perch than armed forces’ men. This, in government parlance, translates into lower status for the armed forces, lower allowances and a direct impact on the hierarchy with other services.
The “battle” to correct the status for the entire officer cadre, around 70,000 in the three forces, is being “fought” in files amidst mountains of paperwork that moves back and forth between the Finance Ministry, the Defence Ministry, the Cabinet Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). There have been no tangible results over the past three years.
The Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), who is the senior-most among the three Chiefs, has been sporadically reminding the government how the Prime Minister had, in December 2008, approved that the matter needed to be addressed by setting up a high-powered committee. No committee has been set up so far. The three Chiefs, who jointly command more than 15 lakh troops and officers, have been reduced to sending “reminders” to the government. The latest reminder was sent by Admiral Nirmal Verma on February 21 “requesting intervention” of Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth.
Documents accessed by The Tribune show how it all started when the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations were out in October 2008. The sequence panned out this way: The IAS in the post of Joint Secretary (JS) to the Government of India was made eligible for a grade pay of Rs 10,000 a month on completing 22 years of service. The same was extended to IPS and the Indian Foreign Services.
There was a protest from other group “A” services - paramilitary and other civilian services. The government said it could not have so many posts of Joint Secretary but allowed “non-functional scale upgradation” and placed the protesters on same scale as a Joint Secretary, but after 24 years of service. The grade pay is crucial when matters of status are to be decided. Apart from the money, it sets the status of an officer in the government.
Strangely, the Armed forces are neither classified as group “A” services nor are they termed as “central services” like the IAS or the IPS. In case of the armed forces, Colonels languish at Rs 8,700 grade pay and Brigadiers at Rs 8,900. Only Major-Generals or their equivalent in the IAF and the Navy get the grade pay of Rs 10,000. Only 3 per cent of officers reach that rank and that too after 33-34 years of service.
Status and pay structure were ‘wrongly’ lowered in 2008

In Dec 2008, the PM wanted a high-powered committee to consider the case, but nothing has happened so far.

Forces say it was affecting the morale of their personnel

Files keep on shuttling between one ministry to the other

Services chiefs reduced to sending reminders, seeking justice for their officers
Babudom holds back pay scale upgrade for armed forces

Antony throws bribe bomb back at army chief

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, March 27, 2012
Defence minister AK Antony said Tuesday he had asked General VK Singh to take action against the alleged middleman, a former army officer, who had offered him a bribe but the army chief did not pursue the matter for unknown reasons.
Antony told the Rajya Sabha he was shocked
"I was shocked…Then I told him (the chief) to take action but he said he did not want to pursue it. I don't know why…," the minister said.
He couldn't take action as there was no written complaint, Antony said.
Lt Gen Tejinder Singh retired as the Defence Intelligence Agency chief in July 2010. The chief was allegedly offered the money a month later.
Antony told the House he had gone by his judgement and was ready to be punished if wrong. His track record showed that he fought for probity in public life, the minister said.
The government Monday ordered a CBI probe into the chief's allegations that he was offered Rs 14 crore to buy 600 "sub-standard" vehicles for the army.
Singh made the revelation in media interviews almost 18 months after the offer was made and barely two months before his retirement on May 31.
The claim also comes weeks after the chief's confrontation with the ministry over his date of birth. The Supreme Court refused to accept Gen Singh's claim on the age issue.
The chief has not named the person who offered him the money and referred to him as a "recently retired officer".
Antony's comments are significant since he has spoken publicly for the first time on an issue raised by the chief. Even when Gen Singh's age row was at its peak, the minister refrained from making comments.
Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley said the Opposition did not question the minister's integrity but asked why no action was taken.
"Is this an issue on which both of them (minister and chief) should have put blinkers on their eyes and not inquired into the matter at all?" Jaitley said.
The army chief told news channel ETV that he couldn't act against the "middleman" because it was an indirect offer that left him stunned.
Antony throws bribe bomb back at army chief

I was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore, says Army Chief

Vidya Subrahmaniam The Hindu New Delhi March 26, 2012
The country will soon see the sutradhar of the date of birth drama
The Army Chief, General V.K. Singh, has alleged that an equipment lobbyist offered him a bribe of Rs. 14 crore, which he reported to Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony.

In a recent interview to The Hindu, General Singh spoke on a variety of issues, including the controversy surrounding his date of birth and the “shocking” state of affairs in the Army which had allowed the Chief to be offered a bribe.
The General said the lobbyist offered him the bribe in order to have a tranche of 600 sub-standard vehicles of a particular make cleared for purchase. He said the vehicles, 7,000 of which were already in use in the Army, had been sold over the years at exorbitant prices with no questions asked. He said there was no proper facility where they could be serviced and maintained and yet they continued to be sold to the Army: “Just imagine, one of these men had the gumption to walk up to me and tell me that if I cleared the tranche, he would give me Rs. 14 crore. He was offering a bribe to me, to the Army Chief. He told me that people had taken money before me and they will take money after me.”
The Army chief said the brazenness of the act shocked him out of his wits. “I was shocked. If somebody comes and tells you, you will get so much, what can you do?” He said the man had recently retired from the Army, indicating how deeply entrenched the problem was.
The General said he went straight to Mr. Antony and reported the matter. “I told him, if you think I'm a misfit, I will walk out.”
‘Standards have fallen’
Asked what had brought the Army to the state where the Chief could be offered a bribe, he said: “Obviously somewhere our standards of probity and integrity have fallen.”
According to General Singh, it was because he had cracked down on corruption that he was targeted on his date of birth: “But things are fast unravelling and you will soon see the hand behind the drama. You will soon see who the sutradhar of the play is.”
I was offered a bribe of Rs. 14 crore, says Army Chief
It would have been disobedience if I had not accepted 1950, says Army Chief: Click here for the full Interview
Related Reading
Bring Lokpal Bill or go, Anna Hazare tells government
NDTV Correspondent, Updated: March 25, 2012 22:15 IST
Read more at: Bring Lokpal
Arms wheeler Dealer
Director General Defence Intelligence Agency(DG DIA) and not under the Military Intelligence. The present story has been put out by Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, who was the Ex DGDIA and who has been earlier questioned on the purchase of the “Of the air Monitoring System”, without sanction by the technically empowered committee. This officer has also been an allottee in Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai and has also offered bribe on behalf of Tatra and Vectra Limited, which supplies vehicles to BEML. The Officer along with some disgruntled serving officers of the military intelligence, against whom disciplinary and administrative actions is in the pipeline has worked out this fictitious story.
Indian Army Inadvertently Says Ex-General An Arms Agent For Tatra, Vectra: Click here to read the full story

OROP in a time warp

Dear Mr Rajeev,
On behalf of the Navy Foundation, whose members are all retired officers of the Indian Navy, I would like to express our heartfelt thanks and our great admiration for your frank letter of 25th August to the Prime Minister on the subject of Salary hike for MPs and the issue of ‘one rank one pension’ or OROP for ex-servicemen.
If I may be permitted to say so, that the letter was a brilliant piece of analysis of decision making by the government. You have put forth in such a logical and succinct manner the double standards being followed. The recourse to refer any issue to a committee of bureaucrats when the government does not want to take a decision is what is affecting many issues of governance including OROP for ex-servicemen. As you have so rightly summed up ‘the bureaucrats have acquired great abilities for obstructive conduct’.
We are grateful to you, Sir, for repeatedly taking up with the Prime Minister and at other fora the injustices to ex-servicemen and denial of OROP. Your decision to forego your salary hike as an MP till OROP is resolved has won our hearts and deepest gratitude. It is heartening to know that there is at least one MP, who has the welfare of those who have silently and selflessly served the nation in peace and in war and who now appear to have been conveniently forgotten. We believe in the power of one and even though you are an Independent, you are on so many Standing and Consultative Committees of the Parliament and we repose full faith in you..
We once again thank you for taking up our cause and salute you for your ideals and principles in fighting the obvious double standards in governance. There are not many like you in the country.
With warmest and heartfelt regards,
Vice Admiral Harinder Singh (Retd)
click here to read more Veterans Comments

Corruption and Bureaucratic Delays Degrading Defence Capability

Remember 50 years ago the defeat of Indian Army against Chinese PLA- No lessons learnt!
11 Mar, 2012, 05.06AM IST, The writer Binoy Prabhakar,ET Bureau
How India compares with China in military prowess
China's increased military spending, by 11% this year and 12.7% last year, is matched by its growing assertiveness in pressing territorial claims. A classic example is the South China Sea where Beijing contends that India's exploratory drilling with Vietnam is a breach of its sovereignty. Should India be worried?

The 1962 defeat is still as fresh as yesterday. There is also the long-running border dispute over Arunachal Pradesh. Years of double-digit budget increases have modernised the People's Liberation Army. China is also building or buying sophisticated weaponry, including a homegrown J-20 stealth fighter jet and an aircraft carrier. What about India?

Outgoing army chief VK Singh has cautioned that the war-waging capability of the army has been hamstrung by long delays in procurement decisions. This contention is backed by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a leading authority on political-military conflict.

The challenge for India, says the UK-based think-tank, is the inability to fully disburse funds because of corruption, bureaucratic delays and inefficiencies in procurement. India does not suffer from a shortfall of funds. New Delhi is the world's leading arms purchaser. Its defence budget rose nearly 12% last year.

The recent contract to buy combat aircraft from France's Dassault Rafale is called "the mother of all deals". Yet, India will be playing catch-up with China for years to come. After this budget, due later this week, India's total military expenditure is expected to be still shy of $40 billion.

The IISS shared exclusively with ET on Sunday the latest data on how India compares with China in military prowess from its The Military Balance 2012 report released last week. The message from the statistics is clear, India has a long march ahead before it can rival China's military muscle.

How India Compares with China?

MEA eases issuance of Passports sans Touts

Friends,
A few days back I went through the new procedure at the Regional Passport Office Chandigah, in order to renew my passport. I just could not believe that with the introduction of TCS in the loop things are working so smoothly.
I had to ask a few times IS THIS REALLY AN INDIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICE and met the Assistant Passport Officer and complimented her!
However, at two counters one had to interact with Government employees, luckily briefly and the difference was marked!
Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh (Retd)

Passport - new procedures
The front-end operations of all Regional Passport office have been outsourced as part of the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) project and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is all set to handle the front-end operations of all RPO very shortly. Union Ministry of External Affairs has already implemented the PSK project some of the passport offices in India. These centres have been set up on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as its service provider. The project has been designed as a citizen-centric and paperless service. All one needs to do is upload a passport application on www.passportindia.gov.in and confirm an appointment online. After which the support staff from TCS will guide the applicant through the biometric process. Walk-in applicants will be greeted by a floor manager who will help the applicants upload applications through a kiosk at the PSK. "The amenities and services at the PSK are in keeping with any modern bank or airport.

The implementation of the project has reached its halfway mark and will likely to completed by March 2012, The existing passport office will be responsible for liaison with the MEA, dispatching, printing, answering RTIs, and management of the PSKs. First time applicants no longer need to go the existing passport office.

According to the available information, TCS would receive applicants, guide them and handle the process for submission of applications, conduct the verification of the completeness of the application form and the documents attached therein. TCS would be in charge of receiving applications and guiding applicants, technical support and maintenance of the premises, while sensitive areas would continue to be handled by the passport office staff. The PSK initiative would bring in the much-required concept of “one-day visit to the passport office”, as the officials would tell the applicants the same evening as to whether their passport application forms and the supporting documents were in order and whether the passport would be issued or not. This would eliminate the anxious wait by the applicants.

Under the new system, photographs need not be affixed, image of the applicant's face will be captured at the time of applying online as is done in the driving licence process. In addition, the new system will involve taking the finger print (bio-metric) of the applicant and incorporating it in the database. Only if the finger print tallies, the applicant will be able to apply for other services such as spouse entry, address change or renewal of passport.

The added feature is that every police district will have access to the passport server for downloading the personal particular form online and to send the police verification reports online. This will obviate postal delay and laborious paper work. This will also ensure speedy completion of procedures which are time-consuming at present. Even passport issuance will be modernized with digital signature.

The place for these front-end operations has been already finalized for most of locations and started functioning. The new system will put in place a first-in and first-out concept, eliminating the practice of issuing passports out-of-turn. Under the new system getting passport will not take more than 72 hours. This turnaround time is from the moment of police verification to the issuance of the passport.Procedures for applying Passports under new system (where ever the new PSK system is implemented)For filling and submitting your application online, you need to be a registered user on the Passport Seva website.
Visit: Passport Seva Portal: Consular passport and Visa Division

Ministry of Defence withdraws appeals against pre-1973 pensioners

MoD withdraws appeals against grant of ‘service element’
Pension to pre-1973 disabled ex-servicemen
Vijay Mohan/TNS
Chandigarh, February 24, 2012
Bringing succour to hundreds of disabled ex-servicemen pensioners across the country, the grant of “service element” to whom had been challenged by the government in the Supreme Court, the Defence Ministry today informed the apex court that it had decided to withdraw appeals in all such cases that were bunched and listed yesterday.

The veterans concerned, many of whom belong to this region, would now be entitled to get their dues and arrears in accordance with existing rules and court rulings. Lawyers associated with the cases said some of the affected veterans were in their nineties now.

Disabled personnel are entitled to a disability pension consisting of a “service element” commensurate with the length of service and a “disability element” that depends upon the quantum of injury. Prior to 1964, on disability decreasing below 20 per cent, the disability element used to be withdrawn, but the service element continued if the service rendered was more than 15 years. The service limit for service element was brought down to 10 years in 1964 and 5 years in 1968.

With effect from 1973, the qualifying service requirement for service element was totally abrogated and persons with even one day of service became eligible for service element. Even after 1973, the MoD refused to extend the benefit of service element to earlier retirees with lesser length of service, leading to a spate of litigation. Ultimately, various high courts ruled in favour of disabled ex-servicemen, asking the govt to release service element irrespective of length of service to pre-1973 retirees.

Though the appeals filed by the government against HC decisions were time and again dismissed by the SC, the MoD continued to file SLPs against its disabled veterans, leading to multiple litigation. Sources associated with the issue said the Adjutant General’s Branch and the Army’s Personnel Services Directorate repeatedly requested the MoD’s Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare to resolve the issue, but the requests were not acceded to.

Sources say the current Secretary DESW Samirendra Chatterjee, however, saw reason in the Army’s proposal and played an instrumental role in withdrawing all such appeals and conceding the matter.

On the last date earlier this month, the Supreme Court Bench hearing the case had asked the MoD to “seek instructions” if it did not want an adverse order. The veterans have welcomed the government’s move to withdraw the said cases.
Clicjk here for the Tribune Post
Click here for the earlier Blog Post
Comment: We need to thank the Media, Maj Navdeep and Ajai Shukla for taking on the "MOD Bulls". I hope similarly MoD finds sense in the two decade Rank Pay litigation case dragging on and release the arrears of pension entitled under the 4th Central Pay Commission to the Officers who were cheated of it.

A military succession plot fine tuned by bureaucracy

How Can Great Oaks Sway With The Wind?
When he was a lieutenant general, V.K. Singh gave it in writing that he had faith in his army chief. This cannot be construed as ‘acceptance’ of a wrog DoB. Mrinalini Singh

An error had been made regarding the date of birth of my father at the time of filling up the UPSC form when he had applied for admission to the National Defence Academy (NDA). This was detected instantly and certain steps were taken to correct the year of birth even before he joined the academy. In fact, he reported 13 days late to the NDA as the date was being sor­ted out. This was obviously taken due note of, for all NDA records then showed his year of birth as 1951. Three years later, when he moved from the NDA to the Indian Military Academy (IMA), he was told to write the date of birth as in the UPSC form. He pointed out that this had been corrected and was told that this would be verified by a board of officers. The pre-commission advisory board checked and verified his particulars; his IMA ident­ity card and his record of service duly sta­ted that he was born in 1951. For the next few decades, ever since his commissioning into the army, his year of birth in all records, whether in the military secretariat or the adjutant general’s branch, was 1951. The only exception was the Army List, which is published keeping the original UPSC form as reference point. Even in this case, as the date of birth had to be verified against the school-leaving certificate, the entry was erroneous.

On May 3, 2006, 19 days after the results of the selection board for lieutenant generals had been declassified, the military secretary at the time, Lt Gen Richard Khare, first wrote to Gen V.K. Singh claiming there was a discrepancy in the records of the two branches. This set off a chain of events that eventually led to the army chief first filing a statutory complaint and then referring the matter to the Supreme Court.

On February 3, 2012, the SC, in its wisdom, castigated the government, stating that the due process of natural justice had not been followed and the process had been “vitiated” in addressing the army chief’s statutory complaint. The attorney general at that time asked for an adjournment, which was granted. During the second hearing, a week later, the attorney general started proceedings by submitting an affidavit by way of which it withdrew its order dated December 30, 2011, that rejected the statutory complaint. In view of the government's move, and the praise about the general’s professional and personal conduct, our lawyer felt there was no point in pressing the matter further, especia­lly since the court had made it clear that in light of the government’s stance, there was nothing further to be discussed from a legal point of view. As a citizen of India, the army chief has already expressed his grateful thanks to the learned judges of the apex court for addressing the issue.
My Ambition
I don’t want to be,
A wealthy man,
Nor I want to be,
A working man.
I want to be,
A great soldier,
Fighting on the front,
with a gun on my shoulder,
I want to die for,
My great, beloved nation,
And for my enemy,
I shall have no compassion,
I want to let the
Chinese know
That Indians can die,
For their Motherland.
(A poem written by Gen V.K. Singh as a Std VIII student, culled from his school magazine)The order passed by the court is not ambiguous in its content. I am bitterly disappointed at the deliberate spin given in the media to the proceedings in the court, which in my view and understanding are quite contrary to what the honourable judges have said in their order. Firstly, the order does not uphold an error in the threshold document, nor does it say anything about the legality of either of the two dates of birth. There’s also nothing to suggest that the so-called ‘acceptance letters’ exist. While it is true that these points came up during the hearing—as did many other statements, which include the much talked about “wise men move with the wind” remark of the judges—but these were arguments that in my understanding cannot be confused with the order passed by the learned judges.

If the government had not withdrawn its order of December 30 concerning my father’s statutory appeal, the arguments in the court would have had a different flavour and intensity and all the facts given above would have come into play, requiring adjudication. But this did not happen, and my father’s critics have gone to town, repeatedly harping that there are three occasions when he had “moved with the wind” and given acceptance letters to the year of birth being 1950. This is blatantly untrue, and I would like to set the record straight.

Contrary to what is being projected, there has never been any such ‘acceptance letter’. In 2006, he was perhaps the only serving lieutenant general in the history of the nation to be asked to furnish a fresh date of birth prior to being cleared for appointment as a corps commander. This despite the fact that just a few weeks prior to that, the military secretariat branch records had cleared him for promotion based on a 1951 year of birth. The then army chief, Gen J.J. Singh, my father’s chief at the time, had categorically told him that there was merely a clerical discrepancy in the records. This would be sorted out, and for that he needed to accept that he had faith in the army chief’s decisions. This would be in the interest of the organisation, as it was otherwise holding up the appointments of all corps commanders. Once the army chief had this letter, it was projected to the defence ministry that there was an ‘acceptance letter’ procured from my father, acknowledging the year of birth as 1950. The fact that my father, then a lieutenant general, continued to ask the military secretariat branch even after that how and why the army chief had been advised to make him declare a new year of birth underlines the fact that in 2006 there was no such ‘acceptance’.

The question that needs to be asked of the then army chief, the military secretary (Lt Gen Khare) and the judge advocate general (Maj Gen Nilender Kumar), who together initiated what was clearly not the standard operating procedure in 2006, is: Why did they make an exception in this case only? These gentlemen have found immunity in red tape, aided perhaps by some deft management of the media, which has sidestepped this question, while my father is accused of “bending with the wind”. In my view, this is where the injustice lies.

As for the second and third ‘acceptance’ letters, it is loos­ely being said they had been written in 2008 and 2009. This immediately begs the question that if there was a ‘first acceptance’ letter, then, what was the need for a second and a third one to be asked for? The situation here is slightly more complex. The army chief at this point of time was Gen Deepak Kapoor and the military secretary Lt Gen Avdhesh Prakash. It is a well known fact that these two gentlemen, both professionally and otherwise, differed sharply from my father (then a lieutenant general) and if the former had his way, my father would not have headed the Eastern Command. Professionally, there was nothing that could be used by the army chief to damage my father, so the ‘age issue’ was once again raked up to provoke him into disobeying a direct order to accept an incorrect year of birth. The army chief is the most powerful man in the army and a series of letters were written which have to be seen in their entirety to get the complete picture. Opinions should not be based on an isolated sentence which cites “the larger organisational interest”. Had this logic been true—that Lt Gen V.K. Singh ‘accepted’ the year of birth as 1950 so as to head the Eastern Command and later become army chief—he would have shut the cupola and not stirred the issue at all during his tenure as eastern army commander before taking over as the chief. However, he continued to write to the military secretary (Lt Gen Prakash), going systematically along accepted lines of redressing the clerical error within the army.

Honour and izzat are words that are emblazoned on a soldier’s heart. Apart from being the daughter of Gen V.K. Singh, I too am an army wife and have seen from close quarters the man I call my father stand up for what he considers is the right thing to do.

In this rather one-sided slanging match, it is also being implied by his critics that the army chief would be better off fighting for one-rank-one-pay, war memorials, weapon systems and all the other problems that haunt the system. I am not going to get drawn into what all he has done as the army chief; that’s best left to others and that is a part of his job anyway. For me, his worldview is best encapsulated in a quote from Ernest Hemingway that he uses often: “Few men for the right cause brave the disrespect of their fellow men, the censure of their colleagues and ignorance of society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential vital quality of those who seek to change a world which yields out painfully to change.”
(Mrinalini Singh is the daughter of Gen V.K. Singh) —as told to Chander Suta Dogra
How Can Great Oaks Sway With The Wind?

Comment: The MOD, Bureaucracy and self- centered former generals have succeeded in the "Succession Plot" covertly and cunningly engineered with great skills. The media and citizens continue to remain confused regarding promotions in the Military which is not based on date of birth. The whole episode is a sordid blot on the Nation already engulfed in scams. All it proves is that the corrupt have mastery over their destiny.

Netas and Babus spat over spoils of corruption

Don’t complain, netas tell babus
TNN | Feb 5, 2012, 12.14AM IST
HYDERABAD: Describing the demands put forth by the IAS lobby as sheer blackmail, several political leaders said the agitating babus should remember that they are also part of the government. Any officer who is clean and honest need not worry about being prosecuted by the CBI, they said.

"We were also questioned by the CBI officials. We never complained," said home minister P Sabita Indra Reddy. She opined that demanding the arrest of ministers in the same manner as the IAS officers is nothing but dictating terms to the CBI.
Don’t complain, netas tell babus

IAS officers up in arms
Special Correspondent The Hindu 05 Feb 2012
In an unprecedented development, over 70 IAS officers met Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday night and protested against the “manner” in which the CBI was investigating the cases relating to the assets of Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, and dilution of Government equity in Emaar Properties.

Seventy of the 100 IAS officers who run administration from the Secretariat were part of the large delegation which met the Chief Minister at his camp office for 90 minutes. Expressing their displeasure, they sought his intervention to stop what they called “humiliation and harassment” by the CBI as part of its investigation.

The decision to make a representation to the Chief Minister was taken at a meeting of A.P. IAS Officers' Association held earlier. The association building is interestingly located close to the Chief Minister's camp office. SMS and phone calls by the association to the members received an overwhelming response indicating that a storm was brewing in the bureaucracy.

Prasanta Mahapatra and J. Raymond Peter, association's vice-president and general secretary respectively, serving as principal secretaries of Irrigation and Social Welfare departments, told reporters later that every decision taken by the government was after due consideration and approval of the Ministers. However, during the CBI investigation, only IAS officers were singled out and made scapegoats. The officers became party to the decisions while discharging their official duty. These included some high-stake decisions which were already known to the people.

The two officers, however, maintained a stiff upper lip when asked if they meant the real culprits were Ministers. “How can we give good governance in this environment?” They contended that it appeared as though the CBI was conducting its investigation without knowing how the government would function and how the orders would be issued. The process of law was not being followed and government permission was not secured to prosecute an officer. Mr. Mahapatra suggested that it was high time that some elderly experienced administrators guided the CBI on this aspect. The situation called for exercising maturity.

The Chief Minister was stated to have sympathised with the IAS , and assured that he would take “appropriate steps” to protect the innocent. Mr. Mahapatra parried a question if the Chief Minister meant a representation by him to the Prime Minister.

Asked what they would do if he failed to take the “appropriate step”, he said, “That is a hypothetical question. We trust the Chief Minister.”

Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy, however, did not indicate his mind on the pleas made by them that the government extend legal assistance and bear the expenditure for the IAS officers in the cases.
IAS officers up in arms

Wary of setback in SC, govt sends feelers to Gen VK Singh

Published: Thursday, Jan 19, 2012, 9:00 IST
Frantic parleys dominated the day on Wednesday with the UPA government sending feelers to army chief General VK Singh on his age issue Sources told DNA that Union law minister Salman Khurshid along with National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon met Gen Singh to find a solution to the rift between the government and the army chief.

The move comes after the government decided to take a hardline position on the issue following marathon meetings between prime minister Manmohan Singh and defence minister AK Antony on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, however, Khurshid pointed out that announcing the next army chief while Gen Singh’s petition was in the Supreme Court could prove to be a major problem from the government. According to him, an announcement at this stage could easily be construed as contempt of court.

This has put the government in a bind as it had decided to announce the next army chief during discussions that took place on Tuesday. Sources in South Block told DNA that Antony even sought all papers connected to the case as he was worried that the defence ministry bureaucracy could have “misled” him on the issue.

The government has also realised that Gen Singh has a good case in court since he has a birth certificate from Military hospital in Pune as well as a school leaving certificate that records his age as May 10, 1951.

In fact, sources said, the UPSC also raised the issue when Gen Singh joined the National Defence Academy nearly 40 years ago.

However, the documents submitted by Gen Singh as a cadet satisfied the commission and he was allowed to continue with 1951 as his birth year throughout his career. All his promotions were also conducted keeping 1951 as his birth year and even the identity card issued to him by the army headquarters at the time he was commissioned as an officer from the Indian Military Academy mentions 1951 as his year of birth.

The government has also realised that any order from the apex court will have large scale implications. If it wins the case, it could create a major issue since this could put the validity of a birth certificate and a school leaving certificate as age-proof in jeopardy. If the court rules in favour of Gen Singh, it could be an embarrassment even bigger than the 2G case with the international media picking up the story in a big way on Wednesday.

For the last two months, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was acting as an interlocutor on behalf of the UPA government with Gen Singh. However, a petition filed by the army veterans, the Grenadiers Association, was coming up which could have vitiated Gen Singh’s options to go to court. The Grenadier’s petition was full of basic mistakes which are expected to be rejected by the apex court. To prevent such a prejudice building up, Gen Singh rushed through his petition on Monday morning.
Wary of setback in SC, govt sends feelers to Gen VK Singh

Comment: Is the Honest Defence Minister totally misguided by vested babus?

Army chief age row should be settled in an honourable way

19 Jan, 2012, 05.56AM IST, The writer has posted comments on this article TK Arun,ET Bureau
Even now, it is not too late to douse the controversy eating up the reputation, primarily, of defence minister AK Antony and the UPA government and, secondarily, of the Indian Army. The controversy over the date of birth of chief of army staff Gen V K Singh should be settled in an honourable fashion.

The General, apparently, is more interested in getting his age record straightened out and his name cleared than in how long he stays on as army chief. He has reportedly no problem stepping down when the government wants him to. But the common people do have a problem, for a matter of principle is involved. The matter of principle is straightforward: a plan to anoint a particular person as chief of the army staff besmirching the name of an honourable soldier should not succeed.

If a section of the army brass deliberately got Gen V K Singh's date of birth recorded as May 10, 1950, instead of May 10, 1951, the only reason would be to ensure that Gen Singh retired in time to allow a favoured person to succeed him as the army chief. If Gen Singh's year of birth is 1951, he would retire a year later, and so would the intended successor, leaving the coveted post of army chief to someone else.

The precise identity of the favoured successor and of the successor were Gen Singh to stay on till 2013 is immaterial. The choice of India's army chief should not be determined by a conspiracy. If the civilian government has to establish its authority over the armed forces fully and completely, it is in demonstrating and consolidating this principle, not by insisting it has the writ to determine when someone was born.

If it wants to, the government can ask Gen Singh to go tomorrow, after setting his age record straight; but then, it should follow through by appointing as his successor not the intended beneficiary of a probable conspiracy but someone else.

V K Singh was born in an army hospital. The army keeps records of births and deaths. Army records show that Singh was born on May 10, 1951. His matriculation certificate says he was born on that date. It is in an application form submitted to the National Defence Academy that the 1950 date appears.

The General's case is that the application form was filled by the staff of his school, who made an error. He sought to rectify this error time and again, after he joined the service. This application form was the basis for a wrong date entering his official records.

In a telling comment on the efficiency of administration in the Indian Army, two sets of records were maintained in the army as to his date of birth, one in the Military Secretary's branch and the other in the Adjutant General's office. The Adjutant General's office is supposed to be the official record keeper and the citations accompanying V K Singh's many medals carry the date of birth May 10, 1951.

The MS branch continued with the 1950 date.

This mattered little to anyone till his promotion came up in 2006 to corps commander. Since corps commanders are the guys in the running for the post of chief of the army staff, Singh's date of birth mattered for the line of succession that would be followed.

Singh was virtually coerced into accepting 1950 as the year of his birth by the MS branch. He was told that his promotion was at stake, if he did not accept that date. Gen Singh made a wishy-washy promise to accept whatever was in the organisation's larger interest. This was interpreted by the MS branch to show that he had accepted 1950 as the year of his birth. He got his promotion and subsequently rose to the position of the army chief.

The legal opinion submitted by the Attorney General's office hinged on conflating correction of a mistaken entry as to the date of birth with amending the date of birth. Since amendment is not allowed, the MS Office record had to be followed, the law officer reasoned.

For the same reason, and since Singh had committed to his superior, Gen Deepak Kapoor (subsequently indicted in the Adarsh Housing Scam), that he would accept 1950 as his year of birth, the defence ministry also plumped for 1950 as the year of birth.

These are technicalities that serve to obfuscate the real date when the man was born. The army hospital record and his matriculation certificate are the most authentic documents available on the subject, not some NDA application form. Gen Singh's age was incidental to his promotions, not conditional on them.

As the political leader he is, it was up to Antony to cut through self-defeating technicality and get to the facts underneath. He failed to do so, and even told Parliament that the General's date of birth was May 10, 1950. He is, in the process, colluding in the conspiracy to anoint a particular person as the next chief of army staff.

This, certainly, cannot be his intention. For, Antony is an honourable man (not necessarily in the sense in which another Antony famously used that phrase).

Antony seems to suffer from a morbid inability to wield his political authority. This will not do. It is not his job to keep saying yes to whatever his bureaucrats tell him. He should use his political judgment to sort out the mess that has built up over the General's age.

A sensible course would be to correct mistakes in army records - this is different from altering the records - on Singh's age, ask him to leave and appoint as the next army chief whoever would have succeeded Gen Singh had he stayed on till 2013 or any other competent officer other than the intended beneficiary of a probable conspiracy.

Wouldn't this be injustice to Gen Singh? He would be paying the price for allowing himself to be bamboozled into accepting a wrong date of birth to get his promotion. This is not so important in the larger scheme of things.

Failure on Antony's part to use his political authority at a juncture like this would harm him, his party, his government and our nation.
Army chief age row should be settled in an honourable way