Wake up, generals! Stop this 5 star culture

by Ajai Shukla
Business Standard, 30th Oct 12
The Indian Army fish is rotting from the head. Memories are still fresh of the bruising confrontation earlier this year between the politically ambitious General VK Singh and an inept government that had precipitated a civil-military firestorm over the army chief’s quest for an extra year in office. Now, as Broadsword reports (Click here) another aggrieved general is going to court in his quest for the top job.
The current chief, General Bikram Singh, who took over from the divisive General VK Singh in June, has singularly failed to apply a healing touch and to undo the partisanship his predecessor unleashed. Most new bosses, even sports coaches, are expected to provide a new direction. In five months on the job, General Bikram Singh’s new direction consists only of orders that officers must greet each other with the salutation of “Jai Hind”, instead of merely giving each other the time of day. The new chief also wants meetings to end with everyone chorusing “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.
Intelligence reports have not yet confirmed that the Pakistani and Chinese militaries are quaking in their boots.
Let us be charitable; perhaps General Bikram Singh needs more time. His arrival in Delhi was traumatic and uncertain, since his predecessor assiduously sabotaged his elevation in the internecine fighting that now seems to be a part of the game. Once in Delhi, the new chief’s priority was to set himself up in the five-star style that now defines our culture of generalship. In his first days in the hallowed office of legends like General KC Thimayya and Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the new chief and his staff busied themselves with putting together a retinue of a dozen waiters, cooks, dhobis and assorted tradesmen to sustain life in Army House.
Called upon for retainers, a bevy of army formations milked out these retainers from combat units, where tough young officers and the legendary Indian jawan have learned how to make do with the dwindling resources that their own generals leave them. At least two senior flag rank officers personally screened the men who would serve their chief, knowing that a spilt drink or over-salted soup could reverberate unpleasantly in their own careers.
The chief will naturally deny this since none of these tradesmen are officially posted to Army House, his tony residence on New Delhi’s leafy Rajaji Marg. Conveniently, this entourage is on “temporary duty” with army units in the capital. But any visitor to Army House would find them working there, just as visits to many army posts and picquets would find combat soldiers cooking and washing instead of training and patrolling, simply because their cook or dhobi is languishing in Delhi.
This travesty faces no resistance from subordinate generals, many of whom are hardly angels themselves. Lieutenant General Nobel Thamburaj, who headed the Southern Army, was arrested by the CBI for gross irregularities concerning defence land. Two army chiefs, Generals Deepak Kapoor and NC Vij, along with several army commanders, received illegal flats in Mumbai’s infamous Adarsh Housing Society. Lieutenant General Shankar Ghosh, the Western Army commander until June, had his medical category downgraded last year, entitling him to disability pension. But when General VK Singh’s confrontation with the government made dismissal a possibility, Ghosh (then the senior-most army commander) upgraded his medical category to be eligible for a move to Army House.
If the generals believe that these shenanigans go unnoticed by junior officers or the rank and file, they are mistaken. The recent face-offs between officers and enlisted men in military bases near Samba, Amritsar and Leh suggest a decline in the ironclad faith that the army jawan has always had in his leaders. Today’s culture of entitlement at the top, where funds, resources and manpower are poured into supporting the five-star lifestyles of a few dozen senior generals, threatens to seep downwards poisoning the entire system. It is difficult to remain idealistic, motivated and dead straight --- the defining characteristics of young Indian officers --- when so much wrongdoing is evident at the top. Even honest officers are inevitably corrupted by a system in which outright financial dishonesty is condoned as “perks and privileges of office”.
As worrying as the corruption is the lack of intellectual direction that generals provide the army’s young leaders. This was evident from the recent flood of chain emails between mid-level and junior officers, expressing outrage that the army was being blamed in the media for the 1962 debacle. In the intellectual desert that the generals have made the army, every red-blooded officer has bought into the “Haqeeqat myth”, in which gallant soldiers, badly deployed by incompetent politicians and bureaucrats, mowed down hordes of Chinese before laying down their lives. While this is true in several cases, there are many more cases of entire Indian sub-units fleeing from strong defensive positions into waiting Chinese ambushes. Any professional military studies its defeats even more deeply than its victories. But professional study is not on the army’s agenda. The generals believe that officers and men must be busy with creating the illusion of command success, howsoever transient. With no time to read or guidance and inspiration from the top, human development is merely a buzzword.
Preening incongruously amidst this crumbling edifice, General Bikram Singh has taken his media managers’ ill-considered advice that controversies are best dealt with by avoiding the press. General VK Singh’s mistake lay in seeking out the media say the same advisors who had advised the previous chief. But with controversy increasingly swirling, the army’s leadership can no longer deal with its growing image problem by sticking its head in the sand.
Generals Wake Up!

Lt Gen Dastan and Lt Gen Suhag are in the battle for succession

Lt Gen Allegedly Denied Appointment to Move Court
NEW DELHI | OCT 30, 2012
The dust has hardly settled after former Army Chief Gen V K Singh's court battle with the Government when another General is planning to move court to seek elevation as an Army Commander from June 1 which, if accepted, can create a possible succession row in the force.
Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Lt Gen Ravi Dastane is planning to file a petition in the Armed Forces Tribunal in this regard in the next few days, his counsel Major S S Pandey said here today.
He said Lt Gen Dastane, who has already filed a statutory complaint with the Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh in this regard, is planning to make two main pleas before the Tribunal where he will seek elevation to the rank of Army Commander from June 1 this year retrospectively when two vacancies were existing.
The posts of Western and Eastern Army Commander had fallen vacant on May 31 after the retirement of Gen V K Singh, who was succeeded by Lt Gen Bikram Singh, and the Western Army Commander Lt Gen Shankar Ranjan Ghosh. Lt Gen Bikram Singh had headed the Eastern Command.
The Government had kept the post of Eastern Army Commander vacant for two to three days before Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag was appointed whereas Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachhra was appointed as the Western Army Commander on June 1.
The post was not filled as just before retirement, Gen V K Singh had put Lt Gen Suhag under a discipline and vigilance ban for a failed intelligence operation in Assam but the ban was lifted within 72 hours of Gen Bikram Singh's assuming office.
"On that day, Lt Gen Dastane was also eligible to be elevated as an Army Commander and we will plead before the AFT to give us that appointment," Pandey said.
If the plea is accepted, then Lt Gen Dastane may become senior to Lt Gen Suhag who is expected to succeed Gen Bikram Singh in July 2014 after his retirement.
The second main plea of Lt Gen Dastane would be to be appointed as an Army commander on January 31 when the post of Southern Army Command head falls vacant after Lt Gen A K Singh superannuates with seniority to be taken into account from June 1, Dastane's counsel said.
Though the Government considers all Army Commander-rank officers for elevation to the post of Army Chief but barring a few cases, it has gone ahead with the seniormost officer for the top job.
Commenting on the statutory complaint filed by the officer, Defence Ministry officials said it was pending and no decision has yet been taken.
On the vacancy of Eastern Army Commander being kept vacant for two-three days for Lt Gen Suhag, they said the Government had to take a holistic view of the situation as the officer was being targeted in a "motivated manner" by his then superiors.
Lt Gen Dastane has commanded the 14 Corps in Ladakh and was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) when troops in an artillery regiment beat up their officers in Nyoma during an exercise.
The Army has ordered a Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the incident and its outcome is still awaited.
Lt Gen Allegedly Denied Appointment to Move Court
Comment: The Military appointments are manipulated by MOD and Arms Lobbyists. There is handing and taking over to safeguard accrual of hidden assets that the appointment carries (example sample the Tatra scam revelation- a cut of Rs 14 crores for the chief).

Fake Encounters haunt the Army

Army forcing us to withdraw case against Gen Bikram Singh: NGO
Harinder Baweja, Hindustan Times
Srinagar, October 05, 2012
The army has been accused of putting pressure on the civil society in Kashmir to withdraw a PIL against its chief, General Bikram Singh.
YES Kashmir, an NGO, had approached the Jammu and Kashmir high court in October last year to raise the issue of an encounter that occurred in Janglat Mandi, Anantnag, in March 2001.
In the clash, Singh — then a brigadier posted in the Valley — suffered gunshot wounds while two army officials lost their lives.
According to the police, an alleged militant dressed as a beggar had approached Singh and opened fire. In the battle that ensued, the militant was killed.
The PIL, however, questions the police theory. A family had come forward in October 2011, claiming that it was their son Abdullah Bhat, an innocent bystander, who had been killed.
The timing of the PIL was questioned in military circles, with many seeing it as an attempt to narrow down Singh’s chances of becoming the army chief.
Soon after Singh took over as the chief of army staff, NGO head Khurshid Ahmed Mir approached the court once again and — in a sworn affidavit — claimed that the force was pressurising him.
Mir has now alleged in the affidavit that “officers of Sector–1 RR are pressurising me to help them withdraw the case by influencing relatives and the counsel for the petitioners… Since the case has turned out to be a high-profile one, I feel insecure in the hands of the army. They are repeatedly putting pressure on me, and can harm me and my family.”
The police had then closed the case, saying the beggar was actually Mateen Chacha — a Pakistan-trained Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist.
They are now refusing to produce a photograph of the ‘beggar’ or identify his grave, demands that the family has made through the PIL.
The board of officers inquiring into the funding of the controversial intelligence unit, constituted by former army chief Gen VK Singh, is now probing possible links between the ‘snoop unit’ and the NGO.
The inquiry notwithstanding, the petition can be embarrassing for the chief as well as the government, particularly if the court orders an investigation into the ‘fake encounter.’ The army declined to comment on the grounds that the inquiry was still on.
>Army forcing us to withdraw case against Gen Bikram Singh: NGO Comment: Fake Encounters and Gallantry Awards was a sure sign of Career Success for many Senior Officers. This short cut was fine tuned by AHQ from 1995 to 2007. When busted the reactions are for a cover up by all means... The AHQ CoI is waste of time. The Army is not designed for IS duties or Anti Insurgency ops. The designed role is only COMBAT- defensive and offensive.

NDA Scam: Godfathers in the Army perpetuate Greed, Corruption and Sleeze

My story, is about the accused colonel and who is Anil Kumar Singh, the Physical Training Officer, NDA and is the Presiding Officer of the BOO.
This officer, like many others transferred from the Mechanised Infantry into the Army Physical Training Corps (APTC) and has served under me, while I was in service. While I was his superior and the Head of Service of the APTC, A K Singh was always and ever on the lookout for any opportunity which came his way to ingratiate himself to me as also others, who mattered. The officer, an ex NDA himself and from India Squadron, is of an average calibre but ambitious to the extent of going to any distance, for self seeking positional and promotional gains. On an occasion, when I was the Deputy Director General (DDG) in the Integrated Head Quarters of Defence (Army), he wrote to me an unsigned demi official letter, requesting for an undue favour regarding his posting, which was most unbecoming in the circumstances, keeping in mind the turnover of officers in the interest of the Corps and the Organization. This was seen by me in a very adverse and poor manner, and I recommended suitable administrative action against him, to his superior officer and the commandant.
The commandant doled out an innocuous warning to the officer, as a matter of routine compliance to my observation, probably because of his closeness to the officer for whatever good reason or otherwise. Given the unbecoming alliance between some senior officers in the Army institute of Physical Training (AIPT) and the Directorate General of Military Training, A K Singh managed to get his way with regard to his posting, with tacit support from the then Director General of Military Training, who also happens to be the ex officio Colonel Commandant of the APTC and who prevailed upon the parent Military Secretary’s branch, to do the needful. By the time I learnt about this, The DGMT and the Colonel Commandant was on his way on promotion to command a Corps in the Northern Sector. I, then wrote to the Deputy Military Secretary (Dy MS) about the grave wrong which was about to get done, should the officer’s request be upheld with regard to his posting, notwithstanding the favourable recommendation of the erstwhile DGMT and Colonel Commandant, who, was by now comfortably ensconced in his new appointment, on promotion. My letter was also forward to the ex DGMT, apprising him about my request to the Dy MS, to ignore the former’s directions on AK Singh’s request about his posting. The Dy MS saw good reason in my recommendations to undo what had been done and posted out the officer from where he wanted to remain for another year or so.
A K Singh smelled the opportunity, ingratiated himself through the staff officer to the commandant NDA, and emerged as the prime candidate to be assigned the responsibility to become the Presiding Officer of the now infamous BOO.
Major General (retd) Gagan Deep Bakshi, I am not willing to believe you when you defend the corrupt and the arrogant in the Army, by always finding an escape route for yourself from a vulnerable situation, during a debate on the sliding standards of probity and rectitude in the Armed Forces, by becoming patronising towards the anchor and sermonising him on how the day starts for a cadet in the NDA, by reciting the PRAYER of, truth, courage and values.
When the guardians and custodians start eroding the value system themselves, just akin to the fence which grows and eats into the lawn, what will be the credibility of an officer and a leader, who commands and leads, not by example but by the positional authority vested in him by the Rashtrapati. The making of a revolt or else a mutiny in the rank and files of the Army, is not a distant possibility. Beware!
Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal
Extracted from: Click here for the full details
Comment: This story has all the ingredients for a Bollywood Blockbuster. The story is same or similar in all the Army Training Institutions like Staff College, College of Combat, IMA, and more... most of the sleeze scams are generally covered up.

Feudal Culture Promoting Suicides: Army chief plays it down

Jawan ends life, Army chief plays it down
TNN Aug 17, 2012, 03.09AM IST
NEW DELHI: Even as another soldier took his life on Thursday, Army chief General Bikram Singh said the recent cases of suicide and stand-offs between officers and jawans were "isolated incidents'' in the 1.13-million strong force.
Asked about the ugly face-off between officers and jawans of an armoured corps unit at Samba in J&K after a soldier committed suicide on August 8, Gen Singh said, "We have instituted two separate courts of inquiry. There was no connection between the suicide and the incident.''
"Let me tell you that the situation is not that bad... these are isolated incidents. As far as the atmosphere in battalions is concerned, we are looking into them and trying to correct them. We have been trying to address these issues,'' he said. "I have been addressing the troops and officers, and I will be going to Siachen (and eastern Ladakh) tomorrow and there also, I will do the same thing.''
The remarks came even as another soldier, Bhup Singh of the 72nd Armoured Regiment, committed suicide at his unit residential quarter in Hisar. "He hanged himself from the ceiling fan after his wife left to drop their two children to school at about 7.30 am,'' said an officer.
As many as 1,018 soldiers have committed suicide since 2003, with the yearly toll regularly crossing the 100-mark every year, as reported by TOI earlier. Three face-offs between officers and jawans have also been reported in the Army over the last one year.
Among them was the one in Nyoma sector of eastern Ladakh in May that ended in a violent clash between officers and jawans of the 226 Field Artillery Regiment, leaving the unit commanding officer, two majors and two jawans hospitalized with limb fractures, bruises and other injuries. The three incidents are a clear indicator of the declining standards of leadership and discipline in the Army, where jawans are no longer willing to be humiliated by their officers.
"The feudal culture which still persists in the Army is causing the problem. While the educational levels and aspirations of jawans has gone up, there is still too much disparity between them and the officers in terms of accommodation, salary and other perks,'' admitted a senior officer.
In fact, a parliamentary report had even castigated the defence ministry for failing to deal with the malaise of stress-related deaths in the Army. It had called for a total revamp of the existing mechanisms to deal with stress and other problems faced by soldiers.
Jawan ends life, Army chief plays it down
Related Reading
Indian Army is fat not fit, says internal audit
Comment: Top heavy Army needs surgical cleansing. This has to be got done by MOD and not by the Army. This feudal culture will carry on and the victims will be the Jawans and their families. A sordid state of affairs indeed. The present set up is aggravating the situation.

Adarsh scam: Former Army chief under scanner

Former Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor was on Thursday (July 19) quizzed in connection to the Kargil for profit scam. Gen Kapoor today deposed before judicial commission probing the scam. The former army chief was quizzed on writing personal letters to politicians on letter heads. When asked by the commission, "Do army rules permit army personnel using of letter head to write personal letters to politicians?", Gen Deepak Kapoor is said to have replied, "I am not aware of any rule which prohibits doing so."
Contradicting Ashok Chavan, the promoter of scam-tainted Adarsh Society today said the former Maharashtra chief minister had suggested increase in the number of civilians in the Society, essentially meant for defence personnel.
Adarsh scam: Former Army chief under scanner
Comment: Exemplary punishment must be given to guilty Army Chief's who have proved to be cheaters and corrupt. Otherwise the morale of the Military will continue to sink.

Lt Gen Jatinder Singh to be probed by CBI

NDA jobs scam: CBI gets nod for probe against Lt Gen
Rahul Tripathi : New Delhi, Wed Aug 01 2012, 02:17 hrs
The CBI has got the Defence Ministry’s permission to initiate a probe against the former commandant of the National Defence Academy, Lt Gen Jatinder Singh, in the alleged recruitment racket (NDA jobs scam).
Earlier this month, the investigating agency arrested seven persons, including two Colonels, in this connection.
The CBI had sought MoD’s permission to question Singh, after reportedly establishing a “money trail” connecting him and his brother to the scam.
According to the probe, bribes of Rs 3-5 lakh were allegedly paid for jobs as C-grade staff at NDA while Singh was the commandant there. Lt Gen Singh has since been removed from NDA.
CBI officials said Lt Gen Singh will soon be summoned for questioning.
The CBI has reportedly established that prime accused Col Kulbir Singh, who is among those arrested, handed over Rs 4 lakh to the brother of Lt Gen Singh during a meeting at Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel on June 23.
NDA jobs scam: CBI gets nod for probe against Lt Gen

Corruption in Military: Falling Standards of Officer Cadre

Corruption in military
The malady requires an effective remedy
by Lt-Gen Harwant Singh (retd)
The Tribune Thursday, July 12, 2012, Chandigarh, India
A TV channel recently showed a sting operation in which a junior commissioned officer is caught on camera handling wads of currency notes allegedly obtained from prospective candidates for various jobs in the military with a colonel-rank officer operating in the background. A maj-general is caught red-handed taking money from a contractor. These two are the more recent incidents of corruption in the Army. One is from down South, near Pune (National Defence Academy), and the other from up North in J and K. Earlier we had the case of Sukna land scam in the East where a few Lt-Generals were involved and were duly court-martialled. The DG, Supply Corps, a Lt-General rank officer, is court-martialled on charges of corruption.
A few from very high echelons of the Army are involved in the Adarsh housing society scam. The Supreme Commander of the armed forces, forsaking the very propriety of the act, reportedly made a desperate attempt to grab the military’s land in Pune. A more recent development is that of the nudging by the Supreme Court to hold court-martial of a number of officers involved in fake encounters at Pathribal in J and K, though the military should have done so on its own. Colonel Purohit is alleged to have been associated with a terrorist group. If all this is not enough, a second incidence of gross indiscipline in a unit at Nyoma in Ladakh leads one to infer that it is not only probity and integrity that are under assault but discipline also is on the wane. Corruption, malfeasance, fake encounters, ill-discipline, etc, from one end of the country to the other and right across the rank structure, give the impression that all is not well with our military.
During the last few decades the composition of manpower intake, both of officer class and the rank and file, has undergone a sea change. The military is simply not able to get suitable material, not only in the officer cadre, but in recruitment of soldiers too. With the opening of the economy and expansion in civil services, a number of lucrative options are on offer for the youth. Those likely to join the military as soldiers find the state and central police forces as a better option. Faced with these constraints, has the military lowered its intake standards?
In the early 1980s, army headquarters ordered a study to review the system of recruitment and selection for entry into the officer cadre. I headed the committee constituted to examine and review the officer selection system. Though the selection process had stood the test of time, military career as such had become least attractive and, as a result of that, a fewer number of suitable candidates had been opting to join the officer cadre. Consequent to this development, there was discernible tinkering with the selection process. Since then there has possibly been further lowering of intake standards!
The officer selection process is based on a triad system of evaluation. In this system three different techniques are applied over a period of four to five days to assess a candidate’s ability. When these three techniques are applied correctly, they are expected to produce the same result, thus reinforcing the selection process three times over. It also eliminates the possibility of fudging the result by an operator of any of the three techniques without being found out. When applied correctly, it is the most comprehensive and authentic selection process devised so far anywhere, in any army. Of late, the DRDO has managed to bring in some changes in the selection process, perhaps for the worse. During the eighties the DRDO, working on the recruitment intake standards, had projected that weight carrying capacity had no bearing on the height of a person and other physical attributes and, as such, the requirement of a minimum height for recruitment be done away with. One was constrained to observe that the Army wanted to recruit soldiers and not coolies.
It may be argued that the military is a mere reflection of society — where corruption is rampant, right across the national spectrum, and is accepted and even respected. When cheating and lack of discipline are all-pervasive, the military could not remain unaffected. After all, the Army draws its manpower from the same stock. Even so in this climate of loot and plunder, malfeasance and state of lawlessness, the military has strived hard to maintain its core value system by creating a sort of rampart of “do’s and don’ts” to isolate it from outside influence.
Of late, this rampart has been under attack, both from outside and within and breaches have appeared, but the military has made brave attempts at repairing this wall of core values. Cases of corruption, misconduct, false encounters and cheating have often manifested from within, cutting right across the rank structure. But the military has been quick to deal firmly with all such aberrations. Though a more recent development, venality threatens to engulf the very top echelons of the Army.
Some may contend that the level of corruption in the military is not even a minuscule of what prevails in the government machinery and civil society, and, therefore, there is no need to worry about it. Military service is quite apart from all other callings and it demands the highest standards in probity, integrity and personal conduct from its officers. Any shortfall in these will render the force ineffective, and national security will stand imperilled.
Even with the lowering of intake standards, the Army continues to remain short of over 12000 officers, thus reinforcing the fact that over time military career has been turned into the least attractive option. The officer cadre has seen an influx of not so suitable leadership material and, as such, the profile of the officer cadre has been undergoing a change for the worse. Though the military does strive to develop leadership skills in its young officers and instil in them an appropriate value system, in many cases it does not succeed.
However, individual aspirations, careerism, personal gain and dilution of leadership traits do sometimes get the better of some individuals, but where failings in character qualities surface, or discipline is lacking, action to correct the fault-lines is both stern and swift. It is essential to detect fault-lines in character at early stages of an officer’s career and apply correctives, which could even be weeding out.
The senior leadership in the military no more insists on setting good and enviable standards of conduct for juniors to follow. A few, at the very top, have faltered and fallen prey to greed. As the higher rank officers climbed into what is called “five star culture”, quite distinct from what fits in the military’s way of life, lower down the ladder some junior rank officers slid down to levels unacceptable for the officer class.
Finally, the officer cadre is the very soul of an army and mainspring of the whole mechanism. Any fall in its standards will surely lead to failures during a war.
Corruption in military

CSD Scam: Brigadier in the race to make money gets trapped

CSD scam: Another brigadier held
Express news service : Mumbai, Wed Jul 04 2012, 06:08 hrs
Who heads the Corrupt CSD(I)? Organisation Chart

Click on Chart for enlargemet

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a brigadier for his alleged role in the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) scam, busted by the agency last week. Brig Anuj Kainthla, the joint general manager of CSD, has been arrested for accepting an illegal gratification of Rs 7.5 lakh from a private company, Sankalp Consumer Products. He is the second officer of the same rank and the fifth person to be arrested by the CBI in the case so far.
On Saturday, the agency had arrested another joint general manager of CSD — Bikas Ranjan Daschaudhary who holds a rank equivalent to a brigadier — and Milind Govilkar of Sankalp besides two other company employees. Kainthla has been sent to CBI custody till July 5, 2012.
A CBI officer said the case was registered based on an information that Sankalp Consumers Products allegedly acted as a marketing arm and representative of many companies in an unauthorised manner against the policy laid down by CSD. The department operates from its head office at Mumbai and has depots all over India to provide consumer goods to both serving and retired defence personnel.
The CBI has alleged that Sankalp, through Govilkar and CSD officials, had entered into a criminal conspiracy with each other and manipulated demands of CSD items in favour of Sankalp’s clients. It says the company was favoured by CSD officials at various stages such as introduction of items, price revision, delayed and excess supply, demand creation and budget allocation. It also told the court that these favours were extended in lieu of huge illegal gratifications to CSD officials. Reader's Comment
Curruption in Army , Urgent Ateps Required
Maj Shyam S Sharam (veteran) | 05-Jul-2012
Previous Army Chief Gen V K Singh had taken strong measures to curb corruption in Army, that invited malacious camplaints against him by the vested interests in Army as well as in the MoD. We expect current Army Chief to address corruption in Army with urgencey and bring corrupt officers to book.
Brig Anuj Kainthla takes Rs 7.5 lakhs bribe to pay for his house and ruins his career
Comment: CSD is a giant organisation with the sole aim of spinning money at all costs and any means. The profit factor and sharing the profit should be done away with. This needs to be run on no- profit- no- loss basis. All unit run CSD outfits must be manned by Service or Retired Military personnel. CSD should not be used as a civilian employment agency. The Depots should be outsourced to MNC's like Tata's (Chroma) who are also into retailing countrywide.

Indian Army: Cash for Jobs and Cash for ACR's

Another job-for-cash scam hits ArmyJune 26, 2012A JCO, Naib Subedar Hasnuddin Chan Sheikh, was caught on cameras as he openly ran a job-for-cash racket, luring young men into his trap.
http://headlinestoday.intoday.in/headlines_today/programme/another-job-for-cash-scam-hits-army/1/202546.html

'Cash for promotion' scam hits army June 19, 2012
An inquiry has been initiated against a Brigadier for accepting money in return for recommending promotions
Army orders probe against Brig LI Singh for 'demanding cash' from subordinate officers
Court of Inquiry ordered post discreet inquiry
Source: The Sangai Express / Courtesy: Headlines Today (Gaurav C Sawant)
New Delhi, June 21 2012: A high profile Brigadier, recently posted as the Deputy Director General, Discipline and Vigilance (DDG, DV) at the Army Headquarters, has come under scanner for the alleged abuse of power and demanding money from subordinate officers and contractors in a cash scandal.
Brigadier Laiphrakpam Ibotombi Singh of 13th Battalion Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JAKLI), who was till March 2012 commanding the Watershed Brigade in Sikkim, has been accused of compelling officers under his command to "loan him money for urgent family requirement" and then not returning it.
The general officer commanding (GOC) of the Striking Lion Division conducted a discreet inquiry before the official Court of Inquiry (CoI) was ordered on June 15, army sources told Headlines Today on Tuesday.
"A rather grim picture emerges from the pattern of complaints.
There are serious allegations that need to be probed.
The discreet inquiry findings will be a part of the material for the court of inquiry to proceed," a senior officer in the Eastern Command told Headlines Today.
The timing of the "loan" allegedly coincided with the time of writing of annual confidential reports (ACRs) of the subordinate officers has brought the brigadier under suspicion.
Both the Eastern Command and Army Headquarters refused to share details of the discreet inquiry.
Only officers with unimpeachable integrity and spoken reputation are posted to the DV directorate, which is responsible for keeping a hawk eye on army's internal health and integrity.
"Brig L.I.Singh was handpicked by the former chief of army staff General V.K.Singh in April this year and brought to the DV directorate.
He was probing the botched-up Jorhat intelligence operation.
Now he himself is under the scanner for alleged extortion," an officer said.
As a DDG in the DV directorate, Brig Singh had asked the Eastern Command and the Dimapur based 3 Corps to explain inaction of officers in taking disciplinary action against those involved in the botched Jorhat intelligence operation where a team of 3 Corps Intelligence and Surveillance Unit was found to have broken into the house of an MES contractor and stolen a pistol, mobile phone and cash.
"He himself is now being summoned for a court of inquiry to explain complaints filed by serving officers directly under his command of illegally demanding money.
This is a conduct unbecoming of an officer," sources said.
An army spokesperson confirmed that an investigation had indeed been ordered.
"A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to probe the allegations.
As soon as the inquiry is completed we shall reveal the facts," the spokesperson said.
Army sources said borrowing and lending money is strictly prohibited in the army according to defence services regulation.
In the past, a two-star general was court martialled and punished for a similar offence.
"Brig Singh is an alumnus of Sainik School, Imphal, Manipur.
He is a bright and hard working officer.
He excelled in Staff College and Higher Command Course.
He commanded his battalion in Drass and was awarded a Yudh Sewa Medal for exemplary leadership after Operation Parakram.
He had a bright future and these complaints need to be probed speedily and in a transparent manner," a senior JAKLI officer told Headlines Today.
Brig Singh has proceeded on leave and the inquiry would begin as soon as he rejoins.
http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=1..220612.jun12

NDA Commandant is answerable to Corruption Charges of his Staff officer

Brief Bio
IC- 27793X LIEUTENANT GENERAL JATINDER SINGH, AVSM**, SM, INFANTRY (The gallantry awards are more or less fair, some suspicion arose with Siachen fake killings and Ketchup Colonel scams but that is over, the distinguished service awards can make one laugh by their very predictable nature.)
The General Officer has had his schooling in Sainik School, Trivandrum and is an alumni of NDA 42nd course. He was commissioned into the prestigious Brigade of The Guards on 17 June 1973 after having graduated from IMA (he has seen no war service). The General Officer has had a balanced command and staff experience in the service. The General now commands the Prestigious National Defence Academy. Colonel Kulbir Singh, who is the staff officer of NDA Commandant Lt Gen Jatinder was found spinning money to the tune of Rs 2 Crores in recruitment scam unearthed by CBI (Well done CBI- get to the root please...)
NDA job racket busted; colonel among 6 held Rs 1.76 cr seized in raids; CBI suspects cash to be bribe taken from job-seekers
Busting a major recruitment process scam in the National Defence Academy (NDA), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested six people, including a serving colonel, for taking large sums of money from job candidates and promising them confirmed appointments to the posts of lower division clerks and Group C employees.

Colonel Kulbir Singh (left), who was arrested by the CBI for taking bribes from candidates seeking jobs with the National Defence Academy, at the Shivajinagar court yesterday
The questions that Lt Gen Jatinder Singh needs to answer honestly regarding Civilian Recruitment scam involving Rs 2 crores in bribes.
1. Why are you overweight and phyically unfit? Do you embody physical standards of recruits?
2. Are you really medically fit or have you fudged the Medical results?
3. Are you 9 pointer with 9 points for honesty in all your ACR's?
4. Are you a sychophant?
5. Why have you selected your SO from your own Regiment and from the same region?
6. The bribe involving Rs 2 crores was transacted by your SO and hence you are aware of it?
7. Do you know about your subordinates? Are they living within their means?
8. Are you advocating five star culture in the NDA?
9. What ethos is being imbibed to cadets through your selected staff?
10. Do you influence postings through MS branch and MOD?

Sting Operation Traps Major General in Supply of Rations to Troops in High Altitude

Shiv Aroor | Headlines Today | New Delhi, June 25, 2012 | UPDATED 21:51 IST
Now, army probes bribe charge against ASC major general in Jammu and Kashmir A senior army officer, attached to a Northern Command unit, has come under investigation over the allegation of corruption for contracts that deal with the supply of rations to soldiers in India's most hostile zone, Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources told Headlines Today that the Major General at Army Supply Corp (ASC) in Udhampur, V.K. Sharma, who oversees the procurement and supply of rations for soldiers in the north, has come under the scanner for corrupt collusion with private contractors to manipulate supplies.
There have been multiple complaints against Maj Gen Sharma, but it was understood that he was caught red handed in a sting operation after he allegedly demanded bribes for contracts.
The shameful allegation comes as yet another big embarrassment for the army, which has received various kinds of accusations against some its top officers in the recent past.
The reason why the army has been taking the case seriously was that there have been many high profile cases in the past when even a chief of the ASC was caught in shameful acts of corruption. Cheating soldiers out of their very basic due has always been seen as the lowest, most condemnable form of corruption.
It clearly shows that the soldiers guarding India's northern frontiers along the Line of Control (LoC) and in the Ladakh region have more than just the enemy to look out for.
Investigations were still on and there were no indictments yet, but the army once again faces the terrible prospect of the enemy being one of its own.
Read more at: Bribe charge against ASC major general in Jammu and Kashmir
Sources said the Northern Command received several complaints against the officer, mostly from contractors who accused him of demanding favours in return for awarding contracts. Given the serious nature of the complaints and the senior rank of the officer, an operation was carried out by Army authorities to probe the matter.
According to reports, the officer was caught red-handed in a possible “sting operation” involving a contractor. “A court of inquiry has been ordered into allegations of financial impropriety against Maj Gen Sharma,” confirmed a senior Army HQ officer, denying that the officer has been placed under detention.
Maj Gen Sharma was in charge of supplies for the vital Northern Command, which has the largest number of soldiers deployed for counter insurgency and border duties. The command procures crores worth of rations and supplies for soldiers posted at the Siachen glacier, Kargil, the Kashmir valley and along the Line of Control.
Comment: Traitors in Army Supply Corps need to be got rid off expeditiously and ruthlessly. These guys are the enemy within supplying Gasoline adulterated with water to the forward troops and contaminated Rations. Indian Army mobility severely compromised by Corruption in forward Areas. Chinese laws must be implemented here- SHOOT the Traitors.

Institutional Integrity: Army takes a dive

Dear All,
Some of you may have already read it. I love the piece; it is no doubt levity - the facts have been presented with great humour and are soooo correct! Many of my conservative and the so called 'stiff upper lip' types seem to be outraged; they need to laugh more and analyse less! Do read it if you have the time.
Vijay Oberoi

'OP MOSES' to 'OP COVER UP’! Ooooh How Exciting!!!!
–– Shobha di
The handsome former Chief of the Indian Army who is now the Governor of Arunachal, General JJ Singh has made a profound statement in the Indian Express today where in an interview he claims that he ‘wrote-off’ two laptops while hammering out the 200,000 words that make up his autobiography! Such unbridled passion!! One wonders how many other things he ‘wrote-off’ apart from Generals Ravi Arora and VK Singh while implementing the by now infamous ‘Op Moses’. And since any comment is trashed by the Government and certain members of the press as being communal, I might as well say ‘hai rabba' to express my deep sense of admiration for the man whose will be but a hard act to follow.
The Chief benefactor of Op Moses has within days of taking over launched his own Op Cover Up despite having made brave statements about not brushing things under the carpet. With the media watching the carpet with an eagle eye, the good General is stuffing the Suhag scandal in his already full closet. That closet has a few secrets that need to be looked at in light of the decisive step that General Bikram Singh has taken even before his name-plate has gone up outside Army House!
Sources close to the previous Chief, General VK Singh had confirmed that the Show Cause Notice was issued on the basis of the findings of a Court of Enquiry held on the orders of Eastern Command. It was the Chief of Staff of Eastern Command who had asked Lt Gen Dalbir Suhag to investigate the complaint sent by an officer about the wrong doings in the Corps’ Intelligence unit. This letter, written in January this year asked for a reply by end February and it is now common knowledge that Eastern Command did not get any response from 3 Corps. So who should have chased 3 Corps?
The Army Commander himself! I guess technically he should have also been issued a SCN, but as the Chief designate had General VK Singh done that, we would have lost many Generals – albeit retired ones! I’m quite sure all the dearies with big big ‘muchis’ like Ashok Mehta, Shankar Prasad and what’s his name… that Kadyan fellow, would have spluttered and had instant heart attacks had VK (looked oh so dapper in uniform!) done that. And that on Prime Time! Sexy reality TV dahlings!
But let’s get serious - so now the ‘bail out’ has been done by the same personality (he too looks oh so sexy in uniform – you can’t blame me for going on about this, I love those medals! A few more and they would go even to the back of the chest!). All those twits yammering about Institutional Integrity will no doubt say daft sentimental things like “the message to the men will be very clear that you can abdicate responsibility and nothing will happen to you etc. etc.” Those guys are all loosers – ask that cutie who keeps coming on NDTV who was also once in the Army… that guy with a funny nose, who is often talking to Barkha (she really must do something about her dress sense) – the one who said thank god VK’s tenure is over because he only fought loosing battles and who wants to be on the loosing side anyway! The way he jumped ship, Nelson would have been proud of him. Now that a Metropolitan judge has summoned the former Chief in the bribery case, the cutie and all the others will be pontificating on TV tonight for sue about how right they were!
Who ever is so daft as to refuse a bribe! And even more daft to report it! We are now going to get a general to lead the Eastern Army who did not have the courage to reply to a SCN and who promptly ran away on leave. As they say moral courage is NO LONGER REQUIRED these days. So what’s the big deal? That’s been the trend of leadership in any case. Ask the tailors in MHOW who stitch all senior officer’s suits – they’ll tell you how dog tabs are accompanied by trousers where the zip is put at the back!
Anyway, these Generals all confuse me... my knees going weak also affects other parts of my body. I need to find a legal eagle type to explain these things to me. It seems the disciplinary order imposed by General VK Singh when he was COAS was the result of a quasi-judicial decision in exercise of powers and discharge of duties under the Army Act and Rules there under. The choice from alternatives available under the disciplinary rules was discretionary with the disciplinary authority. The judgment of the disciplinary authority cannot be reviewed by the same disciplinary authority because the present COAS himself was a part of the problem. While the SCN was not disposed of fully, and it was open for the successor incumbent COAS to judge the case in the light of the response given to the notice, he had no moral jurisdiction to overturn the DV ban. Most importantly, he cannot sit in judgment of himself having been the Eastern Army Commander who was morally also in the same little boat! At best he should have recused himself!
It is settled law that a quasi-judicial decision can be set aside only for malafides or an error of law apparent on the face of the record and only by the High Court or a designated Appellate Authority. It cannot be set aside by the successor COAS because he is NOT the appellate or reviewing authority. The exercise of discretion was by the then COAS. A successor incumbent cannot sit in judgment on that exercise of discretion because he is a co-equal and the exercise of power was complete in law at the point of first instance. Only a higher power can do it.
So I guess that brings us right back to dear ol’ Antony! The ball, as always, is now squarely back in his court! Poor dear… he must be feeling like one of those guys they show in the comic books who is trying to unsuccessfully get rid of sticky chewing gum! But you know the Antony-types, they always have a great cop out – orders from above! It’s time the poor old dear realized that certificates of good character from has-beens who the bureaucracy outwitted completely will not really matter. It really must be very scary for him to be surrounded by such specimens – each a bearded Greek God! And when in ceremonials they even have swords!
Why has the Indian judiciary become so ineffective in controlling the exercise of powers? Looks like everyone is sitting in judgment of himself and giving fancy certificates exonerating themselves! The list is growing by the day.
Oh dear, I am really worried sick thinking about what can happen. But now I’m off for JJs book launch… maybe if I’m lucky he might even tell me who will be replacing General Suhag as the COAS in 2017. Then I can write a tell-all book on ‘Op Bale Bale’!
Comment: The new Chief is likely to set new norms which will make Knight Chedwode dizzy in his heavenly abode and put the premier training institute's integrity to test.

Army Chief General VK Singh retires

Army Chief General VK Singh retires, lays wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti
NDTV Correspondent | Updated: May 31, 2012 11:28 IST
New Delhi: General VK Singh retires as army chief today. His term began in May 2010. General Bikram Singh will replace him as the Chief of the Army Staff today.
The out-going chief laid a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti, a memorial for the Indian soldiers. He will then be given a guard of honour in the lawns of South Block. After this, he will be treated as an ordinary citizen.
General Bikram Singh will formally begin his tenure a little after 11 am.
General VK Singh's last year in office saw an unprecedented tension between the government and the army. General Singh became the first serving chief to take the government to court to demand that his records be corrected to reflect that he was born a year later than documented in some papers. He dropped his case in the Supreme Court after judges indicated they would not rule in his favour. Had he won his case, General VK Sing would have been eligible for another year in office.
In the last three months, a confidential letter from him to the PM, warning of serious deficiencies in the equipment used by the defence forces was leaked. General VK Singh has said that the leak was not orchestrated by the army. Early inquiries by the Intelligence Bureau seem to support this. Another whopper of a storm was created when General Singh said in an interview that he had been offered a bribe of Rs. 14 crores, just months after he took office, to clear "sub-standard" trucks for purchase by the army.
General VK Singh also faces a defamation suit for a press release that he sanctioned earlier this year which alleged that a retired officer, Tejinder Singh, had circumvented guidelines needed to order of-the-air monitoring equipment. The same statement said that Tejinder Singh was offering bribes on behalf of Tatra and Vectra, which supplies trucks to the army. The press release was issued amid reports that the army had tried to spy on the Defence Minister's office in the weeks before General VK Singh took the government to court. Tejinder Singh has sued the army chief over the press release. And 24 hours before he retired, the Defence Ministry authorized a detailed inquiry into the incident, suggesting that the confrontations between General VK Singh and the government will continue.
Army Chief General VK Singh retires, lays wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti

Communal Twist to the Appointment of Army Chief?

With no prejudice
M.G. Devasahayam : Indian Express Sat May 19 2012, 03:36 hrs
‘Four out of the seven petitioners are from Tamil Nadu and have nothing to do with the communal conundrums of North India. And so the mud will not stick’
Shekhar Gupta’s article on the “communal twist” in the PIL filed in the Supreme Court by seven “prominent citizens” (‘With prejudice’, National Interest, IE, April 28) is far from the truth and is unfortunate. I, being one of the petitioners, owe an explanation as to the facts to put the record straight.
In this context some paragraphs from the writ petition have been quoted. These passages are mere narrations of events that were neither rebutted by the government through any counter-affidavit nor during “preliminary” arguments by the Attorney General or Solicitor General in the Supreme Court. Nowhere in the entire petition is there any “communal twist” except mentioning some names in connection with the events narrated. The petitioner’s counsel did not even raise this issue during her arguments.
Tweaking the words “orders from above” the article insinuates that “above” meant Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he is portrayed as communal. Nothing can be more absurd. My acquaintance with Manmohan Singh dates back to the mid-1970s, when I was administrator of Chandigarh and I know him rather well to even remotely suggest that he is communal! By the way, is the PM the only person “above” Defence Minister A.K.Antony?
One wonders as to why Operation Bluestar, that had no relationship with the issues raised in the PIL, has been given such a long narration. Nevertheless, this being a sensitive matter I would share some of my own information and that obtained from sources that were part of the operation. The fact is that Operation Bluestar was neither led by the then Major General K.S. Brar nor Lt Gen R.S. Dyal. The “strike force” was a bizarre khichadi comprising of two infantry battalions (26 Madras and 10 Guards) under a nominated brigade commander (D.V. Rao) of the Madras Regiment. There were no Sikh troops in this strike force.
In total contravention of the army’s operational ethics, these battalions were taken out of their command set up and put under Brigadier Rao as an ad hoc arrangement. Major General Brar’s role was just that 10 Guards was part of 9 Inf Div of which he was GOC. What is worse, Lt Gen K. Sundarji as army commander, Western Command, took direct control of the operation by-passing the Jalandhar-based 11th Corps commanded by Lt Gen Gowri Shankar. Such blatant cannibalisation of the fighting forces and the general officer’s keenness to please Prime Minister Indira Gandhi led to utter chaos and unacceptably huge carnage and extensive damage to the sacred Amritsar Golden Temple.
Be that as it may, let us see the core reasons that prompted the petitioners to knock at the door of the Supreme Court. To start with, it was the defence ministry’s manipulations to cut short the tenure of General V.K. Singh and the premature announcement of Lt Gen Bikram Singh as the next army chief without finally resolving the date of birth issue of the former. Documents in the MS Branch prove that selection boards for the promotion of V.K. Singh to the select ranks of Brigadier (September 1996) Major General (October 25 2001 and September 18/19 2003) and Lieutenant General (September 30 2005) reflect his DoB as May 10, 1951. But ignoring all these, the issue was raked up by former COAS General J.J. Singh with an ulterior motive to cut short the present army chief’s tenure.
In its order dated February 10 2012, the Supreme Court had neither endorsed the entry in the UPSC application form (May 10 1950), nor upheld the so-called “commitment” given by V.K. Singh regarding his DoB. Also, contrary to wide publicity, the court had taken no position on the general’s DoB and left it to the “Union of India” to recognise one of the two DoBs (1950 or 1951). It had also allowed the government to withdraw the operative part (merits) of its December 30, 2011, order in which it had rejected Gen V.K. Singh’s statutory complaint seeking recognition of 1951 as his year of birth. With the merit part withdrawn, the original statutory complaint stands revived. MoD since then had not passed any legally speaking order recognising the actual DoB of General V.K. Singh before announcing his successor.
The next issue was J.J. Singh’s plan to eliminate others from amongst Lt Gen Bikram’s contemporaries from the race. The main target was Brigadier Ravi Arora, gold medalist, senior in IC number but younger in age to Bikram Singh. This has been explained in detail in the PIL. More important grounds were the grave allegations pending against the army chief designate. One is his alleged involvement in the fake-encounter death of a 70-year-old man, and thereafter branding him as a terrorist to achieve personal advantages, and this matter pending in writ petition in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court seeking a commission of inquiry. The second case related to events in the Congo Republic when in 2007-08 then Major General Bikram Singh was the Eastern Division Commander of the UN peacekeeping force. Indian troops under his command had been accused of mass sexual abuse. Sixty-eight cases, including the siring of illicit children, had been reported, and the matter is being investigated by a court of inquiry at Meerut. When P.J. Thomas was appointed as Central Vigilance Commissioner, and the Centre for Public Litigation challenged it, a division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar declared the CVC as India’s “integrity institution” and not only struck down the appointment but had castigated the government for its lack of respect for institutional integrity. Thomas had just one corruption case against him for which an application to seek his prosecution was pending.
The primary responsibility of the Indian Army is to preserve national interests and safeguard the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of India against any external threat by deterrence or by waging war. In the event our army is as important an “integrity institution” as the Central Vigilance Commission, if not more.
The petitioners therefore contended that as there were two serious cases pending against Lt Gen Bikram Singh, it will not be prudent to appoint him as the next COAS. Drawing a parallel with the P.J. Thomas case, where the Supreme Court had overturned his appointment on the grounds that at the time of approval by the ACC an application was pending to prosecute the officer, the plea in the PIL was for applying the same yardstick in the matter of the appointment of the next COAS. Individuals and names mentioned in the PIL were only incidental.
The petitioners had hoped that the apex court will reiterate the well-reasoned verdict of its own larger bench and uphold the institutional integrity of the Army that is being ravaged by a well entrenched coterie. Instead our petition was summarily disposed off with these crisp words: “We have carefully gone through the averments made in the writ petition, the materials placed on record by the petitioners and the original file concerning appointment of the next Chief of Army Staff. We do not find any justifiable ground to invoke our jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. Writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed. However, it is clarified that dismissal of writ petition shall not affect the legal proceeding or matter pending in the court or any other forum.”
The dismissal is based on a clearance report given by the Intelligence Bureau. One wonders whether IB has jurisdiction to give such clearance on matters pending before a high court and a court of inquiry, particularly so when the Supreme Court has allowed these proceedings to continue. It is in this context that the perilous implication of the court order needs to be understood. These twin “Swords of Damocles” hanging over the head of the army chief severely compromise the institutional integrity of the army. Is this what our valiant army deserves? All that the petitioners wanted to do was to avoid such horrid embarrassment and restore the integrity of the institution. For this “communal” charges are being hurled at us.
As to this “communal mudslinging” it will be pertinent to point out that four out of the seven petitioners — Admiral Ramdas, N. Gopalaswamy, Sam Rajappa and myself — are from Tamil Nadu and have nothing to do with the communal conundrums of North India. And so the mud will not stick. We have done what we have to do with pride and without any prejudice.
The writer is a former bureaucrat
With no prejudice

Can the CBI Decipher the Tatra Vectra Maze?

Tatra

Photo: Mr. Ravi Rishi with Gen. SJS Saighal- pressing the gong at NSE Listing ceremony...

Tatra a.s. has got a new Supervisory Board after the Vectra led consortium Tatra Holding (formerly Blue River s.r.o.) acquired Terex Corporation share in Tatra a.s. in September 2006. The new supervisory board would have a member each from the shareholders that include Vectra Limited, KBC Private Equity & Sam Eyde plus 2 representatives from the labour union. Mr. Ravi Rishi, Chairman— Vectra Group has been nominated as the member & Chairman of the Tatra Supervisory Board. The first supervisory board meeting took place on December 7th 2006 at the registered office of Tatra a.s. in Koprivnice. Amongst other things discussed at the Board meeting was the Business Plan for 2007 which should see a sustained growth in sales of Tatra Trucks. After the fall of eastern markets, Tatra Koprivnice found itself on the brink of bankruptcy several times, but its financial situation has been improving since last year. With new shareholders bringing in a blend of financial and marketing strength, things are looking up yet again for the versatile mCzech Truck manufacturer.
Vectra
Global Vectra Helicorp Limited (GVHL) (BSE Code 532773; NSE Code GLOBALVECT), got listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock exchange on 27th October 2006 and there has been no looking back since. This has been possible due to the strong fundamentals of the company and its performance on the business plans announced at the time of entry into the capital markets. Lt. Gen. (Retd) S.J.S. Saighal, Chairman, Global Vectra Helicorp Limited said, “We had promised our share holders that GVHL is an aggressively growing air logistics company and will bring tremendous value to their share price and we have kept that promise. GVHL is planning to increase its fleet to 29 helicopters by 2009 and we also intend tapping the deep sea air logistics market which is the next big opportunity.”
After strengthening its position in the Indian market, the company is looking at moving to other Asian countries as well. The company has been receiving proposals for contracts from shores of Sri Lanka, Malaysia and other countries around the Indian subcontinent.
Click here for the original pdf post

Lt. Gen. (Retd) S.J.S. Saighal
What made the MoD sit up is the fact that Lt Gen H S Sehgal, closely involved in the year-long field trials to evaluate the Eurocopter and Bell machines, is closely related to Lt Gen (retd) S J S Saighal, the chairman and managing director of Global Vectra Helicorp and Vectra Aviation which is the sole distributor of Eurocopter in India. Lt Gen Sehgal, currently posted as Chief of Staff, Army Training Command, was closely involved with the field evaluation and preparation of trial reports for the two helicopters during his tenure as Technical Manager (Land Systems) in 2004-05.
MoD probes middleman charge in $600-mn deal, seeks Eurocopter reply
Comment: Ravi Rishi, Lt Gen SJS Saighal, Lt Gen Seghal, Lt Gen Tejinder Singh alongwith IAS crooks are linked to dubious Politicians (and their sons) and are milking the Defence Forces in the name of National Security and Secrecy. CBI's onerous duty is to decode the corruption route to the Swiss Banks and unearth the beneficiaries. Home Minister P Chidambaram holds the key to unravelling the scam!

Former Defence Minister exposes Munition Dealers

Full Transcript: Your Call with former Defence Minister Jaswant Singh
NDTV.com, Updated: April 01, 2012 21:19 IST
NDTV: I think one of the other worrying aspects was about the question of corruption in Defence procurements and this information about Tatra trucks now, which has come up. Now the question that has been raised that these have been in use since 1986, the irregularities in procurement have clearly been in place since pretty much then. Why has no former Defence Minister, Government , Army Chief raise this earlier?

Jaswant Singh: I am guilty. In between I have been Defence Minister. I must admit this never came to my mind. And so in that sense even if I make a comment here I am just as guilty as any of the previous Defence Ministers would be. I cannot cite ignorance as my defence, I did not know of it; I did not take any action. It is no good saying that I was not there long enough. Yes you are right I am partly to blame. But what has happened is at another level of; why this became, why has this become not just Tatra. You see in 1986, around '86-'87, I believe was a kind of climactic year, because that is when the infamous Bofors hit India. I had gone with General Sundarji to the trial of Bofors. I had said to him this is a very good gun; it's very badly procured. Because I said it's a very good gun my party got annoyed with me. But I also tried very hard to find out. I also went to Sweden at my own cost and I fought for this issue until I came against the wall of non-cooperation. Then I realized that Bofors will have very long-term consequences in Defence procurement. Because if we were not able to identify and award punishment to the wrong doers, then of course people can say that we can do it. And then of course it was only about 86 or 84 crores, now it's hundreds of crores.
Read more at: Click here for the complete transcript
Comment: It is obvious the Munition Wheeler Dealers and the Bureaucracy can subvert the whole defence procurement system- It is seemingly impossible for Mr Antony to effect anything tangible to eliminate corruption in the MOD! The wheeler Dealers have powered themselves with effecting changes in the Ministry and also getting Army Officers posted to the crucial appointments to make big bucks in league with Political Criminals!

Alcoholic Ex Servicemen kills his wife

Retired army officer missing after allegedly killing wife
How did the 'clerk' become an 'officer'! Was he an SL commission officer?
Mumbai: In a shocking incident in surburban Mumbai, a retired army officer, Mahipal Singh, killed his wife at their residence in Kalina Military Camp.
Click here to read more

Man used skills taught in army to strangle wife
By: Saurabh Vaktania Date: 2012-03-16 Place: Mumbai
Autopsy reports state former army man Mahipal Singh choked his spouse by applying pressure with his thumbs -- one of the most basic lessons taught in training
AN army officer who is suspected to have killed his wife and is on the run used the oldest self-defence tactic to murder his spouse, autopsy reports reveal. According to the police, the accused Mahipal Singh choked his wife Anju's throat by applying pressure with his thumbs.
On the lookout: Cops have been combing the local bars in the area as Mahipal Singh is an alcoholic, and is likely to haunt such places.
Authorities say it is the oldest technique in self-defence training and is one of the basic lessons taught during army training. "We have found a thumb impression of the accused on the deceased's throat. It is clear that Singh choked the victim," said an officer from Vakola police station.
On Tuesday evening, army officials from the military camp in Kalina called up the Vakola police to inform them that Anju Kanwar (35), wife of a defence security personnel Singh (40), was found dead at the residential quarters in the campus.
Their 9-year-old son found Anju's body at 6 pm after he returned home from school. The post-mortem report states that the time of death was 2 pm.
The Vakola police have formed a special team to track down Singh. Officials from the Crime Branch and Special squad (west region) are also on the lookout for Singh. One of the officers told MiD DAY that they were looking at all bars around the area, as Singh is a drunkard. Investigators suspect that Singh has fled to Goa.
Meanwhile, Anju's family members arrived from Rajasthan and have taken custody of the body following the post mortem and are also caring for the young son.
A Mid Day Report

Readers responses

Haridas Mandal (13:15:56): And still army issues cheap liquors from it’s 4500 Unit Run Canteens just to earn 1000 crore a year to celebrate 365 days a year in the name of Raising Days, Founder’s dayS, Kargil Days, Bangladesh war days etc etc and end up making its officers as well as jawans permanently addicted to liquors. Will some body from the Medical Council of India will stand up and comment on the very efficacy of issuing freely available cheap liquors to serving troops, to the ex-serving troops and even to their equally addicted widows?

I cannot but agree on this point. I wish all serving/ retired officers take up this point from here. Military service has converted a large percentage of raw recruits to Alcaholics simply through easy and cheap availability of liquor. A few who do not drink, got into the habit of selling their quota to Civilians for a profit. This is true of even very senior officers! Corruption begins right here! What is the logic of a widow of an ESM/ ESO drawing liquor from Canteens? An excellent point to ponder!

Mandalised Military like Bureaucracy Murders Meritocracy

Saturday, 14 January 2012
All the Chief's Men: Quotas rule promotions in a “Mandalised” army
These NDA cadets are all equal when they start. But not so when they become officers in various arms. Skewed promotion policies will give many of them an unfair edge over the others. by Ajai Shukla
Business Standard, 14th Jan 12

Says a senior officer of the mechanised forces who was recently promoted, but sees equally competent compatriots being overtaken by lesser officers: “The Indian army has been effectively Mandalised. The traditional meritocracy of senior rank has given way to a shoddy system of quotas that is placing unconfident and incompetent officers to command troops in battle.”
click here to read more

All the chief's men
Ajai Shukla / New Delhi January 14, 2012, 0:19 IST
Quotas rule promotions in a “Mandalised” army.
A recent letter, boldly written by a serving lieutenant colonel to the army chief, General V K Singh says: “PROFESSIONAL DISCRIMINATION is upgrading (sic) into SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION. The formidable INDIAN ARMY is developing cracks. What the enemy would have loved to foster, is happening on its own.”

Says a senior officer of the mechanised forces who was recently promoted, but sees equally competent compatriots being overtaken by lesser officers: “The Indian army has been effectively Mandalised. The traditional meritocracy of senior rank has given way to a shoddy system of quotas that is placing unconfident and incompetent officers to command troops in battle.”

People sometimes wonder what drives soldiers in the face of death. The answer, surprisingly, is not patriotism, religion, discipline, bloodlust, or a quest for glory. Instead, most soldiers affirm that a shared brotherhood with their comrades is what drives them through mortal danger. The ones who die do so in the belief that death is better than besmirching the legacy of their unit or sub-unit. “Soldiers live and die for the name of their unit alone,” says Brigadier Virendar Singh who led the assault on the 21,000-feet-high Bana Post above the Siachen Glacier in 1987, one of India’s most stirring military exploits.

Reflecting this philosophy, combat units are structured around the regimental system. Combat arms, which include the infantry (foot soldiers) and the armoured corps (tank men), are all organised into regiments or groups. These include legends like the Gurkha regiment, the Sikh Light Infantry and the Brigade of Guards. The armoured corps has a plethora of famous regiments like 4 Horse, Skinner’s Horse, and 3rd Cavalry. Officers and jawans go straight from initial training into their unit, a tightly-bonded fraternity of 550 to 800 men. For the duration of their field service, they serve with that same unit, imbibing its ethos and character. Their uniform bears its distinctive symbols — cap badges, shoulder titles, belts, flashes and lanyards — which reaffirm their identity. They soak in, and revel in, their unit’s history, its battle honours and the personalities that it produced.
click here to read more

Army to lose a top notch General

The politics behind army chief’s age row
Seema Mustafa | Monday, January 9, 2012
The Indian Army is rallying behind its chief General VK Singh who is caught in an ‘age’ row with the defence ministry. Senior officers do not hesitate to point out that the political dispensation should not have turned the chief’s retirement age into such a major issue, and the dignity of the army chief and the institution should have ‘been respected.’

Fuelling the support is the unpopularity of Lieutenant General Bikram Singh, who is likely to succeed as the next army chief if General VK Singh is retired. Lt General Bikram Singh has been lobbying hard for the post, and has the support of the former army chief and now Governor General JJ Singh. Sources said Lt General Singh, currently the general officer commanding-in-chief, Eastern Command, also has support from within the Prime Minister’s Office.

The anger within the army about what a senior officer described as this ‘conspiracy’ against the current chief is spilling over, with most officers unable to go on record. However, retired officers have started writing articles on the issue although as one brigadier pointed out, ‘several media houses are not interested in our views as it is not in keeping with the defence ministry’s position.’ Defence sources pointed out that reports about the army chief’s age controversy were emanating from the defence ministry, and the army was being wrongly blamed.

The one criticism against General VK Singh has been that he should have spent more time in chasing the implementation of his own report on the Transformation of the Indian Army, and less on what some see as a ‘personal matter.’ However, officers who are supporting him make it clear that the age issue was not a personal matter as it affected the dignity and stature of the army chief’s office as well as the institution of the Indian Army.

Significantly, there are no two views within the army about the fact that the birth year controversy would not have come in the way of General Singh taking over as chief, regardless of whether the government accepted — 1950 or 1951. And as a senior officer pointed out, ‘The defence ministry could have taken the required steps to clear this when General Singh was made corps commander but this was deliberately not done.’

Significantly, if General Singh succeeds in delaying his retirement, the present Northern Command Chief Lt General KT Parnaik will be the most likely candidate for the army chief’s post. He is very popular within the army, seen by his colleagues as well as seniors as a ‘thinking general.’ However, if Lt General Bikram Singh makes it to the top post as seems to be the intention of the Manmohan Singh government, Lt General Parnaik will retire and the army will have lost the benefit of a ‘top notch’ general.
The writer is a senior New Delhi-based journalist
The politics behind army chief’s age row