PROMOTION ARMY OFFICERS : PM clears file of Army Officers

I WONDER : THOUGH SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING. BUT THE FACT REMAINS ITS TOO LITTLE TOO LATE. IN CIVIL SERVICES INCLUDING OTHER GP A SERVICES THEY BECOME COL EQUIVALENT WITHIN 13 YRS OF SERVICE INCL TRAINING PERIOD AND WITHIN 18 YEARS OF SERVICE THEY ARE GETTING SAG WITH GP OF 10000/- . SINCE MOST OF THE PERKS START BEYOND THE GP OF 10000. THERE IS HARDLY ANY ADVANTAGE OF THIS MOVE EXCEPT FOR RED COLLARS AND INCREASE OF GP BY 700/- RS. LASTLY FULL DETAILS ARE NOT YET KNOWN !!!!

Prime Minister is believed to have approved substantive time scale promotion to the rank of full Colonel and equivalent in Army, Navy and Air Force after 18 years of service. Thus Col will not be a select rank any more.

1994 Batch IPS Offrs to be DIG (GP 8900)

1994 batch IPS officers belonging to the Uttar Pradesh cadre are soon going to be elevated as DIGs. There are 14 vacancies of DIGs in UP.(whispers)

Army ready to deal with Chinese intrusion, says Jaswal

Shimla, September 30
“The Indo-China border has always been a sensitive area and there is no cause for “undue” alarm over the reported recent incursions by Chinese forces,” asserted Lt-Gen BS Jaswal, before leaving for Udhampur to takeover as the Army Commander of the Northern Command.
“With its vast undemarcated stretches, the Indo-China border was and continues to be a sensitive area. There has been no increase in its sensitivity as such in view of the reported developments. The Army is fully prepared to take on any challenge on this count,” he said with a sense of assurance.
A thoroughbred infantryman, Jaswal, with his enormous experience in counter-insurgency operations in the North East, is eager to make his mark in the militancy-ridden Kashmir valley. He spelt out a three-pronged strategy to defeat the designs of terrorists and help create an environment conducive to smooth functioning of the civil administration. The emphasis would be to effectively check infiltration from across the border and carry out relentless operations against terrorists still active in the valley. The emphasis would be on training of troops and keeping up their morale, which was the key to successful counter-insurgency operations.
With state-of-the-art surveillance equipment and modern weaponry, the Army was better equipped to deal with insurgents and any threat from across the border. Preparation had been an ongoing process, which involved persistent training and evolving new doctrines with the changing environment.
Referring to the recent incident of a woman gunning down a terrorist in Kashmir, he said it only reflected the changing attitude of the local people and their resolve to take the militants head on. More significant was the fact that the woman had no training in weapons and she learnt to fire gunshots from television.


http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20091001/himachal.htm#4

India to get Israeli killer drones by 2011

India will get its first set of lethal drones designed to take down high-value targets like missile sites, radars and even senior enemy personnel by 2011, adding a new dimension to its combative capabilities.

While India already has a fleet of Searcher and Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), these are not equipped with offensive weapons and are confined to being used in

reconnaissance missions. Now, for the first time India will get the capability to attack enemy positions and even moving targets deep inside enemy territory without having to send across a fighter aircraft.

A top Indian Air Force (IAF) official confirmed that the first batch of Harop killer drones had been ordered from Israel and would be inducted by 2011.

While reports of a $100-million deal between India and Israel’s IAI for the Harop have been floating around for several months, this is the first official confirmation from the IAF that the drones have been ordered and would be inducted within three years. 



In the past, India had inducted an earlier version called the Harpy but the UAV only had an anti-radiation seeker and was designed to loiter, detect and home in on enemy radar positions.


The Harop, however, will be able not only to take on enemy radars but also has an electro-optical sensor that allows it to target moving vehicles, missile positions and other military installations. It also has a high endurance and can ‘loiter’ over enemy airspace for over five hours in search of a target.


However, unlike the Predator drones being used by the US against Taliban forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan that fire missiles and can return after the mission, the Harop self-destructs itself onto the target, making it much more expensive.


While efforts are on to develop indigenous Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) like the Predator drone, India is years away from having the capability of taking on targets deep inside enemy territory without committing fighter aircraft.


As per the IAF’s procurement plans, a new generation of UCAVs would only be purchased in the next Five Year Plan that starts in 2012. 


http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-to-get-israeli-killer-drones-by-2011/522675/

IAF rescues 5 boys trapped in stream

HYDERABAD: Three persons were washed away while five students, trapped in a stream, were rescued by an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter in separate incidents in Mahaboobnagar district on Wednesday as water levels in tanks and rivers rose due to incessant rains lashing several parts of the State.

Of the three, two youngsters were swept away in a stream in Balanagar while the third met with the same fate in Kalwakurthy.
The IAF helicopter, after rescuing the five students belonging to Kothareddypally in Vangoor mandal who were caught in the Dindi stream, had to make an emergency landing at Maheshwaram on the city outskirts due to inclement weather. The five youngsters, studying in a private college in the city, went home for Dasara.
They visited the nearby Dindi stream this afternoon for swimming.
They got trapped after the water level rose suddenly. They took shelter on a tree. Efforts of local residents and the district administration to rescue them proved unsuccessful. On learning about the incident, Chief Minister K Rosaiah ordered the officials to use helicopters to rescue the marooned youngsters. “An IAF helicopter was rushed to the spot and all the five were airlifted to safety,” District Collector Damayanthi said.
After the operation, while returning to its base at Hakimpet Air Force Station, the chopper was forced to land in an open site at Maheshwaram due to bad weather. “The two pilots and two crew members in the helicopter are safe,” Maheshwaram police inspector M Narender Reddy said.
In the Balanagar incident, three youngsters - Janaki Ramulu, his brother Naveen Goud and their friend Raghurama Reddy - went to swim in a rivulet at Gundlapotlapally. Ramulu got caught in a whirlpool and the other two tried to rescue him. However, only Naveen managed to swim to safety,” SI Jangaiah said.



http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=IAF+rescues+5+boys+trapped+in+stream&artid=6Rj11iVhySU=&SectionID=e7uPP4|pSiw=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EH8HilNJ2uYAot5nzqumeA==&SEO=

Containing Infiltration, Terrorism Top Priority – General Jaswal GOC Northern Command

Shimla: With a task cut out, Lt General BS Jaswal, who moves to head the sensitive Northern Command said that the priority would be to contain infiltration, deal with any terrorists in a most severe manner, maintain cordial relations with the civilians and the state government, and keep the morale of the troops high so as to maintain the battle worthiness of the command.

Speaking to the media today, after relinquishing charge of the ARTRAC command, the general said “the Indian army was prepared to take any challenge.”

On being questioned about the sensitivity of Indo-China border, he said, ‘the borders there have not been demarcated and would remain sensitive.” However he dismissed any cause for alarm saying, “there have been no incursions on the border.”

He said that his new assignment mandated maintaining the territorial integrity of the country, which the command would do with honour.

He said that the army’s role was for the people of India, which it would live upto with a human face.

“While heading the command every effort would be made to maintain synergy with the para-military forces, the state government and the people,” said general Jaswal.

Training and equipping Village Defense Committee’s (VDC) in Jammu & Kashmir was proving worthy of fighting and eradicating terrorism in the state, he said

At ARTRAC, which worked as a think tank for the army, he said revolutionary and military affairs were strategized according to the needs of forces. Realistic ‘war gaming’ was one of the functions that the command was developing; devising ways to counter as well as launch electronic warfare was another area on which work was being done, he said.

http://himachal.us/2009/09/30/containing-infiltration-terrorism-top-priority-%E2%80%93-general-jaswal-goc-northern-command/16227/news/ravinder

Bhardwaj takes over as Indian Army vice chief Thursday

 New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) Lt. Gen. P.C. Bhardwaj will Thursday take over as the Indian Army’s new vice chief.

Bhardwaj, who currently heads the Udhampur-based Northern Command that guards Jammu and Kashmir, will replace Lt. Gen. Nobel Thamburaj, who retired Wednesday.

‘The new vice chief will take charge tomorrow (Thursday),’ an army official said.

Bhardwaj has been appointed the vice chief bypassing the senior-most three-star general, Lt. Gen. V.K. Singh, who is tipped to become the Indian Army chief when incumbent Gen. Deepak Kapoor retires in March 2010. Thus, for six months, Singh would technically be reporting to an officer who is his junior.

In the normal scheme of things, Singh would have, in all probability, become the vice chief when Thamburaj retired. However, the defence ministry accepted Kapoor’s recommendation that henceforth, the vice chief serve a two-year term.

Bhardwaj has been the Northern Command chief since March, when he took over from Lt. Gen. H.S. Panag.

Prior to heading the Northern Command, Bhardwaj commanded the Leh-based 14 Corps that guards the frontiers with China and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, as also the Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battlefield.

Bhardwaj has vast experience in terror-hit Kashmir, having been the Brigadier General Staff of the Nagrota-based 16 Corps in 2000-01, when militancy was at its peak and infiltration was at its highest level.

He has also commanded the counter-insurgency Delta Force in the Doda region of Jammu.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Indian Military Academy and the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Bhardwaj was commissioned into the first battalion of the Parachute Regiment in June 1970.

He has also received training at the Special Forces School at Fort Bragg in the US.

A recipient of the Vir Chakra during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, Bhardwaj has commanded the elite Parachute Brigade and was the defence attache to Myanmar from 1994 to 1997.

http://trak.in/news/bhardwaj-takes-over-as-indian-army-vice-chief-thursday/9129/

Indian Army, IAF hold joint exercises near China border

With the aim of checking their preparedness, the Army and the Air Force carried out a joint exercise in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh near the Chinese border last week. Codenamed 'Operation Pralay', the three-day exercise involved all the frontline fighter aircraft, including Sukhoi, Mirage-2000, MiG-29, MiG-27 and IL-78 air-to-air refueling planes, Defence Ministry sources said in New Delhi on Wednesday (September 30). Army personnel with their Mi-17, Cheetah and Chetak helicopters also participated in the war-games, they said.

The exercise held between September 22 and 24 involved all the frontier air bases in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, they said. “The Army and the IAF carried out the three-day joint exercise with the aim of checking preparedness and jointness,” a source said. The exercise was coordinated by IAF's Shillong-based Eastern Air Command and the army's Eastern Command in Kolkata. The exercise came in the backdrop of reports of Chinese ground and air incursions in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, which both the countries have been trying to downplay.  


http://www.timesnow.tv/Indian-Army-IAF-hold-joint-exercises-near-China-border/articleshow/4328550.cms