Indian Army: News and Discussion

[RPK]

French army team complete 6-day visit of Kashmir

A French army delegation comprising counter-terrorism experts completed their 6-day visit to Indian administered Kashmir during which they were briefed about the strategies by Indian army to tackle militancy in the region.

Indian army’s officiating spokesman, K S Rathi said the French Army delegation visited Indian army’s battle schools in Kashmir. “During their visit to the battle schools, the French army officials including the counter insurgency experts were briefed in detail about the various functional, training and administrative aspects of battle craft and tactical drills being imparted to the soldiers to cope up with the challenges of militancy in Kashmir,” he said.
Indian army is battling militancy in Kashmir since 1989 and has suffered heavy casualties during the 20 years of turmoil in the region, which has been declared as “nuclear flashpoint” by former US president Bill Clinton. Even on Saturday, an Indian soldier was killed in a gunfight with militants in the Indian administered Kashmir.

Rathi said the French army delegation was acquainted with methodology of conducting people friendly operations and ensuring Human Rights in the conduct of counter insurgency operations.

The French team arrived in Indian administered on November 16. “The visit was a part of the implementation plan for the defence cooperation and exchanges of army with the French counterparts,” Indian army spokesman said.

Earlier in October, Australian Army chief Lt Gen Ken J Gillespie had visited Indian administered Kashmir and was briefed about the situation by senior Indian army officials. Some top US army officials have also visited Kashmir in past.

 

[RPK]

Thermal Imaging system for T-72 tanks


New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) The Russian-made T-72 tank fleet of the Indian Army is undergoing an upgradation programme to equip thermal imaging capabilities to its night vision system, the Lok Sabha was informed today. Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lower House in a written reply during question hour that the process of upgrading the night fighting capabilities of the T-72 tanks with thermal imaging was an ongoing process.

He said the fleet was being optimally used and was the mainstay of the present tank fleet. "The entire fleet of this tank is fully battle worthy with high mission and operational reliability.

" Of the total holding of T-72 tanks, a part of them was already equipped with high-end technology night vision device, which was fully integrated and exploited, he said. India currently operates about 1,800 T-72 tanks.

Antony also said ten indigenously produced T-90 tanks under Transfer of Technology agreement with Russia were handed over to the Army on August 24 this year and the tanks'' salient features were similar to the first lot of T-90 tanks imported from Russia. India had in 2001 bought 310 T-90 tanks from Russia with the scope for manufacturing 1,000 of them indigenously through technology transfer.

Last year, India had placed a follow-on order for 300 more T-90 tanks from Russia. (More) PTI NCB.

 

[RAM]

Limited war under nuclear overhang possible'General Deepak Kapoor

'Limited war under nuclear overhang possible'General Deepak Kapoor

New Delhi: With Defence Minister AK Antony expressing concern over the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into wrong hands, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor on Saturday said the likelihood of a limited war "under a nuclear overhang" was a reality in the Indian sub-continent.

"The possibility of a limited war under a nuclear overhang is still very much a reality at least in the Indian sub-continent," he said at a seminar on "Changing Nature of Conflict: Trends and Responses".At the same event, the defence minister said the threat of nuclear weapons falling into wrong hands was an "area of serious concern" and its consequences would be "unimaginable".

Kapoor said South Asia along with West Asia has emerged as "one of the epicentres of conflict and instability" and warned the situation would "further worsen since there was neither any political or diplomatic unity nor any common ground to build a consensus to fight this new war."

"Territorial disputes, provocation by proxy wars, religious fundamentalism, radical extremism, ethnic tensions and socio-economic disparities are the hallmark of South Asia," he said.

Pak nukes falling in wrong hands a concern: AntonyThe Army Chief said sub-conventional conflicts may force nations to undertake interventions on "purely humanitarian grounds if the diaspora is under threat, sovereignty of nations being questioned such as attacks on missions abroad and national assets and foreign soil being used constantly for attack by state and non-state actors."


Meanwhile, India’s Eastern Command Chief Air Marshal SK Bhan said in Shillong on Monday induction of new aircraft and upgradation of Advanced Landing Grounds had nothing to do with China. “India has no intention of going to war with any country. But if the thrust is on us, we will respond,” he said while responding to a question in a press conference.He said the Eastern Command would be modernised by 2015, which would reduce dependence on the western sector.


`Limited war under nuclear overhang possible`

 

[RAM]

Tighten vigil on India-Bangladesh border: BSF chief


Agartala, Nov 23 (IANS) Border Security Force (BSF) Director General (DG) Raman Sr
iivastava during his two-day maiden visit to the northeastern state of Tripura held a series of meetings with top BSF and Tripura government officials besides state Governor Dr Kamla.The 1973 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who became the chief of India’s largest para-military force in early August, also visited some air-maintained border out posts (BOPs) in far-flung areas along the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura and interacted with the troopers Monday.

The spokesman told IANS: “Senior BSF officials have apprised the DG about the latest position of the Indo-Bangla border and decision taken at the inspector general level meeting held earlier this month in Sylhet in eastern Bangladesh.”The visit of the BSF DG is significant in view of the Bangladeshi security forces’ mounting pressure on the Indian terrorists taking shelter and training in that country.In the Sylhet meeting, the BSF officials had also asked their Bangladeshi counterparts to dismantle around 90 camps and hideouts set up by northeastern Indian militants on their territory.

“Though BDR and Bangladeshi security forces have of late taken some action against the Indian militants taking shelter in their territory, there are about 90 camps or hideouts existing in Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeast Bangladesh and Sylhet besides other regions,” the BSF official added.The Sylhet meeting was held ahead of the director general-level talks between the border forces of India and Bangladesh.

Following ‘arrest or detention’ of two top insurgents of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) earlier this month, BSF has intensified its vigil and stepped up patrolling along the border with Bangladesh.In a significant development, the BSF troopers in the first week of this month have ‘detained or arrested’ ULFA’s self-appointed finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika and self-styled foreign secretary Shashadhar Chowdhury along the Bangladesh border in western Tripura.

Five Indian states - West Bengal, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura - share a 4,095 km border with Bangladesh. These include a 2,979 km land border and 1,116 km riverine. Among the northeastern states, Tripura shares 856 km, Meghalaya 443 km, Mizoram 318 km and Assam 263 km border with Bangladesh.



Read more: Tighten vigil on India-Bangladesh border: BSF chief

 

[Sridhar]

Construction of Border Roads [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]15:47 IST [/FONT] /

The funds allocated and utilized by the Government for construction and improvement of Border Roads in the northeastern region during the last three years and the current year is as follows:-

Financial Year​

Fund Allocated​

(Rs. In crore)​

Fund Utilized​

(Rs. In crore)​

Length of road undertaken/constructed​

(Length in Km equivalent single lane)​

2006-2007​

792​

706​

327.3​

2007-2008​

874.2​

851.4​

445.5​

2008-2009​

1329.8​

1281.1​

530.2​

2009-2010​

1753.1​

572.8​

209.3​

(upto October 2009)​

​

The proposals for construction / improvement of roads in the next two years, indicating the length of roads to be covered during the period, is given in the table below:-

Financial Year​

Length of roads to be covered​

(Length in Km equivalent single lane)​

2010-2011​

1038.5​

2011-2012​

1124.2​

​

Four projects are running behind schedule. Government has taken several steps to ensure timely completion of the Projects. A project team headed by Chief Engineer, a Task Force and a Road Construction Company of BRO have been newly inducted in the North-East. Forest/environment clearance is being expedited by better coordination with State Government Forest Departments and Ministry of Environment & Forest. Procurement manual of BRO has been simplified. Adequate budgetary resources have been made available to BRO. More financial powers have been delegated to field functionaries of BRO. BRO has also been permitted outsourcing of their contracts. The problem of recruiting migrant labour from the states of Orissa and Jharkhand has been resolved by obtaining special dispensation for BRO from these State Governments.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Nishikant Dubey in Lok Sabha today.
Samir / RAJ

http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=54389&kwd=

 

[Anshu Attri]

Mahindra & Mahindra arm to bid for $3.5bn defence projects - India Business - Biz - The Times of India

Mahindra & Mahindra arm to bid for $3.5bn defence projects

REUTERS 24 November 2009, 08:54am IST


NEW DELHI: The defence systems unit of India's top vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra will bid for domestic defence projects worth $3.5
billion over the next seven years, its chief executive said on Monday.

"Most of them (projects) will come from artillery systems and armoured vehicles," Khutub A Hai, head of Mahindra Defence Systems, India's largest manufacturer of armoured vehicles, told in an interview.

His firm hopes to ramp up revenues to $430 million by 2016 through joint ventures from the current $21.7 million, Hai said in New Delhi.

"By 2016, we are targetting a turnover of 20 billion rupees and I think even the world realises that the next big market, as far as defence is concerned, is India," Hai said.

Mahindra has spun off its defence business into mainly two fully-held units focusing on land and naval systems.

The land systems business has federal government's approval for a joint venture with BAE Systems that will take effect from Dec 1 with an initial investment of $21.7 million, Hai said.

The company plans to design and co-develop mine protection vehicles along with BAE Systems.

"We will be showing it to paramilitary forces and showcasing it at defence-expos," Hai said.

The firm is also looking at acquisitions to grow its defence market share and participate in offset projects with foreign companies.

Indian defence companies will gain access to a potential $100 billion market over the next 10 years, following a new policy that was announced last month allowing domestic firms to bid for large defence contracts.

India, one of the world's biggest arms importers, wants to increase the role of its private sector which accounts for around one-fifth of the industry market share.

"As our economy grows, there will be no problems as far as money is concerned and we are now talking about best-of-the-line defence equipment," Hai said.

 

[RPK]

Indian sub-continent is prone to nuclear war: Army Chief


New Delhi, Nov 23 (ANI): Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor today said that Indian sub-continent is prone to nuclear war.

General Kapoor said that Indian-subcontinent has gradually emerged as one of the epicentres of conflict and instability.

“The possibility of limited war under a nuclear overhang is still a reality, at least in the Indian sub-continent, along with West Asia, South Asia has gradually emerged as one of the epicentres of conflict and instability.

“Territorial disputes, provocation by proxy wars, religious fundamentalism, radical extremism, ethnic tensions and socio-economic disparities are the hallmarks of South Asia,” said General Kapoor while addressing a seminar on “Changing nature of Conflict: Trends and Responses”.

Defence Minister A. K. Antony also shares General Kapoor’s view and expressed concern over nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands in Pakistan

During his address, Antony said that there has been an outbreak of terror-related incidents across the world, particularly in South and South-East Asia.

“When there’s scarcely any nation that is not affected by terrorism, we stood actively involved in the war on terror. Various developments in the last few months, in and around our neighbourhood, particularly Afghanistan and Pakistan, thrust South Asia to the centre stage of sub-conventional conflict and instability,” said Antony.

“The threat of nuclear weapons falling in wrong hands remains an area of serious concern and consequences of such a situation are unimaginable,” he added.

Security analysts always raise a concern over the security of Pakistani nuclear arsenal. A section of media earlier reported that Islamic militants have access to nation’s nuclear warhead. (ANI)

 

[RPK]

India bolsters anti-piracy operation off Seychelles

This comes at a time when some Indian Army special forces and Gorkha soldiers are also in Seychelles to take part in a joint combat exercise, codenamed ‘Limitier’, revolving around counter-insurgency operations.

 

[RPK]

fullstory

2500 Pak militants ready to cross border: Army chief

Jammu, Nov 24 (PTI) Around 2,500 terrorists in various training camps in Pakistan are waiting to enter Indian territory before the passes along the border close due to snowfall, Army chief General Deepak Kapoor said today.

"There are estimated 42 terrorist training camps in Pakistan as per our reports. The total number of militants staged in these camps are roughly between 2000 to 2500 and ready to infiltrate to this side," Gen Kapoor told reporters.

The army chief, however, said that the security forces are all prepared to foil any infiltration bid by militants.

"Our troops always ready. There is no fear. Indian army is ready to deal with them," Kapoor said, adding whether it is Taliban, LeT or Hizbul Mujahideen, "we are ready to deal with them to ensure complete safety and security of the people of the state.

 

[RPK]

Ceasefire violations coming down: Army chief

Jammu, Nov 24 (IANS) Indian Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor Tuesday said incidents of ceasefire violations, which were basically aimed at abetting cross-border incursions from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir, had come down compared to last year.
“Ceasefire violations by Pakistan are lesser than last year. Pakistan tries to push in more and more militants before winter sets in so they (Pakistan) resort to ceasefire violations,” the Army chief told media persons on the sidelines of the inauguration of the “Balidan Sthambh” war memorial here.

Kapoor said there were at least 42 terrorists camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir across the Line of Control (LOC) and about 2,500 militants waiting to cross over to this side.

On the security situation, he said while the militants’ attacks on civilians have come down, there is increase in number of attacks on security forces, and appropriate action would be taken to deal with this.

 

[RAM]

Nine more check posts on Indo-Bangla border

Agartala, Nov 24 (ANI): To tighten security along the Indo-Bangla border, the Border Security Force would set up nine more Border Outposts (BOPs). The locations of 17 BOPs would also be changed along the 856 km long border in Tripura to prevent insurgents from sneaking into the Indian Territory.

Talking to reporters here, Director General of BSF Raman Srivastava said, “We are looking for new lands near International border for setting up of 26 BOPs so that insurgents cannot sneak into Indian Territory.”

Srivastava who arrived here on Monday held a series of meetings with top BSF officials of the state.The visit of Srivastava is significant in view of the Bangladeshi security forces’ mounting pressure on the Indian terrorists taking shelter and training in that country. (ANI)

The visit of Srivastava is significant in view of the Bangladeshi security forces' mounting pressure on the Indian terrorists taking shelter and training in that country.

Nine more check posts on Indo-Bangla border

 

[RPK]

Army introduces Quantified System of selection for promotion

A quantified system of Selection Boards, has been introduced in the Indian Army with an aim to reduce complaints from officers over promotions. The system, which was sourced after seeing its success in the Medical Corps where it is in place for promotions, came into effect from January 2009 and has had four Boards so far, and sources have revealed to People's Post that it has had the desired effect, which is to bring down representations being put in by officers.


Boards conducted in this year so far are from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel, Colonel to Brigadier, Brigadier to Major General and Major General to Lieutenant General, all of which have been through the new system.

The system, which is fully computerised, is divided into marks out of 100, of which 90 are for Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs), five for awards, honours and courses done by officers, and the remaining five are with the Board members for value judgement.

A senior officer told People's Post, "Though complaints, if at all, will take time as they follow the channel, and we haven't completed one full year of the system being in place. But we have had four Boards with the system and we anticipate less complaints and representations coming in, as the system is computerised and the human factor has been taken care of."

The ACRs of any officer go through atleast three levels, which are the Initiating Officer, Reviewing Officer and the Senior Reviewing Officer. With the increase in the number of vacancies after the AV Singh-II recommendations, the Boards for senior officers' promotions would be held again next month, said an officer, especially number 1 SB (Selection Board), and Special Selection Board (SSB) which is for promoting Major Generals to Lieutenant Generals. Number 1 SB is for Brigadiers to Major Generals, number 2 SB for Colonels to Brigadiers and number 3 SB is for Lieutenant Colonels to Colonels. Out of all those being considered for promotion, atleast 50 percent make it.

Earlier officers made it to anywhere between six and eight on a nine-pointer scale in their ACRs and a few sevens often became the reason for rejection of an officer in a Board. An officer argues, "A seven could be an error or even a senior's grudge towards a junior officer, who's ACR he was writing, but with computerisation now, it is certain that a just system would be followed, plus the Board also has some marks with it."

Any Board has officers two ranks senior to the officers to be assessed, and generally has a strength of five officers.

Awards and honours too have weightage, in which distinguished awards for service like VSM and PVSM are considered only for the immediate Board, while gallantry awards are considered for two Boards, during promotion.

An officer said that, "The system is very good for junior officers like those being promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel and from Colonel to Brigadier, but for higher ranks it is not very good, as there are less number of reports being written and therefore if the officer misses in any of them, then he is out, while in junior selection the officer has more number of years to perform and subsequently more ACRs, therefore he has a lot of time to prove himself and earn better reports."

A LtCol remains in his rank for at atleast four years or more before coming up for promotion, while a Colonel too has that much time in his rank, but Brigadier and Major Generals hardly have a couple of years in which either they make it or miss the next rank.

As of now the Indian Army surely has found a way to cut down on complaints from those who are unable to make it to the next rank.

 

[RPK]

Country's biggest war memorial comes up in Jammu

fullstory

Jammu, Nov 24 (PTI) A 60-metre tower designed as a bayoneted-rifle has been dedicated to the nation here today, immortalising the sacrifices of security men, who lost lives in wars and counter-insurgency operations since Independence in the border state.

Three 'Chetah' helicopters showered petals over the 'Balidan Sthambh' (Tower of Sacrifices) as Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah inaugurated the memorial that came up on about 20 acres of land at Bahu Rakh in the city.

Around the Balidan Sthambh, country's largest war memorial, there is a necklace of 52 pillars with over 8,000 names of martyrs inscribed on black stones.

"It is a great honour and pride for me to dedicate it to the nation. This is a land of brave soldiers and martyrs who had defended country's boundaries with their blood," the Army Chief told reporters.

 

[Sridhar]

[SIZE=+1]Assam Rifles to raise specialised commando unit
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Sobhapati Samom
IMPHAL, Nov 22 – The Assam Rifles, which has been engaged in the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in NE States, will soon have its own specialised commando unit to deal with specialised operations.

Major General AK Choudhary, Inspector General of Assam Rifles (South) confirmed this while interacting with mediapersons here at Assam Rifles headquarters on Saturday. He said,“It is government policy and Home Ministry has approved the raising of a commando unit”. Raising of the commando unit is required to tackle specialised situation in the NE States in the wake of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

IG Choudhary reacting to questions said, “We are more on the ground activities, but they(commandos) will be engaged in different specialised operations such as clearing of terrorist-hit building or hijacking cases, etc”. They will be given specialised training like NSG (National Security Guards), he added.

Choudhary, who had been supervising CI operations in Manipur and Indo-Myanmar border since the last two years, said the security situation in Manipur has “improved tremendously” from the military point of view as militants cannot operate openly as in the past.

“There is no permanent camps of the militants in the State except some temporary huts in places like Loktak Lake”, the Assam Rifles officer said and added “but the issue of extortion and giving security to the sensitive targets are beyond our scope”. The senior officer felt that good governance and effective policing will definitely help in solving the issue of extortion in the State.

He informed that talks with a valley-based militant organisation will be finalised very soon. General Choudhary, however, did not disclose the name of the particular militant group. He appealed to the other groups to come for talks under the Indian constitution as it is the only means to resolve the ongoing conflict.

When asked about the status of the ongoing Suspension of Operations between the Kuki militant organisations and government, he said it is signed by State Government and Assam Rifles is only a part of the government.

He further said the Assam Rifles cannot accept the fake encounters. Recalling the November 19 militant attack on a convoy of Assam Rifles at the crowded Singjamei bazaar near Imphal, he said there will be collateral damage if the soldiers fired back during the incident.

The Assam Tribune Online
[/SIZE]

 

[plugwater]

Force One can’t stand the sun

Maharashtra’s elite commando force, Force One, began its first day at work on Tuesday with mock drills, an induction ceremony, a parade, and a few fainting spells.

Even as Chief Minister Ashok Chavan inducted the first batch in a ceremony held at the State Reserve Police Force grounds in Goregaon and vouched for the capability of the 216 “highly trained” men, it happened: One after the other, four commandos collapsed.

The first commando fainted around 11 am, after standing for two hours, while the state’s director general of police, A.N. Roy, was delivering a motivational speech.

He was quickly moved to a makeshift room that had just been used by the commandos clad in dark blue overalls and maroon beret caps to showcase counter-terror techniques.

Over the next 45 minutes, three more commandos fainted and were carried away.

These commandos are said to be trained to operate in extreme conditions, on the lines of the National Security Guards, to tackle 26/11-like situations.

“In a parade when one has to stand in a still position for so long, it takes a toll on the body. It is a physiological condition that can happen to anybody,” Roy said.

Not everyone agrees. “It is surprising,” said former NSG chief J.K. Dutt. “I believe the function would not have lasted for over two hours, which is not too long a time for a commando to stand in a parade. Also, the temperature in Mumbai is not very high.”

According to Dutt, if you call someone a commando, “he has to be physically and mentally strong to go through the grind”.

Force One can?t stand the sun- Hindustan Times

 

[Rage]

Apropos of pensions for ex-Army servicemen:

Pre-2006 disability pensioners may have something to look forward to

Monday, November 23, 2009


During the 5th CPC regime, disability pension of defence personnel was calculated on a slab-system basis while civil disability pensioners were placed on a percentage basis.

While defence personnel were granted disability element @ Rs 2600 for officers, 1900 for JCOs and 1550 for Other Ranks (all rates for 100% disability), civilians were granted a disability element @ 30% of basic pay. The slab system was beneficial for some lower ranks of the forces but was not quite congenial to the overall scenario.

Recognising this anomaly, the 6th CPC rightly recommended that even defence personnel should be placed on a percentage system of calculating disability element. However while accepting the new dispensation, the Govt made it applicable only to post-2006 pensioners while retaining the old slab system for pre-2006 pensioners. This resulted in a great disparity between pre and post-2006 disabled personnel. To take an example, a General who may have retired on 31 December 2005 was entitled to a disability element of Rs 5880 per month while a General who retired a day later with the same disability on 01 January 2006 was entitled to Rs 27000 as disability element. The injury is the same, the rank is the same but the disability element, well… The issue has been discussed in more detail in this earlier post with examples.

The above seemed even more unjustified in the light of the fact that when the percentage system was introduced for civil disability pensioners in the 5th CPC, it was made applicable to pre-1996 (pre-5th CPC) pensioners as well. Moreover when the 6th CPC had tried to remove this anomaly between defence and civil disability pensioners, the said rectification had to date back to the inception of the anomaly (1996) and not from a prospective date. The Hon’ble Courts have also time and again ruled that when an anomaly is rectified, it has to date back to the time when such an incongruity came into being and not from the date when the decision of such rectification is taken.

Thankfully, there are indications that the new stipulation is going to be extended to pre-2006 disability pensioners too, very soon. Personnel who retired prior to 01 January 2006 would then also be placed on a percentage system for calculation of disability element. Of course this shall be subject to a minimum grant of Rs 3100 as disability element for 100% disability. This should take care of a very major grey area as far as our disability pensioners are concerned.


Indian Military : Service Benefits and Issues: Pre-2006 disability pensioners may have something to look forward to

 

[RAM]

New grenades to replace those of World War II vintage

New grenades to replace those of World War II vintage

New Delhi, Nov 25 (IANS) World War II vintage hand grenades - often dubbed as duds - in use with the Indian Army will finally be replaced with the defence ministry approving the indigenous mass production of the multi-mode grenade.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony in a written reply to Rajya Sabha said: “Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed multi-mode grenade which has been cleared for bulk production.”Antony also discredited reports that 30 percent hand-grenades used by the Indian Army proved to be duds.

“No such survey (of defective grenades) has been carried out. As per records available for the period from 2005-2009 out of total grenades used in training only 0.002 percent defect reports were raised,” Antony said.“Certain defects were reported in 1994-1995 and in the subsequent years. Thereafter, product improvements were carried out with the result that the defect reports…were considerably lower in number,” Antony added.



Read more: New grenades to replace those of World War II vintage

 

[indian_blues]

Christ how many duds thing we have in our inventory.

 

[RAM]

We've made a 360 degree change in our operations" : D Sivanandan

A quick look at all the measures that have been taken by the Maharashtra government to fight terror attacks even as fear among the people has not yet been completely curbed after one year

New NSG bases to minimise the reaction time

--->Four new NSG hubs are set up in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad, each with 240 commandos.

--->Special equipment ranging from helmets with integrated communication sets to lightweight bulletproof vests are in the pipeline.

--->Signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with eight different private airlines enabling it to requisition any aircraft for immediate transport of commandos in case of terrorist attack.

---> NSG has got the approval of the Indian Air Force to use its planes to transport commandos for anti-terror duties. The Air Force will also assist in training.

NIA formed for investigation of terror offences

--->National Investigation Agency (NIA) formed to combat terror. Agency is empowered to deal with terror-related crimes across states without special permission from the states.


Coastal security: More patrol vessels and aircraft for Coast Guard sanctioned.

---> Work is under way to put in place a chain of 46 coastal radars spanning nine coastal stations.

---> The Indian Navy is in the process of acquiring five mini submarines, weighing 150 tonnes, to boost underwater surveillance missions in the high seas.

---> The Coast Guard is in the process of acquiring 20 fast patrol vehicles (FPVs), 41 interceptor boats, 12 coastal surveillance aircraft (Dorniers) and seven off-shore patrol vehicles (OPVs).


Better intelligence: The Multi Agency Centre energised

--->The Multi Agency Centre (MAC) fully functional with full strength, coordinating between 23 representatives from the intelligence agencies in the home, defence and finance ministries.

--->State MACs or SMACS have been set up in all the states. Alerts picked up at the field level are instantly transmitted to the MAC in hours.

--->Powerful mainframes with dedicated software to process the mass of raw intelligence flowing in through the MAC. These computers will form the core of a National Counter Terrorism Centre like in the US.

--->All Intelligence agencies are instructed to hold daily meetings to improve coordination among various agencies.
police reforms

--->The Centre is raising more battalions and recruiting more IPS officers

--->More funds are spent on modernisation of police

Mumbai fortified

--->256-strong unit Force One, modelled on India's National Security Guard, is designed as a quick response team for counter-terrorism

--->The Mumbai police has acquired two bullet-proof boats for surveillance, at a price of 450 million rupees (Dh35m).

--->Mumbai’s police force has grown by 1,000 this year, to 43,000, and every new recruit receives anti-terror training.

--->A thousand men have been deployed to keep watch over high-profile targets in South Mumbai, including the Chabad House; 500 closed circuit television cameras have been installed across the city and a thousand more are on the way.

--->They’ve added 1,500 high-powered weapons and 25 amphibious vehicles and boats to their arsenal.

--->39 mobile combat vans to patrol the city round the clock and five strategically-located commando hubs.

--->All-terrain vehicle inducted for city police force at coastal area for patrolling.

--->New police patrolling speed boats, named ‘Koyna’ and ‘Kaveri’ inducted in the service.

"We've made a 360 degree change in our operations" : D Sivanandan- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

NSG to have permanent structures at new hubs by next year​

National Security Guard (NSG) commandos deployed at their new hubs in four cities and currently housed in temporary locations will have permanent structures at their earmarked lands by next year. The permanent structures and multi-storey buildings will come up by next year at these places, NSG director general N P S Aulakh said.

Till the permanent structures come up, the commandos will be housed in pre-fabricated structures by mid-December this year at their designated lands, he said. "The National Building Constructions Corporation (NBCC) had given us the deadline of November 30 for completion of pre-fabricated structures and roads etc. At the most, we will move into all the four hubs by second week of December," he said.

The regional hub at Mumbai was operationalised on June 30 while Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata hubs were inaugurated on July 1 by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram this year. The hubs are located at Marol in Mumbai (23 acres), Nedunkundram in Chennai (85 acres), Trimulghery in Hyderabad (22 acres) and Badu in Kolkata (20 acres).