News Analysis India

Tag: Indian Army

  • Indian Army Chief Gen Naravane speaks to US counterpart McConville

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane held a telephonic conversation with his American counterpart Gen James C McConville on Tuesday, focusing on bilateral military cooperation as well as effectively dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

    Officials said Gen Naravane and Gen McConville discussed ways to expand cooperation between the two armies in specific areas in view of the evolving regional security scenario.

    They also deliberated on effectively dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

    “General MM Naravane #COAS had telephonic interaction with General James C. McConville, Chief of Staff of the Army #USArmy on Tuesday and discussed issues of bilateral defence cooperation,” the Indian Army said in a tweet.

    The Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing in the last few years.

    In October last year, India and the US sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties.

    The pact provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.

    The firming up of the BECA came two years after the two countries signed another pact called COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) that provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for sale of high end technology from the US to India.

    In June 2016, the US had designated India a “Major Defence Partner” intending to elevate defence trade and technology sharing with India to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners.

    The two countries had also signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provides for deeper cooperation.

  • Indian Army Common Entrance Exam scheduled on May 30 postponed due to COVID-19 situation

    By ANI
    SECUNDERABAD: In view of the current COVID-19 situation, the Common Entrance Examination (CEE) scheduled on 30 May been postponed till further orders.

    The exam was scheduled to be held at Arty Centre, Hyderabad for successful candidates of the Army Recruitment Rally held at Telangana State Sports School, Hakimpet.

    According to a release issued by the Defense wing, the fresh date of the CEE will be intimated later through the Indian Army’s website when the situation improves.

    Candidates will have to physically report to ARO, Secunderabad, and obtain fresh Admit Cards once the fresh date finalised, the press release stated.

    Army recruitment rally for all districts of Telangana was held at Telangana Sports School, Hakimpet from March 5 to March 24 under the aegis of ARO, Secunderabad.

  • Retired military doctors to provide online consultation to civilian patients as Covid-19 cases surge

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The government has roped in retired military doctors to provide online consultation to civilian patients across the country under a telemedicine platform of the Union health ministry.

    The initiative has been taken by the defence ministry as part of overall measures to help the civilian authorities in dealing with the rising cases of COVID-19.

    “Ex-defence doctors will now provide online consultation on e-Sanjeevani OPD to all citizens of the country. Veterans have come forward to answer the call of the nation and offered their services to help the people needing medical care,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

    It said the service can be availed by any civilian on the website https://esanjeevaniopd.in/.

    The e-Sanjeevani OPD is a flagship telemedicine platform of the government developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

    “It provides free consultations to Indian citizens and is functioning extremely well,” the defence ministry said.

    It said due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the demand for doctors has gone up while their availability has gone down due to deployment in COVID facilities.

    “This is where the defence veterans are stepping in to help,” it added.

    The ministry said the response from the retired defence doctors has been good and more retired professionals are expected to join soon.

    “Subsequently, a separate nationwide ex-defence doctors’ OPD is envisaged.Their vast experience and expertise will help the larger clientele to obtain consultation from their homes and tide over the current situation,” it said.

    The number of retired military doctors who have opted to offer online consultation was not immediately known.

  • Army cautions military hospitals against ‘malpractices by expedient elements’ amid COVID pandemic

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Army has issued an advisory to all military hospitals and establishments to be careful of malpractices by expedient elements amid the coronavirus pandemic, sources said on Thursday.

    The Indian Army has taken cognisance of a video clip circulating on social media platforms, wherein an Army personnel can be seen alleging mismanagement in the disposal of the mortal remains of a COVID patient at a military hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, the sources said.

    The Army will conduct a thorough probe into the matter, they added.

    India is struggling with the second wave of the coronavirus infection as hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

    With a record single-day rise of 3,79,257 cases, the country’s COVID-19 tally has climbed to 1,83,76,524, while the number of active cases has crossed the 30-lakh mark, the health ministry said on Thursday.

    The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 2,04,832 with a record 3,645 daily new fatalities, according to the ministry’s data updated at 8 am.

  • Avail services of ex-servicemen in dealing with coronavirus crisis: Rajnath to Governors

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday spoke to almost all governors and conveyed to them to take services of the ex-servicemen in their respective states in dealing with the coronavirus crisis, people familiar with the development said.

    In his conversation, Singh enquired from the governors about various aspects of the coronavirus pandemic in their states and urged them to take the state administrations into confidence in the fight against the pandemic, they said.

    The defence minister also spoke to Lt Governors of a number of union territories and took stock of the coronavirus situation.

    Singh has been monitoring assistance by the three armed forces to the civil administrations across the country to fight the pandemic.

    Chhattisgarh governor Anusuiya Uikey’s office tweeted that the defence minister enquired about the status of coronavirus infection and vaccination in the state.

    “He said that in view of the coronavirus situation in the state, services of ex-servicemen, nurses, lab technicians and ex-servicemen of the army residing in the state can be taken to deal with this crisis,” it said in a tweet.

    The three services as well as other wings of the defence ministry have been extending support to various state governments and union territories in dealing with massive spike in coronavirus cases.

    Since Friday, the Indian Air Force airlifted empty oxygen tankers and containers to various filling stations across the country to speed up the distribution of the much-needed medical oxygen in treating COVID-19 patients.

    The IAF has also been transporting essential medicines as well as equipment required by the designated COVID-19 hospitals in various parts of the country.

    On Tuesday, the defence minister approved hiring of additional contractual staff in 51 medical facilities being run under the ex-servicemen contributory health scheme (ECHS) across the country.

    Last week, Singh said that the armed forces and the defence ministry will leave no stone unturned in providing all possible assistance to the civil administrations in dealing with the pandemic.

    India has been reeling under a devastating wave of coronavirus infections and hospitals across the country are facing acute shortage of beds, medical oxygen and other supplies due to rising COVID-19 cases.

    The US, Germany, France, Britain, Australia, Singapore, Israel and several other countries as well as the World Health Organisation and the European Union have already announced urgent medical assistance to India to help it deal with the situation.

    The Indian Army said on Tuesday it is committed to give care and treatment for COVID-19 to its veterans and would like them to approach the nearest Army facility for any kind of assistance.

    “The Indian Army is taking multiple steps to enhance its medical capacities on account of rise in COVID-19 cases amongst the veterans and their dependents,” its statement noted.

    The base hospital at Delhi and service hospitals at all military stations are working tirelessly to accommodate maximum veterans, it said.

    These hospitals are continuously ramping up their capacities to ensure that beds are available, the statement added.

    Veterans affected by COVID-19 are being guided and assisted in getting medical advice and admission in various hospitals, it noted.

    With 3,23,144 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 1,76,36,307, while the national recovery rate has further dropped to 82.54 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

    The death toll increased to 1,97,894 with 2,771 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

  • Two Army soldiers killed in avalanche in Siachen

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Two Army soldiers were killed in an avalanche in Siachen on Sunday, military sources said.

    The incident took place in sub-sector Haneef around 1 pm on Sunday, they said.

    “The two soldiers could only be rescued by 7 pm and they succumbed to their injuries,” said a source.

    Other soldiers and porters who were also in the area when the avalanche struck it are stable and out of danger, the sources said.

    The Siachen glacier at the height of around 20,000 ft in the Karakoram range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds.

    Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier and temperatures can drop to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.

  • COVID-19: Army may consider treating civilians in its hospitals, say sources

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: As India reels under a massive spike in coronavirus cases, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has asked the Army to extend assistance to state administrations to deal with the pandemic, including by offering help in creation of additional capacities to treat COVID-19 patients.

    Sources in the security establishment said following Singh’s communication to Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, it was decided that the Army would consider offering treatment to civilians in its medical facilities, wherever possible, besides extending other assistance to civil administrations.

    Singh has conveyed to Gen MM Naravane that the Army units in various states can get in touch with state administrations to understand their requirement like creation of additional capacities to deal with increasing volume of patients.

    Subsequently, it was decided that the senior-most Army officer in a state would get in touch with the chief minister to understand the requirement and take forward the process, including offering to treat civilians wherever possible, they said.

    The sources said the defence minister has been in touch with the top brass of his ministry and the three forces on how the civilian administration across the country could be assisted in battling the coronavirus situation.

    The sources said it was also communicated to the leadership of the Indian Air Force and the Navy to gear up their preparedness in dealing with the situation.

    Separately, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar reviewed the possible areas where the armed forces can extend assistance to the civilian authorities.

    Following his review, the Defence Ministry instructed 67 hospitals run by Cantonment Boards across the country to ensure medical services to cantonment residents as well as those from outside.

    The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has already been told to extend all possible assistance it can extend to civil administrations across the country.

    The DRDO has already reopened a medical facility near the Delhi airport for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

    The facility has been made operational with 250 beds and their number is being increased to 1,000.

    The premier organisation is coming up with a similar facility in Lucknow.

    India has witnessed a massive spike in coronavirus infections as the country recorded over two lakh cases daily in the last five days.

    In view of the rapid surge in infections, India is facing an acute shortage of hospital beds, oxygen, essential drugs.

  • Zero infiltration along LoC for second year due to upgraded infrastructure, heavy snowfall

    Express News Service
    SRI NAGAR: For the second consecutive year, there has been zero infiltration of militants in militancy-hit Kashmir from across the Line of Control (LoC) in first three months this year, thanks to upgrading of the counter infiltration grid and heavy snowfall in the winter.

    The LoC in the Kashmir Valley falls in three districts of Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipora in north Kashmir. Due to the heavy snowfall, all the infiltration routes to the Valley got closed, they said.

    As the LoC is calm due to  no ceasefire violations from Pakistani troops from mid-February, the officials are looking at means and ways to reduce infiltration to near zero even during the summer, when the mountain passes and infiltration routes are open. 

    On February 15, India and Pakistani militaries agreed to strongly adhere to the 2003 border ceasefire agreement and since then the LoC and International Border (IB) in J&K has been calm and quiet and there have been no ceasefire violations from either side.

    Not a single bullet or mortar shell has been fired by troops of two countries since February 16.

    The security official said Pakistani troops used to facilitate the infiltration of militants by firing on Indian army positions along the LoC.According to security officials, the counter infiltration grid has been strengthened by incorporating more security equipment to detect militant movement on the LoC, foil infiltration bids and prevent well-trained Pakistani militants from sneaking into the Valley.It is for the second consecutive year that there has been zero infiltration of militants in the first three months of a year.

    “Last year also, there was zero infiltration of militants from across the LoC in the first three months,” the official said.About seven-eight militants had infiltrated into the Valley during the same period in 2019.

    Security officials believe that if infiltration of militants and arms flow from across the LoC is controlled, then the militancy violence will come down as orces have launched “All Out” operation against militants.About 35 militants have been killed in encounters with security forces in the Valley this year, so far. 

  • Encounter breaks out between terrorists and security forces in J-K’s Shopian again

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: An encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, police said.

    The security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in the Zeipora area of Shopian district after getting information about presence of terrorists there, a police official said.

    He said the search operation turned into an encounter after terrorists opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated befittingly.

    There were no reports of any casualties so far on either side, the official said, adding that two to three terrorists were believed to be trapped.

  • Punjabi man arrested for passing sensitive information about Indian Army to foreign intelligence agency 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has arrested a man for allegedly passing sensitive information about Army deployment to a foreign intelligence agency, officials said on Saturday.

    The accused has been identified as Harpal Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran in Punjab, they said.

    “A highly motivated and radicalised man was arrested for passing sensitive information to foreign intelligence agency. He conveyed details related to Indian Army personnel, Army movements, location of Army and BSF posts and bunkers on the outposts of India at India-Pakistan borders,” a senior police officer said.

    The money routed through hawala channels was used for funding the espionage operation, he said.

    Further details are awaited.