Indian Defence Ministry Denies Allegation Of Non-Payment Of Pensionary Benefits To 26/11 NSG Commando

In a press conference today, retired Nk Surender Singh of 2 GRENADIERS and an ex NSG Commando expressed some grievances against the government. These pertained to alleged lack of adequate compensation and financial benefits to those who were killed/injured in the 26/11, Operation Black Tornado in Mumbai. Response with respect to the issues raised is enumerated in succeeding paragraphs.
           
In the 26/11 Mumbai operations, one Officer and one Non Commissioned Officer were martyred and 17 Officers and Other Ranks were injured. Both martyrs Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Havildar Gajender Singh were awarded the Ashok Chakra (Posthumous). The NOK of Major Unnikrishnan got a financial compensation of approximately Rs.1.3 Crores and a flat. Similarly, the wife of Havildar Gajender Singh received approximately Rs.1.27 Crore, a petrol pump and a flat. His mother too received Rs.15 Lakhs approximately. Both these personnel also received enhanced pension benefits as applicable in the Army.
           
As regards the injured, there were one Kirti Chakra, two Shourya Chakra, six Sena Medals, one Mention in Despatch and three Chief of the Army Staff Commendation Cards awarded. Four persons with grievous injuries received financial compensation of Rs.4.8 lakh each and others with lesser injuries received Rs.2.3 lakh each.

           
NSG is a deputation organization where personnel from the Army serve for three years and those from the CAPF, for 5 years.  Nk Surender Singh came to the NSG on 9 May 2007. He suffered Acoustic Trauma during the Mumbai operations and became a permanent Low Medical Category on account of Sensory Neural Deafness of the Left Ear. In the normal Course, he would have been reverted to his parent unit 2 GRENADIERS on completion of his three year tenure on 8 May 2010. However, on compassionate grounds, he was retained in the NSG till 15 October 2011, when he was boarded out by a Medical Board at Army Base Hospital Delhi under the aegis of HQ Delhi Area.

Nk Surender Singh has been sanctioned pensionary and terminal benefits viz-a-viz retirement gratuity Rs.2,11,458/-, Commutation of pension Rs.11,35,809/-, Armed Forces PF Rs.6,48,195/-, Army Group Insurance Rs.1,13,849/- and Army Group Disability Cover Rs.10 lakhs, Final settlement of accounts Rs.89,705/- and ex-gratia from welfare fund Rs.10,000/-.  He is also entitled to an ex-gratia compensation of Rs.9 lakhs for 100% disability which will be processed separately.   He has been sanctioned a pension of Rs.25,254/- per month which includes service elements and war injury elements.
 His Ex Servicemen Health Scheme Card has also been dispatched to the Zila Sainik Board, Jhajjar District on 05 October 2012 for handing over to the individual.
           
As regards, financial donations received from various private entities, in accordance with the Service Rules, only contributions to the NSG Central Welfare Fund were accepted.  For financial contributions on individual names, only amounts received for the NOK of the deceased were accepted and paid to the NOK.  Other contributions were returned to the donors in accordance with rules with the proviso that the same be remitted to the NSG Central Welfare Fund.  Therefore, the Cheque of Rs.7 lakh received from Mr. MS Dhoni was for the NSG Central Welfare Fund and was credited accordingly.
           
The Government has taken all care to pay all entitled terminal benefits due to Nk Surender Singh.  In case, he still has any grievance, the Ministry of Defence is prepared to look into it.

India Ordnance Factories staff shortages

Indian defense production suffers as Ordnance Factories face staff shortages.

The India Ordnance Factories, producing defense items, said it is finding it difficult to recruit news workers to replenish its aging shop floor personnel.

Analyzing 2012 recruitment data reveals that the Ordnance Factory Board, which manages 41 factories across India, was only able to fill 5,000 of 12,500 semi-skilled worker vacancies.

Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, familiar with OFB hiring practices said it is a trend that has persisted for several years.

The government is expressing concern that should such trends continue, it could negatively affect armaments production and has provided more money to fill the vacancies, The Times of India reported.

The Indian Ordnance Factories is an industrial conglomerate operating under India's Ministry of Defense's Department of Defense Production and Supplies, producing arms, ammunition and other equipment for military and civilian applications.

The Indian Ordnance Factories is based at Ayudh Bhawan, Kolkata, and consists of 41 factories, nine training institutes, three regional marketing centers and four regional safety controllers.

India Army goes shopping to replace its small arms

                          Lighter and more lethal guns for soldiers

The army is looking to replace an entire range of small arms used by its foot soldiers with new guns that are lighter and more lethal.

In terms of sheer numbers, the army's plan would translate into buying more than a lakh weapons - a mix of assault rifles, carbines, light machine guns and sniper rifles.

The purchase will come at an estimated price tag of more than Rs 10,000 crore.

The guns are being bought under separate acquisition programmes, which are currently at different levels of a layered process.

The army has been trying to find a replacement for its outlived guns for some time now but without much success.

Army chief General Bikram Singh is hopeful that he would be able to resurrect the projects by providing a fresh impetus.

The most visible sight of a foot soldier carrying the home-made INSAS - slammed for being a poor copy of the Kalashnikov - as standard weapon will fade away in the coming years.

Early next year, the army will begin trials for a new doublebarrel assault rifle.

The competition is among guns manufactured by wellknown global giants Colt, Beretta, Israel Weapon Industries, SIG Sauer and Ceske. Six guns offered by the five vendors have been evaluated for the army's standard infantry weapon in future.

The army is looking for a 5.56mm gun (same as INSAS) as its primary barrel and 7.62x39 (same as AK-56) as its secondary barrel.

The gun will come with a conversion kit so that its configuration can be changed according to requirements in a peace location, and in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.

If the acquisition process remains on track, the army expects to get the guns by 2014. The government will order 65,000 guns, out of which 59,000 are meant for the army and the rest for the navy.

Part of the order would be shipped directly while the rest would be manufactured by local ordnance factories under transfer of technology.

Around the same time, the army hopes to acquire close-quarter battle carbines as well.

The evaluation has been completed, sources said. The army is looking to buy 40,000 carbines and evaluated guns from Colt, Beretta, IWI and SIG Sauer.

The gun is meant to be used by section commanders. Every infantry unit needs 96 carbines.

While the assault rifles and carbines have been evaluated, the army is still in the process of drawing fresh specifications for new light machine guns (LMGs) and sniper rifles.

At present, it uses the INSAS LMG, which has a range of 700m and weighs 6.23kg.

The army wants to have a new gun which is more lethal, lighter and with a longer range. It will soon finalise the specifications after which bids would be invited from global vendors.

Coming to sniper rifles, the existing Dragunov sniper rifle is outdated, has no bipods and doesn't have a suitable sighting system, said an infantry officer.

The estimated cost of the carbine project is Rs 3,200 crore while the assault rifles are expected to cost Rs 4,800 crore.

Indian Army to get its own attack helicopters

In a move that is likely to raise hackles within the Indian Air Force (IAF), the government has decided to allow the Indian Army to acquire its own fleet of attack helicopters.

The decision comes days after IAF chief Air Marshal N A K Browne told reporters on October 5 that it was not possible to have "little air forces". Days later, on October 9, Defence Minister A K Antony, had termed the fight between the IAF and Army over the attack helicopters as a 'family problem'.

National Security Advisor Shiv Shanker Menon had to intervene on behalf of Defence Minister A K Antony in the three year row between the Air Force and the Army over who would own the attack helicopters. After talking to both Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne and Army Chief General Bikram Singh this week, Mr Menon advised the Government that Army should own and operate the medium lift attack helicopters. The first batch of Apache helicopters to be bought from USA programme may go the Indian Army. Currently, India has two squadrons of attack helicopters, Mi-25 and Mi-35, which are maintained and manned by the Indian Air Force but under the operational control of the Indian Army.

The Indian Army has been for long making a case for having its own fleet of attack helicopters. The Army contends that having its own attack helicopters rather than depending on the IAF would give the land forces more power and reach in tactical situations.

It also argued that having its own attack helicopters is integral to the Cold Start Doctrine - designed to cut down the time taken to mobilise troops. Apart from the three strike Corps, Army has now designated its holding corps as the pivot which can launch offensive defence before strike corps take over. Concerned with enormous time taken to mobilise the strike corps after the 2001 terrorist strike on the Indian Parliament - after which India nearly went to war with Pakistan - the Army revised its deployment and operational plans.

The IAF, however, argues that using attack helicopters without the support of larger air assets like interceptor and attack aircraft would make the slow moving attack helicopters vulnerable. And to ensure that large aircraft are always available to support and sanitise airspace, the attack helicopters should be with the IAF. Also, the IAF contends land forces which are equipped with attack helicopters - like the US - fights wars differently than India.

The IAF had also contended that allowing the Army to own attack helicopter would lead to duplication of assets.

The proposal to arm the Indian Army with attack helicopters was mooted by the former controversial Chief of Army Staff V K Singh as a part of transformation of the Army into a more leaner, meaner and network-centric force. Four exercises held on the western front under Western and South Western Commands in 2011 and 2012 had brought out the need to have attack helicopters as an integral part of the assembled firepower. The proposal was shelved after the relation between the Government and Army Headquarters plummeted following the age row of General V K Singh.

Antony throws weight behind indigenous artillery programme

Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday announced that the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) recently gave an approval to the construction of 144 upgraded 155 mm artillery guns by Ordnance Factory Board Jabalpur.

The Defence Minister has thrown his weight behind the indigenous artillery programme just like the indigenous Main Battle Tank Arjun. Speaking on the sidelines of a DRDO award function, Antony said: "I hope after 30 years it proves to be a success. After MBT Arjun we are working towards making the artillery a success."

The .52 guns will be manufactured on the basis of the design transferred by the Bofors in 1986. The designs have since then been gathering dust owing to the taint on these Swedish gun.

The user trials will take place in December.

The indigenous artillery programme is crucial for the Indian Army which has not been able to induct a single gun since Bofors scandal. While the artillery wing of the Army is in dire need of modernisation, the repeated blacklisting of foreign gun-makers has only added to force's woes.

Indian Helicopters Crash Caught On Camera

Asian Defence News

Two India - IAF - helicopters crash midair in Gujarat, 9 killed

Nine Indian Air Force personnel were killed on Thursday as two Mi-17 helicopters collided midair and crashed during a practice for a bombing mission at Sarmat range in Jamnagar at 12.05pm.

Two others on board the two helicopters were injured in the crash.

The Mi-17 helicopters are multi-role helicopters.

They are used for transportation of troops and also for bombing mission.

The villagers, who witnessed the accident, said the two choppers collided soon after take off and crashed near the village.

An IAF spokesperson in New Delhi said that a court of inquiry has been ordered to determine the reasons behind the crash.


The Air Force Station Jamnagar is a base for Dragon Squadron of Jaguars and First Supersonics of MiG 29s. Hence, it is not known if the M1-17 helicopters were from Jamnagar or some other station within the jurisdiction of the South Western Air Command.

The Air Force Station Jamnagar is an important base of the Indian Air Force and regularly carries out exercises with other wings of the Indian armed forces and also air forces of the other nations. In 2009 and 2011, it had carried out successful air exercises with Royal Air Force of Oman. Five years ago, an MiG-29 of Jamnagar Air Force station crashed into the Gulf of Kutch.

The pilot of the aircraft had experienced trouble at a height of 18000 feet and thus ejected safely.

Indian Small Arms System

Indian INSAS Rifle (5.56 mm) with Fixed and Foldable Butt

INSAS Excalibur Mark-I rifle (5.56 mm)

Indian Modern Sub Machine Carbine is a submachine gun which uses 5.56x30mm MINSAS ammunition.

 

 

INSAS Excalibur and Amogh Rifle (5.56 mm)

Defence Minister Antony's top 5 issues concerning the Indian military. What would be yours?

Going by the sequence in which Defence Minister AK Antony raised issues in his Independence Day address to the armed forces today, corruption within the military is its biggest threat… followed by the need to protect human rights during counter-terrorism operations. Equipment modernization came in fifth place.

Here is the order in which Antony raised issues in his speech:

No.1 :  Corruption

No.2 :  Protecting human rights during counter-terrorism ops

No.3 :  Border and coastal security

No.4 :  Welfare of serving and retired soldiers

No.5 :  Equipment modernization

For those who are interested in his exact words, here they are:

No.1 :  Corruption

Corruption is today a serious challenge facing our nation - and our Armed Forces are no exception to the rule. Corruption not only badly affects the morale of the personnel, but also has many other implications. I appeal to each one of you to renew the pledge to work with all the honesty, fairness and transparency at your command in your day-to-day work. Our Armed Forces have been renowned for their hard work, determination, efficiency and discipline. It is our individual duty and collective responsibility to ensure that the excellent work done by our Armed Forces in general, is not undone at any cost.

No.2 :  Terrorism and human rights

Terrorism still continues to be one of the major challenges our nation faces. You are faced with challenges on this front day in and day out. However, while being vigilant on the one hand, you must exercise utmost restraint and discipline, on the other hand. There must not be even a single case of human rights violations anywhere. Such violations undo at one stroke, all the good work and tarnish the image of our Armed Forces.

No.3 :  Border and coastal security

Our focus is on strengthening our land, air borders, as well as the sea-lanes so that our Armed Forces are always well prepared to meet any kind of eventuality, or challenge. We have laid maximum emphasis on strengthening coastal security. We have taken steps to expedite the Coastal Radar Network on both, the eastern and the western coast.

No.4 :  Welfare of serving and retired soldiers

Dear jawans, your all-round welfare is always uppermost in our minds. Our Government has been making all-out efforts to improve your living and working conditions. We have taken several steps to further improve the quality of rations, accommodation and clothing. Our scientists have developed a nutritious, ready-to-eat diet called "AAHAR". This will go a long way in meeting requirements of fresh food of all you jawans.

In our ongoing efforts to improve the well-being of jawans, our Government has further widened the scope of ECHS and established more polyclinics and regional health centres. We have also taken up special measures to accelerate the Married Accommodation Project (MAP). Under the project, a total of nearly two lakh dwelling units are being constructed in four phases at an estimated cost of over Rs. 17, 000 crores. Presently, 54, 000 dwelling units have been constructed out of a total of 58, 000 dwelling units under Phase-I of the project. Phase-I I of the project involving the construction of 70, 000 dwelling units has also begun. Phase-Ill and Phase-IV of MAP have been merged so that the work on the remaining 71, 000 dwelling units of MAP Phase III and Phase IV can be expedited. We are sure that MAP will go a long way in boosting the morale of our Armed Forces. Today, I wish to reassure you that when it comes to the welfare of jawans, we will never make any compromises.

Ex-servicemen have always been one of our topmost priorities. We are making our best efforts to ensure that there are no procedural delays in pension-related cases of ex-servicemen. Our Government is aware that ex-servicemen have some grievances with the amount of pension they get. A high-level committee has been set up under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary to look after such cases, as well as other problems.

No.5 :  Equipment modernization

Modernisation and indigenisation remain at the centre of all our efforts to help our Armed Forces. The recent, successful test of Agni-V is an achievement for our scientific community and it has proved that when it comes to indigenisation, it is only a question of willpower. The commissioning of INS Baaz, the Naval Air Station at Campbell Bay, will not only help maritime domain awareness, but will also impart blue water capability to our Navy. Similarly, the commissioning of INS Chakra and indigenously developed stealth frigate INS Sahyadri and naval version of indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft will definitely sharpen our attack capabilities.

No.6 :  Natural disasters

My sympathies are with the survivors of the Nature's fury in Jammu & Kashmir, north-eastern states, Assam, Uttarkashi and other parts of the country, which have seen the worst type of floods in recent times. My heartfelt condolences go out to those, who lost their near and dear ones, including Armed Forces personnel.

No.7 :  Sports

The performance of sportspersons from our Armed Forces has been a heart-warming one. Recently, Subedar Vijay Kumar, did our nation and the Armed Forces proud by winning the silver medal in shooting in the 25-metre rapid-fire pistol event at the London Olympics. I take pride in extending my heartiest congratulations to the Indian Army Women Expedition team that put 17 climbers atop Mount Everest, which is indeed a rare and a historic feat. I also congratulate the 'Delphinus' team of air warriors of Indian Air Force, which recently swam across the English Channel successfully under extreme conditions.

What would have been your top five issues?Asian Defence News

India: Modernisation of Artillery

The modernization of Artillery is being undertaken on a continuous basis. The following equipment has been inducted / upgraded into the Artillery:-

(i)   Pinaka Rocket System;

(ii)  Smerch Rocket System.

(iii)  BrahMos Missile System.

(iv)  Upgradation of 130mm gun to 155mm /145 calibre.

Procurement action is ongoing for the following gun systems:

(i)   155mm / 39 calibreUltra Light Howitzer.

(ii)  155/45Calibre Gun from Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).

(iii) 155mm / 52 calibre Towed Gun.

(iv) 155mm / 52 calibre Tracked (Self Propelled) Gun.

(v)  155mm / 52 calibre Mounted Gun System.

Acquisition of weapons and equipment for Armed forces is a complex activity and is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). The procurement cycle takes about 2-3 years for finalization of contracts, but can vary depending on the complexity of the issues involved.

This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Dr.Ratna De (Nag) in Lok Sabha today.

Asian Defence News

T-72 tank live firing Indra-2012 Indian Russian Military

To combat terrorism activities and its fighting against the growing danger of terrorist, India and Russia started an anti terrorism military exercise INDRA-2012. The opening of INDRA-2012 military exercise was held in the Siberian republic of Buryatia, Russia

During military exercises Indra-2012, Russian and Indian troops performed live firing with T-72 main battle tanks and BMP-2 armoured infantry fighting vehicles.

By the exercise if INDRA-2012, some 500 servicemen about 250 on each side will take part in the drills, which will be conducted using some 50 Russian combat vehicles.

It is noted that both countries have conducted five INDRA-series joint ground and naval exercises since 2003. The last such exercise was held in India in October 2010.

From Russia part, it is expected that a motorized infantry and a tank companies, a mortar and a MLRS battalions including a grenade launcher platoon will take part in the exercise.

The exercise that began on August 7 at the Burduny training range. The active phase of the exercises will begin Aug 13 and include reconnaissance, pursuit and elimination of "terrorist groups."

Asian Defence News

Indian and Mongolian Armies begin joint military exercise

The Indian and Mongolian Armies have started a joint training exercise, code-named Nomadic Elephant at Belgaum in Karnataka, India.

Nomadic Elephant, scheduled to continue for ten days, aims to improve the armies' skills and interoperability while conducting counter-insurgency operations, and further enhance synergy between the two nations.

Unidentified army officials were quoted by Press Trust of India as saying that around 44 specially selected troops of the Indian army's Jat Regiment would take part in the infantry exercise, alongside the Mongolian contingent consisting of 38 soldiers.

Several counter insurgencies and counter terrorism operations will be conducted to help the personnel enhance training infrastructure for UN peacekeeping missions in conflict areas.

According to the officials, special sessions will also be included in the eighth round of bilateral exercise to help modernise Mongolian defence establishment.

The first Nomadic Elephant exercise was held in 2004, and was conducted almost annually until 2008 in Mongolia.

In 2005, the exercises were performed at the Indian army's Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) at Vairnagte, which is based in Mizoram, India.

As well as the joint exercises, the two countries conduct frequent visits of senior military officials, and have also established a joint working group to plan details of defence cooperation, including staging regular joint military exercises.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army is also holding a separate, joint counter-terrorism combat exercise, dubbed INDRA, with its Russian counterpart at a training range in the Republic of Buryatia in south-east Russia.

Asian Defence News

Indian Navy Warships Conclude Israeli Visit

  NS Mumbai is one of three Indian built Delhi Class guided missile destroyers currently serving in the Indian navy.

An Indian Navy group comprising four vessels deployed in the Mediterranean Sea visited the Israeli port of Haifa last week, as the two countries celebrate 20 years of diplomatic ties this year. The vessels include the Indian built Delhi Class guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai (D62), the Russian built Talwar Class (Krivak III) class guided missile frigate INS Trishul (F43), Indian built Godavari-Class (Project 16) frigate INS Gomti (F21) and Russian built INS Aditya replenishment and repair ship (A59).
The vessels are part of the Indian navy’s western fleet. The Mediterranean tour of the four warships is being headed by Rear Admiral A R Karve.
Indian warships have regularly paid visits to ports in the West Asia and East Africa, reaffirming their peaceful presence and solidarity with countries in the region; the four-day visit in Israel reaffirms the growing
Indo-Israeli relations and continued cooperation between the two countries” Indian officials said.
In recent years the Indian Navy has expanded the use of Israeli systems on the new classes of ships. Among the visiting ships, only the Gomti carries Israeli Barak anti-missile systems, however, almost all new Indian built classes of warships currently fielded or under construction in India, are loaded with Israeli systems, primarily defensive electronics, radars and missile and Barak systems. The Indo-Israeli Barak 8 counter-air system is scheduled for deployed on the lead ship of the P15A class, INS Kochi, following completion of the system’s testing, currently underway in India and Israel. Barak 8 and its associated IAI Elta EL/M-2248 radar provide the Indian Navy an AEGIS-class weapon system, extending its active air defense capability far beyond current capabilities.

Asian Defence News

India is developing a new recovery vehicle based on the new Arjun Mark II main battle tank.

Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) of India , which is developing a new Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle, has reached the final stage of the 'complete specification' for the ARRV, a senior scientist said.

The finalisation of complete specification for ARRV is under final stage. We are going in the right direction," the CVRDE scientist told PTI. The new ARRV, a variant of the Arjun Main Battle Tank, is being developed for the Indian Army at the DRDO lab here.

CVRDE will develop two prototypes in the next three years. The hull, including the chassis automative system, will almost be the same as Arjun Mark II and slight modifications will be made to accommodate a crane and a winch since it will be a recovery vehicle, he said.

The Army is expected to order 30 units if the Chennai-based DRDO lab satisfies its specifications in the first two units. The new ARRV will weigh around 65 tons and function as a recovery vehicle for the Army in tough terrain as well as in extreme climatic conditions

  Asian Defence News

Russian-Indian INDRA Military Drills to Begin on Sunday

Russia and India will begin joint INDRA-2012 anti-terrorism military exercises in the Siberian republic of Buryatia on Sunday, a spokesman for Russia’s Eastern Military District said.
The drills will be held at the Burduny training range until August 16.
On Sunday, Russian and Indian troops will arrive at the training range and begin preparing for an active phase of the exercises, which will begin on August 13, the spokesman said.
Some 500 servicemen – about 250 on each side – will take part in the drills, which will be conducted using Russian-made combat vehicles.
Since 2003, India and Russia have conducted five INDRA-series joint ground and naval exercises. The last such exercise was held in India in October 2010.
Russia cancelled both INDRA-series ground and naval exercises last year despite an earlier announcement by the Russian General Staff that INDRA drills may be held every year and involve three branches of the armed forces.

India is the world’s largest arms importer and a key buyer of Russian weaponry. In 2007-2011, Delhi purchased some $12.7 billion in arms, 80 percent of that from Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).


Asian Defence News

India Army conducts successful user trial of BrahMos

In a bid to give a cutting edge to its missile prowess, India today successfully test fired BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the integrated test range at Chandipur off Odisha coast.
The missile with a flight range of up to 290 km is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg, a defence official said, adding the missile, a surface-to- surface Army version, was test fired as part of user trial by the Army.

The cruise missile was test fired from a ground mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of ITR at about 1030 hours and all data was retrieved for analysis, defence sources said.

"It was an experimental flight and the missile was tested successfully," ITR Director M V K V Prasad said. The two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant, has already been inducted into the Army and Navy and the Air-Force version is in final stage of trial, he said.

While induction of the first version of sophisticated Brahmos missile system in the Indian Navy commenced from 2005 with INS Rajput, it is now fully operational with two regiments of the Army.

The air launch version and the submarine launch version of the missile system are in progress, he said.  The Army has so far placed orders for the Brahmos missile to be deployed by three regiments of the Army and two of them have already been inducted operationally.

The Defence Ministry has also given a go-ahead to Army to induct a third regiment equipped with the missile system to be deployed in Arunachal Pradesh along the China border.

Brahmos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint venture company headed by a distinguished Indian defence scientist, is also working to develop the air as well as the submarine launch version of the missile system and work on the project is in progress.

The last trial of Brahmos was conducted successfully on March 28, 2012 from the same base. Asian Defence News

Army called out in violence-torn Assam

The Army was called out in Assam on Tuesday after the situation in the violence-torn Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts deteriorated. The rail link between the State and the rest of the country got snapped and miscreants among Bodos and Muslims torched houses in a large number of villages.

In a serious humanitarian crisis, more than 1,70,000 people have taken shelter in 121 relief camps.

Assam Home Secretary G.D. Tripathi told an Indian newspaper that the Defence Ministry had cleared the deployment of the Army in the three districts after the State made the request, as sought by the administration of these districts.

He said the death toll had gone up to 32, including five who were killed in confrontation with the police. Of the 121 relief camps opened in the three districts, 88 were set up in Kokrajhar district.

In another incident, miscreants stoned the Guwahati-bound Rajdhani Express at Srirampur in Kokrajhar district, damaging four coaches. The train was pulled back to New Coochbehar in West Bengal.


The rail link was snapped, what with the escalation of violence and the lack of adequate security along the 54-km stretch between Srirampur and Salakati in Kokrajhar. Thousands of passengers have been stranded at six stations in West Bengal and six others in Kokrajhar district, besides in Guwahati.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi spoke to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and assured him of all assistance from the Centre.

Mr. Gogoi also spoke to Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram; both promised to send more troops to the State, an official release said.

Inspector-General of Police (Bodoland Territorial Area Districts) S.N. Singh said five persons were killed in Kokrajhar, when the police opened fire at those who tried to indulge in violence.

Railway Minster Mukul Roy spoke to Mr. Chidambaram and Mr. Gogoi and requested them to provide adequate security, especially in the “badly affected” stretch between the Srirampur and Salakati stations, so that the trains held up in the region for more than 24 hours could run to their destinations, said a release from the Press Information Bureau. Till 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 26 trains were cancelled and 37 trains regulated.

All-Bodo Students Union president Pramode Boro alleged that though the student body identified 27 vulnerable places and urged the State government to deploy adequate forces, their presence was not visible in most of these places, resulting in people fleeing their homes and miscreants continuing with violence.

Mr. Boro said the ABSU was ready for talks with the All-Assam Minority Students Union and the All-Bodoland Minority Students Union, if a meeting was facilitated by the district administration.
Asian Defence News