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India extends ban on LTTE for five years

The Central Government has extended the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for another five years under sub-sections (1) and (3) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967) with immediate effect. The notification in this regard was issued here today.

The notification states that the LTTE’s continued violent and disruptive activities are prejudicial to the integrity and sovereignty of India; and it continues to adopt a strong anti-India posture as also continues to pose a grave threat to the security of Indian nationals.

Former Navy Officer tells how INS Viraat was misused by ex-PM and Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi

INS Viraat has been in the news since 8th May, 2019 when PM Modi retaliated to the repeated charges of “Chowkidar Chor Hai” by Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Modi made a scathing attack on the dynasty during his rally at Delhi by saying that former Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi ji and Sonia Gandhi ji used INS Viraat as a Taxi to go to Lakshadweep islands for their holidays with some Indian and foreigner friends. He probably also mentioned about the use of a helicopter as well.

The immediate reaction by some Admirals was that it was a lie and nothing of that sort happened. I was stunned by the immediate reaction denouncing Modi. But then I knew that at least one of them has been very vocal in criticising Modi time and again since Modi ji was elected as the PM of India. He has issued a number of open letters to media and the President criticising Modi government, may be at the instance of some parties that believe in anarchy in the country.

Now looking at this type of response by my respected Admirals for the most honest, hardworking, daring to be decisive to combat terrorism and globally admired PM of India, I couldn’t control myself. I was the witness to some of the activities at that time. I was a young Lieutenant posted on INS Viraat since its Day 1 even prior to commissioning of the ship when it was still HMS Hermes with Royal Navy at Devonport Dockyard at Plymouth, UK. I loved this great ship from Day 1 and was posted there for more than three years. Though I have been a very reluctant Twitter user, I decided to tweet on 9th May, 2019.
My tweet was:   

“Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi used INS Viraat for travel to celebrate their holidays at Bangaram island. Indian Navy resources were used extensively. I am a witness. I was posted on INS Viraat that time”. —- Commander VK Jaitly

Within no time, my tweet became viral and I started getting congratulatory replies from hundreds of twitter users and my message was retweeted by thousands and seen by lakhs. The TV channels were after me to get to know more and more from me. I think all the important national TV channels except the hard-core anti-Modi television channels covered my statement.

Here I was, the retired Commander who had contradicted the statements of a few respected Admirals for whom I always had great respect and admiration. And let me affirm that I shall continue to do that as that is my upbringing in the Navy, before joining the Navy and even after the Navy life. My respect for them will never reduce. But it does surprise me; to whom were they trying to benefit by immediately coming to the rescue of Rajiv Gandhi?

After my tweet and statements on TV channels, their statement changed a bit that it was an official trip and everything was done as per protocol. Now this is a very vague statement. Can they also give the details of what all was done as per protocol? How many ships remained on duty for about 10 days as per protocol? What all preparations started about a month or two in advance before the actual event? How many helicopter sorties were done to survey the area where the Royal Guests were to stay and during those 10 days? What all changes were done on INS Viraat to host the Royal Couple? How many Naval Officers and Sailors were on duty during these 10 days on those five or six ships? INS Viraat alone had 1500 plus officers and sailors on board. How many Officers were on Liaisoning duties? How many sailors were on special duties other than their routine duties? How many crores of rupees were spent for this 10 days’ holiday trip of the Royal Couple and their entourage? If calculated, this may turn out to be the most expensive holiday by any head of the state of any country?

Admiral L. Ramdas PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM issued a detailed statement. As per para 1: Prime Minister and Mrs Gandhi were embarked on board INS Viraat off Trivandrum enroute Lakshwadeep. The Prime Minister was at Trivandrum as chief guest for the National Games prize distribution. He was going to Lakshadweep on official duty, to Chair a meeting of IDA (Islands Development Authority). This meeting is held alternately in Lakshadweep and in Andamans.

Then in para 3, he states: They did, of course visit some of the Islands on short trips by helicopter to meet local officials, as also the people there. (PM is authorised to travel along with his spouse by service aircraft on official duties).

Now according to me, the use of Naval resources during holidays at Bangaram by Rajiv ji in 1987 may be legally correct as the private party was converted into an official visit through two programmes; one at Trivandrum and one at Kavaratti island. But ethically and morally it was WRONG. The Navy followed the orders and extended great hospitality to PM and his entourage.

Here I would like to draw the attention to the statement (Admiral Ramdas’) in bold in para 3 that PM is authorised to travel along with his spouse by service aircraft on official duties. My question here to the respected Admiral is that “Is PM authorised to travel along with his spouse by service AIRCRAFT CARRIER on official duties?” I think NO Sir. Passage on Aircraft Carrier for any VVIP is too expensive affair. And for a poor country like India, it is a criminal offence.

One young lady mentioned in her tweet that she had sailed on a Navy ship when her brother was posted there. Yes, ladies and children also sail on our warships once a year when we have a family day for the fleet. Immediate family members do sail with due permission to expose them to various exercises and operations of the Navy.

If someone still wishes to confirm that I am not exaggerating and the Admirals are not underplaying the massive use of Naval resources, there can be a scrutiny of the Log Books of all the ships and the helicopters that were deployed during those 10 days. I can also refer some young officers who were actually performing their duties. There will be many surprises. And if the costing is done for all these operations, it may turn out to be the costliest official duty for a couple of hours at two places by any VVIP in the world and may find a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

But for this great royal family of India, the response may be: “Hua to Hua” (if it happened then it happened)

I am trying to highlight all this so that such things do not happen again. Let the politicians and bureaucrats respect the defence forces. Let defence forces do their jobs independently without any interference. No politician of any stature should be allowed to exploit the resources of any of the defence forces; in fact, any of the government departments including PSUs. Let there be a cultural change in the country for austerity measures.

DRDO successfully conducts Flight Test of ABHYAS

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted successful flight test of ABHYAS – High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) from Interim Test Range, Chandipur in Odisha yesterday. The flight test was tracked by various RADARS & Electro Optic Systems and proved its performance in fully autonomous way point navigation mode.

The configuration of ABHYAS is designed on an in-line small gas turbine engine and uses indigenously developed MEMS based navigation system for its navigation and guidance. The performance of the system was as per simulations carried out and demonstrated the capability of ABHYAS to meet the mission requirement for a cost effective HEAT.

The Best Places for Foreign Workers

For those workers looking for the best place to find some good or solid working experience in an international locale, one of the best places for you to find some work will be within the context of the reports by the World Economic Forum on research.

According to the Boston Consulting Group’s Decoding Global Talent, there appear to be workers more often wanting to head to the United States of America more than any other nation.

In addition, even with the some of the travel bans and antics happening in America, and with the increase in some talent drainage headed for the US going to Canada, the US continues to dominate the overall charts of those places that individuals want to garner some better lives and work in advanced sectors of work.

This has been a strength of America, not its primary and secondary school system. But, rather, the ways in which high-level talent and menial labor – the high and low end, so to speak – funnel into the US and work for applicable wages, where some are illegal and others require the genius passport or the H1-B.

The most appealing for the respondents, according to the WEF, are, in the order presented from most to least desirable, the US, Germany, Canada, Australia, the UK, Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, and Japan.

As reiterated in the article, “Despite recent policy changes that are less than welcoming towards immigrants, the US remains the most attractive country for foreign workers. It is the number one choice of people living in Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa, and second among workers from the Middle East and North Africa and Europe. “

America is the place to be, according to the votes of feet crossing borders to get to it. Canada is a highly desirable for the young and the educated from around the world.

“Germany has replaced the UK in second position. According to the report, workers from countries like Spain, Denmark, Poland, and Romania who were previously keen on the UK, now have their eye on Germany. The country has welcomed many foreigners in recent years, and has a booming economy,” the report stated.

With the fourth spot given to Australia, it made a leap by appearing in the top five for this time. Since 2014, the UK has dropped three spots into fifth. One may speculate as to the relation of this to Brexit.

1/3rd of the non-British workers are looking to leave within 5 years. That’s simply a fact of the political instability of a country and the economic consequences of a country, not in the immediate but in the years henceforth.

“However, despite the UK’s decline in popularity, London remains the world’s number-one city for foreign workers to move to,” the report stated, “Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland and Japan make up the remainder of the top 10, with France and Switzerland both dropping places.”

Over the last few years, the trend has been, in fact, trends with one of them being the set of workers simply not wanting to move. 57% said that they would want to move now. 64% were happy to move in 2014. This is a moderate but noticeable trend if calculated over several economies.

The WEF stated, “This is particularly the case in China, where a booming economy means that workers don’t have to look elsewhere for a job, and also in Eastern European economies that are experiencing stronger growth.”

With more closure of nation-states around the world, this could be influencing the situation, too. At the same time, there was some commentary on the nature of the globalization of work.

There is a rising nationalism and authoritarianism while, in simultaneity, a rise in the global nature of the work, i.e., remote and other means by which to work at a distance.

“However, not every country saw a drop in enthusiasm among workers for a cross-border move. More than 90% of Indians and 70% of Brazilians now say they would be willing to move to another country for the right job, up significantly since 2014,” the report stated.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Secretary, Ministry of I&B leads Indian delegation to Cannes Film Festival

India Pavilion is set to be inaugurated at Cannes Film Festival, which will be held from 14th to 25th May 2019. The Pavilion will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, with the aim of forging international partnerships in distribution, production, filming in India, script development, technology, promoting film sales and syndication. It will be set up by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The Pavilion serves as a platform for the Indian Delegates to meet International Delegates attending the Festival to promote networking with other countries and organizations. The Pavilion also serves as an information dissemination point about India and Indian Cinema for the Global Film Community.

The Indian Delegation this year will be led by Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. The Film Delegation would consist of Shri Prasoon Joshi, Chairman, CBFC and acclaimed filmmakers Shri Rahul Rawail, Shri Shaji N. Karun and Shri Madhur Bhandarkar.

During the Festival, the Indian Delegation will be interacting with key stakeholders of Cannes as well as other members of the film fraternity. A key focus area of the Indian Delegation this year will be to promote the Golden Jubilee Edition of International Film Festival of India to be held in Goa later this year. A specially designed IFFI poster for the Golden Jubilee Edition will also be released during the Festival.

The Delegation will also popularise steps taken to ease shooting films in India through Film Facilitation Office that facilitates Single Window Clearance for film-makers and steps by the Government to combat film piracy. To take advantage of availability of technicians and skilled professionals, India will be showcased as a post-production hub to promote collaborations for films with international production houses. A comprehensive Film Guide will also be distributed at the India Pavilion to showcase the importance of the film ecosystem and Government incentives to shoot in India.

Elaborating further, Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, I&B Ministry said that “the initiatives such as co-production and single window clearance would facilitate integration of the Indian Film makers with production houses worldwide.” He further added that “it would be possible for filmmakers of different countries to come together under bilateral co-production agreements. These arrangements would also forge new markets and wider audiences by making India a hub for shooting world class international movies.”

Amitabh Bachchan shares interesting story behind the title ‘Don’

Big B recently shared the story behind the title of his 1978 blockbuster “Don”, saying that many industry veterans were not happy with the choice of the film’s name. He wrote about it in his blog on the occasion of 41st anniversary of the release of “Don”, which is one of the most popular characters essayed by him.

“‘Don’ was a name title that no one in the market approved of. They never understood what it meant and never felt that a name such as ‘DON’ was material for the title of a Hindi film. In fact, if truth be told… for many it was quite an amusing title,” Bachchan wrote on his blog.

Sharing a funny anecdote on the film title’s comparison with a “very popular brand of vests”, he wrote, “They were carrying the name ‘DAWN’. DON phonetically sounded much like that brand of undergarment in the market. There was consternation in titling a film that conveyed an undergarment.”

The actor revealed after the release of Hollywood classic “Godfather”, the title ‘Don’ became “respectable”. “Much later, of course, with the ‘Godfather’ series the word garnered enough publicity and reckoning, to be respectable enough. But till then, initially, it was in the realm of humour.”

#LokSabha2019: Vested interests have targeted Indian Army for petty gains

Exercising their voting rights has emerged as yet another challenge that the soldiers of the nation face in their day to day existence. One remembers that during army service one did not get to vote at all since the process of getting voter cards made and then getting the ballot papers was simply not tenable. The Constitution gives soldiers freedom to vote as general voters in the place of their posting or as service voters. Accordingly, in recent times, certain methodologies have been created that facilitate voting by the soldiers and their families.

Sadly, in the exercise of this very legitimate democratic right, the soldiers face harassment. Their image as good citizens of the country is being tarnished with allegations of malpractice and favouritism. All of this is being done by failing candidates and by goons who have been given charge of the booths by their respective parties and whose job is to intimidate genuine voters.

In a letter addressed to the General Officer Commanding of the Ladakh-based 14 Corps, the District Election Officer, has referred to a complaint received from a contesting candidate alleging that the commanding officers were telephonically asking Jawans (soldiers) for their voting preference rather than supplying to them the ballot papers to cast their votes. The Election Officer termed this as gross violation of secrecy of voting and a malpractice liable to invite legal action.

The Indian Army was quick to carry out a preliminary enquiry which established that the complaint by two independent candidates Sajjad Hussain and Asgar Ali Karbalai did not quote any specific instance or give any evidence to in support of the contention. The investigations further established the complaints as unfounded. Indian Army has, of course, ordered a detailed enquiry into the matter but the result is not likely to be any different since the complaint is, by itself, quite bizarre in nature. It is probably the result of desperation on the part of the candidates due to the realisation that the election was lost and a scapegoat was required to justify the defeat. What better than the army that has no means to retaliate to such slurs and falsities.

The Election Officer, who is also the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Leh would be expected to at least establish the facts of a complaint before taking action.  Further, the issue could have been resolved with some junior ranking officer posted in the Station Headquarters. The DC, instead, chose to shoot off a letter to a senior officer like the General Officer Commanding of the Corps. How the letter got leaked out is also something that the office of the DC should give an explanation for. Later the DC was quick in expressing satisfaction with the reply of the army that no violation was reported. Probably the truth of the faux pas has sunk in by then. However, the damage to the Army’s reputation had already been committed.

Another election related incident that caused unjust embarrassment to the Indian Army happened in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, where some local goons snatched the voter identity cards of soldiers who had gone to a booth to exercise their franchise. This was done with the intention of obstructing them from voting; the goons further attempted to show the soldiers at fault by circulating a video that had no context whatsoever except for levelling of all sorts of wild allegations. The incident caused widespread outrage. The Army registered a complaint and requested the police to file an FIR against the miscreants. The incident prompted Lt Gen GS Sangha, the Colonel of the Grenadiers Regiment to which the soldiers belonged, to write an open letter expressing his displeasure and condemning the incident. “The army is not going to be cowed down by any propaganda external or internal,” said the General in a blunt riposte to the obnoxious incident.

It needs to be noted here that the Election Commission of India under oath to the Constitution of India, is mandated to ensure ‘universal adult franchise’ to all citizens, and as such, the armed forces personnel also have the right to vote at their place of posting as applicable to other government servants. Creating facility for the same is the responsibility of the Election Commission and the civil administration and by doing so they are not doing a favour to the forces.

The nation is witnessing the most acrimonious and intellectually challenged election in its history as a democracy. The Armed Forces have been set up in the middle of the same as the primary punching bag.  On top of it we have such incidents taking place where the soldiers are being subjected to insult and abuse when they exercise their right to vote.

In Ladakh, the DC has evidently acted in haste and broke the protocol in a manner that is not expected from an officer of her status, yet it remains to be seen as to how the civil administration deals with the lapse. The soldiers in Jabalpur could have made mincemeat out of the miscreants in a matter of a few minutes; it is the maturity of their commanding officer who ordered them to maintain discipline that stopped them from doing so, details of the action taken by the police and other election observers etc against the miscreants is still awaited. It is when such issues are left unaddressed that maverick elements get motivated towards treating the Indian Army personnel with such disdain.

India needs to give a serious thought to the nation-soldier relationship that is hitting an all time low and going down at a very fast pace. There is a need to take serious cognizance of all cases related to tarnishing of the image of the Armed Forces. Certain protocols have to be set out and maintained while acknowledging the rights of the serving soldiers. Giving them short shrift because they restraint their responses is not a very god sign; it can have serious repercussion on national integration and should be controlled immediately. 

Representatives of 20 countries arrives in India to witness the gigantic Indian electoral process

Heads and Representatives of 20 Election Management Bodies (EMBs) from across the World, namely Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Fiji, Georgia, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Romania, Russia, Srilanka,  Suriname, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) have arrived in New Delhi to witness the ongoing General Elections to 17th Lok Sabha. More than 65 such delegates have been invited by Election Commission of India to join the Election Visitors Program.

Senior officials of the Election Commission made comprehensive presentations to apprise the foreign delegates on the role and responsibilities of the Election Commission of India and various challenges in planning and organizing elections in the world’s largest democracy. Presentations regarding political party registrations; Election Commission’s advance training & research wing- India International Institute of Democracy & Election Management (IIIDEM); preparation of Electoral Rolls and IT initiatives; Electoral Voting Machines and VVPATs; briefing on Media and Social Media Interaction; Election laws and related matters were made.

The conduct of elections in India is an exercise gigantic in scale and complexity. On May 11, 2019 the eve of elections to the sixth phase, the delegates visited South Delhi, East Delhi, Chandnichowk, West Delhi and Gurgaon Parliamentary constituencies to get a glimpse of the poll preparedness activities, dispatch of polling parties and the massive logistic arrangements put in place to ensure a free, fair and festive elections. They interacted with the district level poll machinery headed by the DEO/RO .Thereafter the delegation visited India international Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), the new training and research campus of ECI located at Dwarka which has the capacity to train close to 900 personnel at one go. This state of the art campus will host several international and domestic training programs of ECI. The delegates were very keen to understand the entire panorama of election events in India. On May 12, 2019 they witnessed conduct of mock poll early in the morning at various polling stations at Dwarka. They interacted with the polling officials and understood the procedures and processes that make our elections so credible and transparent.

The delegates visited various polling stations in North West Delhi, East Delhi, Chandni Chowk. South Delhi and Gurgaon through the day to see the polling-in –action and the festive air that surrounds polling. They visited some polling stations which are managed entirely by women polling staff as also some model polling stations with the best of facilities for the voters. The delegates also interacted with the Chief electoral officer of Delhi to get the perspective on elections from the state level. They also visited the Election Museum at CEO office Delhi .The close of polling and the protocols that accompany the sealing of the machines was another aspect that the delegates will be exposed to during the day.

ITC chairman YC Deveshwar dies at 72 in Delhi

Chairman of ITC and one of India’s longest-serving top executives, Yogesh Chander Deveshwar died in Delhi on Saturday morning after a brief illness. He was 72 years old. Deveshwar is survived by his wife and two children.

An alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and Harvard Business School, Deveshwar joined ITC in 1968. He became its chief executive and chairman on January 1, 1996. Between 1991 and 1994, he also served as the chairman and managing director of Air India. He stepped down as chief executive of ITC in 2017 but remained a non-executive chairman.

ITC Managing Director Sanjiv Puri in a statement said that Deveshwar had “passionately championed the cause for sustainable and inclusive growth as well as the transformative role businesses could play in creating larger societal value”.

SBI reports net profit of 838 cr in Mar 2019 quarter

State Bank of India has reported net profit of Rs 838.40 crore in fourth quarter of 2018-19 fiscal on a standalone basis as non-performing assets (NPAs) came down. The state-owned lender had witnessed a net loss of Rs 7,718.17 crore during the corresponding January-March quarter of 2017-18.

Income (standalone) during the March quarter of 2018-19 rose by nearly 11 per cent to Rs 75,670.50 crore as against Rs 68,436.06 crore in the same period of the preceding fiscal, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

For the full year 2018-19, bank reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,069.07 crore. While there was a loss of Rs 4,187.41 crore in the entire 2017-18. Income (consolidated) grew to Rs 3.30 lakh crore for the fiscal year compared to Rs 3.01 lakh crore in 2017-18.

State Bank of India (SBI) witnessed improvement in its asset quality as gross NPAs reduced to 7.53 per cent of gross advances at end March 2019, as against 10.91 per cent by end of March 2018. Net NPAs or bad loans too trimmed down to 3.01 per cent as against 5.73 per cent.