Armed Forces Panorama

A seminar-cum-exhibition was jointly organised by the Indian Army and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi. The theme of the seminar was
‘IT in Defence: A Strategic Convergence’.

The Chief of the Army Staff, Gen S Padmanabhan said at the inaugural function that earlier there was a tendency of the private sectors to avoid supply to the Army due to lengthy and delayed procurement process. The system has now been streamlined and the ‘IT giants’ have now started getting interested. The procurement process would be made even faster, he added.

The General said that the ‘IT road map’ has been worked out upto 2008 and the march is as per schedule. The field of logistics has been given priority in this respect. The COAS said that he would like to see the jawan getting his statement of account every month instead of quarterly. The soldier just before hanging up his uniform should be able to collect his cheque of pension benefits just after a single visit to his Pay and Accounts Office, he said.

Lt Gen A S Khanna, Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Planning and Systems) also spoke at the seminar. He said that the Army aims at the establishment of a strong IT infrastructure to deliver the goods in a better way.

Many distinguished IT experts participated in the seminar which was attended by many senior Army officers.

INS Sindhukesari, one of the frontline submarines of Indian Navy, returned to Mumbai after completing a major refit
and modernisation package in Russia.

This modern submarine with enhanced sensor capabilities and extended weapon ranges is a vital element of Indian maritime force adding teeth to silent underwater service.

The first training capsule for UN Military Observers was conducted at the Centre of UN Peace Keeping at USI in New Delhi. Thirty officers from USA, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tanzania, Kenya, Bosnia, Mozambique and India attended the training capsule.

The aim of the capsule was to acquaint the officers with the principles of peace-keeping operations. Addressing the closing ceremony of the training, Lt Gen R S Kadyan officiating Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Training and Coordination) said that the objective of the training capsule was fulfilled as the feedback received from the trainees was satisfactory. He advised the officers to perform their duties with integrity and impartiality.

The 7th Battalion of the Rajputana Rifles celebrated 30th anniversary of their victory at the battle of Mynamati during Indo-Pak war of 1971.

During this battle, the battalion captured the heavily fortified defences of Mynamati in December 1971. It ran over the enemy defences defying heavy volume of fire. Fiftyone braves of the 7th Rajputana Rifles made supreme sacrifice and 131 were injured in this battle. The day is celebrated as its ‘Battle Honour Day.’

Several functions were organised to commemorate the victory. A sainik sammelan was addressed by Brig A S Brar. This was followed by a wreath-laying ceremony to pay homage to the martyrs. A presentation on the battle was also made. It was attended by Maj Gen N S Pathania, GOC, Delhi Area.

Four warships FNS Var, Commandant L’ Herminier, Courbet and Bougainville of the French Navy arrived at Mumbai Port under the command of Rear Admiral
Laurent Merer, Commander of French Forces in the Indian Ocean Maritime Zone.

Soon after the arrival, Rear Admiral Laurent Merer called on Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command and Rear Admiral JS Bedi, Flag Officer Commanding, Western Fleet and discussed matters of mutual interest.

A joint Indo-French naval exercise was conducted between the two navies. Three ships each from both navies took part in the exercise.
The Indian naval ships Gomti, Godavari and Ranvir participated in the exercise.

During their stay in Mumbai, the interaction between the navies included reciprocal visits by French and Indian Naval personnel, social exchanges and sports activities.

Anand Hindurao Balage and Anisha Kamal Shah won the Third All India Open Sea Swimming Competition in men and women category respectively. The competition was organised at Naval Sailing Club, Colaba, Mumbai.

The race was held in four categories- men, women, boys under 16 and girls under 16. The race commenced from Prongs Reef Light and culminated at the Naval Sailing Club, Colaba covering a distance of 6 kms. In all, 202 swimmers took part in this swimming competition.

Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command was the chief guest and gave away prizes to the winners.

The 155 Medium Regiment celebrated its 20th Raising Day somewhere in the Western Sector. Since its raising in 1982, the regiment has participated in various operations like Blue Star, Meghdoot, Rakshak and Vijay.

On this occasion, a special sainik sammelan was held in the unit. The Commanding Officer of the regiment, Lt Col VC Chitri urged all ranks on this occasion to rededicate themselves to maintain the traditions and standards of the unit.

The meeting of Inter Media Publicity Coordination Committee (IMPCC), Meghalaya was held at the Aquatic Sports Centre, Shillong. The meeting was presided over by Mr LP Manderucal, Chairman, IMPCC and Director, Doordarshan Kendra, Shillong. Brig HS Sirohi, Commander, 24 Mountain Brigade, Col OJS Khangura, CO 14 Jat Regiment and Col PP Agarwalla, Deputy Commander of the Brigade were also present at this meeting.

Addressing the IMPCC members, Brig Sirohi said that media, as the fourth estate, plays an important role in moulding public opinion towards the objectives of nation building.

He praised the Armed Forces for coming to the aid of civilians in times of crisis.

The 221st anniversary of Corps of Engineers was celebrated as "Inspiration Day" at the Engineer-in-Chief’s Branch at Kashmir House, New Delhi. Members of the corps at the Engineer-in-Chief’s Branch were honoured for their outstanding performance and achievements. More than two thousand members of Sarvatra family participated in the corps celebrations.

The inter-zonal championship trophy was presented to the Shillong Zone. Pathankot Zone was runners-up. The prestigious Tawade Medre Medal was awarded to Mr R K Mittal of GE Air Force, Gandhinagar for his contribution to the upgradation of the runways in his area of responsibility.

Mr Rudra Ray of HQ CE (AF) Allahabad was the winner of architecture award for showing excellence in designing the Allahabad House Complex. Fortytwo Commendation Cards were also announced on this occasion. Col Ashish Chakraborty received the Rajbhasha Trophy for the year 2000-2001 on behalf of the Coordination and Personnel Directorate. A special prize was given to Ms Chitra Gupta for her outstanding performance in the field of sports.

Lt Gen Hari Uniyal, Engineer-in- Chief, gave away the awards to the winners.

The 47 Air Defence Regiment organised a blood donation camp at 167 MH Pathankot in which 200 personnel of the unit donated blood. Col P K Bishnoi, Commanding Officer 47 Air Defence Regiment supervised the camp and was the first to donate blood. Mrs Shail Bala Bishnoi, the first lady of the regiment, was also among the volunteers to donate blood.

The regiment had previously organised a similar blood donation camp at MH Jalandhar Cantt in which two hundred and forty personnel had donated blood.

input: Capt A Sudhakar

Mrs Rita Vij, Vice-President of Central AWWA visited Base Hospital, Delhi Cantonment on the occasion of Vijay Diwas.

Mrs Rita Vij visited various wards and inquired about the welfare of the patients. She distributed fruits and amenity items to the patients undergoing treatment at the Base Hospital. During her visit to the hospital, she was accompanied by Mrs Urmila Vij, Chairperson of Patients Welfare Committee and Mrs Anjali Singh of AWWA Delhi Area.

About 90,000 NCC cadets throughout Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands participated in a tree plantation campaign and planted saplings at over seventy centres.

In Chennai, the tree plantation drive was inaugurated by Cmde JP Abraham, Deputy Director General, NCC, in the premises of Guru
Nanak College, Velachery. About 4000 cadets planted saplings in Chennai city alone.

NCC Directorate, Chennai organised this tree plantation campaign to create awareness among the public.

— V Sankaran
from Chennai

At a solemn but impressive ceremony, a battalion of the Madras Regiment observed Remembrance Day at Golconda, Hyderabad in memory of martyrs.

The occasion saw a large number of retired and serving personnel paying their respects to the martyrs. The function began with the laying of wreaths at the war memorial by Brig G M Nair and other senior officers. This was followed by distribution of gifts and monetary assistance to war widows by Brig R Rangarajan (Retd), an ex-Commanding Officer of the unit.

To create awareness among Army personnel and their families, Oil Conservation Week was organised at Bikaner by Petroleum Conservation and Research Association (PCRA) under the aegis of 524 ASC Battalion. During the week, more than 75 drivers, 65 cooks, 160 housewives and 55 students attended a workshop to have practical lessons in good driving techniques, LPG safety and oil conservation.

The workshop also included demonstrations and trips to nearby units and establishments offering first hand information on oil conservation.

The seniormost corps of the Indian Army, the Armoured Corps, observed its annual Cavalry Week with much fanfare and enthusiasm. On this occasion, many serving and retired distinguished soldiers laid wreaths at the Teen Murti Memorial which happens to be the Cavalry memorial.

Wreaths were laid by the President of the Cavalry Officers Association, Lt Gen (Retd) Gurinder Singh, Lt Gen SS Mehta, GOC-in-C Army Training Command and Lt Gen K Davar,
Director General Mechanised Forces at Army Headquarters. Many war veterans who were 80 years of age and above were honoured on the occasion.

The post of the head of the Army Dental Corps that was previously held by an officer in the rank of Major General has been upgraded with Lt Gen JL Sharma taking over as the first Director General of Dental Services.

Lt Gen JL Sharma is an alumnus of Punjab Government Dental College, Amritsar. He joined the Dental Corps in the year 1963. For rendering distinguished services as Deputy Director General Dental Services at Army Headquarters, he was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal in 1999. He later took over as Additional Director General of Dental Services, last year. With this upgradation, he became the first Lieutenant General to head the Army Dental Corps.

Lt Gen JL Sharma is an Honorary Dental Surgeon to the President of India.

Defence Services Overall Sports Championship Trophy 2000-2001 was won by the Army. The Army Red team with 136 points emerged as champions followed by Indian Navy with 102 points. The Indian Air Force scored 78 points and Army Green team 64 points.

The Army won thirteen first positions out of a total of nineteen disciplines that formed part of the championship. First positions in three disciplines each were won by the Navy and Air Force teams.

Lt Gen RS Kadyan, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Training and Coordination) received the trophy from Admiral Sushil Kumar, the then Chief of Naval Staff at a function held at South Block, New Delhi.

Headquarters 71 Sub-area Basketball Championship was held at 5071 ASC Battalion (MT) basketball ground and a total of ten teams participated in the competition.

The final match was played between 5071 ASC Battalion (MT) and 58 Engineer Regiment which was won by the latter. Brig Sunil Arora presented the championship trophy to Col RS Rathee, CO 5071, ASC Battalion (MT).

—Lt Col SPK Singh
from Udhampur

In the Inter-platoon Football Championship played at the Cadets Training Wing, MCEME, Secunderabad, Platoon 4 registered a convincing victory over Platoon 2 displaying a fine blend of skill, stamina and speed. In a breathtaking final at Docca Stadium, Platoon 4 defeated the rivals by 3-0 owing to a hat trick by Sergeant Chinmay Mund. Four teams participated in this tournament held for the first time at MCEME.

Lt Gen R K Mehta, Commandant, MCEME gave away the medals and trophies to the Gentleman Cadets of CTW. The event was also attended by Brig Ivan David, Brig K S Bhoon, Col K K Bakshi and Col A K Das.

Lt Gen R K Mehta, Commandant, Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME) felicitated the members of EME sailing team which undertook a sailing expedition from Mumbai to Goa and back.

The sailing expedition team comprising seven officers and other ranks was flagged off from Mumbai and returned back after crossing the seas enroute covering 480 nautical miles on a Seabird class boat named by the team as "Sea Eagle".

—K Asaiah

from Secunderabad