Mr U V Krishnam Raju, Minister of State for Defence, laid the foundation stone for Rs 1.79 crore auditorium complex at Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) in Visakhapatnam. The construction work will be done under the aegis of Chief Engineer, Construction Work DRDO. The function was attended by Rear Admiral S Mohapatra, Director, NSTL, personnel of the laboratory, senior officers of the Eastern Naval Command and Mr S K Geelani, Chief Engineer Construction, DRDO.

Complimenting the scientists of NSTL, the Minister said that NSTL has been doing pioneering work towards development of under-water weapons, hydrodynamic research and warship technology. He said that creation of the new facility would give a fillip to the efficient management of the projects by the laboratory.

- Cdr S Dasika

A postal stamp and First Day Cover to commemorate the successful Army Everest Expedition were released by the Chief of the Army Staff,
Gen S Padmanabhan.

To mark the formal release, the first philatelic album was presented to the Army Chief by Maj Gen R S Kareer, Additional Director General Army Postal Service.

The stamp carries the historic photograph of Indian Army summiteers moving steadily towards Mount Everest. The First Day Cover has a view of Khumbu Icefall as background with an inset of Army summiteers holding the Tricolour atop Mount Everest.

- Col Shruti Kant

Lt Gen N C Vij, Vice Chief of the Army Staff took over as tenth Colonel of the Dogra Regiment and Dogra Scouts from Lt Gen Surjit Singh, GOC-in-C, Western Command.

An alumnus of National Defence Academy, the Lieutenant General was commissioned in the Dogra Regiment on December 11, 1962. He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College and attended prestigious Higher Command and National Defence College courses. Lt Gen Vij was Director General Military Operations (DGMO) during the Kargil conflict. He has the unique distinction of commanding two Army Corps one of which was a strike corps. He was Army Commander of Southern Command before taking over as Vice Chief of Army Staff.

- PIB(DW)

Vice Admiral John C DeSilva, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command unveiled the plaque of a foundation stone for a new diesel engine repair complex at the Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam. The new complex, on completion, will have the state-of-the-art facilities to undertake repairs and overhauls of diesel engines of a variety of ships including the latest "K" class missile corvettes, Landing Ship Tanks (LST) and mine sweepers. The construction work will be done under the aegis of the Rear Admiral Basudev Bose, Director General Naval Project (DGNP). Rear Admiral Arun Saxena, Admiral Superintendent, Naval Dockyard, Rear Admiral Pradeep Kaushiva, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet and a large number of Naval, Army and civilian officers of the Naval Dockyard and DGNP were present on the occasion.

The creation of the new facility will accelerate the repair and refit works at the Naval Dockyard and expedite the availability of the ships for deployment at sea for operational roles.

- Cdr S Dasika

Air Marshal Manek Madon took over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Air Command at the Headquarters in Upper Shillong. Upon arrival, he was received by Air Marshal A Goel, SASO, EAC and subsequently reviewed a guard of honour presented by the personnel of the Command Headquarters.

Air Marshal Madon was commissioned as a pilot in the fighter stream of the IAF in 1963 and has flown almost all types of fighter aircraft in the inventory of the IAF. He has to his credit nearly 5000 hours of flying. He commanded a frontline MiG-21 squadron, "Scorpios", from July 1983 to July 1985. An alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, College of Defence Management, College of Air Warfare, National Defence College and the Administrative Staff College of India, he has held various command, staff, instructional and operational appointments.

Air Marshal Madon was awarded Vayu Sena Medal twice for his professionalism and acts of gallantry. For his distinguished services, he was also awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. Prior to this appointment, he was the Senior Air Staff Officer at Western Air Command.

- Sqn Ldr T K Singha

The 45 Air Defence Regiment (SM) Basantar River organised a blood donation camp somewhere in the Western Sector.

Keeping with the rich traditions of the Basantar Regiment, the families of officers, JCOs and jawans expressed their solidarity by donating blood for soldiers serving in counter-insurgency areas. They gathered at the unit MI room where Armed Forces Transfusion Centre had made elaborate arrangements for the blood collection.

The battle honour day Basantar River is celebrated by the regiment to commemorate the valour, grit and endurance shown by the troops of this regiment during 1971 war.

- PIB (DW)

Before laying down his office, Lt Gen Harcharan Singh, Director General Medical Services (Army) and Colonel Commandant of Army Medical Corps visited AMC establishments in Lucknow. During his visit, the Lieutenant General was presented a guard-of-honour at AMC Stadium.

Later, Lt Gen Harcharan Singh laid a wreath at AMC war memorial and paid homage to soldiers of the corps who lost their lives in the discharge of their duty. He also visited Command Hospital, Central Command and Command Dental Centre.

Speaking at a special sainik sammelan organised on the occasion, the Lieutenant General urged the AMC personnel to maintain their high standards and bring further glory to AMC. Lt Gen SP Malhotra introduced the senior officers to the visiting dignitary on the occasion.

- Maj Dhirendra Ojha

Lt Gen B N Shahi took over as Director General, Medical Services (Army). The Lieutenant General is a renowned cardiologist of international repute and is the seniormost cardiologist of the Armed Forces. He is the honorary cardiologist to the President of India and has held the appointments of Senior Advisor, Consultant, Commandant of Army Hospital (Research & Referral) and Director General Hospital Services (Armed Forces) prior to this appointment.

input : Lt Col JP Prasad

Army Engineers belonging to Dah Division constructed five bridges spanning over 350 metres on Lohit river at Alubarighat in Upper Assam.

This has made possible the movement of buses and trucks carrying essential supplies to Tezu and Walong. These bridges remain there till onset of monsoon. In absence of the bridges, all transients had to pay large sum of money for crossing the water channels in country paddle boats and engine boats. These bridges are a big boon for all transients in Arunachal Pradesh

input: Lt Col VK Bhargava

Lt Gen Tejinder Jit Singh Gill took over as the Director General, Ordnance Services and senior Colonel Commandant of the Corps.

Commissioned in June 1963, the Lieutenant General is a skilled paratrooper. As a young officer, he had participated in the 1971 operations as part of the Paratrooper Brigade. He took part in the battle of Hajipir Pass and the assault at Tangail.

He has held various prestigious appointments. As a Major, he was the Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quarter Master General of the Paratrooper Brigade. He has the rare distinction of commanding a depot in a foreign army and also served as an adviser to the Federal Government of Nigeria. He has held key appointments in Area Headquarters and strike corps. During operation Vijay, he was the Major General, Army Ordnance Corps of the Northern Command.

Prior to his present appointment, he was the Commandant, College of Materials Management in Jabalpur.

- M L Arora

Coast Guard has acquired two new interceptor boats. These boats have been commissioned at Porbandar by Minister of State for Defence Production and Supplies, Mr Harin Pathak. These boats will be operated from Porbandar and will augment national efforts towards coastal vigil, especially in Gujarat Coast along International Maritime Border.

These boats are constructed by
M/s ABG Shipyard Ltd., Surat at a cost of Rs 26.5 crore. The boats are capable of high speed upto 40 knots (70 km/h) and carry requisite sensors and weapons for coastal surveillance. The boat is 26 mtrs long and has a maximum displacement of 70 tons.

- PIB (DW)

Lt Gen Ranjit Singh Nagra took over as Director General, Artillery at Army Headquarters. Before taking over as DG Artillery, Lt Gen R S Nagra was the Deputy Commandant at School of Artillery, Deolali. He is also the Colonel Commandant of the Regiment of Artillery.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Lt Gen Nagra was commissioned in the Regiment of Artillery on June 30, 1963 and joined 92 Field Regiment that he subsequently commanded. Later, he commanded an Artillery Brigade and on becoming Major General, he was General Officer Commanding of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa Area. He later headed the Staff Duties Directorate General at the Army HQs. Lt Gen R S Nagra is a decorated soldier with a Vishisht Seva Medal in 1997 and Bar to Vishisht Seva Medal this year.

- PIB (DW)

The new office complex of the Defence Pension Disbursement Office constructed at Thirumala in Trivandrum at a cost of 71 lakh was inaugurated by Mr PR Sivasubramanian, Secretary (Defence Finance), Government of India.

Presiding over the function held on the occasion, Mr M Kumaraswami, Controller General of Defence Accounts, New Delhi informed that a massive scheme of computerisation of all DPDOs has been taken up to facilitate fast and prompt disbursement of pension.

Mr PK Das, Controller of Defence Accounts, Chennai, Brig SN Handa, Station Commander, Pangode Military Centre and Col Bhupendra Singh, CWE also addressed the guests. DGP Mr Joseph Dowson, Principal Secretary, Mr Ramachandran, Accountant General, Mr V Kurian and a host of senior defence and civil officers were present at the inaugural ceremony.

- P Rajendran

Lt Gen Vijay Lall, Director General, Ordnance Services and Senior Colonel Commandant of the Army Ordnance Corps laid down his office in January, this year.

Lt Gen Vijay Lall has been decorated with Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service. He has held various distinguished instructional, staff and command appointments including the command of a foreign army unit.

- PIB (DW)

The sixth Annual Day of Army School, Dhar Road was celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm. Brig Parveen Paul, Chairman graced the occasion and inaugurated the function. He released the school magazine Sankalp. The school was established in 1980.

The programme commenced with an impressive march-past followed by a presentation of the annual school report. Mrs Savatri Viswanathan, Principal, highlighted the achievements of the school during the current year.

The cultural programme comprised a variety of Indian folk dances and music from different parts of the country, depicting the rich cultural heritage of India. The celebrations ended with prize distribution in which all children excelling in the fields of academics, co-curricular activities and sports were felicitated by Mrs Anupam Paul.

- Lt Col SPK Singh

A sports competition was organised for the Air Force schools of South Western Air Command at the Sports Stadium of Air Force Station, Jodhpur. Air Force Schools of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Jamnagar and Pune participated in this competition.

This two-day sports meet was inaugurated by Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Air Force Station Jodhpur, Air Cmde CS Gill which was followed by an impressive march-past and oath-taking ceremony by the participants. The competition was really fierce in the 100m, 200m, 400m run, high jump, long jump and badminton both in the junior and senior categories.

The best school team trophy was won by Air Force School, Jamnagar and the best athlete trophy was bagged by Anuj Yadav, a student of Air Force School Jodhpur who won five gold medals. All winners were given prizes by the AOC at the closing ceremony.

- Maj Xavier MT

The Indian Army has organised a recruitment training camp at Ukhrul last month. The training was organised by the local Army Camp which included physical training, written test and medical check-up. Vigorous physical training including 5 km run, sit-ups, pull-ups and ditch jumping was organised so that the boys meet the standards of recruitment. Preparations for entrance exams were also done by giving them coaching in basic mathematics and science. The enthusiasm of the local youth to join the Army was evident from the fact that a large number of them had gathered for the training.

Seeing the encouraging response from the locals, Army had decided to set up such training camps more frequently and assist the local youth in recruitment.

- Lt Col HS Oberoi

Air Force School, Jodhpur organised its annual sports festival recently. Air Cmde CS Gill, AOC, AF Station was the chief guest on the occasion. Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA) President Neena Gill released white doves symbolising peace and tranquility in these trying times.

As a part of the celebrations, a cultural show was presented by the students. Aerobics, gymnastics and karate display put up by the students of the school were laudable. The athletics events included 100m, 200m and 400m Run for sub-junior, junior and senior boys and girls categories.

The Principal, Mrs Ritu Basant said that the three-day sports festival was organised to bring about the all-round development of the school children. All winners were given prizes. A large number of Air Force officers, men and their families were present on the occasion.

- Maj Xavier MT

A seminar on "Career in Army" was organised at Regional Engineering College (REC), Hamirpur (HP) by the local Branch Recruiting Office. The aim of the seminar was to give an insight to the students into the career prospects in the Armed Forces and motivate the engineering students to opt for University Entry Scheme.

The seminar was attended by members of the faculty and students. Col KG Menon, Director Recruiting, explained the students in details about the structure of the Army, modes of entry, career prospects, emoluments and service privileges. There was visible enthusiasm among the students to join the Armed Forces. Information brochures, posters and pamphlets were also displayed and distributed on the occasion.

input : Col K G Menon

Lt Gen A Natarajan, Director General, Discipline, Ceremonials and Welfare (DCW) at Army Headquarters took over as Colonel Commandant of Artillery in addition to his present appointment.

An alumnus of King George School (now Military School) Bangalore,
Lt Gen A Natarajan was commissioned in the Regiment of Artillery in 1963. He is a highly experienced aviator.

Lt Gen A Natarajan has been the Major General-in-Charge of Administration at Southern Command. He was also Additional Director General of Army Aviation at Army HQs. He had also held the coveted appointment of Chairman-cum- Managing Director, Pawan Hans Helicopter Ltd, a Government of India enterprise.

Lt Gen A Natarajan is a highly decorated officer having been awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.

- PIB (DW)

The Goodwill Ex-servicemen Co-operative Society celebrated its silver jubilee at Pune with enthusiasm. Admiral (Rtd) JG Nadkarni, ex-Chief of Naval Staff was the chief guest on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, the ex-Naval Chief observed that ex-servicemen are also capable managers and their services should not be limited to watch and ward duties. Lt Gen (Rtd) Y D Saharsabuddhe who presided over the function advised Goodwill Society to acquire ISO standards. Col (Retd) JA Nadkarni, Chairman of the Society welcomed the gathering and Maj (Retd) HK Mazumdar proposed a vote of thanks.

With a modest beginning of Rs 1150 and 13 members, the society grew from strength to strength. Today, there are 1123 members with a share capital of Rs 24 lakh. The annual turnover is around Rs 4 crore and deposits in the bank are Rs 40 lakh.

input: Col (Retd) V N Tambekar

The 113th Corps Day of Military Farms was celebrated with fervour by the Military Farms Branch of Central Command Headquarters in Lucknow Cantonment.

Lt Gen R M Chadha, Chief of Staff (COS) Central Command was the chief guest at the social evening organised at Surya Officers’ Institute on the occasion. Mr B B Biswas, Director Military Farms, Central Command, received the COS on arrival at the Institute. Maj Praveen, OIC Military Farm, Lucknow, demonstrated some Frieswal breed cows of the farm which yield over 40 kg milk per day.

A message of greetings sent by Lt Gen D S Chauhan was read out to troops and civilians on the occasion. In his message, the Army Commander expressed happiness over achieving self-sufficiency in milk production and meeting the full requirements of troops.

The organisation has been making consistent efforts for ensuring functional efficiency through introduction of modern techniques in cattle management and modernisation of Military Farm with state-of-the-art plant and machinery.

Pagal gymkhana sports and barakhana, in which families also participated, formed part of the celebrations.

- Maj Dhirendra Ojha

The mortal remains of Nk Selvaraj of 38 Rashtriya Rifles who laid down his life in a counter-insurgency operation in Jammu and Kashmir were brought to Thiruvananthapuram. The mortal remains were received with full military honours at Shanghumugham Air Force Airbase. After general salute by the soldiers, wreaths were laid on behalf of the Chief Minister and Government of Kerala. Floral tributes were also paid by Col BLT Joseph,
Wg Cdr N Raghu Raman and Wg Cdr Yogesh Jain.

A large number of mourners from the martyr’s native village were present to receive the mortal remains. Later, the body was taken to Payamkulam in Vilavancode Taluk of Kanyakumari district, the martyr’s native village, for cremation with full military honours. Nk Selvaraj is survived by his wife, Mrs Vijaya Kumari.

- P Rajendran