MoD refers Lt Gen’s complaint for promotion to Law Ministry

History is repeating itself in the war for the top post of the Indian Army. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Wednesday referred the statutory complaint by Lt Gen Ravi Dastane against appointment of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag as the Eastern Army Commander to the Law Ministry.

 

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Lt Gen Dastane had filed a statutory complaint with the Defence Ministry of August 6, as to why Eastern Army Command bordering China was kept vacant after Lt Gen Suhag – senior to him on June 1 – became ineligible for promotion due to imposition of Disciplinary and Vigilance (DV) ban.

According to sources, the Defence Ministry that was bound to reply to the complaint with a period of 90 days has referred it to Law Ministry for advice. In 2011, the Defence Ministry had referred former Army Chief General VK Singh’s complaint for reducing his age by a year for legal advice. The Law Ministry had opined against the former Army Chief’s request and the ensuing developments climaxed with General VK Singh dragging the government to the Supreme Court over his age.

The ongoing issue stems from the decision taken by the General VK Singh during his last week in the office to impose a DV ban on Lt Gen Suhag – then the Commander of Dimapur-based 3 Corps – thereby stalling his promotion as the Eastern Army Commander. The attempt was seen in the Defence establishment to alter the seniority-based succession line in the 1.1 million-strong army as the move had thwarted the chances of Lt Gen Suhag to become Army Chief after incumbent General Bikram Singh.

The Defence Ministry bid its time and waited for General VK Singh to superannuate and General Bikram Singh to reverse the DV ban. After two weeks of keeping the Eastern Army Commander vacant, Lt Gen Suhag was appointed its Chief following an approval from the Appointments Committee of Cabinet.

The argument of Lt Gen Dastane – who is presently the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff - is that after Lt Gen Suhag became ineligible due to DV ban, he should have been appointed the Eastern Army Commander for being the next senior-most officer.

Sources in the Defence Ministry, however, says that the intention was “not to inflict injustice” to Lt Gen Dastane, but “to do justice” to Lt Gen Suhag.

With the Lt Gen Dastane making his intent public that he will take the government to the court if his grievances are not addressed, the Indian Army finds itself in the thick of the storm even as the dust on the year-long battle for age by the former Army Chief General VK Singh has barely settled down.

The infighting amongst the top brass of the second-largest standing army is again threatening to be played in full public view as sources close to Lt Gen Suhag indicated that the officer is also gearing up to move a caveat in the court on Lt Gen Dastane’s petition so that his argument is also heard before passing a judgement.

Sources also indicate that technically Lt Gen Dastane might be on a strong ground as he is claiming that imposition of DV ban was an individual officer’s problem and the system should have taken its own course as per norms.
 

Earlier this year in January, General (retired) VK Singh had dragged the government to the court claiming he was a year younger than as maintained by the Defence Ministry that effectively curtailed his tenure as the Army Chief by a year.

Another succession storm brewing in Indian Army

It is again going to be an all out war for the top post of the Indian Army. As top army officer Lt Gen Ravi Dastane is contemplating to move the court over stalling of his appointment as the Eastern Army Commander the incumbent Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is bracing to file a Caveat petition.

 Lt Gen Ravi Dastane

Four months ago the Indian Army had put an ugly year-long age-controversy between the Army Chief General VK Singh and the Defence Ministry behind it. But, the clashes in the top brass over promotion are again haunting the 1.1 million-strong Indian Army.

The current episode has its roots in the age controversy of the previous Indian Army Chief General VK Singh. General VK Singh on his last day in the office had imposed a Disciplinary and Vigilance (DV) ban on Lt Gen Suhag – at that time the 3 Corps Commander. This technically made Lt Gen Suhag ineligible as Eastern Army Commander; the post fell vacant after General Bikram Singh moved in as the Indian Army Chief.

Lt Gem Dalbir Singh Suhag

The ineligibility of Lt Gen Suhag to get elevated meant that next senior officer in line - Lt Gen Dastane would have been appointed the Eastern Army Commander and would have been in line to become the Army Chief after incumbent General Bikram Singh retired. However, the Defence Ministry and Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) waited for General VK Singh to retire and General Bikram Singh to take over following which the DV ban was lifted and Lt Gen Suhag was given the charge of the Eastern Army Command.

 General Bikram Singh joins hand with Antony?

Presently Lt Gen Dastane’s statutory complaint against stalling of his appointment as Eastern Army Commander is still pending with the Defence Ministry. After it is disposed of Lt Gen Dastane is all geared up to move the court. Sources close to Lt Gen Suhag have indicated that the army commander is also gearing up for filing a Caveat petition so that the court also hears his arguments before passing a judgment in the case. The Defence Ministry is also going to throw its weight behind the Eastern Army Commander.

Lt Gen Dastane had earlier gone to the Army Chief with his complaint. But it was turned down by the force saying the decision was taken by ACC and the Indian Army had no role to play in it.  And the Defence Ministry’s stand was that the DV ban imposed by General VK Singh was aimed at tweaking the traditional seniority-based succession line in the force.

Sources also indicate that technically Lt Gen Dastane might be on a strong ground as he is claiming that imposition of DV ban was an individual officer’s problem and the system should have taken its own course as per norms.

Earlier this year in January, General (retired) VK Singh had dragged the government to the court claiming he was a year younger than as maintained by the Defence Ministry that effectively curtailed his tenure as the Army Chief by a year.

DAC approves defence procurement worth Rs. 3,500 crore

In the face of kickback allegations in the 12 VVIP and 197 Light Utility helicopters deal, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Monday gave green signal to defence purchases worth Rs. 3,500 crore including night vision devices for the Army and underwater Special Operations Vessels for the navy.

During the DAC meeting, attended by the newly inducted Minister of State for Defence Jitendra Singh and DG Acquisition SB Agnihotri, Defence Minister AK Antony also sent a strong message to the armed forces to be extra cautious while carrying out the procurement processes. Obliquely hinting at the media reports on two helicopter deals with Italy coming under scanner, Antony said: “The competition is stiff nowadays among the different competitors and we need to be very careful.”

However, the DAC did not take up the issue of 197 helicotpers.

The 1.1 million-strong Indian Army has been suffering from acute “night blindness” in the face of the shortage of night vision devices for its foot soldiers. The DAC’s approval is a small step towards addressing the issue of “night blindness” – the 1.1 million strong Indian Army is suffering from.  

“The DAC has approved purchase of 2500 units of handheld thermal imagers valuing around Rs. 800 crore,” sources said. The Army had been pushing for the deal for a long time now.

Some of foot soldiers of Indian Army have been equipped with hand-held thermal imagers,  long-range reconnaissance and observation systems and battlefield surveillance radars (LORROS), either procured from countries like Israel and France or manufactured indigenously by defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL). ''But many more are needed. We would, for instance, like two LORROS units in every battalion. Most of the night-vision equipment held by us is actually second-generation, not like the third-generation devices deployed by countries like US, Russia, France, UK, China and others,'' said an Army officer.

The acquisition process is so slow and infantrymen are experience operational difficulties in night missions. The night sights on its light machine guns, for example, are so power ineffective that their batteries drain out within two hours. 

Along with this another important clearance has been for the construction of two underwater special operations vessel at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL) under a project of Rs. 1,700 crore. During the 90 minute meeting, the DAC also approved construction of a cadet training ship at the cost of Rs. 480 crore at ABG Shipyard, sources said.

The YB Chavan Speech on 62 War That Everybody Forgot

In all the clamour about the Henderson-Brooks report on the Indian defeat in the 1962 war with China, one detail seems to have gone down the memory hole: then defence minister Y B Chavan had revealed a year after the war that the committee was not tasked to look into the role of the government in the debacle. 

The committee, comprising Lt Gen T Henderson-Brooks and Brigadier P S Bhagat, was set up on December 14, 1962 by then Army Chief General JN Chaudhary for an “Operations Review” of the military humiliation.

According to a statement made by Chavan in the House on September 2, 1963, the committee set up by the then Army Chief was asked to find out what was wrong with “our training, our equipment, our system of command, the physical fitness of our troops and the capacity of our commanders at all levels to influence the men under them”, as only 24,000 Indian soldiers took on far greater number of Chinese troops. 

Despite its circumscribed mandate, the committee reviewed the “higher direction of operations”, Chavan had said, stressing that the report points out  that “the largest and the best equipped of Armies need to be given proper policy guidance and major directives by the government, whose instrument it is”.

Chavan made it amply clear that the report–now in a safe in the defence secretary's office - could not have been released either completely or in parts as it contains “information about the strength and deployment of our forces and their locations would be invaluable use to our enemies”. 

According to Chavan, the report that was submitted on July 2, 1963 to the defence ministry revealed that while the “basic training” of the soldiers was sound, what led to the ignominious defeat was the that “our training of the troops did not have a slant for a war being launched by China”. “Our troops had no knowledge of the Chinese tactics, and ways of war, their weapons, equipment and capabilities,” admitted Chavan, saying that report spoke of “an overall shortage of equipment both for training and during operations”. Chavan added: “This situation was aggravated and made worse because of overall shortage as far as vehicles were concerned and as our fleet was too old and its efficiency not adequate for operating on steep gradients and mountain terrain.”

On the question of the system of command within the armed forces, the report said while the system does not have any problems the departures from accepted chain of command due to “haste and lack of adequate prior planning” and the “higher formations interfering tactical specified tasks” led to a poorly led force. The physical fitness of the soldiers also came under scanner as rapidly inducted troops did not acclimatize adequately to the terrain. “Among some middle-age-group officers, there had been deterioration in standards of physical fitness… The physical fitness among junior officers was good and is now even better,” Chavan told the House.

According to the then defence minister, the report was hard on senior commanders for their inability to influence the men under their command. “The general standard amongst the junior officers was fair. At unit level there were good and mediocre Commanding Officers .... It was at higher levels that shortcomings became more apparent,” said Chavan in his summary of the report. 

The month-long war that erupted on October 20, 1962 cost 4,000 soldiers lost their lives. The 4th Division that earned laurels in World War II had to surrender in the then North Eastern Frontier Agency. China declared a unilateral ceasefire on November 21, 1962.

MoD seeks details of Italian probe in VVIP choppers deal

It is for the third time that the Indian Defence Ministry has sought details of probe conducted by Italian authorities in the 12 VVIP helicopters deal. The Ministry has also asked for information about involvement of any Indian Army officer or any other middlemen in the 197 Light Utility Helicopters deal.

Here is the statement-

"In response to media reports alleging irregularities in the contract for 12 Helicopters from Augusta Westland for VVIP use, the Ministry of Defence has once again taken up the matter with the Italian government through the Ministry of External Affairs and has asked for an early response on the issue.  The Italian government has been requested to provide details of the existence, if any, of any middlemen or any individual or Indian entity in the above mentioned contract.

The MoD has asked the Italian government and concerned agencies there through MEA to provide the name and relevant documents relating to the alleged involvement of a Brigadier in the ongoing process for the acquisition of 197 Light Utility Helicopters for the Indian Army. 

MoD will take strong action against the offenders detected through this probe."

Antony’s reluctance to take decision puts 197 choppers deal in jeopardy

The Defence Minister AK Antony’s reluctance to take a call on making minor modifications in the original tender for the procurement of 197 light utility helicopters has put the whole deal in jeopardy. 

According to sources, Eurocopter AS550C3 Fennec had emerged as the winner of the field trials for the helicopters for the Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) in the deal estimated to be valuing $ 1 billion. But there was one minor issue problem – long stretcher cannot be accommodated in the helicopter. The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) suggested that that it can add bulge to the gate so that a long stretcher can be put inside the helicopter. A Technical Oversight Committee was set up to look into the matter.

“The change in the doors of the helicopter would not have affected much. The oversight committee found that the change will not affect the helicopter much but, it will require a little change in the requirements of RfP. This change in the RfP could only be brought by approval of the Defence Minister,” sources added.

The matter was referred to Antony. However, reluctant to take “discretionary” call, the Defence Minister surrendered his discretionary power to the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) comprising of the Minister of state for Defence, three services chiefs, Defence Secretary, Secretary Defence Production and other senior officials of the Ministry of Defence.

“This effectively means that the DAC will consider this issue. Most likely the deal has been put in a cold storage. So jeopardizing the status of the tender itself,” sources added.

The procurement of 197 helicopters for the Indian Army has been jinxed as the force’s earlier attempt to acquire these machines ended in a naught when the tender was cancelled at the last moment. The tender was re-issued in 2008 but it ran into rough weather after the Defence Ministry received an anonymous letter alleging roles of arms dealers in the deal.

The Eurocopter AS 550 C3 Fennec was selected after grueling trials in hot, humid and high altitude conditions in Rajasthan, Punjab and Kashmir including Siachen Glacier. These new rotary machines will replaces the 1970 vintage Chetak and Cheetah helicopters in operation with the Indian Army. As per the tender, Eurocopter will deliver 60 helicopters in fly-away condition and remaining 137 will be licensed produced by Hindustan Aeronautic's Limited at Bangalore.

Ambala to station first squadron of MMRCA fighters

The first squadron of the 126 air dominance Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) to be purchased under the $10.2 billion mammoth deal will be based in Ambala in Haryana that was attacked by Pakistan in both 1965 and 1971 wars.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has already zeroed in on the French Rafale fighter jets as its choice and presently the cost negotiations are on. The contract is expected to be signed by the end of the financial year. 

“The IAF plans to station the first squadron of the Rafale at Ambala,” a top IAF official said. Ambala is presently home to the British-built Jaguars and MiG-21s. Prior to the induction, the Ambala airbase – one of the oldest and largest airbases inherited from the Royal Air Force - will undergo refurbishment of the runway and infrastructure building to accommodate the new war birds that are expected to join the IAF’s inventory in 2017.

“The plans is to base two squadrons of the MMRCAs in Western Air Command (WAC) bordering Pakistan and two squadron in the Eastern Air Command (EAC) bordering China,” the official added.

One of the biggest open tender defence deals of present times, the MMRCA’s value is likely to go up to $20 billion. After the contract negotiations are over there will be eight more stages left - four of which lie with the defence ministry. There will be "scrutiny" by Defence Finance and independent monitors of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). Then the deal will go to Finance Ministry, from there to National Security Council (NSC) and Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).

The WAC had recently inducted a squadron of frontline fighter jets Sukhoi Su-30MKI in Halwara, Punjab. With MiG-21s and MiG-27s scheduled to be phased out in the coming years and MiG-29s undergoing an upgrade programme, the IAF needs to bolster its assets in the region. The force is soon going to induct another Su-30MKI squadron in the command followed by the Rafales.

The IAF has also undertaken massive deployment and upgradation programme in the Eastern sector – keeping in view the modernization done by China on its side of the border. The force has already inducted two squadrons of the Su-30MKIs, it is upgrading many of the runways and advanced landing grounds in the region and intends to station the two squadrons of the yet-to-be-acquired Rafales to keep a rising and more assertive China at bay.

Salute the BRAVEHEARTS: Who fought in 1962 despite all odds

CCS clears Rs. 8,000 crore purchases of BrahMos, tank ammunition

In a bid to address the “critical hollowness” faced by the Indian Army especially in the form of depleting tank ammunition, the Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday cleared purchase of 10,000 Invar missiles from Russia worth Rs. 2,000 crore along with the acquisition of BrahMos missiles for the Indian Air Force (IAF), valuing around Rs. 6,000 crore. 

A file photo of the Sukhoi fighter jet with BrahMos air version at display at DefExpo-2012

The shortage of tank ammunition was brought to the light in a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by the former Indian Army Chief General VK Singh. The former Army Chief had written that the force was left with only 3-4 days of ammunition in case of an emergency. On Thursday the CCS headed by the Prime Minister cleared the purchase of 10,000 Invar missiles for the Russian-built T-90 tanks at an estimate cost of around Rs. 2,000 crore. 

Under the proposal, the 10,000 Invars will be brought off the shelf from the Russian manufacturers whereas 10,000 more will be licensed-produced by Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) under Transfer of Technology. Invar is fired from the gun barrel of T-90 tanks that are going to be mainstay of the Indian Army’s armoured corps in the years to come.

The CCS also gave its nod for the procurement of the air-version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile that has the capability of hitting within a range of 290 km. The BrahMos acquisition for the IAF also includes funds for retrofitting of the missiles with the Russian-built Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets. The integration of missile – co-developed by India and Russia – will be done by the Indian aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

Presently two Su-30MKI fighter jets are being equipped with the air version of BraMos and the test are scheduled to be conducted by December end.