Govt set to give permanent status to top post in Indian military

Shishir Gupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi | 

• Updated: Apr 09, 2016 09:32 IST

The Narendra Modi government is set to create a post of permanent chairman, chiefs of staff committee (COSC) — a four-star officer who will be the single-point military adviser to the Centre — four years after a recommendation by the Naresh Chandra task force on higher defence reforms.

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The Narendra Modi government is set to create a post of permanent chairman, chiefs of staff committee (COSC) — a four-star officer who will be the single-point military adviser to the Centre — four years after a recommendation by the Naresh Chandra task force on higher defence reforms.

Top government sources confirmed to Hindustan Times that the process of appointment of chairman, COSC, would begin after Modi’s in-principle approval next week. It is understood that a presentation on higher defence reforms and future air power planning will be made before the PM on April 12. The proposal has already been vetted by the cabinet secretary, national security adviser and defence minister.

“Once the presentation is cleared by the Prime Minister, a formal proposal will be moved for approval in the cabinet committee on security (CCS). The entire exercise should be over in a couple of months,” a senior official said.

The government envisages the permanent chairman to have a two-year tenure and equivalence in rank and protocol with the army, navy and air force chiefs of staff.

Selected on the basis of merit and from any of the three arms, the officer will be responsible for all military hardware acquisition processes, tri-service command in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, cyber command, special forces, and for inculcating “jointmanship” within the forces for optimum utilisation of resources.

A single- point military adviser’s post in the form of chief of defence staff was proposed by the K Subrahmanyam Committee set up by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee gover nment after the 1999 Kargil war.

In 2011, the UPA regime revisited higher defence reforms under a committee led by former cabinet secretary Naresh Chandra. The committee, which submitted its report in 2012, recommended a watered down version of the CDS and called it the PCOSC (permanent chairman of the COSC).

“The whole idea behind appointing a PCOSC is to break down silos within armed forces and create synergy in the fighting force. The problem with the existing separate military headquarters is that there is a turf war between the three wings with each

 

-- Shared by Brig R Vinayak

MPs to Pay more for what they eat in Parliament Canteen – The canteen rates had been revised ten years ago and despite a spiraling rise in the cost of food materials the canteen was run, piling up subsidies.

Three days after the government announced a curb in cooking gas subsidy, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan approved a proposal to abolish subsidy on Parliament canteen food which would now function on a

 

 

Top sources told HT that earlier the panel had submitted a proposal to hike prices of only a few items. But Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan turned it down as she wanted a wholesale revision. (HT Photo)

 

no-profit-no-loss basis. The decision comes after years of public criticism over parliamentarians being allowed to enjoy cheap food like a plate of chicken curry for Rs 37 or dal for just Rs 2.

As per the new rates, effective from January 1, The Rs 18 veg thali will now be sold for Rs 30 while a non-veg thali will see a hike of Rs 27. The price of chicken curry has been revised from Rs 29 to Rs 40.

Parliament food committee’s chairman Jithendra Reddy said, “Prices of all items have been increased by 50-70%.”

Top sources said that earlier the panel had submitted a proposal to hike prices of only a few items. But Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan turned it down as she wanted a wholesale revision.

A query under the Right To Information Act had recently revealed that in past five years, the canteen, run by the Northern Railways catering service, got a subsidy of Rs 60.7 crore. Apart from MPs, parliament staff, visitors and many journalists also enjoy the canteen’s subsidized food. During a session, an average 4,500 people eat daily at Parliament.

The canteen rates had been revised ten years ago and despite a spiraling rise in the cost of food materials the canteen was run, piling up subsidies.

On Monday, the government had announced that families with more than annual taxable income of Rs 10 lakh, will not get any subsidy on cooking gas. The decision on parliament canteen, albeit suggested by an independent multi-party panel, is seen in the same direction of reducing subsidies for the non-poor section.

A Lok Sabha press release said the food will also be prepared to ensure there is no wastage. The Speaker, however, also decided to place tea and coffee vending machines.

Source: Hindustan Times

 

Don’t Use Google Translate – Maharashtra Govt Notifies its Employees

Don’t Use Google Translate – In the state too, it had served as a handy tool for many government employees for its time-saving and ease-of-use features.

It’s official now. Google is not the answer to everything under the sun. Not, at least, in Maharashtra.

The BJP-led government in the state has barred its officers and employees from using Google’s popular translation tool for rendering official documents in other languages.

The ban, imposed through an official notification on Monday, comes in the wake of a major embarrassment to the state government over a faulty translation of a circular for imposing sedition charges.

The circular issued on August 27, 2015, had sparked a controversy owing to its conditions required for initiating action against a person under section 124 A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deals with sedition.

The Devendra Fadnavis-led government, which admitted to mistakes in the Marathi version, later withdrew the circular.

On Monday, the state Information Technology department issued a Government Resolution (GR) asking all the government departments not to use google translator facility — www.translate.google.com — for translation purpose.

“The concerned person will be held responsible for the content of the government resolution and circular uploaded on the government’s official website,” the GR pointed out.

It also said that the concerned person should be very careful while making changes or translating content of the government resolutions or circulars. Also, the same should be certified (by superiors) before uploading on the government website.

Though used by millions of users worldwide, Google’s tool is known to occasionally throw up incoherent answers, mainly due to literal translation of the words.

In the state too, it had served as a handy tool for many government employees for its time-saving and ease-of-use features.

Besides the bar, the government order has also decided to hold responsible the concerned officials for any mistake in the contents of government resolutions and circulars uploaded on the official website of the state henceforth.

[ Hindustan Times ]