115th Course of ACC Conducts Graduation Ceremony
- The 115th course of Army Cadet College (ACC) in Dehradun on Friday conducted the graduation ceremony for its cadets amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- The completion of this training is a stepping stone for the cadets to join the Indian Military Academy (IMA).
China appoints new commander for troops overseeing India border
- China has appointed a new Army commander for its Western Theatre Command ground forces responsible for the Sino-India border, ahead of the key talks between senior Indian and Chinese military officials on Saturday to end the border standoff.
- The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theatre Command, on its official website, announced that Lieutenant General Xu Qiling has been appointed as the new commander for its ground forces.
- Before this, he reportedly served in the Eastern Theatre Command.
- The Western Theatre Command of the PLA guards the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India.
- The PLA’s Western Theatre Command, which includes the ground force or Army, Air Force and Rocket Force, is headed by General Zhao Zongqi.
- The new appointment comes at a time when the Chinese and Indian forces are locked in a border standoff since early last month.
- On Saturday, both the sides are expected to deliberate on the specific proposals to end the month-long standoff in eastern Ladakh during the first extensive talks between the Indian and Chinese military, led by lieutenant generals from both the armies.
- The general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, Lt Gen Harinder Singh, is expected to represent India at the talks which is scheduled to be held at one of the border meeting points.
- The two sides have already held at least 10 rounds of negotiations between local commanders as well as major general-rank officials of the two armies, but the talks did not yield any positive result, they said.
- The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.
- Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
Amidst tension on borders, IAF building emergency airstrip in Kashmir
- Amidst prevailing tension on borders with China and Pakistan, Indian Air Force (IAF) has started construction of an emergency three-kilometre-long runway parallel to a stretch of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in southern Anantnag district.
- The construction work started on Monday and is going at a fast pace. Currently, the earth filling work is being done on the stretch which is being executed by a lesser-known local construction company – Fetch Constructions.
- Work on the runway adjacent to the National Highway (NH-44) in Bijbehara area is going on at war footing. “On completion, it will serve as an alternate runway facility for fighter jets in case of any emergency,” they said.
- On completion, it will be the third airstrip in the Kashmir Valley, after those in Awantipora and Srinagar, that will be used by the IAF for its exercises. Major General, A Sengupta, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Awantipora-based Victor Force said the runway is being constructed by the IAF. However, he declined to further comment on the issue.
- Officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) also confirmed that the ‘emergency landing and runway strip’ was under construction. They said they did not have operation details. No IAF official was available for comment.
- A senior Army official said the construction of the runway had nothing to do with a stand-off with Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh Union Territory.
- “Future highways could be the latest force multiplier for the Air Force,” he said, adding that some public roads had been designed to serve as runways for its warplanes to “provide an alternative for launching operations if key airfields are bombed out by the enemy”.
- The IAF, he said, had firmed up an ambitious plan for emergency airstrips in “important sectors”. “This (construction of the runway) is part of that plan,” the officer added.
- “The decision was taken in June last year. This strip is among the 13 other such strips to be constructed across the country,” he said.
IAF gears up to fly India’s VVIPs; Air India to ‘co-pilot’
- The Indian Air Force is getting ready to fly India’s top three dignitaries — the President, the Vice-President, and the Prime Minister. Unlike in the past, when both the Indian Air Force and national carrier Air India would fly the three VVIPs, henceforth it will only be the former that will be engaged in these services.
- This could possibly be because of plans to disinvest Air India, some sources suggested. India Today TV has learnt that IAF will be operating the two newly-refurbished Boeing 777 that will be commissioned for VVIP services in the month of August.
- The new aircraft were expected to be commissioned by July, but they were delayed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
- Initially, Air India pilots will be flying alongside Air Force pilots as only the AI pilots have spent man-hours on the wide-bodied airliner. In the process, Air India pilots will help their IAF counterparts clock sufficient flying hours on the B777 before “handing it over” to the latter.
- Ground handling of the aircraft will remain with Air India, as before.
- The national carrier invited applications on May 15 from its B777 Commanders, Line Training Captains (LTC), Type Rating Instructors and Designated Examiners for “hybrid operations with the IAF”.
- The pilots will be on deputation with Alliance Air for SESF or ‘Special Extra Section Flights’ which refers to VVIP aircraft. So far, 40 of Air India’s best pilots have been shortlisted for the job.
- Officials at Air India have confirmed that a group of 15-20 of these 40 senior-most pilots at the airline will finally land themselves the job.
- Earlier, the VVIPs flew in B747-400s that were also flown by Air India pilots and B737s, flown by the IAF, used for short-haul flights.
- According to Air India’s invitation to its pilots, those selected will continue to be on the payrolls of Air India drawing salaries, allowance and annual increments as entitled to them. Apart from the other benefits that they will be entitled to, the pilots will get a deputation allowance of 10 per cent of their basic pay, guaranteed 70 hours of flying allowance along with overtime, fixed layover allowance of $1200 per month, and LTC/Instructor/Examiner allowance as per applicable rates.
- The invitation categorically states that “the pilots will undertake only IAF flight duties and shall undertake Air India flights only for the purpose of meeting license currency requirements if needed.”
- The deputation period has been stipulated to be two years, as per the invitation to apply.
- So far, Indian Air Force sources have confirmed four of their pilots have been trained, and another group was in the process of getting trained when the Covid-19 outbreak halted plans. The two aircraft that will now be flying the VVIPs are refurbished B777-300ER.
- According to open-source intelligence inputs, the aircraft are not more than 2-3 years old and are part of Air India fleet. These aircraft were sent to Dallas in the United States for military-grade upgradation.
- Experts say the aircraft will have the capability to counter missile attacks, and the features will be no less than those on the US President’s jet, Air Force One.
- The current VVIP planes, the ageing B747s known as ‘Air India One’, lack these enhanced features. They are also employed in regular commercial operations by Air India. The new aircraft though will be exclusively dedicated to flying the VVIPs.
OP Samudra Setu – INS Jalashwa departs Male for Tuticorin with 700 Indians embarked
- Indian Naval Ship Jalashwa, which reached Male, Maldives on 04 Jun 20 for her third trip under Op Samudra Setu – Indian Navy’s contribution to India’s national effort to bring home our citizens from foreign shores by sea, embarked 700 Indian nationals on 05 Jun 20 and departed for India late in the evening.
- During the embarkation, the ship was visited by Colonel Mohamed Saleem, the Commandant of the Maldives Coast Guard.
- With this trip, Jalashwa will successfully bring back almost 2700 Indian citizens from Maldives and Sri Lanka to Indian shores under the broader umbrella of the Indian Government’s Mission Vande Bharat.
- The ship will observe strict COVID protocols onboard and is expected to reach Tuticorin on 07 Jun 20.
- The evacuated personnel will be disembarked at Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu and entrusted to the care of State authorities.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
- During the embarkation of 700 Indians from Male port recently by INS Jalashwa, the ship was visited by the Commandant of the Maldives Coast Guard. His name is?
- Colonel Mohamed Saleem
- Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
- Major General Abdulla Shamaal
- Brigadier General Abdul Raheem Abdul Latheef
ANSWER: A
- The ground handling of the Air India One aircraft will be in the hands of:
- Air India
- Indian Air Force
- Both A and B
- Neither A nor B
ANSWER: A
- The PLA’s Western Theatre Command, which includes the ground force or Army, Air Force and Rocket Force, is headed by:
- General Zhang Youxia
- General Zhao Zongqi
- Air Force General Xu Qiliang
- General Wei Fenghe
ANSWER: B
- Army Cadet College is located at:
- Jalandhar
- Dehra Dun
- Jammu
- Baranagar
ANSWER: B
