Govt rejects criticism against Agnipath amidst raging protests in several states; issues clarification
violent protests against the new recruitment scheme Agnipath raged across several states, the government on june 16 issued a clarification, asserting that not only the new model will bring in new capabilities to the armed forces but will also open up avenues for youth in the private sector as well as help them in becoming entrepreneurs with the aid of the financial package.
Apart from issuing a 'Myth vs Facts' document to address the concerns raised on the scheme, the government's information dissemination arm issued a series of social media posts, saying in the coming years, recruitment of Agniveers will be around triple the current recruitment in armed forces and ruled out any change to the regimental system.
Referring to the financial package of around Rs 11.71 lakh to be given to each of the recruits at the end of the four-year tenure from the 'Seva Nidhi Package', it said it will provide financial independence to the youths and even help them to venture into entrepreneurship.
The clarification came in the wake of protests in several states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Trains were set afire, window panes of buses smashed and passersby, including a ruling BJP MLA, pelted with stones in Bihar by Army job aspirants whose protest against the Central scheme continued for the second consecutive day.
The opposition also stepped up its attack against the government with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to listen to the voice of unemployed youths and not take 'agnipareeksha (trial by fire)' of their patience by making them walk on Agnipath, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav called the move "negligent" and potentially "fatal" for the country's future.
Some military veterans have also slammed the scheme saying it will adversely impact the functioning of the armed forces.
Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale arrested for tweet on Sharad Pawar gets bail but stays in jail
A court has granted bail to Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale in a case registered against her under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in neighbouring Navi Mumbai in 2020.
Chitale, however, won't be released from jail immediately as she is currently in judicial custody in another case where she is accused of sharing an objectionable post about NCP chief Sharad Pawar on social media.
Rabale police in Navi Mumbai had registered a case against Chitale, a TV and film actor, on March 3, 2020, based on a complaint by Swapnil Jagtap, a member of the Ambedkar Yuva sangh. The complaint related to a Facebook post.
On May 14, 2022, Thane police arrested Chitale for sharing a Marathi verse, which allegedly referred to NCP chief Sharad Pawar in a derogatory way, on Facebook.
India, ASEAN agree to work towards comprehensive strategic partnership
India and the ASEAN on on june 16 agreed to work towards a comprehensive strategic partnership that is meaningful, substantive and mutually-beneficial by further enhancing their strategic ties.
This was stated in a statement by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan at the India-ASEAN foreign ministerial meeting being hosted by New Delhi to mark the 30th anniversary of its relations with the 10-nation grouping.
The foreign ministers agreed to work towards maintaining an open and inclusive regional cooperation framework, support ASEAN centrality in the evolving rules-based regional architecture and uphold multilateralism in jointly responding to regional and global challenges.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries, including the US, China, Japan and Australia, are its dialogue partners.
In their statement, the co-chairs said the meeting agreed to further strengthen and deepen the ASEAN-India strategic partnership across the whole spectrum of political, security, economic, socio-cultural and development cooperation by utilising existing ASEAN-led mechanisms.
The meeting agreed to work towards a comprehensive strategic partnership between the ASEAN and India that is meaningful, substantive and mutually-beneficial by further enhancing ASEAN-India strategic partnership.
The co-chairs said the meeting welcomed ASEAN-India cooperation in preventing and countering terrorism, the rise of radicalisation and violent extremism, and combating transnational crimes.
Recognising the importance of the health sector, the meeting agreed to cooperate in vaccine production and distribution, research and innovation in generic medicines, cooperation on traditional medicines, strengthening public health infrastructure and enhancing capacities for preparedness and response to pandemic and public health emergencies.
In the sphere of trade, the two sides agreed to work towards realising the full potential including through enhanced utilisation and effective implementation of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area (AIFTA) by the early commencement of the review of the ASEAN-India trade in goods agreement to ensure that it is more user friendly and simple.
The co-chairs' statement said the two sides also agreed to strengthen regional connectivity, including both physical and digital, and explore synergies between connectivity initiatives of India and the ASEAN.
The meeting emphasised the need for the early completion and operationalisation of the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway and looked forward to its eastward extension to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The foreign ministers also emphasised the need for more robust air and maritime connectivity.
The co-chairs' statement said both sides agreed to explore potential cooperation between the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India's Indo-Pacific Ocean's Initiative (IPOI) in areas such as maritime security, maritime connectivity and the blue economy. It said the meeting welcomed the proposed ASEAN-India maritime exercise.
The two sides also vowed to deepen cooperation for sustainable management of natural resources and greater utilisation of renewable, clean and low-carbon energy, including offshore wind energy, green hydrogen, developing smart grid and working towards sustainable development.
The ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of sectoral partnership in 1992 which graduated to full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and summit level partnership in 2002. The ties were elevated to strategic partnership in 2012.
Indian Navy will induct 3,000 Agniveers each year under Agnipath plan
The Armed forces have brought in transformational changes in the recruitment of personnel below officer rank, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta said.
The officer said at present the personnel joining the three armed forces below the officer rank have to serve a longer period. The Agnipath scheme will enable the youth to join the force without a long-term commitment. They could serve for a shorter duration and later could opt for other steams of civil society or another vocation or study further.
The Vice Admiral said the Navy will induct 3,000 Agniveers -- youth selected under the scheme -- each year for the next three years, and 3,5000 in the fourth year. The number of intake could go up depending on the overall requirement, he added.
Since the Eastern Naval Command is the largest command in the country, at least 35 to 40 per cent of recruits will come to ENC, he said.
The Vice Admiral said the Agniveers will be given basic training at INS Chilka.
India, UAE, Israel trilateral has US as a partner and the grouping has been rechristened as I2U2
Till not very long back there was an India, Israel and UAE trilateral. This grouping was formed with the objective of boosting trade among their nations and estimates had pointed that by 2030 trade worth $110 could be established between these three nations.
US is the latest addition to the grouping which is now being termed as I2U2 (India, Israel, US and UAE).
A virtual summit of this group is likely to take place around the middle of July, coinciding the US President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East where he is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, West Bank and Israel.
Government to launch AI-driven portal for smooth disbursal of pension
In order to seamlessly process, track and disburse pension, the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare will soon launch Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled common single pension portal for the benefit of pensioners and elderly citizens.
Named Bhavishya, the AI-supported portal will send automatic alerts to pensioners and superannuated elder citizens, Union Minister of State at the PMO, Jitendra Singh said . The portal will not only enable constant contact with pensioners and their associations across the country but will also regularly receive their inputs, suggestions as well as grievances for prompt response.
While Bhavishya has ensured end-to-end digitalisation of pension processing and payment, officials have been advised to conduct pre-retirement workshops at regular intervals to counsel them and learn from their experiences.
The Bhavishya platform was made mandatory for all central government departments since January 2017 and is now being implemented in the main secretariat from where 97 ministries/departments, including 815 attached offices along with 7,852 drawing and disbursal officers (DDOs) on board. Till date, more than 162,000 cases have been processed or pension payment orders (PPOs) issued. This also includes 96,000 e-PPOs.
India and Spain sign defence contract; Airbus to supply 56 C295 aircraft
Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, met External Affairs Minister, Dr Jaishankar and welcomed the signing of a defence contract between the two nations. As a part of the contract, Airbus Spain will supply 56 C295 aircraft, 40 of which would be Made in India, and agreed to further deepen defence and security cooperation.
India welcomed Spain’s interest in participating in its national defence manufacturing programme through Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat. They reiterated their commitment to closely work in countering common challenges related to terrorism, violent extremism and cyber crime.
Bilateral talks were held between the two ministers and focused on enhancing cooperation in the key priority areas of trade and investments, people-to-people relationship, climate cooperation, green energy, science & technology, innovation and defence & security. Spain is India’s seventh largest trade partner in European Union and bilateral trade in 2020=21 stood at $4.7 billion with exports from India to Spain at $3.2 billion and imports at $1.5 billion. Spain is the 15th largest investor in India with cumulative FDI stock of $1.43 billion (January 2000 to September 2019). There are nearly 250 Spanish companies in India, mainly in the food, beverages, chemicals, rubber products, plastic products, electrical material, electrical equipment, machinery and equipment, and motor vehicles space.
US announces USD 122 million for India to address challenges posed by infectious diseases
The United States has announced a funding of USD 122 million to the top three Indian medical research institutions to prevent avoidable epidemics, early detection of disease threats, and rapid and effective response.
The total funding of USD 122,475,000 will, over a period of five years, be distributed to the three top Indian health research institutions -- Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the National Institute of Virology (NIV) and the National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE).
Announced by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the fund will accelerate the progress towards an India which is safe and secure from infectious disease threats through ICMR institutions' focus on emerging and re-emerging pathogens.
Eligibility for funding beginning September 30, 2022, is limited to ICMR, and ICMR institutions, including the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and the National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Chennai.
