Saturday, July 31, 2010

Likely Rate of Dearness Allowance (DA) For July-Dec 2010

The Labour Bureau, Government of India has released All India Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) on base 2001=100 for the month of June 2010. The value of the index for June 2010 is 174. Based on the figures of last relevant six months the Dearness Allowance for Central Government Employees will be raised to 45% i.e. 10% increase over current rate of 35%.

The formal orders, however will be issued in Sept 2010.

Non-Functional upgradation

Though this DOPT order is not meant for BSF, it has wide ramifications for official and financial status of all BSF officers from AC to Addl DG

NO. AB.14017/64/2008-Estt.(RR)
Government of lndia
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Personnel and Training
---
New Delhi, the 1' July, 2010
Office Memorandum
Subject:- Non-Functional upgradation for Officers of Organized
Group 'A' Services in PB-3 and PB4
A reference is invited to this Department OM of even No. dated
24.04.09 on the above subject. The details of batch of the officers
belonging to the Indian Administrative Service who have been posted at
the Centre in the various grades of PB-3 and PB4 w.e.f. 01.01.2006
was circulated in this Department OM of even No. dated 21.05.2009.
2. The matter has further been considered in this Department. As
there is a slight change in the date of posting of first officer of IAS cadre
in the Center after 01.01.2006 in the grades of Additional /Joint
Secretary, a revised list in supersession of the list issued in OM dated
21.05.2009, giving the batch of the IAS officers who have been posted
in the Centre in the various grades as well as the date of posting of the
first officer belonging to the batch is annexed. Necessary action may be
taken for grant of higher scale for the Officers belonging to batches of
Organized Group A Services that are senior by two year or more and
have not so far been promoted to that particular grade in accordance
with the provisions of this Department OM of even number dated
24.4.2009.
Director (JCA)

Full order is available at following link:
http://www.persmin.nic.in/writedata/CircularNotification/ScanDocument/AB.14017_64_2008-Estt(RR).pdf

BDR DG visits Angorpota And Dahogram enclave

From The New Nation, B'desh

Our Correspondent, Lalmonihat

The Director General (DG) of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Major General Md. Rafiqul Islam visited much talked Tin Bigha corridor under Patgram upazila in Lalmonirhat at noon on Tuesday. He was cordially received at Tin Bigha Corridor by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) at around 12.30 pm on Tuesday.

Later he was met courtesy meet with the Inspector General (IG) of Indian Border Security Force (BSF), Shiliguri region Nandon Kishor inside the Tin Bigha Corrdior, where he also discussed about different problems of border areas with the BSF boss for an hour long since 1 pm to 2 pm.

The commanding officer (CO) of lalmonirhat 31 Rifles Battalion Lt Col Aslam Hossain, CO of Rangpur 34 Rifles Battalion Lt Col Omor Sadi were present with BDR DG and 17 BSF Battalion commander S Min and Inspector of Kuchibari BSF camp Alok Lodh were present with BSF boss Nandon Kishor.

BDR DG Major General Md. Rafiqul Islam told the journalists, now whole the border areas in the countrywide is in peaceful environment. BDR and BSF are work friendly, peacefully in the border areas.

"Smuggling and drugs are enmity for the both countries. The problem must be solved by the initiative both BDR and BSF," BDR DG said.

For increasing friendship relation between BDR, BSF a friendship football match among BDR and BSF men would be played very soon at Changra Bandha area of India, the opposite of Burimari border in Lalmonirhat, BDR DG told.

Earlier, the BDR DG visited Burimari BDR camp, Panbari BDR camp and Angorpota Dahogram enclave.

BSF Battalion Hqrs coming up in Nalkonda

From The Indian Express
First Published : 30 Jul 2010 04:19:14 AM IST
Last Updated : 30 Jul 2010 10:29:23 AM IST


HYDERABAD: After the elite National Security Guards (NSG) and the National Investigating Agency (NIA), it is now the turn of the Border Security Force (BSF)to come to Andhra Pradesh.
The State Government has allotted a little over 84 acres in Gollaguda village, Nalgonda district for the BSF to set up its battalion headquarters.
Top sources told Express that the BSF, the largest of its kind in the world, had requested the State Government to allot land a few years ago. The request was made by AP cadre IPS officer M L Kumawat (now retired) who was the then Director General of the BSF. The proposed battalion headquarters will also be the first such BSF facility in South India.
“It will have proper accommodation and training facilities for BSF jawans.
Recruitments will also be made from here,” the sources said. A DIG rank officer is likely to head the battalion headquarters.
Importantly, BSF jawans, who belong to south India but deployed along the borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, will have better access to their families. “The BSF will acquire the land shortly and construction of buildings will commence soon. Later, the jawans will be trained in search and rescue operations and their services would be used during natural disasters. They might also be used to tackle major law and order problems within Andhra Pradesh,” sources said.
For the state, the battalion headquarters will be advantageous as the forces will be just a call away in times of emergency.
Once established, the BSF will have its own helicopter to ferry its jawans.Though the BSF, with its headquarters in New Delhi, has no establishment of its own in south India, a significant number of men from this part of the country are guarding the borders, particularly the Indo- Bangladesh border and the Indo-Pak border (in Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Rajasthan). Of late, they are being deployed to tackle law and order situations as well. Most notably, BSF jawans were called in at the height of the Telangana agitation in December last. While the BSF has begun the process of acquiring the land, the NIA has decided to open its office at Gachibowli in Cyberabad, sources said.

Meghalaya Governor emphasizes BSF�s engagement in international border

From Kangla Online
North East Press Service

Shillong. April 27 (NEPS): The Meghalaya Governor MM Jacob stressed the urgency of BSF�s service to strengthen the International border and
further explained that for that reason the Center decided to pull out its (BSF) forces from engaging counter insurgency operations in the north eastern region. He was speaking on the occasion of 32nd raising day of the BSF of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur here.
Describing the BSF the most sought for and efficient to tackle insurgency problems in the region, the Governor disclosed a colossal deployment of the personnel in counter insurgency operations and also for internal security was undertaken at the expense of border management.
�The importance of better and effective border management has dawned upon the Central Government and it is now decided to withdraw BSF units from internal security duties so as to strengthen the deployment along the international borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh�, said the Governor.
Jacon also recalled as how the personnel of the BSF had fought in the
Bangladesh liberation war and further expressed his happiness on the
force�s keen interest on the border area development program. �Border
villages are being adopted by the BSF battalions for a period of three
years so as to put in concerted efforts in the development of rural areas along the international borders�, said Jacob, adding, �Till now nine border villages have been adopted by the BSF�.
The Inspector General of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland, BK Dey
Sawian also spoke on the occasion and explained about his force�s
efficient engaging in combating counter insurgency operations in Manipur besides effectively keeping vigil on the 500 odd kilometer-stretch international border under its domain.

IG level officers in Naxal-hit areas can seek BSF choppers

From IBN Live
PTI
New Delhi, Jul 30 (PTI) To minimise reaction time of anti-Naxal operations, the government has authorised a special group of officers posted in such terrains to requisition BSF helicopters rather than route the request through state police. "The powers for requisition of BSF helicopters have been delegated to the IG (Ops) CRPF of the state concerned," Home Minister P Chidambaram today said at his monthly press briefings. The move is set to bolster the campaign against the Maoists as, till now, the state police could ask for the helicopters after consultation with CRPF Special Director General and commander of anti-Naxal operations . The recently appointed CRPF Inspector General level officers are deployed in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal, where a new Unified Command will also be set up. The Union Home Ministry meanwhile has sanctioned Rs 45 lakh for procurement of 30 satellite phones for the Border Security Force. Satellite phones are crucial for security forces as at times they operate in thick jungles and forward areas where normal mobile connections don't work. The Ministry has also sanctioned Rs 25 crore for the purchase of 10 All-Purpose/Special Purpose Vehicles. Procurement of 216 vehicles for CRPF at a cost of Rs 16.77 crore and 224 vehicles for Special Action Force at a cost of Rs 18.08 crore has also been sanctioned.

Friday, July 30, 2010

UAVs fail to penetrate India's dense forests to track Maoist militants


UAV updateFrom Homeland Security Newswire

Published 29 July 2010
Indian security forces, battling the militants of the Naxals Maoist group, say that UAVs which perform well in the deserts of Iraq and the barren mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, are useless in the densely forested areas of eastern India; Indian security experts say that issues concerning internal security in the country have now reached the board room of Indian business companies and that the new technology these companies produce should be able to meet the specific needs of Indian security forces rather than offer something which is not applicable to Indian conditions

Dense forest, such as above in India's Jim Corbett National Park, provides ideal cover from UAVs // Source: .treehugger.com
UAVs are being used for more and more surveillance and operational missions by more and more militaries and law enforcement units. Security experts in India, however, note that UAVs used successfully by the United States in Afghanistan against al Qaeda have failed to make any impact in the dense forests of India to monitor movement of Naxals, India’s Maoist communist rebel group.
Deccan Herald reports that the security forces which are trying various UAVs over the terrain dotted by thick foliage in Maoist-affected states of West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, and Andhra Pradesh to track the movement of the militantss have not found a machine which could penetrate the forest cover and give them the desired intelligence.
We have not been able to acquire any such equipment… surveillance equipment… which would tell the movement of people from air borne vehicles… UAVs… from under the cover of thick foliage,” said P. C. Sabarwal, additional director general of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), at an internal security conference in Delhi.
The BPRD is the national agency under the central government which looks after modernization of police forces and takes up new areas of research in subjects related to policing.
Sabarwal also said no service provider offering security gadgets have been able to come up with a solution to defuse and detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and landmines buried fifteen feet or deeper in areas of combat including Naxal zones. “To our disappointment none of the service providers could come up with a solution (to counter these IEDs),” Sabarwal said while speaking at a CII conference on Safe City — Securing Your World, which opened yesterday in Delhi.
I would request the participants (business representatives) to apply their mind according to our requirements. We are open to all new ideas and suggestions,” he said.
The Chhattisgarh government and the BPRD earlier had carried out a test of a UAV manufactured by an American company, which was used by U.S. troops to track down Taliban militants. This was done in the aftermath of the Dantewada incident in which seventy-five Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and a state policeman were killed in a deadly Naxal ambush on 6 April.
Officials had successfully flown the UAV over the dense forests of Bastar in the first trial run for anti-Naxal operations, but the Chhattisgarh government wants to re-test the pilotless planes after the monsoon rains, which will make the jungles even more dense.
Deccan Herald reports that with intelligence gathering still a problem in Naxal areas, the aim of testing UAVs is to help in gathering advanced reconnaissance and situational awareness functions, which are critical in protection of security personnel. Security forces like CRPF, Border Security Force (BSF), and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) along with state police units have been regularly targeted by Naxals in IED blasts. In certain cases, mines and IEDs were buried under tarred roads and triggered when troop convoys went over them.
Speaking on the occasion, retired Maharashtra Director General of Police A. N. Roy said the vendors providing security solutions to police and paramilitary forces should “bring the best in technology.”
Roy said that issues concerning internal security have now reached the board room of business companies and the new technology should be able to meet the specific needs of security forces rather than offer something which is not applicable to Indian conditions.



We still do not have a effective system to track down a suspect vehicle in a busy street,” Roy said. Inspector General of BSF Jammu frontier Siddharth Chattopadhaya said the gadgets made by the companies are “misdirected and not focused to our needs and requirements.”
Joint Secretary (Police) in ministry of Home Affairs Ashok Lavasa said technology will play a major role in securing cities and the human beings there.

Infiltration Bids and Steps to Check Them

PIB Release17:14 IST

            There are no significant incidences of infiltration on Indo-Nepal, Indo-Bhutan, Indo-Myanmar and Indo-China borders.   Similarly, there are no reports to indicate the infiltration bids from sea into the coastal areas.  Although Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Pakistan borders are prone to infiltration, number of apprehended infiltrators on these borders during the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 (upto June) indicate a decline as shown below :

Year
No. of persons apprehended for infiltration
TOTAL
Indo-Pakistan border
Indo-Bangladesh border
2008
136
3175
3311
2009
83
2460
2543
2010
(upto June)
64
939
1003

Details of infiltrators apprehended/killed and number of casualties of Border Security Force personnel during the year 2009 and 2010 on Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Pakistan borders are asunder :

Year
Indo-Pakistan border
Indo-Bangladesh border
Infiltrators apprehended
Infiltrators killed
Casualties of BSF personnel in action
Infiltrators apprehended
Infiltrators killed
Casualties of BSF personnel in action
2009
83
11
11
2460
16
2
2010
(Upto15thJuly)
64
11
2
939
13
1

            Regarding the sea borders, as per the information available, during the year 2009-10, a total of 166 fishing boats of Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Myanmar have been apprehended along with 959 crew, whilst fishing in Indian waters, for violation under Maritime Zone of India Act, 1981.


Nationality-wise details of infiltrators apprehended during 2010 are indicated below :



Indo-Pakistan border (Nos.)
Indo-Bangladesh border (Nos.)
Indians
Bangla-deshis
Pakis-tanis
Others
Total
Indians
Bangla-deshis
Others
Total
2010
(Upto  15thJuly)
---
05
58
01
64
117
806
16
939

There are no confirmed reports suggesting that infiltrators have created current disturbance in Srinagar.
The Government have adopted a multi-pronged approach to contain cross-border infiltration which, inter-alia, includes round the clock surveillance & patrolling on the borders and establishment of observation posts; construction of border fencing and flood lighting; introduction of modern and hi-tech surveillance equipment; upgradation of intelligence set up and coordination with the State Governments and concerned intelligence agencies.
            The following steps have, inter-alia, been taken by the Government for strengthening the coastal security apparatus and to check infiltration from the sea :
(i)           The Indian Coast Guard has been additionally designated as the authority responsible for coastal security in territorial waters, including areas to be patrolled by the Coastal Police.
(ii)         Enhancement of patrolling and surveillance in coastal areas by Coastal Police, the Coast Guard, Customs and the Indian Navy.
(iii)       Setting up of 12 additional Coast Guard Stations.

This was stated  by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shri MullappallyRamachandran  in written reply to a question  in the Rajya Sabha  today.

RS/KKA