Category: National

The Defence Minister said the decision would offer a great opportunity to the Indian industry to manufacture the items in the negative list

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) would “introduce import embargo on 101 items beyond given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced through a series of tweets on Sunday.

The policy change comes in the wake of Chinese transgressions and buildup along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. China has refused to pull back forces from several areas. It massed troops since April-May and has refused to vacate areas along the undefined border that were traditionally patrolled by the Indian Army.

“The Ministry of Defence is now ready for a big push to #AtmanirbharBharat initiative. ….Taking cue from that evocation, the Ministry of Defence has prepared a list of 101 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them. This is a big step towards self-reliance in defence. #AtmanirbharBharat,” Mr. Singh said.

He said the decision would offer a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture the items in the negative list by using their own design and development capabilities or adopting the technologies designed and developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces.

“The list is prepared by MoD after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including the Armed Forces, public & private industry to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition & equipment within India,” Mr. Singh said.

He added that almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the Tri-Services at an approximate cost of ₹3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020. It was estimated that contracts worth almost ₹4 lakh crore would be placed upon the domestic industry within the next 6 to 7 years, he said.

“Of these, items worth almost ₹1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force while items worth almost ₹1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period,” he said.

The list of 101 embargoed items comprised of not just simple parts but also some high technology weapon systems such as artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, LCHs, radars and many other items to fulfil the needs of our Defence Services, Mr. Singh said.

The list includes, wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which the Army is expected to contract almost 200 at an approximate cost of over ₹5,000 crore.

“The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024. Our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation. MoD has also bifurcated the capital procurement budget for 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes. A separate budget head has been created with an outlay of nearly ₹52,000 crore for domestic capital procurement in the current financial year,” the tweet said.

With inputs from The Hindu

PTI

Jodhpur: Eleven members of a family of Pakistan Hindu migrants were found dead at a farm in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district on Sunday morning, police said.

A person of the family, however, was found alive outside the hut they lived at Lodta village of Dechu area, an officer said.

“But he claimed to have no idea about the incident, which believed to have happened in the night,” said Superintendent of Police (Rural) Rahul Barhat.

“We are yet to ascertain the cause and means of death. But apparently, all the members appeared to have committed suicide by consuming some chemical in the night,” Barhat said.

He said there was a smell of some chemical around in the hut, suggesting that they consumed something.

All the family members were Hindu migrants from Pakistan from the Bhil community and had been living on the farm in the village, which they had hired for farming.

“There was neither any injury mark on any of the bodies nor any evidences of any foul play,” the SP said. “But we have roped in the forensic team and a dog squad to arrive at any final conclusion.”

Preliminary information indicated that there was some dispute in the family over some issue.

“Once we interrogate the survivor, we would be in any position to find out that what had led to this incident”, he said.

External Affairs Minister spoke at CII summit

S. Jaishankar | Photo Credit: AP

Reaching an understanding with China is one of the big challenges before Sino-Indian relations, said External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S Jaishankar. Addressing the India@75 summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the Minister said India and China have similarities in various aspects as two of the biggest economies of the world, but an understanding between the two is a crucial issue.

“We are demographically two very unique countries, only two with billion-plus [population] categories. We are seeing parallel but differential rise of the two countries. But all of these are happening at a time when we are neighbours as modern states. To my mind, what it does is that it puts a huge premium on reaching some kind of equilibrium or understanding between the two. And how to do that is one of the big challenges that we face,” Mr. Jaishankar said, arguing that the “world has a lot riding on this given our size and our impact”.

He said the Chinese were probably also discussing this internally. “Certainly this is something which I feel is very central for our foreign policy calculation,” said the EAM. The comments from the Minister will add to the existing churn in India’s bilateral relations with China as the military situation in eastern Ladakh continues.

Mr. Jaishankar highlighted the importance of non-alignment and globalisation in the changing world order and explained the challenges facing both. He said non-alignment is increasingly an issue-based idea facing India. He said the challenge was not in choosing partners for alignment but issues that determine the partnership.

With inputs from The Hindu

PTI

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday over the cleanliness campaign, saying he should begin the “satyagraha” by coming clean about Chinese aggression.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister launched a week-long ‘Gandagi-Mukt Bharat’ (garbage-free India) drive, which would go on till Independence Day to re-enforce the ongoing campaign on cleanliness and sanitation.

Tagging a tweet by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in which Modi urged people to take a pledge to the “garbage quit India” drive, Gandhi said, “Why not! We have to go a step ahead and clean up increasing ‘garbage of falsehood’ in the country.”

“Will the Prime Minister start the satyagraha by telling the country the truth of the Chinese aggression?” he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Gandhi also stepped up his attack against the Centre on the issue of removal of a defence ministry report mentioning Chinese ‘transgressions’, saying this was not a coincidence but the government’s “anti-democracy experiment”.

“Whenever the country has gotten emotional, files disappear. Be it Mallya or Rafale, Modi or Choksi,”Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, referring to the accusations made by the party on issues like purchase of Rafale jets, or the cases against Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

In the missing list, the latest are the documents on “Chinese transgressions” the former Congress chief said.

“Ye sanyog nahi Modi sarkar ka loktantra-virodhi prayog hai (This is not a coincidence, but Modi government’s anti-democracy experiment),” he alleged.

The Congress on Thursday asked the government why the Defence ministry report mentioning Chinese ‘transgressions’ in eastern Ladakh in May was taken down.

The document, which was uploaded on the Defence ministry’s website, was removed on Thursday morning following publication of a media report based on it.

PTI

New Delhi: Prime Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a week-long campaign to free India of garbage and stressed that the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been a big support in the fight against coronavirus.

Delivering the inaugural address at the launch of the Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra here, which was also attended by students, Modi urged children to follow social distancing norms and wear masks to guard against coronavirus.

“Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been a big support in fight against coronavirus,” he said. The week-long campaign to free India of garbage will be till August 15.

Modi said the Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s efforts towards cleanliness.

PTI

Thane: A medical practitioner from Bhiwandi in Thane district of Maharashtra has been booked for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl at his clinic on July 31, police said on Saturday.

The incident occurred after the doctor had examined all patients inside his clinic and sent away his staff, he said.

The accused has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

No arrest is made in the case so far, the official added.

PTI

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Centre on Saturday over the ASHA health workers’ strike to press for better service conditions and benefits, saying the government was “mute” already, but now maybe “blind and deaf” also.

“ASHA workers take health protection to homes across the country. They are truly health warriors, but today they are forced to go on strike for their own rights,” Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

He tagged a media report about workers under the ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist), anganwadi, and National Health Mission being on a two-day nationwide strike from Friday to press for better service conditions and benefits.

“The government was mute already, but now maybe blind and deaf also,” the former Congress president said.

Puri announces Rs 10 lakh interim relief for each of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh for the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 deceased, Rs 2 lakh for the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who suffered minor injuries in AIE flight mishap in Kozhikode.

PTI

Kerala: The death toll in the Air India Express flight crash at the airport here, rose to 18 on Saturday with one more passenger succumbing to injuries.

Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan told reporters here that one more passenger had succumbed to injuries.

Except one, all those who had perished in the accident have been identified,he said.

Seventeen people were killed and scores injured when the AIEflight from Dubai with 190 on board overshot the table toprunway while landing in heavy rains and fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two portions on Friday night.

The pilot-in-command Captain Deepak Sathe and his co- pilot Akhilesh Kumar were among those who lost their lives.

Union Minister VMuraleedharan reached the city from Delhi.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are also expected to reach the airport by around 9 AM.

An Air India Express statement on Saturday said Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, Chief Officer of the Air India Express, Chief of Operations and Chief of Flight Safety of AIX have already reached the airport here.

Special relief flights have been arranged from Delhi and one from Mumbai for rendering humanitarian assistance to all the passengers and their family members, the statement said.

The Emergency Response Director is coordinating with all the agencies in Kozhikode, Mumbai and Delhi for effective emergency response.

The AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau), DGCA and Flight Safety department have reached the city to investigate the accident,the statement said.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Screengrab of a Facebook post carrying link of a Times of India report is being circulated across social media platforms with a claim that Delhi police arrested a doctor for killing 125 covid-19 patients and trading their kidneys.
• Arrest of serial killer Dr. Devendra Sharma has got nothing to do with coronavirus. He has been under arrest for the last 16 years for kidney trafficking.

Screengrab of a Facebook post carrying link of a Times of India news report is being circulated across social media platforms with a claim that Delhi police arrested a doctor for killing 125 covid-19 patients and trading their kidneys.

The Times of India report in the screengrab shows a mask-wearing man with a yellow t-shirt.

As per the caption given to the post, when probed about the whereabouts of the dead bodies of those 125 covid-19 patients, the doctor said he fed them off to crocodiles.

Along with this post, another screengrab of a Hindi news clipping is being circulated carrying the photo of the same man. A loose translation of the headline reads ‘Kidney racket accused doctor Devendra Sharma arrested, more than 100 murdered’.

The text accompanying this news clipping claims that 125 perfectly healthy people were treated by the doctor under the guise of coronavirus He lied to them about their covid-19 status, murdered them and then traded their kidneys. The post advises that family members of dead covid-19 patients should thoroughly check their bodies while being handed over by hospitals.

TRUTH

Arrest of serial killer Dr. Devendra Sharma has got nothing to do with coronavirus. He has been under arrest for the last 16 years for kidney trafficking. He was recently arrested again after he jumped his parole.

VERIFICATION AND METHODOLOGY

We looked up the Times of India post seen in the screengrab and found that it was published on August 1, 2020.

Titled ‘Delhi: Murderer doctor’s 100 victims became crocodiles feed in UP canal’, the report describes how the doctor by his own admission murdered over 100 people. His journey in notoriety included a kidney transplant racket, the operation of a fake gas agency and the sale of stolen vehicles. To get the gas cylinders for his agency, he waylaid gas delivery trucks and killed the drivers. He wantonly killed cabbies for their vehicles.

He was sent to Jaipur jail in 2004 and spent 16 years behind bars until January 28 this year, when his “good behaviour” earned him a 20-day parole. He jumped his parole and was arrested again recently.

His crimes had no coronavirus angle to them.

VERDICT

Times Fact Check has found that the arrest of serial killer Dr Devendra Sharma is being falsely linked with coronavirus.

With inputs from TOI

‘The 20-lakh figure has been crossed and the Modi government has disappeared,’ the former Congress president tweeted in Hindi

As novel coronavirus cases crossed the 20-lakh mark, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday took to Twitter to once again target the Narendra Modi government over its COVID-19 handling.

He retweeted his July 17 tweet, in which he had predicted 2 million cases by August 10, with a fresh comment that rhymed in Hindi.

“20 lakh ka aankra paar, Gayaab hain Modi Sarkar [20-lakh figure has been crossed and the Modi government has disappeared],” tweeted Mr. Gandhi that tweaks BJP’s 2014 election campaign slogan of Abi ki baar, Modi Sarkar [This time, Modi government]

For several weeks now, the Congress leader has been targeting the Prime Minister regularly over his handling of the Chinese intrusion and the pandemic.

On Thursday, addressing party colleagues from Bihar through videoconferencing, Mr. Gandhi claimed that economic losses due to COVID-19 would mount four times the current levels because of inept handling.

The Congress has been making a case for direct cash transfers to the poorer sections such as migrant workers, construction workers and farm labour and for protecting small and medium enterprises with a special package from the Centre.