Republic Day Parade 2015- A Curtain Raiser

The Nation’s military prowess and achievements in different fields, state-of- the- art defence platforms, its diverse cultural and social traditions, and the government’s emphasis on self-reliance and indigenisation will be showcased before the public at the historic Rajpath when the country celebrates its 66th Republic Day tomorrow. The highlights of this year’s Parade will be the display of indigenously developed surface-to-air Akash medium range missile (Army version) and Weapon Locating Radar both developed by the DRDO. The recently acquired long range maritime surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft P-8I and the deadly long range advanced air fighter MiG-29 K will be seen for the first time. This year’s parade will also witness for the first time three all women marching contingents of the Army, Navy and the Air Force signifying women’s powerful role in the realm of defence. The Indian Army’s laser guided missile capability T-90 “Bheeshma” tank, infantry combat vehicle BMP II (Sarath) followed by T-72 with Trawl will be the main draw in the Mechanised Columns. These will be followed by Pinaka Multiple Barrel Launcher System. Next comes the Mobile Autonomous Launcher of BRAHMOS missile system, three dimensional tactical control radar, satellite on the move communication platform and rapidly deployable satellite terminal (RADSAT). An Indian Air Force tableau will roll down the Rajpath with the theme “50 years of 1965 War”. The IAF aircraft on display are the ones that proved their prowess in the 1965 War- the Gnat and the Vampire, followed by the Canberra bomber, MI-4 helicopter and Packet transport aircraft. In keeping with the Indian Navy’s theme “Ensuring Safe Seas for a Resurgent Nation” – the Naval Tableau will display a few of its frontline assets in all four dimensions of maritime warfare. Navy’s commitment to self-reliance and indigenisation will be showcased by displaying models of indigenously constructed destroyer INS Kolkata launching a BrahMos missile with the Advanced Light Helicopter “Dhruv” in the background. The second tableau titled “Bharatiya Nau Sena aur Nari Shakti” will project the extraordinary accomplishment of four of the Indian Navy’s women officers who braved the vagaries of the seas and participated in an ocean voyage from Goa to Rio-de-Janeiro in Brazil on board Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Mhadei. The parade ceremony will commence at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate where the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will lead the Nation in paying homage to the martyrs by laying a wreath. An eternal flame burns at the Amar Jawan Jyoti to commemorate the indomitable courage of our Armed Forces personnel who have made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the motherland. The Amar Jawan, the immortal soldier, is symbolised by a reversed rifle standing on its barrel and crested by a soldier’s helmet. As per tradition, after unfurling of the National Flag, the National Anthem will be played with 21 gun salute. The parade will then commence and the President will take the salute. This year’s Chief Guest in the parade will be the Honourable Mr. Barack Obama, President of the United States of America. The parade will be commanded by Lt. General Subroto Mitra, General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area. Major General Abhay Krishna, Chief of Staff, Delhi Area will be the parade Second-in-Command. Param Vir Chakra winners Subedar Major & Honorary Captain Bana Singh (Retd), Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav, 18 Grenadiers and Naib/Subedar Sanjay Kumar, 13 JAK Rifles and Ashok Chakra winners Major General Cyrus Pithawalla, BGS (Trg), HQ Southern Command, Lieutenant Colonel Jas Ram Singh (Retd), Ex-Honorary Naib Subedar Chhering Mutup (Retd), Shri Hukum Singh and Shri Govind Singh both from district Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh and Shri Bhure Lal of District Guna also from Madhya Pradesh will follow the Deputy Parade Commander on Jeeps. The marching contingents of Army will include horse-mounted columns of the 61st Cavalry, the contingent of all-women officers led by Captain Divya A, the Brigade of the Guards, the Grenadiers, the Jat Regiment, the Sikh Regiment, the Kumaon Regiment, the Jammu & Kashmir Rifles, 14 Gorkha Training Centre and the Territorial Army (Punjab). While the marching contingents of Navy comprising 144 young sailors will be led by Lieutenant Commander Sandhya Chauhan, the all-women Naval Contingent will be led by Lieutenant Commander Priya Jayakumar. The Air Force contingent comprising 144 men will be led by Squadron Leader Manvender Singh, while all-women Air Force Officers contingent will be led by Squadron Leader Sneha Shekhawat. The Paramilitary and other auxiliary civil forces will include contingents from the Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, Indian Coast Guard, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Central Industrial Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Railway Protection Force, Delhi Police, National Cadet Corps and National Service Scheme. The Camel-mounted band of the BSF and the Ex-Servicemen marching contingent will be another major attraction. Tableaux from 16 States and 09 Central Ministries and Departments will present the varied historical, architectural and cultural heritage of the country. They will also showcase country’s progress in different fields, particularly floats from Women and Child Development Ministry depicting “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao”, Sikkim’s contribution to the national economy through its large Cardamom Cultivation and tableau on Bhagoria tribal festival of Madhya Pradesh which will be of special attraction. Twenty of the Twenty four children selected for the National Bravery Award–2014 will also participate in the parade. Four children have got the award posthumously. In the children’s pageant section, nearly 1,200 boys and girls drawn from four schools in Delhi and one each from West Zone and South Central Cultural Centres will perform colourful dances on Rajpath. In this category a dance depicting India’s first successful launching of spaceship ‘Mangalyaan’ into the orbit of Mars and another dance programme on “Swachh Bharat” will draw the attention of the spectators. ‘Jaanbaaz’, the motorcycle display by the Border Security Force will be a major attraction of the parade. Incidentally, the paramilitary force is now celebrating its Golden Jubilee. They will perform different stunts like Border Men Salute, Side Riding, Ladder Balancing, Communal Harmony, Peacock Riding, Acrobat, Parallel Bar, Lotus, Seema Prahari and Flag March formations etc on moving motor cycles. The grand finale of the parade will be a spectacular flypast by the IAF. The flypast will commence with ‘Chakra’ formation, comprising three Mi-35 helicopters in ‘Vic’ formation, followed by the “Hercules” formation comprising three C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. Trailing them will be a ‘Poseidon’ formation comprising one P-8I aircraft flanked by two MiG-29 Ks and the “Globe” formation comprising one C-17 Globemaster flanked by two Su-30s. Next in line will be the fighters, where five Jaguars will fly in Arrowhead formation, another five Mig-29 Air Superiority Fighters called the “Tridents” will fly in Fulcrum style. Then the breath-taking Trishul formation comprising three Su-30 MkI of No. 2 Squadron would fly over the Rajpath, and once in front of the saluting dais, the Su-30 MkI aircraft will split upwards, making a Trishul in the sky. The flypast will conclude with another Su-30 MkI carrying out a “Vertical Charlie” manoeuvre over the saluting dais.

Prime Minister's Media Statement during Joint Press Interaction with President of United States of America

Mr. President and members of the media, It is a great pleasure and privilege to welcome back President Obama and the First Lady in India. Mr. President, we are honoured that you accepted our invitation to be the Chief Guest for our Republic Day and I know how busy you are. It is special because on this day we celebrate the values shared by the world`s two largest democracies. You are also the first United States President to visit India twice in Office. It reflects the transformation in our relationship. It shows your deep personal commitment to this partnership. It tells us that our two nations are prepared to step forward firmly to accept the responsibility of this global partnership – for our two countries and for shaping the character of this century. The promise and potential of this relationship has never been in doubt. This is a natural global partnership. It has become even more relevant in the digital age. It is needed even more in our world of far-reaching changes and widespread turmoil. The success of this partnership is important for our progress and for advancing peace, stability and prosperity around the world. From the turn of this century, we have begun transforming our relationship. But, we have to convert a good start into lasting progress. This requires translating our vision into sustained action and concrete achievements. Mr. President, in the last few months, I see new excitement and confidence in this relationship. I see renewed energy in our engagement. I thank you for your leadership and for setting the tone last September, when I visited White House. The civil nuclear agreement was the centrepiece of our transformed relationship, which demonstrated new trust. It also created new economic opportunities and expanded our option for clean energy. In the course of the past four months, we have worked with a sense of purpose to move it forward. I am pleased that six years after we signed our bilateral agreement, we are moving towards commercial cooperation, consistent with our law, our international legal obligations, and technical and commercial viability. President Obama has also assured me of strong U.S. efforts in support of India`s full membership of the four international export control regimes at the earliest. Today, we have also decided to take our growing defence cooperation to a new level. We have agreed, in principle, to pursue co-development and co-production of specific advanced defence projects. These will help upgrade our domestic defence industry; and expand the manufacturing sector in India. We will also explore cooperation in other areas of advanced defence technologies. We have renewed our Defence Framework Agreement. We will deepen our cooperation on maritime security. Terrorism remains a principal global threat. It is taking on a new character, even as existing challenges persist. We agreed that we need a comprehensive global strategy and approach to combat with it. There should be no distinction between terrorist groups. Every country must fulfil its commitments to eliminate terrorist safe havens and bring terrorists to justice. Our two countries will deepen our bilateral security cooperation against terrorist groups. And, we will further enhance our counter-terrorism capabilities, including in the area of technology. President Obama and I agree that a strong and growing economic relationship is vital for the success of our strategic partnership. Economic growth in our two countries is becoming stronger. Our business climate is improving. This gives me great optimism about our economic ties. In addition, we have established a number of effective bilateral mechanisms to identify opportunities and also help our businesses trade and invest more. We will also resume our dialogue on Bilateral Investment Treaty. We will also restart discussions on a Social Security Agreement that is so important for the hundreds of thousands of Indian professionals working in the United States. For President Obama and me, clean and renewable energy is a personal and national priority. We discussed our ambitious national efforts and goals to increase the use of clean and renewable energy. We also agreed to further enhance our excellent and innovative partnership in this area. I asked him to lead international efforts in making renewable energy more accessible and affordable to the world. President and I expressed hope for a successful Paris Conference on climate change this year. We will continue to deepen our collaboration in science, technology, innovation, agriculture, health, education and skills. These are central to the future of our two countries; and also give us an opportunity to help others around the world. Indeed, our strategic partnership will only be complete if we assume our responsibility to work together to promote development and connectivity in our vast region. President Obama and I agreed to pursue this goal with a sense of priority. President and I had an excellent discussion on global and regional issues. In particular, we renewed our commitment to deepen our cooperation to advance peace, stability, prosperity in Asia, Pacific and Indian Ocean Region, which is critical for the future of our two countries and the destiny of this world. We will also work closely to help Afghanistan through its transition. Our relationship stands at a new level today. We have outlined a broad vision for our friendship and cooperation that reflects the opportunities and challenges of this century. As Lord Buddha said, noble friends and companions are the whole of the holy life. We have decided to give this critical partnership a new thrust and sustained attention. For this, we have agreed that India and the United States must have regular summits at greater frequency. And, we will also establish hotlines between myself and Barack and our National Security Advisors. At the beginning of this year we start a new journey. Let me welcome you once again, Mr. President. It is a great pleasure to have you with us. Thank you.

Gallantry Awards to Army on 26 January 2015

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has approved the award of one Ashok Chakra, three Kirti Chakras and nine Shaurya Chakras to the Indian Army personnel on the occasion of Republic Day 2015. In addition, award of Ashok Chakra to Major Mukund Varadarajan which was announced on 15 Aug 14 and will be conferred by the President on 26 Jan 2015, has been included in the list of citations.

Placed below are the citations and photographs in respect of the above Gallantry awardees : 

Awardees

Ashok Chakra

Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh (Posthumous), 57 Rashtriya Rifles (RAJPTANA RIFLES)

Major Mukund Varadarajan (Posthumous), 44 Rashtriya Rifles (RAJPUT REGIMENT)- Announced on 15 Aug 14.

Kirti Chakra

Capt Jaidev, 3 Rashtriya Rifles (10 PARA SF).

Subedar Ajay Vardhan (Posthumous), 14 GARHWAL RIFLES.

Naib Subedar Kosh Bahadur Gurung, 15 Rashtriya Rifles (1 GORKHA RIFLE).

Shaurya Chakra

Lieutenant Colonel Sankalp Kumar (Posthumous), 24 PUNJAB.

Major Mukul Sharma, 4 PARA (SF).

Major Abhijai (Posthumous), ENGINEERS, 39 (I) R&O Flight.

Major Ashutosh Kumar Pandey, 44 Rashtriya Rifles (RAJPUT).

Major R Vamshi Krishnan, 50 Rashtriya Rifles (ENGINEERS).

Major Bibhanshu Dhondiyal, 5/5 GR (FF).

Naik Swarup Kumar Ghorai, 20 MAHAR.

Paratrooper Balvinder Singh (Posthumous), 1 PARA (SF).

Rifleman Manga Ram, 3 JAMMU & KASHMIR RIFLES.

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From mud to medicine A major breakthrough in antibiotics

The discovery of a new antibiotic with a unique anti-bacterial action has altered the perspective in the endless war on disease. The recent announcement of the discovery ofteixobactin has led to hopes that an entirely new class ofantibiotics that does not trigger drug resistance could be deployed, by using a new approach which makes it easier to culture antibiotics. There have been no new classes of antibiotics released as prescription drugs for 32 years. Although new antibiotics have been discovered in that time, none had promising drug potential and most could not be easily cultured. In that time, a wide range of bacteria has mutated to develop resistance to most of the commonly used antibiotics. This has led to the resurgence of diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis in new "superbug", drug-resistant forms, as well as the emergence of new superbugs such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and the so-called Delhi superbug. Drug-resistant superbugs kill an estimated 700,000 people every year.

The new antibiotic, teixobactin, seemed to tackle drug-resistant superbugs effectively in its initial clinical trials with mice. It also seems to do this without setting up detectable resistance within the bacteria. The implication is that this antibiotic may actually have evolved in such a fashion that pathogens will not develop immunity to it even after long exposure.

What is more, teixobactin was isolated and cultured using new methods. There is the promise that more new powerful antibiotics, with good drug-potential, might be found using such an approach. It is early days and it may take two years or more before teixobactin is tested and cleared for clinical trials with humans. It could take five years or so to become a prescription drug, assuming all goes well. But this discovery definitely creates the possibility of deploying new weapons against superbugs, just when it looked as though drug-resistant bacteria would gain the upper hand.

The researchers who found the drug and pioneered the new approach were drawn from several academic institutions. The team was led by Kim Lewis and Slava Epstein, of Northeastern University, Boston, who co-authored the technical paper, published in Nature. It included scientists from the University of Bonn, and researchers from pharmaceutical development lab, NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals, set up by Prof. Epstein and Prof. Lewis.

Antibiotics have generally been discovered by screening micro-organisms present in the soil. Penicillin was found by accident in bread mould, back in 1928. But very few natural antibiotics can be cultured in the laboratory and many have dangerous side-effects. The team has developed new means of growing and studying bacteria and antibiotics in their natural environment - literally in dirt. They have built a tool they call the iChip ("isolation chip") which allows single cells of an antibiotic to be isolated and cultured. They have so far found 25 new antibiotics, of which teixobactin is the most promising. The new antibiotic is produced by a bacterium called eleftheria terrae, which was found and cultured using iChip technology in a field of grass. Teixobactin has an unusual action, which allowed it to destroy a range of drug-resistant pathogens in mice by multiple attacks on the cell walls. Despite lengthy exposure, these pathogens did not mutate to develop strains that were subsequently resistant to teixobactin's action. Teixobactin itself will need to be studied in much greater detail.

The iChip (which is patented by Northeastern University and licensed to NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals) will need to be deployed on a wider scale across multiple geographical and climatic regions to see if it can be used to culture more such drugs. If these antibiotics do work, they will have to be deployed with care to ensure that pathogens don't eventually develop some new resistance to their actions. Despite those caveats, this is potentially an enormous breakthrough which could transform drug research.

Nehru, Indira and the Indo-US legacy

Both Nehru and Indira Gandhi developed an antipathy to the US for personal reasons. US policy had very little to do with itLike a score of other heads of state before him, US PresidentBarack Obama is about to face a gruellingly boring couple of hours on January 26. It probably serves him right for ignoring India ever since he became US President. Stupidly, he even forgot to mention India in his latest State of the Union address, delivered two days before he comes here.

Many old-fashioned Indians, especially retired foreign services types, will sigh in quiet contentment. For them, this will be India's long-awaited revenge on America.

After all, it is no secret that until Rajiv Gandhi became prime minister, Indian diplomacy was predicated on a simple formulation: American governments are anti-Indian.

Over the years, I frequently tried to find out how this perception had grown. My question was simple. Please cite just one instance of when US actions and or/advice had done India actual harm?

No real answer was forthcoming, even though many words were spoken. The burden of the song was that the US ignored us.

Then one day, a few years ago, I got an answer: a retired foreign secretary said the only thing he could think of - that did actual harm instead of an imaginary one - was the advice John F Kennedygave to Jawaharlal Nehru to not to use the Air Force against the Chinese in 1962.

And, yes, we must not forget: it was the Americans, and not our bosom friends, the Russians, who came to our aid in 1962. They sided with China.

That aside, as harmful US acts go, many have muttered about 1971 when the US openly sided with Pakistan. But, remember, no harm came to India as a result of that support.

Prejudiced Indian
What explains the anti-US attitude in Indian officialdom? Hundreds of thousands of words have been written about it, but when you come right down to it, the prejudice came from the very top.

Both Nehru and Indira Gandhi developed an antipathy to the US but for entirely personal reasons. US policy had very little to do with it.

The late Sarvepalli Gopal, historian and biographer of Nehru, has written that Nehru was most upset that the US gave exactly the same sort of reception - confetti to confetti almost - to Liaquat Ali Khan, the Pakistani Prime Minister in 1952, as it had to Nehru. His ego was deeply hurt.

Likewise, Indira Gandhi became anti-US despite US help on the food front (PL-480) and defence (1962-64). This happened when, after she had personally negotiated the rupee devaluation of 1966 on the promise of aid, it was withheld. In case you are interested, Volume 2 of the Reserve Bank of India's history has a brief account of her negotiations.

Lyndon Johnson treated her badly, though he did ask her to dance with him. That annoyed her even more. Richard Nixon also treated her shabbily.

She turned firmly anti-American after that. Also, during 1969-71, she was dependent on Communist support in Parliament for survival.

More amazingly, even as they claimed non-alignment, both Nehru and Indira Gandhi turned to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and then blamed the US for being nasty to India. But the USSR's technology was useless. Its support, except when it used the veto in the UN Security Council, was also useless. The KGB interfered in internal affairs. Worse, it collapsed in 1990.

And guess who India turned to after that? Not Cuba, for sure.

Un-ugly American
All this happened despite the fact that US advice - when taken - actually helped India enormously. One now-forgotten instance is the advice given in the mid-1960s, which eventually led to the Green Revolution and liberation from famines.

The US also throughout gave us the same industrial advice as it did to East Asia - go for labour-intensive, export-oriented production. They took it and prospered. We didn't and failed.

In 1948, the US had offered preferential access to Indian goods in return for some mess of pottage from India. Nehru failed to act on it because of other preoccupations.

In 1978, China also took the advice that the East Asians had taken. It has emerged as a global power that is challenging the US. We didn't and a billion Indians are paying the price.

The irony
There is, however, one major instance when US actions led to a lot of harm being done to India. This was in the 1980s when, ironically, Rajiv Gandhi had decided to reverse India's persistent anti-American attitude.

One, of course, was the tacit go-ahead to Pakistan's nuclear programme. This has been widely documented.

The other is less well known: the acceptance of Zia ul-Haq's condition that in return for help in Afghanistan, Pakistan would be free to do as it pleased against India, short of a 'military adventure'. The US agreed.

Pakistan started with Punjab and went on to Kashmir. It is only recently - after Pakistan-based terrorism started to hurt it - that the US has taken back that support.

The only mitigating aspect of our absurd US policy is that every genuine friend of the US has behaved in exactly the same way with it.