GEN.V.K SINGH RETIRED
Army
Chief General V.K. Singh, who guided the destiny of over the one-million-strong
Indian Army for the past 26 months, Retired on Thursday,31st
May,2012, leaving behind a tenure which witnessed a row over his age and
controversy over charges of bribery and corruption in defence deals.General
Singh, who became the 26 Chief of Staff of the Army on March 31, 2010, has made
it his life's goal to spruce up the image of the Army. General Singh (62), a
third generation officer, was commissioned into the Rajput regiment on June 14,
1970.He succeeded by Eastern Army Commander General Bikram Singh, who will have
a tenure of two years and three months. He will be the fifth GOC-in-C from the
Eastern Command to become the Army Chief after P.P. Kumaramangalam, S.H.F.J.
Maneckshaw, V.N. Sharma and Gen. Singh.
Considered
an upright and honest officer, General Singh, as Army Chief, laid down the
roadmap to transform the Army into a lean and mean fighting force.He had also
flagged concerns over the shortage of arms and ammunition and impressed on the
government the urgent need for immediate steps to shore up purchases.His tenure
saw the rare step of a serving Army Chief taking the government to the Supreme
Court, seeking a change in his date of birth in official records. The legal
battle ended with the Supreme Court not accepting his contention that 1951 was
his year of birth.In a recent interview to The Hindu, General Singh
hit the headlines by alleging that he was offered a bribe of Rs. 14 crore in
2010 by retired Lt.-Gen. Tejinder Singh for clearing a deal for procuring
“substandard” Tatra trucks. His allegation also rocked the Budget Session of
Parliament.
Gen.
Singh's confidential letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reportedly
highlighting critical issue of shortages and deficiencies in the Army, appeared
in the media stirring yet another unsavoury controversy.In his latest move,
General V. K. Singh has issued a show cause notice to 3 Corps commander, Lt.
Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag, in line after General Bikram Singh to become Army
Chief, for a botched-up intelligence operation in Jorhat, Assam.Lt. General
Suhag, who has been placed under a discipline and vigilance ban, is facing the
prospect of not being promoted as Army Commander, a mandatory requirement for
him for elevation to the post of Army Chief in 2014, if the Defence Ministry
accepts the outgoing Army Chief's decision.
VK
Singh will be remembered for his efforts to cleanse the Army during his tenure
and make it an efficient force. It is incorrect to say the Supreme Court
refused to accept his year of birth as 1951. The court did not directly address
the issue. It felt that since 1950 was accepted as his year of birth for so
long, there was no reason to change it. The new chief will have his hands full
if he intends to continue the good work initiated by Singh.General VK Singh is
a man of honor and courage. He has made corruption in army deals a major issue
which until now remained hidden from public view. Gen. V.K.Singh will be
remembered as a soldier who did great service to Indian Army and thus India. He
is upright, fearless and did not sign on the dotted line as desired by our well
heeled burocrats.He will be remembered as a fine soldier who did not bother
about career but cared more for this country and the people under him. Hope his
followeres will work to complete the tasks he had initiated.
Prof.
John Kurakar
The Cabinet on
Thursday31st, May, 2012, approved a new telecom policy that proposes to abolish
roaming charges on mobile phones and allow users to retain the same number
across the country. Free national roaming and number portability allowed The
Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012, which
has been released after a delay of over a year. Originally intended to be NTP
2011, the draft policy was released for public comments only in October 2011,
forcing it to be rechristened NTP 2012. The actual timelines for implementation
of individual announcements within the new telecom policy are yet to be made
known. With the new policy in place, consumers who use national roaming can now
expect to pay local call charges though it is unclear when ‘free roaming' will
be initiated. At present, consumers pay local call charges and a premium when
travelling outside their service area. The policy also allows national number
portability, but again, with no visible timelines. 
The
Women Scientists Cell of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and
Environment (KSCSTE) is implementing a scholarship scheme for students to
pursue science at the graduation level.Named Pratibha scholarship, the scheme
seeks to identify and nurture students who have qualified in the Higher
Secondary Board Examination (State Board, CBSE, and ISC) from Kerala with 90
per cent and above or equivalent grade. Eligible students can avail themselves
of a scholarship of Rs.1,000 a month for pursuing B.Sc. degree or integrated
M.Sc. in basic or applied sciences in India. As many as 100 scholarships will
be awarded in an academic year as per ranking based on the marks secured in the
higher secondary examination. Fifty per cent of the scholarships are to be set
apart for girl students and 10 per cent for SC/ST candidates.
A
group of senior environmental activists of the city gathered at the Asramam
adventure park on Wednesday30th May,2012, and called upon the State government
to declare the park and adjoining areas a biodiversity heritage site. They said
the whole area was a biodiversity hotspot of the Ashtamudi Lake.Till the 1980s,
the Asramam banks of Ashtamudi Lake bordering the Government Guest House
complex were a major mangrove forest belt of the State. Several species of
mangroves and mangrove associates thrived there. The belt had all the
characteristics of a coastal rainforest and was habitat to several species of
wild animals and diversified flora. The mangrove forest was also an important
spawning ground for many marine species, most of them edible, they said.But
towards the mid-1980s, a systematic destruction of the mangroves was launched
through a tourism development programme of the State government. It paved way
for the creation of the Asramam adventure park and the adjacent Kerala Tourism
Development Corporation's hotel complex.As
trees adapted to survive in adverse conditions, some of the mangroves survived
the tourism development exercise and they included even the rare Syzygium
travancoricum species of mangroves. Environmental activist and retired Botany
professor N. Ravi said that there were only 300 trees of this species left in
the world as per estimates and thirteen of them were surviving at the adventure
park belt. So it was important to protect them.Moreover, even though much of
the mangroves had been destroyed, the area was still serving as a major study
centre for nature enthusiasts and students as a typical coastal rainforest, he
said. Therefore, a demand was raised to protect and preserve it as a
biodiversity heritage site. Prof. Ravi had earlier submitted such a proposal to
the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB).
