REVISED FIXED MEDICAL ALLOWANCE @RS.300/-P.M. W.E.F.1.9.2008 - CG PENSIONERS RESIDING IN AREAS NOT COVERED UNDER CGHS

DOP&T issued an OFFICE MEMORANDUM dated 26th May 2010, Granting Rs.300/- as Fixed Medical Allowance (FMA) to the Central Government Pensioners residing in areas not covered under CGHS. This issue has been raised in the National Council Meeting and the staff side demanded that Fixed Medical Allowance to be enhanced up to Rs.600/-.Sources told that the Chairman, National Council on his response to this issue informed the Staff Side that Ministry of Finance considered to grant Rs.300/-. But the Staff side National Council not agreed with this.

Two weeks after the meeting, now the order has been issued, in which it has been stated that "the demand for enhancement of FMA has been under consideration of the Government for some time past. Sanction of the President is hereby conveyed for enhancement of the amount of FMA from Rs.100/- to Rs.300/- per month. The other conditions for grant of FMA shall continue to be in force." These orders will take effect from 01.09.2008.

FOR FULL TEXT OF GOVT ORDER, PLEASE CLICK HERE

(SOURCE- CENTRAL GOVT EMPLOYEES NEWS)

China may back Indias demand for permanent UNSC seat- Chinese Prez Hu Jintao Assures Indian Prez Patil Of Readiness To Talk The Complex Issue; India Sees Response Significant

Beijing: Chinese president Hu Jintao on Thursday assured visiting Indian President Pratibha Patil that China was ready to discuss the complex issues relating to Indias quest for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. Chinas response to Indias position was a significant improvement over its earlier stance on the matter,foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said. Chinese leaders including premier Wen Jiabo said they wanted to ensure a greater role for India in the UN especially in the Security Council,Rao told reporters after the meetings. She said it as a positive step on the Chinese side and did not amount to mere guarded and diplomatic language. China also said it was going to back Indias candidature for a nonpermanent seat in the Security Council for the year 2010-11. But it did not come out with clear support for a permanent seat besides offering to discuss the matter in greater detail. Rao did not elaborate on what steps would be taken to set up a mechanism for talks on the issue. Beijing agreed with India on the need for reforms in the Security Council and wanted greater representation for developing countries in it, Rao said. India is apparently building on the new bond that has emerged during the Copenhagen talks on climate change in order to persuade Beijing to agree on a partnership in groupings like BRIC and multilateral platforms like the United Nations. The leaders agreed with each other that there was a need to consolidate the relationship between the two countries by to make sure that no single episode or issue could do damage. They accepted the need to maintain peace and tranquility on the border until the boundary dispute was resolved by special representatives of both sides engaged in negotiating the matter.

Patil raised the issue of trade imbalance and suggested that China consider diversifying purchases of Indian goods and services from the pharmaceutical,engineering and information technology industries. Chinese leaders said they were equally keen to address the problem of trade imbalance. During the visit, the two countries signed three agreements on giving visa on arrival to airline crew, on cooperation in the field of civil services and in the area of sports and youth affairs.
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Hindi songs played to charm Patil

Chinese leaders charmed Pratibha Patil by playing Bollywood songs at the banquet and expressing their love for Rabindranath Tagore. Chinese musicians played four Bollywood songs Geeta Dutts Mere naam chin chin chu based on the portrayal of a Chinese girl in Howrah Bridge, Gore gore baki chore, Baar baar dekho and Roja janeman. President Hu Jintao said China wanted to set up a gallery on the two visits by Tagore to China in 1924 and 1929 at Rabindra Bharati university in Kolkata. Vatsala Kotnis, sister of Dwarkanath Kotnis who is respected for his medical services to China during the Japanese invasion in 1937, will join Patil at a reception on Friday.
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(source-toi)

Only 2% in J&K want to join Pak - Most In Favour Of Relaxed LoC As Border, Finds First-Ever Poll

New Delhi: For those who still think a plebiscite will tilt the status of Kashmir and that most Kashmiris yearn to wave the Pakistan green,there are now numbers for the first time to contradict them. A survey carried out across both Jammu and Kashmir (J&K ) and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which its author claims is the first ever, shows that only 2% of the respondents in J&K favour joining Pakistan and most such views were confined to Srinagar and Budgam districts. In six of the districts surveyed late last year by researchers from the London-based thinktank Chatham House, not a single person favoured annexation with Pakistan, something that remains the bedrock for the hardline separate campaign in Kashmir. However, the study by Robert Bradrock,a scholar from Londons Kings College, that involved interviewing 3,774 people in both parts of Kashmir in September-October 2009 showed that 44% of people in PoK favoured independence, compared with 43% in J&K. Bradrock says in the 37-page report on the survey that this would put an end for all times to come to the plebiscite route as a possible way to resolve Kashmir since the only two options that were envisaged under the UN resolutions proposing plebiscite in 1948-49 were for the whole of Kashmir to join either India or Pakistan and azadi was not an option. But in the Valley, the mood for azadi still remained strong, with between 75% and 95% respondents favouring that as a final resolution.
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(Source-toi)

199 polyclinics to be set up for ex-servicemen

New Delhi: In some relief to retired military personnel who are unhappy about the medical services being provided to them, the government on Wednesday approved a proposal to establish 199 new polyclinics across the country under the ex-servicemen contributory health scheme (ECHS). The Union Cabinet approved the 199 polyclinics, which will include 17 mobile medical facilities and 15 new regional centres, at a cost of Rs 141 crore. This comes after the ECHS was first introduced in 2003 by the setting up of 277 polyclinics at stations with ex-servicemen population over 2,500. "The Cabinet on Wednesday also approved reorganisation and strengthening of the central ECHS organisation by suitably increasing the manpower. It has authorised additional manpower, 2,263 in number on a contractual basis to man the additional 199 polyclinics, ''said an official. "It has also authorised 315 serving personnel for the proposed regional centres,'' he added.
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(source-toi)

With PM watching,DRDO lets loose missiles at armed forces

After public bickering among Cabinet ministers, here comes the sharp divide in defence establishment. With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, defence minister A K Antony and others watching, the faultlines that underlie the embittered Defence Research and Development Organisation armed forces relationship erupted into plain view on Wednesday. DRDO chief VK Saraswat,speaking at the National Technology Day awards function,tore into the armed forces for failing to overcome their "temptation'' to induct the latest weapon systems from abroad. This did not go down well with the forces,represented as they were by Air Chief Marshal PV Naik, Admiral Nirmal Verma and General VK Singh as well as other officers in the audience. Some officers told that DRDO "promises too much'' but delivers "too little, too late'' and forces are "forced'' to push for import of weapon systems to maintain operational readiness. "Some awards given today, for instance, are for Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, Nag anti-tank guided missile and Astra air-to-air missile. These are still not operational despite years, if not decades,of trials,'' said an officer. The spat, incidentally,comes just two days after the Navy chief held a long meeting' with Antony to stress that it was high time DRDO got its act together,said sources. Wednesday's award ceremony began normally enough,with Saraswat listing out achievements ranging from launch of India's first nuclear submarine INS Arihant to the planned test of the 5,000-km range Agni-V ballistic missile in 2011. But then, Saraswat let loose a couple of heat-seeking missiles. It's grossly unfair to hold only DRDO responsible for the poor level of self-reliance in defence systems, he said. "The responsibility should be shared by all stake-holders of defence ministry and cannot be placed on DRDO alone, which neither has the power to impose its products on its customer (armed forces), nor the mandate or capacity to produce the developed systems all by themselves (without a strong defence-industrial base),'' he said.
"Services also must understand that while the temptation may be overwhelming to field proven,state-of-the-art imported systems, they too have a role to play in the country's economic and industrial growth. No foreign system can be customised to completely address our long-term requirements, ''he added.

There is, of course, a lot in what Saraswat said. The armed forces certainly need to fully support DRDO to ensure self-reliance in critical weapon systems, supply of which from abroad can easily be choked in times of crisis. But it's equally true DRDO projects cannot continue to be bedevilled with huge time and cost overruns. The PM, on his part said, "We should be able to acknowledge and learn from our setbacks. It's a fact some projects have been delayed and others have faced difficulties.''
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(source-toi)

Army chief to pursue PhD in military science

Bhopal: Its like William Shakespeare wanting a degree in English literature, or Leonardo da Vinci hungry for formal graduation in fine arts. Army chief General Vijay Kumar Singh wants to pursue a doctorate degree in military science from Barkatullah University, Bhopal. The chief of Army, will be in Bhopal on Friday to appear for a viva to enrol for PhD in military science. Prof Gyanendra Gautam, head of sociology department, confirmed the countrys first soldier is scheduled to appear before the Research Degree Committee on May 28. The research proposal must have been submitted earlier. The dean, the chairman of the committee and experts will hold a meeting. The Army chief will be called for an interview after which the proposal will be approved, modified or rejected by the panel. That is the procedure, Prof Gautam said.After clearing the viva, Gen Singh will have to work for two years under the guidance of Prof Kailash Tyagi, who is a a D Litt on the subject.
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(source-toi)

SECOND OPINION, Patriotism pays-It makes sense to bring Indias looted wealth back home (By Jug Suraiya)

To paraphrase well-known saying, the last refuge of the profiteer is patriotism. But what if patriotism is, in a given situation, the most profitable of options. What if patriotism paid. Wouldnt it be a foolish and eventually pauperised profiteer who in such a scenario did not make patriotism his first resort rather than his last. According to the Swiss Banking Association Report 2006, dishonest (and unpatriotic) Indians have stashed away some $1,456 billion in numbered Swiss bank accounts. If the report is to be believed, Indians have more clandestine loot hidden away in foreign accounts than all the rest of the world combined. This suggests that, far from being a poor country as we have always been taught by our netas to believe, India is in fact a very rich country. Except that its wealth, instead of being kept in India, has been taken outside India.

Compared with Indias $1,456 billion, Russia comes a poor second with $470 billion, followed by the UK ($390 billion),Ukraine ($100 billion) and China ($96 billion). These figures,which are four years out of date, relate only to Swiss banks, and do not take into account other offshore tax havens such as the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands which offer similar facilities for the parking of undeclared wealth. It has been estimated that if the Indian money kept abroad only in Swiss accounts were to be brought back to India, the countrys entire foreign debt would be wiped out 13 times over. The foreign debt repaid, the interest earned on the residual amount would reportedly be more than the central budget. You wouldnt have to pay taxes. Every poor person in the country could be given a lakh of rupees.

But why would this huge hoard of undeclared boodle be brought back to India. For reasons of pure patriotism? Certainly not. But what about reasons of profitable patriotism. Now that makes more sense. The reason that all this wealth was secreted out of the country by politicians, industrialists,businessmen, racketeers, smugglers was that the regulation-strangulated Indian economy did not inspire confidence in anyone, least of all in much of the political leadership whose (deliberately) misguided policies had made the country economically weak to begin with. It was deemed to be prudent to keep cash assets in the form of hard currency rather than in the lowly avatar of the despised and worthless Indian rupee. Economic patriotism very definitely did not pay. But does the same situation obtain today, when the so-called advanced economies by and large are in terrible shape, thanks to their own greed and spendthrift ways which have resulted in enormous and unsustainable accumulations of sovereign debt. Following the subprime crisis in the US, which unleashed a global financial tsunami from which the international economic order will take a long while to recover, Europe has been hit with an epidemic of Euroflu as a result of fiscal mismanagement in the euro zone which has led Greece into virtual bankruptcy and is also threatening Spain and Portugal.

Increasingly, the so-called advanced economies of the world including Japan, which also seems to be on the brink of a sovereign debt trap dont look so advanced anymore. The two big growth centres of the world today as we keep being told over and over again are India and China. In this context, wouldnt it make both patriotic and more importantly profitable sense for Indias offshore riches to find their way back to India, instead of remaining in what looks to be an increasingly dangerous economic war zone.
What about it, all you Numbered Accountwallas Wear your patriotism on your sleeve. Or, better still, in your Indian bank accounts.
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Training has to be relevant to counter threats: Army chief


General V K Singh wants the Armys training methodologies to be constantly upgraded to ensure the 1.13-million strong force remains fully prepared to fight across the entire spectrum of conflict ranging from asymmetric warfare to conventional wars. Training must be pertinent to counter the variety of threats and challenges one faces. The best doctrines,strategy, force structure, equipment and tactics can be of little use if the Army is not trained well, said Gen Singh, at an Army Training Command seminar on Tuesday. Our training institutions are amongst the finest in the world. These institutions can maintain their pre-eminence only by imbibing and adapting the best practices and realities. The latest training aids and simulators must be inducted for value addition, he added.
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(source-toi)