Newsletter 16 July

News in Box

Armed forces get powers to fast-track capital procurements worth Rs 300 crore

Defense minister Rajnath Singh will visit Ladakh this week to take stock of the ground situation amid the ongoing military tensions with China.
The armed forces on Wed were authorized to fast-track capital procurements worth Rs 300 crore to plug their operational deficiencies.
Singh, accompanied by Army chief General M M Naravane, will visit Ladakh on July 17, and then go to forward areas in JnK the next day to review operational readiness along both the fronts with China and Pakistan.
This comes after PM Narendra Modi visited eastern Ladakh on July 3^rd to firmly declare the “era of expansionism” was over, in a strong message to China that India was ready to defend its frontiers at all costs.
Ahead of Singh’s visit, the defense acquisitions council (DAC) chaired by him on Wed delegated the powers for “progressing urgent capital acquisition cases up to Rs 300 crore” to the armed forces to meet their emergent operational requirements in face of the troop confrontation with China.
“This will shrink the procurement timelines and ensure placement of orders within six months and commencement of deliveries within one year.
The special DAC meeting was convened due to the prevailing security situation along the northern borders (with China) and the need to strengthen the armed forces for the defense of our borders,” said a MoD official.
The 13-lakh strong Army, incidentally, is finalizing several acquisition proposals that range from “Spike Firefly loitering munitions” and additional “Spike” anti-tank guided missiles and launchers from Israel to small hand-launched Raven drones and 72,000 more SiG Sauer assault rifles from the US.
There are also bigger procurement proposals in the pipeline, which will cost much beyond Rs 300 crore, for lightweight tanks that can be deployed in high-altitude regions and additional Israeli “Heron” surveillance as well as missile-armed unmanned aerial vehicles.
Similarly, the case for 93,895 close-quarter battle (CQB) carbines from UAE Company Caracal is also on the cards.
The DAC on July 2^nd had approved several big capital procurement projects worth Rs 38,900 crore, which included 21 additional MiG-29 and 12 Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets as well as 300 Nirbhay long-range land-attack cruise missiles and 250 Astra air-to-air missiles, as was then reported by TOI.

Though these projects will take at least two to three years to fructify, they signal the government’s renewed thrust on building military capabilities for the two active borders with China and Pakistan despite budgetary constraints.

Ready In All Respects, $5.2 Billion Order For 83 LCAs By December

A long awaited $5.2 billion contract for 83 indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk.1A jets is ready in all respects and is likely to be awarded to HAL in or before December this year.
Livefist can confirm that completed paperwork is now awaiting a final clearance from India’s Finance Ministry before contract signature with manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
Clearance to manufacture 18 LCA Mk.1 FOC trainer aircraft to expand numbers and keep the production line warm before the Mk.1A comes online is also under final review before expected clearance.
The 83 Mk.1A jets will be higher performance jets both in terms of performance, weapons and avionics capability as well as crucial maintainability.

Indian Army Came before media a day letter after Meeting Concluded

In short, date of next meeting is to be fixed.

Indian Army on Thursday stated that the core commanders meet of India-China at Chushul in eastern Ladakh for the fourth round of talks amid disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

“India and China have been engaged in discussions through established military and diplomatic channels to address the prevailing situation along the LAC. Commanders from PLA & Indian Army held a meeting at Chushul, on Indian side, for the fourth round of talks, on July 14 2020,” Army said in a statement.

According to the statement the engagement was consistent with the consensus reached between the Special Representatives of India and China earlier, on July 05, to discuss complete disengagement. The Senior Commanders reviewed the progress on implementation of the first phase of disengagement and discussed further steps to ensure complete disengagement.

“The two sides remain committed to the objective of complete disengagement. This process is intricate and requires constant verification (= China’s intransigence has stalled the disengagement). They are taking it forward through regular meetings at diplomatic and military level.” Colonel Aman Anand, Ministry of Defense Spokesperson.

Jingoism, rationalization can’t mask intelligence failure that led to Galwan incident, writes Lt-Gen Bhopinder Singh, retired lieutenant-general and former military secretary to presidents KR Narayanan and APJ Abdul Kalam. He is clearly blaming the total intelligence failure for the current Sino-Indian Standoff. He said-

‘There are broadly three possible intelligence concern scenarios. First, that there was no substantial or actionable intelligence input at all — highly improbable, given the advancements of tech-enabled satellite images that are available to all, including to the military intelligence that has its own mechanisms. Second, that there was adequate actionable information shared and there was no commensurate reaction to the same — absolutely impossible, given the dynamics and functioning of the military apparatus. Third and perhaps most plausible, there was sketchy and delayed information (which is usually the case) that allowed the situation to drift towards disadvantageous positions and the subsequent clearances to take remedial action was challenged by politico-bureaucratic interventions and constraints.’

[for complete story read link 1]

A border clash has plunged ties between India and China to their lowest point in decades. But one beneficiary looks clear — the US-India relationship.

Experts say India could finally end equivocation about openly aligning itself with the long-eager United States, although there will still be disagreements — which, paradoxically, are now mostly due to Washington.-AFP

[for complete story read link 2]

China reluctant to withdraw completely from Finger area, India firm on complete withdrawal-ANI reported a day before media briefing

Even though China is showing flexibility in the military-level talks with India, it seems that Beijing is a bit reluctant to move back completely out of the Finger area and wants to maintain some presence there.
However, sources said the Chinese have agreed for complete withdrawal from other friction points including the Galwan valley, Hot Springs, and Gogra post area in Eastern Ladakh.
“In the talks, the Chinese showed reluctance for complete withdrawal from Finger area as they want to maintain some elements in areas near Finger 8,” a source said. In the areas near Finger four, the Chinese troops have started dismantling their infrastructure from Blacktop and Green Top, the sources said.

[for complete story read link 3]

Disengagement (pullback of rival forces from close proximity) is distinct from de-escalation (demobilizing forces to end hostilities). Before de-escalation can begin, rival forces must disengage at all standoff sites. The threat of more clashes or armed conflict has yet to lift. China is seeking to string India along. It is loath to roll back the territorial gains of its stealth aggression, as at Lake Pangong. Its troops remain ensconced in the Depsang Y-Junction (the so-called “bottleneck” area), located 18 km inside territory India regards as its own. Brahma Chellaney.

India has asked Pakistan to give unconditional access to Kulbhushan Jadhav

Pakistan provided second Consular Access to India for innocent (as per Indian Claim) Indian National Kulbhushan Jadhav, at given at 4:30 PM today.

Unimpeded, unrestricted Access were not given, which occur at unknown place. Details of meeting yet to come.
Indian High Commission officials reached Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Access likely for two hours. Not all requested agreed by Pakistan.
Ministry of external affairs (MEA) had last Thurs said it is assessing all legal options in the case related to Indian national Kulbushan Jadhav, who is on death row in Pakistan and assured that it is committed to protecting the life of Indian nationals.
MEA had stated that Jadhav has been sentenced to execution through a farcical trial. He has clearly been coerced to refuse to file a review in his case.
“We had pointed out how Pakistan’s claim that Kulbushan Jadhav has refused to initiate a review petition, is a continuation of the farce playing out for the last 4 years.
We are assessing our legal options and we remain committed to protecting the life of our Indian nationals,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said on July 9 during a media briefing.

India has been a great partner of America, says US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

They are an important partner. I’ve a great relationship with my counterpart, we talk frequently about a broad range of issues. We talked about the conflict they had along their border with China: Mike Pompeo on if US considers India an increasingly important military and trade partner. You saw their (India) decision to ban many Chinese software firms from operating software on mobile phones in their country. The whole world is coalescing around challenge we face in democracies that free nations of the world will push back on these challenges together: Mike Pompeo

India has been a great American partner, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wed, noting that he frequently talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on a broad range of issues, including the conflict it had along the border with China.
The troops of India and China are locked in an over eight-week standoff in several areas in eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley and Gogra Hot Spring since May 5.
The situation deteriorated last month following the Galwan Valley clashes that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead.
I have a great relationship with my foreign minister counterpart. We talked frequently about a broad range of issues.
We talked about the conflict they had along the border with China, the risk that emanates from Chinese telecommunication infrastructure there.
He also referred to India’s decision to ban a number of Chinese apps. India last month banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok and UC Browser, saying they were prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country. “You saw the decision they made to ban some several dozen Chinese software firms from operating inside of their country on the phones of people operating inside of India,” he said.

[for complete story read link 4]

28 flights to be operated from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru to Paris between July 18 to Aug 1: Puri

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said that Air France will be operating 28 flights from Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru to Paris from July 18 to Aug 1.

Air France will be operating 28 flights from Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru to Paris from July 18 to August 1.
He also said that the ministry is at a very advanced stage of negotiations with at least 3 countries – France, the US, and Germany for air bubble.
American carriers to fly Flights to India from July 17-31
The international flight services will soon resume.

Bihar bridge collapses month after inauguration

The small bridge, along with an approach road and a longer bridge, connected Gopalgang to Chhapra and other districts. The govt had spent Rs 264 cr on the entire 12-km long stretch.

The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar has been left red-faced after a bridge, part of a Rs 264-crore infrastructure project inaugurated just last month, was washed away by a swollen Gandak river at Gopalganj district Wed.
Work on it began in 2012 and the project was inaugurated by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, through video conferencing, on 16 June.

UGC responded on Examinations in Universities

Universities were approached to inform the status of the conduct of examination. Response received from 640 universities.

Out of these, 454 have either conducted the examination or are planning to conduct.

177 universities are yet to decide on the conduct of examination. In case of 27 private universities, which were established during 2019-20 to till date, the first batch is yet to become eligible for final examination: University Grants Commission (UGC)

International

US military, NFL, Jack Dorsey accounts hacked — 6 times Twitter had high profile breaches

Many verified Twitter accounts able to post again after hacking-Reuter reported at 4 pm IST

From collecting and selling millions of user passwords to hacking founder Jack Dorsey’s account, hackers have favored Twitter for years.

Alleged leaked pictures from the Twitter admin control panel that was compromised showcase the buttons ‘Trends Blacklist’ and ‘Search Blacklist’, indicating Twitter DOES have the ability to shadow ban it’s users. Twitter is now removing and deleting images of the admin control panel from its website.

Some of the highest-profile Twitter accounts, including former President Barack Obama and Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, were subject to a breathtaking hack on Wed involving a Bitcoin-related scam.
Twitter Inc. temporarily blocked all verified accounts from posting or even changing their passwords while it investigated and sought to resolve the issue.
The scale of the hack was unprecedented, but Twitter has had significant security problems before. Here are a few of the most prominent recent attacks.

January 2020: NFL teams hacked

Earlier this year, more than a dozen Twitter accounts for teams in the National Football League were hijacked just a week before the Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers official account tweeted, “We are here to Show people that everything is hackable.” The posts were later claimed by the group OurMine. Twitter said the accounts were hacked through a third-party platform.

August 2019: CEO sends offensive tweets

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey‘s account, followed by more than 4 million people, fired off a slew of vulgar and racist tweets that were taken down about 20 minutes later. The cause, according to a Twitter spokesman: “The phone number associated with the account was compromised due to a security oversight by the mobile provider.” A group calling itself Chuckling Squad took responsibility.

November 2018: Twitter support forms exploited

Twitter said it identified an issue with one of its support forms that could expose the country code of a user’s associated phone number. It received a large number of inquiries via the affected form from individual IP addresses in China and Saudi Arabia, saying they could have had ties to state-sponsored actors.

July 2016: Dorsey hacked by OurMine

It was clear something was wrong when Dorsey’s account tweeted out: “testing your security,” a hack that apparently came from OurMine. Within an hour, Twitter deleted the tweets, according to reports at the time.

June 2016: 32 million passwords for sale

Hackers appeared to have used malware to collect more than 32 million Twitter passwords, and put them up for sale on the dark web, according to TechCrunch. Twitter said that its own systems had not been breached.

January 2015: U.S. military account tweets ISIS messages

The U.S. military’s Central Command tweeted out threatening messages and changed its header message to include the text “i love you isis.” The Washington Post said the military was treating it as an act of “cybervandalism” and responded by immediately taking its social media accounts offline. – Bloomberg

Twitter accounts hacked until now in Bitcoin Scam:

Kanye, Uber, Apple, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mike Bloomberg, Joe Biden, Warren Buffett, Barack Obama

Taiwan thwarts China 'invasion' in live-fire drill

Taiwanese soldiers on Thurs fought off simulated coastal assaults from China during their biggest annual live-fire exercises of the year, as Beijing ramps up military pressure on the island.

The five-day drill, which began on Monday, is aimed at testing how democratic Taiwan’s armed forces would repel an invasion from its giant neighbor.
Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to one day seize it — by force if necessary.
Thurs’s simulation saw Taiwan’s fighter jets, warships and ground troops repelling an enemy attempt to land on a beach in the central city of Taichung in an operation involving some 8,000 service members.
President Tsai Ing-wen watched the drill, later tweeting that it “demonstrated to the world our robust defense capabilities and strong determination to defend Taiwan“.
Taipei has lived with the threat of invasion by China since the two sides split in 1949 after a civil war.
- In recent decades it has found itself increasingly outnumbered and outgunned by China’s enormous People’s Liberation Army.
- Beijing has piled military, economic and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan since Tsai came to power in 2016, because she refuses to acknowledge its stance that the island is part of “one China”.
- Tsai won a landslide reelection in Jan in what was seen as a strong rebuke to China’s strong-arm tactics against the island.
- Last year President Xi Jinping gave an especially bellicose speech about Taiwan, warning its unification was “inevitable”.
- In recent months Chinese warplanes have started buzzing Taiwan with unprecedented frequency, repeatedly breaching its air defense zone and prompting Taipei to scramble its own fighter jets.
- The military mismatch has been compounded by Western governments’ increasing wariness of selling Taiwan advanced weapon systems, fearful of incurring Beijing’s wrath.
- That has pushed Taiwan to develop its own hardware, including advanced missiles, boats and a new trainer jet.
- Some of that new hardware, including locally built surface-to-air and hypersonic missiles, was used during this week’s drills.
- But China’s increasingly muscular approach towards the island has also sparked renewed international cooperation with Taiwan.
- Under US President Donald Trump, Washington has become far more willing to sell big-ticket items including F-16 fighter jets and other hardware.
- Earlier this week, Beijing vowed to impose sanctions on defense company Lockheed Martin in response to the US agreeing to upgrade Taiwan’s Patriot missile systems. France has also angered Beijing by agreeing to upgrade the missile interference systems on frigates Taiwan purchased in the 1990s.
- Washington has remained a leading unofficial ally and arms supplier to Taipei despite switching diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979.

Nation Amid COVID-19

Over 650 Kolkata Police personnel diagnosed with #COVID19 over past 4 months, around 512 of them recovered, several others undergoing treatment at hospitals: Senior officer
Coronavirus India LIVE Updates: Former Maharashtra CM tests positive; Odisha starts plasma therapy to treat patients
Coronavirus (Covid-19) Tracker, India Lockdown News Live Updates: As many as 1,27,39,490 samples have tested for the virus till July 15, out of which 3,26,826 samples were tested on Wed, the Indian Council of Medical Research said.
The Covid-19 tally in India rose to 968,876 on Thursday after 32,696 fresh cases were registered within a span of 24 hours, the Min of Health and Family Welfare announced. The death toll stood at 24,915.
As many as 1,27,39,490 samples have tested for the virus till July 15, out of which 3,26,826 samples were tested on Wed, the Indian Council of Medical Research said.

For India’s Police / CAPF personnel, beyond their normal duties, the pandemic entails long work hours, sleep deprivation, isolation from family & in some cases, making the supreme sacrifice. So far, 20,107 personnel have tested positive and 134 had to give up their lives- Indian Police Association.

For details of covid updates, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_India

https://www.firstpost.com/india/jingoism-rationalisation-cant-mask-intelligence-failure-that-led-to-galwan-incident-writes-lt-gen-bhopinder-singh-8604331.html
https://www-pp.afp.com/en/news/15/india-china-crisis-india-us-bonanza-view-doc-1uz3hg2
https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/china-reluctant-to-withdraw-completely-from-finger-area-india-firm-on-complete-withdrawal20200715215938/
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/india-has-been-a-great-partner-of-america-says-us-secretary-of-state-mike-pompeo/articleshow/76987572.cms