Monday, March 25, 2019
ANDAMAN and NICOBAR Island
Regarded as a strategic goldmine positioned at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca, it is an isolated chain of islands over 800 miles from India’s mainland. Decision to establish a tri-service military command was made in 2001. What followed was wanton disregard for building up the military infrastructure. For example night flights from Port Blair, capital of A&N, started only in 2015. Permission for a new long-range, ballistic missile test facility on Rutland Island was granted this year after a long delay.
China's growing military footprints in IOA
Anti-piracy patrols by naval ships was followed by nuclear and conventional submarine patrols in 2013 and 2014. Conspicuous port calls were made to Karachi and Colombo. In 2015, China set up its first ‘military logistics supply facility’ in Djibouti. Later, China unlocked its strategic tilt with Pakistan by gaining control of Gwadar Port, agreeing to sell 8 Yuan-class submarines and announcing the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Chinese vessels had made 3 unsuccessful attempts to intrude into A&N’s EEZ despite being warn off. Later a Chinese think-tank espoused Chinese claim for, and disputed India's sovereignty over A&N islands!!
Full blown upgrade of A&N under PM Modi
PM Modi in 2014 started "Neighborhood First” initiative to buttress India's strategic position in the Indian Ocean Region. It was followed logically, by a military build up of A&N. These included the following:
In 2015-2016:
◙ $1.5 B, 10-yr plan to build A&N infra, incl. doubling naval patrol craft to 32 and army personnel to 6,000.
◙ Deployment of P8-I Poseidon MPA and Israeli-origin unmanned drones
◙ New landing craft and interceptor boats for the Indian Coast Guard
◙ Permanent deployment of guided-missile corvette—INS Karmuk
◙ Installation of sea wall of hydrophones (to detect foreign subs crossings), done jointly by India and Japan.
In 2017:
◙ Deployment of India-origin floating dock
◙ Expansion of a 3,500-meter runway at the Campbell Bay military base in Great Nicobar.
Campbell Bay
Campbell Bay is 300 miles closer to the mouth of Strait of Malaca, so air assets there can better monitor the crucial naval choke-point. Proposed expansion to 6,000-10,000 meter runway would permit large bodied aircraft like P8-I Poseidon to be hosted at CB. Further upgrade possibilities exist for A&N, namely: to establish major shipping hub, naval command for hosting aircraft carriers & nuclear submarines, and air-command for hosting Sukhoi-30MKI fighters.
PM Modi has played India's ace card by developing A&N as a military command. A&N is a strategic goldmine but can it stand up to China's military might?
Regarded as a strategic goldmine positioned at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca, it is an isolated chain of islands over 800 miles from India’s mainland. Decision to establish a tri-service military command was made in 2001. What followed was wanton disregard for building up the military infrastructure. For example night flights from Port Blair, capital of A&N, started only in 2015. Permission for a new long-range, ballistic missile test facility on Rutland Island was granted this year after a long delay.
China's growing military footprints in IOA
Anti-piracy patrols by naval ships was followed by nuclear and conventional submarine patrols in 2013 and 2014. Conspicuous port calls were made to Karachi and Colombo. In 2015, China set up its first ‘military logistics supply facility’ in Djibouti. Later, China unlocked its strategic tilt with Pakistan by gaining control of Gwadar Port, agreeing to sell 8 Yuan-class submarines and announcing the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Chinese vessels had made 3 unsuccessful attempts to intrude into A&N’s EEZ despite being warn off. Later a Chinese think-tank espoused Chinese claim for, and disputed India's sovereignty over A&N islands!!
Full blown upgrade of A&N under PM Modi
PM Modi in 2014 started "Neighborhood First” initiative to buttress India's strategic position in the Indian Ocean Region. It was followed logically, by a military build up of A&N. These included the following:
In 2015-2016:
◙ $1.5 B, 10-yr plan to build A&N infra, incl. doubling naval patrol craft to 32 and army personnel to 6,000.
◙ Deployment of P8-I Poseidon MPA and Israeli-origin unmanned drones
◙ New landing craft and interceptor boats for the Indian Coast Guard
◙ Permanent deployment of guided-missile corvette—INS Karmuk
◙ Installation of sea wall of hydrophones (to detect foreign subs crossings), done jointly by India and Japan.
In 2017:
◙ Deployment of India-origin floating dock
◙ Expansion of a 3,500-meter runway at the Campbell Bay military base in Great Nicobar.
Campbell Bay
Campbell Bay is 300 miles closer to the mouth of Strait of Malaca, so air assets there can better monitor the crucial naval choke-point. Proposed expansion to 6,000-10,000 meter runway would permit large bodied aircraft like P8-I Poseidon to be hosted at CB. Further upgrade possibilities exist for A&N, namely: to establish major shipping hub, naval command for hosting aircraft carriers & nuclear submarines, and air-command for hosting Sukhoi-30MKI fighters.
PM Modi has played India's ace card by developing A&N as a military command. A&N is a strategic goldmine but can it stand up to China's military might?
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China's Creeping Invasion of India
VERY LONG ARTICLE
Infrastructure now allows People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) units to mount patrols right into Indian territory along the 4,057 kilometer long Line of Actual Control (LAC). The LAC currently represents the de facto border between India and China and is divided into three sectors: the western, middle, and eastern. In the absence of timely Indian Army (IA) patrols to counter such intrusions, there would be concession of small bits of territory to China over time. In some places, particularly lacking in connectivity, Chinese-built helipads and short tracks inside Indian territory have been discovered by Indian forces in the past.
The Chinese can now also build up forces along the LAC at various points much more quickly than before and in more significant numbers if so desired. In any case, the Chinese have built motorable tactical roads to all 31 passes that are of military significance along the LAC. Various border “laterals” of low classification also exist just south of subsidiary axes to the main tactical roads and can be used for switching forces between sectors. Clearly, the IA no longer has the luxury of hanging back as the Chinese move in at a time or place of their choosing. While current defensive formations ensure that the Chinese cannot advance deep into Indian territory or, as IA insiders put it, “capture targets of value,” the need of the hour from the Indian perspective is to extend road infrastructure right up to various points along the LAC.
Post re-organization, the total area of responsibility (AOR) under the former Lanzhou and Chengdu military regions in China has been merged by the PLA into the newly created Western Theater Command, which now controls the 76th and 77th “Combined Corps-Level” group armies (GAs) that are not merely integrated arms units of PLAGF but will also progressively include inter-service elements from the PLA Air Fore (PLAAF) and the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF) in furtherance of the integrated joint operations that are supposed to be a key facilitator of China’s doctrine of “winning local wars under conditions of informatization.” In addition to the 76th and 77th GAs, the Xinjiang Military Division (MD) and Tibet Military Division (MD), which are also part of the Western Theater Command have some additional eight infantry divisions/brigades and two special operations brigades at their disposal.
Indian military sources believe that the 77th and the 76th could concentrate the equivalent of up to seven division-sized formations (indicative figures, since the PLAGF is currently reorganizing itself into a brigade-based structure) in TAR within a week’s time with one “rapid reaction division” being inducted into Lhasa in as little as 24-36 hours. Using the 1,142 km long Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the three main highways that converge on Lhasa, as well as aviation infrastructure, the PLAGF could also bring 12 divisions into TAR in around a month’s time. For a much larger campaign that would see multiple fronts opened against India on the LAC, the PLAGF could mobilize up to 32 divisions in a single campaigning season and these could be sustained in TAR for a month (although it is debatable whether the PLAGF would really want to send deploy so many troops in TAR).
China can now not only mobilize such forces against India in a relatively short period of time but can also sustain them for relatively long periods of time. The significant number of camps that have come up in TAR simply plug into existing civilian water and power utility infrastructure. Incidentally, the Chinese have built hyperbaric chambers with storehouses in some of these camps to facilitate the rapid acclimatization of some troops inducted from lower altitudes in the event of a contingency. Apart from specialized storage (many underground), massive dual-use logistics centers, such as the one at Nagqu, have been constructed which also host command and control facilities.
Indeed, with its hub based around Lhasa-Nagqu, an optical fiber cable network radiates to Ngari in the West and Nyingchi in the east while also connecting with successive higher headquarters all the way up to Beijing. Together with the optical fiber cable mesh, 58 VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) satellite stations have been built to provide the backbone for a C4ISR network necessary to prosecute a “local war under conditions of informatization.”
As far as airpower is concerned, besides the six fully operational dual-use airbases facing India at Lhasa Gonggar, Nyingchi, Qamdo, Hoping, Ngari Gunsa, and Shigatse, PLAAF has built another nine for its use in TAR. TAR also has some 27 additional airstrips that the PLAAF can utilize. Unlike in the past, the PLAAF now operates year-round from TAR, with reportedly some 24 combat aircraft, a mix of J-10s and J-11s, being based there on a near-permanent basis with other frontline combat aircraft being deployed to airfields in the region as detachments for durations of up to three months. Several airfields dedicated to helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations are also being constructed in TAR. In May 2017, the PLAAF took the lid off a base in TAR that hosts a GJ-1 armed UAV unit.
The PLAAF can also look forward to integrated joint operations with PLARF, which controls China’s missiles, in TAR. Opposite India, the PLARF currently deploys various versions of the DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) family, DF-15 short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) variants, and possibly the new DF-16 SRBM as well. The PLARF is likely to use conventionally armed missiles in the opening stages of any conflict to attack Indian Air Force (IAF) airbases in addition to other targets, thereby making it a key enabler of air operations for the PLAAF.
Overall, China’s ability to mobilize troops into TAR in addition to growing PLAAF activities backed by the PLARF has given it the confidence to engage in a game of brinkmanship along the LAC with numerous intrusions, despite the fact that the Tibet Military Division has only three regular and one special operations brigade permanently stationed there. And in May 2016, China raised the status of Tibet Military Command (TMC), by putting it directly under the jurisdiction of the PLAGF.
India’s Response
Despite the muscle flexing, the PLAGF is going to find it rather difficult to conquer any target of value along the LAC. Take Tawang, for instance. An entire IA mountain division, the 5th under IV Corps, has its headquarters in neighboring West Kameng district. Indian forces deployed in Tawang have the best firepower the IA has at its disposal and have essentially fortified Tawang. An advanced landing ground has also been approved for construction in Tawang, with surveys underway for a high-altitude rail link.
In addition to the 5th Division, India has eight more mountain divisions along with one dual-tasked formation under the III, IV, and XXXIII Corps of its Eastern Command, which are all defensively oriented against the Chinese. To support these formations, the IA has also built numerous logistics nodes, troop habitats and underground storage facilities. In recent times, India is also desperately trying to complete the India-China Border Roads (ICBR) Project, which envisages the construction of 73 strategic roads along the LAC of which 27 roads are currently operational. Each of these roads will be capable of conveying 155 mm howitzers and multi-barrel rocket launchers such as the 300 mm Smerch and the 220 mm Pinaka.
India is also progressively improving its aviation facilities in India’s northeast with composite aviation bases and dedicated UAV bases such as the one at Lilabari, Assam. Numerous other forward area refueling and arming points as well as forward operating bases are meant for helicopter aviation, including the soon to be acquired AH-64E Apaches as well as the indigenous Rudra armed helicopter, which is being deployed to the NE.
Even as India hastens military infrastructure in the northeast, the critical Depsang Plains at the northernmost part of the LAC in Eastern Ladakh has emerged as a flashpoint since it abuts the Siachen Glacier. In 2013, the area witnessed a major incursion by the PLAGF that led to a standoff, which was defused only after the IA managed to deploy sizable forces with the help of the IAF. Nevertheless, the area continued to be perceived by the PLAGF as vulnerable given its road network and its deployment of armor in the vicinity. However, India has reinforced this area, which falls under the area of responsibility of the IA’s XIV Corps, with a brigade in addition to deployment of T-72 tanks. Importantly, India is in the process of deploying an entire armored brigade in Eastern Ladakh, with two T-72 regiments already operational. Incidentally, the armored brigade in Eastern Ladakh could also be used to spearhead an attack toward the Western Highway passing through Aksai Chin via the Chushul-Demchok axis and this has the Chinese worried.
Perhaps the PLA is now thinking that the least disputed middle sector of the LAC is the one to eye, given that they have vastly superior accessibility to all five passes of military significance in this sector. Of late, Chinese helicopters have been violating Indian airspace this area and the PLAAF has flown its synthetic radar aperture equipped Tu-154s over this sector recently. Preemptive occupation of some features here would be difficult for the Indians to dislodge later. However, the Chinese would in turn find it rather difficult to sustain their ingressing forces in this sector since the passes remain closed for six to eight months in a year. As such, the lines of communication for Chinese forces would be rather vulnerable to interdiction by the IAF, which has several major airbases in the vicinity.
In fact, the IAF, with 31 airfields (nine in the western and 22 in the eastern sector) located much closer to the LAC, has an edge over the PLAAF in any air war over Tibet. IAF aircraft, with their bases in the plains, will be able to take off without any payload penalties and will require considerably less fuel to reach their targets. Even with extra lengthened runways, PLAAF aircraft flying out of TAR airfields, whose average elevation is 4,000 meters, will continue to suffer from payload restrictions. And the PLAAF currently does not have enough refueling capability to really sustain aircraft that can fly in from distant airbases located at lower altitudes. Moreover, most PLAAF airbases in TAR do not have hardened shelters and have only poor support facilities. PLAAF aircraft could well be caught out in the open during early stages of any conflict by the IAF, which has already deployed frontline aircraft like the Su-30 MKI to airbases near TAR. The IAF also intends to base a squadron each of Rafales at Hashimara and Ambala, both located very close to the LAC. The IAF has also activated seven advanced landing grounds (ALGs) in Arunachal Pradesh in recent times (besides three in Ladakh), whose efficacy was demonstrated with operations such as the landing of a Su-30 MKI in Pasighat ALG in August 2016 and then a C-17 in Menchuka ALG two months later.
To mitigate the threat posed by a PLARF missile attack, the IAF is introducing proper “rehabilitation” capabilities in its LAC facing airbases to ensure that it stays in the game. India is also deploying the Brahmos Block III cruise missile with steep dive capability in the northeast as a “symmetric counter” to the PLARF.
Indeed, rather than opt for a major campaign that isn’t going to end quickly, given that there would be no element of surprise, the PLAGF could use its ability to mobilize modest-sized forces much more quickly to make a grab at tactical features and a pass or two at certain places along the LAC where such opportunities exist. In the process, the PLAGF could create more encroachment possibilities for itself while possibly foreclosing axes that might be used by counter-attacking Indian forces. China would try to gain the initiative by striking first, very much in consonance with its philosophy of “active defense,” and then offer a negotiated settlement to India.
It is precisely to cater to this kind of a scenario that the IA has created the Mountain Strike Corps (XVII Corps) under its Eastern Command, which is designed to launch a quick counter-offensive to make a similar quid-pro-quo shallow grab of territory inside TAR to strengthen India’s hand in the ensuing negotiations. XVII Corps could also be launched in a “stabilization” role in the event of the Chinese opening a major front along the LAC at, say, the Doka La Pass in the Sikkim-Tibet-Bhutan tri-junction, which lies near the all-important Siliguri Corridor that is India’s link to its northeast (the site of a current stand-off).
The first division of the MSC, the 59th, headquartered at Panagarh in West Bengal, is set to be operationalized this year and is meant for the eastern sector of the LAC. The MSC’s second division, the 72nd, headquartered at Pathankot in Punjab, is currently being raised and is expected to be operational by 2020. The location of the 72nd Division indicates that it is a dual-tasked formation whose area of responsibility lies in the western sector of the LAC but could be used to reinforce Indian formations in the east once its task in the west is done.
However, if the MSC has to create tactical surprise, some of its elements must acquire serious air mobility (at least a brigade) in order to be deposited close to possible axes of advance in a much shorter timeframe. The number of such axes of advance must also be increased especially in the eastern sector, which will be the center of gravity for any Indian war effort against China. In the years ahead, India will seek to further extend its border roads network under a “General Staff Long-Term Perspective Plans” project, introduce hover barges in order to optimally use the Brahmaputra for riverine movement, and build strategic mountain railways. All this will be in aid of moving division sized forces (including dual-tasked formations) to their frontline stations in a very short period of time besides allowing for rapid switching of brigade and battalion sized forces between sectors.
Meanwhile, China is also busy extending the line from Lhasa to Nyngchi and then all the way to Dali in Yunnan province. Once the connection to Dali is ready, the PLAGF will be able to bring in sizeable forces even more quickly to the southeastern TAR opposite Arunachal Pradesh. The Chinese are extending a rail link to Yatong in the Chumbi Valley right next to the Doka La pass, which heads into Bhutan’s Doklam Plateau. While this is intended to reduce their vulnerability in the Chumbi Valley, since Indian forces sit atop its eastern shoulders, it also means that this area will emerge as more of a flashpoint in the near future, with the current standoff being only the beginning. Last year, Unit 77656 which sits at Khamba Dzong at the gates of the Chumbi Valley was honored as a “model plateau battalion” by President Xi Jinping and China has been trying to acquire the Doklam Plateau from Bhutan by offering greater amounts of territory in exchange elsewhere.
Clearly for the foreseeable future, the India-China border dispute will be contingent on the balance of “mutually assured construction” as each side tries to gain a tactical advantage.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - Decoding China's grand BRI strategy
FULL ARTICLE
Even as China institutes greater controls to stem massive outflows of capital from its territory, it has announced an increase in the amount of investment it purportedly wishes to make in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
This announcement is meant to signal to the Pakistani military, a Chinese desire to stay the course on what has been described as the ‘flagship project’ of China’s the Belt and Road (BRI) Initiative. CPEC does indeed epitomise the grand strategy behind BRI and an inadequate understanding of the same is precisely what is leading to calls for India to join CPEC.
Far from serving as a bedrock of future regional stability, CPEC is being used to fashion an even closer Sino-Pak military-strategic condominium that has sinister implications for India. Rather than support a project like CPEC that impinges on Indian sovereignty, reduces its security and is designed to create a ‘Sinosphere’ to India’s northwest, India will be better served by not just opposing CPEC officially, but also promoting the widening of fissures within Pakistan that this project has created.
As such, given the sharply declining forex reserves, China now has to be generally more judicious about overseas lending. But it wants to stay the course in Pakistan where its investments are also quite fraught with political risk. And, it is here that the grand strategy behind BRI reveals itself.
China does not see economics and security in silos as evidenced by Xi Jinping’s emphasis that security is a ‘holistic concept’, which is why BRI is also China’s major geopolitical push, looking to create a stake for itself by supporting quasi-authoritarian regimes on its Eurasian periphery.
Just as China’s failing investments in places like Venezuela were justified in terms of the ‘resource access’ gained, CPEC is seen by China a key enabler that will allow it to shape its inner Western frontiers in a manner that can counteract Washington’s pivot to Asia. With the so-called ‘march westwards’, it aims to develop a Chinese-led macro bloc in Inner Asia that can serve as a launchpad for the future.
Not only does Pakistan provide a key transit corridor that will serve as an outlet into the Indian Ocean for China’s Western provinces which are seeing rising industrial relocations from the coast and give it a modest alternative route for the import of hydrocarbons, it can also regulate the ‘terrorist tap’ as it were in Inner Asia.
On top of this, Pakistan is a key element in China’s game plan to counterbalance Indian strategic influence. For Pakistan, this heightened Chinese need for its support has coincided with its own need for serious developmental finance, something that the United States is seen as unable to provide. That is why CPEC is the most advanced of all BRI projects.
However, the peculiar bilateral ethos of the Sino-Pak relationship that predicates itself on countering India is also palpably manifest in spillovers from CPEC. Denials and offers to ‘rename CPEC’ notwithstanding, China has quite clearly gravitated towards the Pakistani position on the Kashmir issue. It is actively trying to reinforce this by agreeing to make investments in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and using that in turn to build a security presence over there.
No coincidence
Indeed, Pakistan’s decision to declare GB its fifth province even as CPEC is underway is no coincidence. Neither is the fact that China continues to provide cover to Pakistani terrorists such as Mazood Azhar at the United Nations. In fact, this move is being ‘sold’ by the Pakistani Army to its terrorist auxiliaries as representative of China’s geopolitical ‘utility’ with the sub-text that they need to focus the jihad on India’s Jammu & Kashmir rather than China’s Xinjiang.
The turn of events show that China wishes to manage its Western periphery in an alliance with Pakistan in a way that is deeply inimical to India’s security interests besides challenging Indian sovereignty. For India to support CPEC given these facts would be utmost folly. Instead, India should look towards exacerbating some of the intrinsic weaknesses of CPEC.
While Pakistan hopes that Chinese infrastructural investments will boost overall productivity, there are also fears of a ‘debt trap’ and that is why the Pakistanis want industrial parks as part of CPEC. But given China’s current economic outlook, it is demanding concessions for investing in these industrial parks, which would include tax breaks, subsidised utilities and the right to bring in ‘skilled Chinese labour’.
This will further strain Pakistan’s fiscal space and create local tension at a time of high unemployment. While using CPEC to create a security barrier in the Himalayas, the Chinese will constantly point to security issues for going slow on CPEC projects in insurgent-hit places.
India would do well to highlight such issues and make common ground with Pakistani elements that do not stand to benefit from CPEC. As CPEC projects falter and China’s ‘debt diplomacy’ begins, it remains to be seen just how durable the Sino-Pak relationship will prove to be, given that Pakistan’s military will lose face, even as assorted jihadis look to liberate the oppressed Uighurs of Xinjiang.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - Pakistan loses its veto vote on India’s bilateral relations
FULL ARTICLE
Last week, addressing the US-India Business Council, Mike Pence, the vice-president of the US, shared an interesting anecdote on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s just-concluded visit: Noting that Pence had represented Indiana, the PM said the name of the state could be pronounced as India aana (which in Hindi translates into come to India).
It captures the near bromance generated by Modi in his first official meeting with President Donald Trump. The Indian side is heaving a sigh of relief that the dialogue escaped becoming victim to the customary unpredictability of President Trump in dealing with global leaders.
There was another sub-text however, which was clearly apparent in the joint statement and the public utterances of the two leaders: The omission of direct references to Pakistan in the conversations; at best, India’s troublesome neighbour figured indirectly in the context of China. Effectively the hyphenation had been formally severed. This is welcome relief and it has been long in coming.
With the US state department previously manned by Cold War era officials, India, given its history of strained relations with the US, found itself at the receiving end. Often this manifested in hyphenating India and Pakistan (like how parents of two siblings would go the extra mile to preclude any bias). This severely restricted the spheres of engagement (For a more detailed understanding of the challenge this hyphenation posed, read a previous column).
It is also a fact that the Indian foreign establishment was too preoccupied with Pakistan. As a result, often the outcome of a bilateral meeting between India and the US ended up being weighed on how unfavourable it was to Pakistan. And very often the same metric came to be employed in dealing with other nations too.
However the scenario started to alter after 9/11. Overnight, the US was sensitized to India’s perennial problem: cross-border terror.
Consequently, the scrutiny of Pakistan increased, especially its use of home-trained terrorists to leverage its strategic interests.
The second big turning point was the inking of the civil nuclear agreement between the two countries in 2005. Actually it took more than four years to clinch; it was initiated in the regime of prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and closed out in the tenure of prime minister Manmohan Singh.
While the delay may have been frustrating, the endless rounds of talks actually wore down prejudices on either side. Though 12 years later a project is still to be initiated, there is no denying the fact that by signing the pact the bilateral dialogue between India and the US has been fundamentally altered.
Looking back, it is a tribute to several administrations on either side for not dropping the ball. Yes, the relationship may have not grown at the desired pace, but at no stage did it reverse. A fallout of this maturing of the relationship between both sides has been the delinking of Pakistan from the dialogue.
Moreover, Modi’s foreign policy overtures, especially the out-of-the-box idea to invite all South Asian neighbours to the swearing in of his government, have unequivocally demonstrated India’s good intent to the world. The spreading threat of global terror has only increased the scrutiny of terror factories across the world, including Pakistan.
Tragically Pakistan has embarked on an even more dangerous path—willingly becoming a pawn in a larger China plan to dominate Asia. Not only does it risk destabilizing the region afresh, it could potentially also compromise its own sovereignty as submitting to Chinese hegemony will come with a bill—including intangible costs, some of which will be humiliating for the otherwise proud Pakistanis to accept. It is, as the idiom states, an instance of cutting of your nose to spite your face.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - Jul 18, 2017
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How is the new UP govt working?
- Industrial policy
- Transport
- Law and order
- Governance
- Power
- Health and Education
- Swachhe Bharat Abhiyan / Clean Ganga
- Agriculture
- Tourism
- Others
- Industrial policy
- Transport
- Law and order
- Governance
- Power
- Health and Education
- Swachhe Bharat Abhiyan / Clean Ganga
- Agriculture
- Tourism
- Others
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- 🌲“We will put a check on power theft and irregularities in order to meet the losses worth Rs21,000 crore in this sector"
🌲“Round-the-clock power will be supplied after a review of consumers on power feeders reporting line loss of less than 10%,” he said.
🏑🏏 "We are aiming for 24X7 power for all by next year. So far, electricity has reached 18,000 hamlets, 8,000 transformers have been upgraded and 5.68 lakh new power connections have been given."
🏑🏏UP government cancelled the long-term PPAs of15 years, to save on electricity costs.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🌻On the directives of chief minster Yogi Adityanath, the administration has launched a drive to check land grabbing and is taking action against criminals.
🐫💥 A senior Jet Airways official has been arrested from New Delhi on charges of grabbing government land, police said in Ghaziabad.
🔑 🦅Task force set up to identify all encroached govt land within 2 months, evict squatters and catch facilitators.
🕸🤹♂️ All land records to be digitalised and put online. Revenue department will painstakingly link farmer's land to Adhaar card.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🕊🎋CM Yogi Adityanath said cane dues of over Rs22,517 crore were paid to sugarcane growers in the state after his government came to power. He also highlighted the major decisions taken by the state cabinet on farm loan waiver and on toning up law and order.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🍿✈️Civil aviation minister said that “in-principle clearance" has been granted for a greenfield airport in Jewar in Greater Noida. State agency has already notified 3,000 ha for it.
🏋🏻♀️ A technical evaluation will now be done. It is likely to be operational in the next five to six years. Significant 2nd NCR airport at Jewar will cater for 30-50 million passengers.
🏋️ CM has asked for realising airports in Agra, Allahabad, Gorakpur. Currently UP has airports in Lucknow and Varanasi.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🎭UP govt approved dissolution of the Shia and Sunni waqf boards over corruption charges against them.
🎻🎼 Influential previous waqf minister Azam Khan, and chairman of the Shia Waqf Board Wasim Rizvi, were indicted for corruption, theft, etc. Fact-finding committee of the Central Waqf Council (CWC) had found Khan created a separate trust and diverted funds from waqf properties. Discrepancies in rent collection records were also found.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🎡 🏄🏽 India has 11 national holidays, but states like UP have added 31 more for political reasons.
🌋“There should be no holidays in schools on birth anniversaries of great personalities... the 220-day academic session has been reduced to only 120 days due to such holidays,” the new CM said.
🎷The new UP govt has cancelled 15 public holidays.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🐄 UP is the biggest milk producer, twice Gujarat's size. Because of insufficient processing capacity, a lot of milk is adulterated. There is a large unmet demand for quality milk, esp in Eastern UP.
⛲️🍦CM wants to add milk processing capacity and shut down cowboy operators. He wants to develop Parag milk brand, which is quality checked and free of adulteration. Also, organised sector will offer farmers good prices and support infra.
🚀 Amul has agreed to set up milk processing units and plans to expand UP business upto 10 times.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🛩🚁UP has signed on to UDAN scheme for regional air connectivity. Cheap flights can now start from UP cities like Allahabad, Bareilly, Kanpur, Jhansi, Faizabad, Gorakpur, among others.
🏹 Terminal construction is being expedited in time to catch pilgrim traffic. Eg. Gorakpur, as the Centre of Buddha Circuit, will get connection to Kolkata, NE, Kathmandu, Singapore and Bangkok.
REPLY Jul 20, 2017 - 🐾 🔬Israel is known for having best technologies for water recycling and conservation for agriculture and horticulture purposes.
🚤 Arising from a pact with Israel, UP will receive technology transfer to clean Ganga and adjoining rivers. Mechanism for effectively providing safe drinking water will be declared soon.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🐚🚨Previous govt had set up a "UP 100" portal, centralised call centre and emergency response teams, including new vehicle purchases. Yet, police were accused of not lodging FIRs, or not taking, keeping or passing on proper evidence.
🎖 Now, UP 100 alerted vehicle must reach incident within 15 minutes
🎥 Now, distress call is allocated a "UP 100" number with an option to upload crime evidence video via a mobile phone and an OTP.
📇💌 Police must upload their action to each call on the UP 100 portal, and show FIRs were correctly applied in each case. Evidence is automatically passed to investigators.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🌚🍕Police alerted that petrol pumps were short selling petrol by 5-10%, using electronic chips. Pump owners made up to 15 lakh/ month.
🚔 Police raided & arrested ring leaders, pump owners and one supplier of chip.
👔 🦑Inspection drive initiated—owners not to face harassment.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🆘🎎People are travelling long distances to lodge complaints at capital Lucknow.
💤 Complaints must be properly disposed off at District Magistrates and local bureaucrats level.
‼️ DM and local bureaucrats will be held responsible for serious negligence like hunger deaths.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🎧🌶UP has a digital portal for public complaints. A voice alternative is useful, and necessary for people without internet.
🐿 Public grievance redressal system will be set up on lines of MP.
🤹♀️ 500-person call centre under CMO by Dec-2017 —consultants will hire staff & set up website for internal staff complaints, feedback and review.
🔥💐 Video conferencing every month with DMs and SSP/ SPs (with 10 worst districts for complaints)
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 👺🍜Food adulteration a menace but has inadequate detection and curbs.
🚐 Mobile labs for districts—collect evidence for prosecution
👩🏻🔬🏆 Labs of renowned institutes and colleges will test samples from across UP. Protocol has been agreed and ready to implement.
¶ IIT-Kanpur, Banaras Hindu Uni, Inst. of Eng & Tech-Allahd, etc
¶ High quality reports within 24 hours
¶ Ready to start project straightaway
¶ No need for extra state outlay
¶ Monies benefit education institutes
REPLY Jul 20, 2017 - Challenges
💦 Funds crunch : loan waiver (Rs 36k cr), 7th pay award (Rs 34k cr), free laptop scheme, mega state projects.
☔️ Law and order : caste and communal clashes (legacy of "jungle raj")
☔️ Cow vigilantes, anti-love jihad & anti-romeo policing: if overboard, will sour sentiments
☂️Poor attitude of lower bureaucracy : to deliver good public services
Achievements
¶ 70,000 km state roads made pothole-free. Still 1/3 left.
¶ Sugar cane dues of Rs 5.5K cr cleared in 40 days
¶ Open procurement shops & buy more wheat (x 5) & potatoes
¶ New mining policy and clamping down on illegal mining rackets
¶ People to file complaints on illegal land-grab (very successful)
¶ Closed down all illegal slaughter-houses
¶ Zero tolerance on cattle smuggling
¶ Curbed harassment of girls outside schools and collages
¶ Rowdyism is dying. Crime rates are falling
¶ Special crimes cell for monitoring and reacting to situations
Work to do:
🗒Probe Akhilesh govt public projects like e-ways and riverfront projects
🎙Declare its major schemes and infrastructure projects
🎪Preparation for Vibrant Uttar Pradesh summit in 2018
🌾Drip irrigation & 6000 check dams for parched Bundelkhand
🏇Promise of round the clock power (18 hrs in villages)
🏇Promise to bring OFD status early, SBM & Ganga cleaning.
REPLY Jul 12, 2017 - Governance Achievements
¶ CCTV installed in govt buildings
¶ Web-based monitoring system put in place in 73 dept
¶ Postings of bureaucrats are on "merit based", not under outside influence.
¶ Govt officials come to work more or less on time
¶ Presentations and late-night sessions for fine-tuning programs
¶ Govt employees spend time on cleanliness
Governance diktats
¶ Paan ban in govt offices, hospitals, schools, etc
¶ Asset declaration for those in power (ministers & bureaucrats)
¶ Stop interference on transfers & postings
¶ Officers must work longer, incl unsociable hours
¶ Dismiss advisers or senior appointees of previous govt
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - UP lags behind in education. High court has slammed govt for gross negligence. BJP made it a priority—will lay out a comprehensive overhaul plan within 100 days.
Education Achievements:
¶ Crackdown on cheating in exams: FIRs on students, teachers and "cheat mafia"
¶ Recheck all exams papers that scored above 90 percent
¶ Use coded answer sheets
¶ Increased school days by cutting public holidays
¶ Good quality and free school uniforms, shoes, books and copies from 1st day itself. Do away with delays for some pupils
¶ Girls get cash rewards for passing boards exams, now extended to class X
¶ Private institutes declare fees to govt
¶ Review fee structure of private schools—stop arbitrary hikes
¶ FIRs on govt teachers providing private tuition
Education diktats:
¶ Compulsory Sanskrit & English from primary level
¶ Foreign language after Class X: Arabic, Persian & Urdu
¶ Compulsory Yoga in PT at 2ry level
¶ Correct 2ry curriculum—adopt CBSE pattern & NCERT books
¶ Correct university curriculum for quality and commonality
Future plan of action:
¶ Promise to set up 25 medical colleges over its term
¶ Comprehensive regulation of fees in private institutes
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - Health policy aims for maximum use of technology; to strengthen whole system from basic primary health centres to super-speciality hospitals; and reach out to weaker sections.
Health Initiatives
☼—) Focus on reviving primary health centres and below, by adding adequate infra, equipment & manpower to improve efficacy of service delivery.
☼—) Create new facilities, and bigger workforce by inducting more doctors, nurses, paramedics, lab techs. Increase numbers in training where there is shortage.
☼—) Introduce large-scale tele-medicine (needs 1/10th doctors); and 170 medical mobile units (with doctors, nurses, equipment).
☼—) Take punitive action, incl prosecution of malpractice doctors, etc
☼—) 7 AIIMs and 25 super-speciality hospitals over its term
Health Schemes
☼—) Mission Parivar Vikas—Centre's new family planning scheme—aimed to address maternal & infant mortality in high risk states. Total fertility rate to be brought down from 3+ to 2.1 by 2025. UP has issues in 57 out of 75 districts.
¶ Free condom boxes in select areas of cities and villages
¶ Contraception packs for newly married couples
¶ Contraception injection for women, given money/ shot
¶ Male sterilisation procedures, now given higher incentives
☼—) Informers scheme for female foeticide—helpline and rescue vans provided.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - 🌲Road projects provide jobs during construction; and improve connectivity and boost socio-economic growth once complete.
🏏🏋🏻♀️UP govt has accelerated its road build; and asked Centre to take on additional projects.
STATE FUNDED
☼—) Rs 32,500 cr State road projects (already provisioned)
¶ Agra-Lucknow e-way for Rs 15,000 cr
¶ Lucknow-Ballia e-way for revised Rs 22,000 cr and road to Ayodhya added.
☼—) Rs 10,000cr from Centre Road Fund, given to UP for State roads like district and non-major roads.
¶ IRR for Allahabad and a 6-lane bridge for Rs 2,461cr
¶ 4-lane ORR for Meerut (100 km), Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Kanpur and Moradabad
¶ 380 km Jhansi-Mohba-Banda-Chitrakoot highway
¶ 7 elevated roads for Lucknow
CENTRE FUNDED
Projects of Rs 60,000 cr already completed. Most in Eastern UP like Varanasi, Jaunpur, Azamgarh and Ghazipur
☼—) Extra Rs 140,000 cr projects to complete by NHAI by 2019
¶ Rs 10,000 cr 8-lane upgrade proposed for Lucknow-Kanpur NH
¶ 73 (6,260 km) state highways converted to NH
¶ UP govt is offering 45 more SH.
☼—) Rs 9,600cr expressway to backward Bundelkhand
¶ 320-km 6-lane e-way Jhansi to Agra-Lucknow e-way; 4-lane from Chitrakoot to Allahabad.
☼—) Ferry service between Allahabad and Varanasi. IWA acquires special transport steamers and service run by private sector.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - UP is 2nd in tourist footfalls. CM Yogi regrets missed opportunities due to minority appeasement. He said Hindu religious figures (Ram, Krishna and Shiva) are central to country's culture and survival; and Ayodhya tourism must be vigorously promoted.
¶ Tourist portal launched: "One-stop travel solution"
¶ Media campaign for historical and religious places should start
¶ Ramayana, Krishna and Buddhist tourist circuits are priority
¶ Kaushambi airport once compelete, will help Buddhist pilgrims.Jewar airport has been approved, and many derelict airstripes will be revived.
¶ Provide helipad service for 9 cities (Lucknow, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Allahabad, Naimisharanya, Chitrakoot, Kushinagar, Mathura and Vrindavan.
¶ Tourist facilities (State:Rs 1,600cr, Centre: Rs900cr) will be built for Ardh Kumbh 2019. Allahabad will get improved airport, modernised railway stations, new bus terminals and CCTV / new traffic lights.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - ♦ Lucknow gets Rs 490 cr AMRUT to lay sewage pipelines.
♦ 61 districts incl. Varanasi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Azamgarh and Agra will get sewage pipelines, using unspent JNNURM funds.
♦ Additional funds. AMRUT will fund connections from trunk drains to adjoining localities.
♦ Tender and completion before 2020.
REPLY Jul 10, 2017 - Housing Initiatives
🏡👨👩👧👦🥁 1 million homes for the poor by 2019
Development, extra funding through:
♦ Benefits from Centre's scheme, PM Awas Yojana.
♦ Monetisation of land — assisted by NBCC (Centre PSU)
♦ Immediate loan of Rs 7,000 cr from HUDCO (Centre PSU) & future loan of Rs 6,600 cr:
▬ State component of PMAY(Rs 4,000 cr)
▬ Lucknow and Ballia E-way (Rs 2,500 cr)
▬ Road (Rs 2600 cr)
▬ Bridges (Rs 1,000 cr), etc
REPLY Jul 12, 2017 - Power players see their revival in UP
☼—) Dramatic 20% y-o-y rise in consumption (28th June report). Expect more growth due to low base:
▬ 1/3rd of national average (317 vs 1075 kWh in 2015/16)
▬ Peak power storage (May 4.4%).
☼—) State policies:
▬ GDP growth target upped from 6.5% to 10% pa
▬ New UP industrial policy offers power incentives
▬ Street lighting drive to deter crime
▬ New policy for uninterrupted power by Oct 2018; and full access-for-all, incl subsidized power to poor, by 2019.
☼—) Cheaper power though controlling discom costs (power purchasing and operating costs):
▬ Checks on power theft to reduce operational losses
▬ New investment aimed at greater efficiency
▬ Utility-sized solar & wind are below grid parity, offer long-term low cost power which may be sourced from next-door Rajasthan.
REPLY Jul 13, 2017 - Yogi's new govt: Assessment and way ahead
♦ Long hours & good start : Yogi works round the clock, is hands on and goes into detail. This may bring earlier results (eg law and order) or get higher funding/ investment from Centre & private sector or get things done right.
♦ Fast paced & wide ranging : Though not experienced in administration, Yogi has two experienced deputies and has made remarkable, fast paced start. He has addressed every department; wants to bring white paper to show previous performances and future plans; and discussed central schemes, additional central assistance, etc
♦ Sincere & deft handling : Pruning public holidays or going after land sharks should get widespread credit. But he has also moved decisively yet deftly into controversial matters:
1. Ram temple construction
2. Romeo squads
3. Illegal meat slaughter (owned by Muslims)
4. Cow vigilantism
5. Triple Talaq
♦ Community clashes, affecting Muslims and lower castes, attracts opposition hackles and prompts some people to run down the govt (eg Govt has "lackadaisical approach" to caste clashes. Muslims are getting a raw deal.)
♦ Challenges are many:
▬ Politics: CM & 2 deputies must win assembly seats in bye-elections.
▬ Finance: funding for farm loan waiver, 7th pay commission and new development commitments.
▬ Governance: dire law and order not helped by ill-disciplined police (incl at the top ranks); and poor attitude of lower bureaucracy.
▬ Election pledges : high expectations but will need adequate trained personnel to expand services.
▬ Hindutva : Deft handling required, as success will come through courts.
REPLY Jul 12, 2017 - Gorakhpur is undergoing a transformation, and emerging as a lifeline of eastern UP. Hive of activity is courtesy Central priming and funding.
☼—) AIIMS (Rs 1k crore, 750-bed, 150 operating theatres, 112 acre) will deal with endemic encephalitis affected children.
☼—) Fertilizer factory (Rs 6k crore, 1.3 Mt urea) is being revived by PSUs. Work will finish in 3 years.
☼—) Better roads and UDAN scheme (attracted carriers interest) is giving road and air connectivity.
☼—) Tourist projects (show at G. temple; Chauri Chaura memorial; Buddist circuit, a few more) coupled with international flights
☼—) Power distribution systems (IPDS, Rs214 cr) : all homes (ie. extra 0.48M) will get power connections; underground cables; and substation capacity will be enhanced (18 upgrades, 4 new)
☼—) 2 Sugar mills will be revived: benefits from higher UP sugarcane production
☼—) Industrial Units will benefit from new industrial policy (tax relief, lower land rates)
☼—) Gorakhpur Metro (Rs 12k crore) has not started. First RITES will survey and DPR will get completed by 5-8 months. Metro fits a need for tackling city's traffic, though CM's backing has given impetus.
REPLY Jul 12, 2017 - Varanasi makeover was stalled by previous govt. In particular, AMRUT, Ganga cleaning, drinking water, NH, city roads and Skill India projects. Power projects and rail projects were going ahead with Centre funding and despite State lethargy.
Dec 2016
▬ Smart cities: selected
▬ Railway station modernisation : Varanasi City & Manduadih underway
▬ Power distribution: PSU loan in lieu of state grants. Underground cabling (Rs 571cr) proceeding in 3 areas, others areas completed.
▬ Power beautification of all ghats: EELS is funding Heritage LED street poles, facade lights, LED lights, smart meters
▬ Drinking water (Rs500cr): useless as no feeders from tank
▬ AMRUT (connecting 52k homes to central sewage) : stalled citing disagreements
▬ City bridge, ROB & flyover (1.7km): slow progress
▬ NH link to 8 districts : stuck as land payments not done
▬ Specific SBM : stalled
▬ Skill India : mostly stalled
▬ V. metro : awaiting DPR
Rail, cruise, textile, projects: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/varanasi-big-budget-projects-galore-in-pm-narendra-modis-constituency/articleshow/54271330.cms
Progress under CM Yogi
▬ Drinking water : ordered probe & complete work
▬ Sewage (AMRUT) : tendering underway. Unspent JNNURM and some new funds under AMRUT
▬ City bridge, ROB & flyover (1.7km): more workers & money
▬ NH links to 8 districts : sanctioned & expedited via local camps
▬ Road dividers on all roads & resurfacing: sanctioned
▬ 5 km, 4 lane road & bridge over Varuna river : sanctioned
▬ Multi-level parking lots: initiated DPR & work under PPP model
▬ V. metro : DPR to be submitted & likely approved by all.
http://zeenews.india.com/blogs/with-yogi-in-drivers-seat-modis-varanasi-back-in-focus-1997508.html
Varanasi rejuvenation: Smart city
♦ Cost Rs2,500 cr — with small private component.
♦ Area development around Kashi temple. Rejuvenated temples and ghats: a Night Bazaar at Assi Ghat for promoting local cuisine and local handicrafts; Light and sound shows at few sites.
♦ Sewage and solid waste management. Assured water supply and power to all. Rejuvenation of sacred water bodies, parks, stadium and major public buildings. Green roof-tops at all schools and public buildings. Electric cremation. Women police station. Women & elderly helpline.
♦ Pedestrian and disabled friendly streets. Digital signs & interactive screens for popular sites. Multilevel parking. Public bicycle sharing service. Single multi-mode transport card. Other cards—utility, tourism.
♦ New smart technologies for local boatmen and e-rickshaw drivers. Online service apps. Fibre-optic connectivity. Traffic sensors and smart street lights with LED lighting and panic buttons. GPS on buses. http://smartcities.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Varanasi_SCP.pdf
http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/rs2520-crore-to-rejuvenate-varanasi-into-smart-city.html
2014 Indo-Japan report had Rs12,000 cr rejuvenation plan, with Rs8,300 cr coming from private sources. Many projects now approved under smart city or as standalone projects like V. metro, satellite towns & road/ rail links.
http://www.india.com/news/india/varanasi-makeover-to-cost-nearly-rs-12000-crore-185887/
REPLY Jul 12, 2017 - New Delhi: Keeping its electoral promise of waiving off farm loan taken by farmers, the newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh focused on improving rural infrastructure, especially in drought-prone Bundelkhand and Purvanchal (eastern Uttar Pradesh).
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath presented the first budget of his government on Tuesday maintaining his focus on the key constituencies that voted the BJP to power after 15 years.
To begin with, the budget provided Rs36,000 crore for farm loan waiver, a poll promise made during the assembly election earlier this year. Uttar Pradesh was the first state to announce farm loan waiver and the decision was taken in the first cabinet meeting held by Adityanath.
Rural development was also a major focus area of the budget as a sum of Rs4,500 crore was allocated for the “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Rural)” for providing housing facility to families without homes and those living in kutcha houses. Similarly, Rs2,800 crore was allocated for groundwater-based rural drinking water scheme in Bundelkhand, Purvanchal and Vindhya regions.
As for other backward classes, who drifted towards the BJP during the 2014 Lok Sabha election and later in the 2017 state election, the government allocated Rs52.66 crore for the construction of hostel for poor students belonging to backward classes. A provision of Rs551.28 crore has also been made for reimbursement of fees of these students.
The government announced various schemes for the weaker sections of the society including a budgetary allocation of Rs692 crore under the Mukhya Mantri Kisan Evam Sarvhit Bima Yojna, Rs85 crore for Common Man Insurance Scheme and provision of Rs250 crore for community marriage of daughters of poor parents belonging to SC (scheduled caste), ST (scheduled tribe), OBC and minorities. Similarly, a sum of Rs. 791.83 crore has been set aside for the scholarship scheme for minority students.
In a bid to promote religious tourism and cultural heritage of the state, the government allocated Rs1,240 crore under the Swadesh Darshan Yojna for Ramayan Circuit, Buddhist Circuit and Krishna Circuit in Ayodhaya, Varanasi and Mathura, respectively.
Analysts said that the budget indicates that the BJP government has finally shed its image of being a party whose core constituency was the business community.
“There was a general feeling in the country that the BJP is pre-disposed to the interests of the business community. Therefore, with the announcement of a farm loan waiver and focus on tackling agrarian distress, Yogi Adityanath has broken away from that image. The only continuity between the previous UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government and the current BJP government is their focus on farm distress,” said Manisha Priyam, a New Delhi-based political analyst.
However, she also pointed towards the government’s push to promoting the ideology of Hindutva.
“What is also evident in the budget is a clear move towards the Hindutva ideology. Adityanath is not a developmentalist chief minister like Shivraj Chouhan or Vasundhara Raje Scindia. All the decisions taken in the budget have a Yogi Adityanath stamp on them and represent the next generation of the BJP. Cattle protection at such a large scale has not been seen before while the CM is also simultaneously addressing the rural and farmer constituency,” she said.
REPLY Aug 4, 2017
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