Key Highlights:

·         Prime Minister to launch/dedicate to the Nation a number of schemes in a grand ceremony on Nov 19; Raksha Mantri to inaugurate the event on Nov 17

·         Initiatives include setting up of 100 new Sainik Schools; launch of NCC Border & Coastal Scheme, NCC Alumni Association & national programme of Simulation Training for NCC cadets

·         Laying of foundation stone of Rs 400 crore project of Bharat Dynamics Ltd at Jhansi node of UP Defence Industrial Corridor

·         Handing over of indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopter, drones/UAVs and Advanced EW suite for naval ships to the Armed Forces, in boost to Aatmanirbhar Bharat

·         Launch of digital kiosk at National War Memorial to pay tribute to fallen heroes & NWM mobile app

 

Ministry of Defence (MoD) is formally dedicating a number of schemes to the nation in a celebration titled ‘Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv’ being organised from November 17-19, 2021 in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. These events are part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahaotsav’ celebrations.

Addressing a press conference, Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar said Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will dedicate/launch several new initiatives of MoD to the Nation in a grand ceremony being organised in the precincts of Jhansi Fort on November 19, 2021 which also is the birthday of Rani Lakshmi Bai, the epitome of bravery & courage and a great National icon of Rashtra Raksha and India’s Independence struggle. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the event on November 17, 2021.

The Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv is being organised along with the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The programme on November 19, 2021 will see the participation from Raksha Mantri, Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt, Uttar Pradesh Governor Smt Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath and other dignitaries.

 

The new initiatives to be launched/dedicated to the Nation include:

·         Setting up of 100 New Sainik Schools: The Cabinet recently approved setting up of 100 Sainik Schools throughout the country. These Sainik Schools will be set up in partnership with private educational institutions, NGOs and State Governments. At least one Sainik Schools is proposed in each State/UT. These 100 Sainik Schools shall be set up in the next two years. All Sainik Schools will be admitting girls also. The salient features of the proposed 100 Sainik Schools include:

 

a.    While the schools will be set up by private educational institutions, NGOs, and State Governments, Government of India assistance will be available in the form of 50 per cent of fee support (up to a maximum of Rs 40,000 per annum) for 50 per cent of the students based on merit cum means. 

b.   The Sainik Schools set up will follow the norms stipulated by Sainik School Society in terms of infrastructure, facilities, teachers to ensure that children from the Schools are trained not only on academic curriculum but also get wholesome training on personality development, values and sports.  Norms in this regard are being finalised in consultation with all stakeholders. A stakeholder consultation is proposed on December 07, 2021 which will be chaired by the Raksha Mantri to finalise these norms.

c.    For the first time, these Sainik Schools will also have option to allow day scholars with early morning to late evenings timings so that they are able to take part in full day academic and extra-curricular activities.

d.   Teachers of proposed Sainik School will be provided Teachers’ Training through Indian Institute of Teachers’ Training, Gandhinagar. An MoU is being signed with the Institute shortly.

e.    Each Sainik School will be required to excel in an identified sports discipline in accordance with ‘One School, One Sport’ concept and ‘Khelo India’ scheme of Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs.

f.     Existing Government and private schools as well as Greenfield schools can apply under the scheme. A website has been started to seek Expression of Interest from interested private/NGOs/State Government. The response has been very encouraging. Already 89 Expression of Interests have been received. Others interested in collaborating for Sainik Schools may apply at  https://sainikschool.ncog.gov.in/.

 

·         Launch of NCC Alumni Association: Many prominent leaders in practically all fields of the society whether it is Armed forces, politics, industry, bureaucracy, art and culture or academics have emerged from the National Cadet Corps (NCC). Many have the desire to contribute to the nation building process through NCC. With the objective to provide a formal platform to enable NCC Alumni to reconnect with NCC, it has been decided to set up an NCC Alumni Association.

The NCC Alumni Association is expected to fulfill a felt demand of lakhs of former NCC cadets. NCC Alumni Association is expected to further the aims of NCC and assist in nation-building. It is proposed to launch the NCC Alumni Association by enrolling the Prime Minister, a former NCC cadet, as the first member of the Association on November 19. NCC Alumni Association is open to all NCC Alumni and its membership is extremely simple to obtain.

The process for applying and getting approval of membership is completely online. The same will be available on website www.nccauto.gov.in/alumni which will be made live after November 19. A payment of Rs 100 is to be made for life time membership of the NCC Alumni Association which can also be paid online on this website.

 

·         Launch of National Programme of Simulation Training for NCC Cadets: Ministry of Defence is launching a nation-wide programme to scale up simulation training facilities for all the three wings of NCC - Army, Air and Naval. This will enable NCC cadets across the country to get trained in their respective areas. For the Army Wing of NCC, Rifle Firing Simulators are being set up. For Air Wing, Microlight flying simulators are being set up. For Naval Wing, Rowing simulators are being set up. The number of simulators proposed to be increased are as follows.

 

Rifle Firing Simulators will now be available in all Group HQs. With the increased number of simulators, it is expected that all NCC cadets will get hands-on training in this regard. These simulators have already been sanctioned and ordered for installation. The programme is proposed to be dedicated to the Nation by the Prime Minister on November 19.

·         NCC Border and Coastal Scheme: It may be recalled that the Prime Minister had announced on August 15, 2020, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, that NCC shall be expanded in border and coastal areas. A

scheme for expanding NCC by one lakh cadets dedicated to the border and coastal areas of the country was approved by Ministry of Defence in September 2020. A Committee was formed with District Collectors of border and coastal districts as Chairman and relevant stakeholders, including Panchayat Presidents and local NCC officer as members to identify the schools/colleges in border areas where NCC should be started under the scheme. Accordingly, 1,283 schools and colleges were identified out of which 896 are in border areas and 255 are in coastal areas and 132 are in Taluks housing Air Force stations. 27 States/UTs have benefitted with the implementation of the scheme.

Despite constraints of COVID-19, NCC was started in the identified educational institutions in October 2020. Associate NCC Officers from these educational institutions were trained both online and also at NCC Training Academy at Kamptee and Gwalior. Since Covid-19 did not permit physical training, NCC cadets were imparted theoretical component through online medium. Wherever schools/colleges had opened, physical training was also imparted. The State/UT wise distribution of educational institutions with NCC

 

The implementation of scheme for last one year is going to be showcased as part of Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv on November 19.

·         Laying of foundation stone of Rs 400 crore project of Bharat Dynamics Ltd at Jhansi Node of UP Defence Industrial Corridor:

Government has decided to set up two Defence Industrial Corridors in the country. These are in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The UP Defence Industrial Corridor has nodes at Agra, Aligarh, Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Lucknow and  Kanpur. For the Jhansi Node of the UP Defence Industrial Corridor, the state Government has made nearly 1,034 hectares of land made available.

Bharat Dynamics Ltd, a Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU), is setting up a plant for propulsion system for Anti-Tank Guided Missiles in the Jhansi Node. It will be spread over 183 acres of land in Jhansi. The facility will involve an investment of Rs 400 crore. It is expected to provide direct employment to 150 people and indirect employment to nearly 500 people. The foundation stone of the project will be laid by the Prime Minister on November 19.

·         Thrust on ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in Defence: Ministry of Defence has taken several steps to promote ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in defence in the last two years. These include issue of positive indigenisation lists, earmarking of 64 per cent of capital  procurement budget for the domestic industry, promotion of startups under Innovations For Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative, speeding up of capital acquisition process and setting up of Defence Industrial Corridors among others.

As a demonstration on thrust on ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy are adopting indigenously designed and developed platforms for their use. Three platforms will be formally handed over by the Prime Minister to respective Service Chiefs on November 19. These platforms depict maturing of Indian defence industry ecosystem with contributions from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), DPSUs and Defence industry and startups. 

The Prime Minister will hand over Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, HAL designed and developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) to Chief of the Air Staff. LCH is a new addition to HAL’s helicopter Division. This twin-engine helicopter is a dedicated combat helicopter of 5-8 tonne class.  The LCH incorporates advanced technologies and stealth features for effective combat roles and is designed to carry out roles such as destruction of enemy air defence, counter insurgency, search and rescue, anti-tank, Counter Surface Force Operations etc. The LCH is the only attack helicopter in the world which can land and take-off at an altitude of 5,000 m (16,400 ft) with considerable load of weapons & fuel. 

The Prime Minister will also hand over drones/UAVs designed and developed by Indian startups to Chief of the Army Staff. Indian Army has decided to procure these drones from Indian industry/startups after detailed testing and trials. The deployment of Indian UAVs by Indian Armed Forces is also a proof of growing maturity of Indian drone industry ecosystem. 

The Prime Minister will handover DRDO designed and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) manufactured Advanced EW suite for naval ships including that for Indian Aircraft Carrier Vikrant. The Advanced EW suite will be used in different naval ships including destroyers, frigates etc. and marks a big step towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. 

·         Kiosk to pay tribute to the fallen heroes at National War Memorial: Two electronic kiosks have been installed at the National War Memorial (NWM) to encourage visitors to register their presence and pay virtual homage to the fallen heroes. This augmented reality powered facility has been designed and installed by BEL under the overall guidance of NWM Directorate. It enables a visitor to pay floral homage to one or more selected martyrs on a simple click of the button. This facility will be formally dedicated by the Prime Minister on November 19. 

·         Mobile app of National War Memorial: The NWM Directorate has also developed a mobile app of National War Memorial. The app provides a virtual tour of NWM with 360 degree experience. It is available on Google playstore and iStore. The app allows for multi-lingual interaction and enables tour assistance to visitors with the help of 166 Bluetooth beacons installed in the NWM campus. Based on these beacons, visitors can listen to commentary in 21 languages based on the location within NWM.

 

ABB/RP/Savvy

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