Defence Minister inaugurates IGNOU Gyandeep Centre for Army

The Union Minister for Defence A.K. Antony inaugurated the 'Gyandeep Centre of Excellence' at the Ashoka Auditorium, Manekshaw Centre in the capital. The Centre will be established at the main campus of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) which will function as a national-level coordinating body between the Army and IGNOU Community Colleges to promote educational facilities for the army personnel.

"The main objectives of the Centre shall be to promote job opportunities for the retiring army personnel, develop compatible curriculum and promote partnership with other universities / institutions. It will facilitate and encourage inter-disciplinary higher education and research facilities at IGNOU and affiliated universities/ institutions/ other centres of excellence," said V-C Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, in his address.

Over 3.5 lakh students have already enrolled in Gyandeep Project and nearly 1.5 lakh candidates have been awarded Certificates, Diplomas and Associate Degrees.

The Associate Degree holders are also admitted in the third year of IGNOU Degree programmes through vertical mobility. More than 300 officers have already been admitted for the MBA Programme designed specifically for the officers in the Indian Army.

For IGNOU, this centre means a phenomenal increase in the strength of students and the campuses. For the Army, it would be a great welfare measure and gainful use of resources. For soldiers, this programme has the potential to transform the post-retirement life by equipping them with a formal qualification and preparing them for competitive job avenues. And for the country, it means a boost in the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) as well as the Gross Graduation Ratio (GGR).

The Indian Army and IGNOU began its association in July 2009. In a short span of time, this association fructified into a path-breaking collaborative effort — in the form of Project Gyandeep, when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Army and IGNOU on September 4, 2009.

Gyandeep was dedicated to the nation by President Pratibha Patil on November 19, 2009. Since then, the association between the Indian Army and IGNOU has progressed in all spheres. Project Gyandeep, a visionary and revolutionary idea, has created an impact in the educational arena at both national and international levels.

Gen V.K. Singh, Chief of the Army Staff and Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal were present along with senior defence officers and academicians.

Dismissed IAF lady officer hangs self

More than six years after former Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Anjali Gupta became the first woman to be court-martialled, she committed suicide at a family friend's residence in Bhopal. She was found hanging on Sunday.

According to police, Anjali was alone in the house of IAF Group Captain Amit Gupta when she allegedly took the extreme step. She had been working with a private company since her dismissal from the IAF.

The police said Anjali had arrived in Bhopal on September 7 from Bangalore, where she was employed. Group Captain Amit told the police that he had gone to Delhi for the engagement of his son on September 8. Though he asked Anjali to come along, the latter insisted on staying at his house.

"I told her to come with me to Delhi, but she said she had work in Bhopal. She showed no signs of any disturbance," Amit said.

When he returned home on Sunday morning and knocked at the door, there was no response. After several failed attempts, he informed the police. A police team broke open the door to find the 35-year-old former officer hanging from a ceiling fan.

The police team also found a 15 litre can and two bottles filled with petrol, at the spot where Anjali was found hanging. Amit pleaded ignorance about the fuel. Police now also suspect that she might have contemplated setting herself on fire before she decided upon hanging.

A police officer investigating the matter said, "Amit Gupta is a group captain with the air force. There was some guest at his place who, he is claiming, was a family friend. Anjali Gupta, who once worked with him, died by hanging. It is a case of suicide. We are still investigating why she came to his place to commit suicide."

MiG-21 crashes in Punjab

MiG-21 of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Rajpura in Punjab on Tuesday morning. However, it was a miraculous escape for the pilot, Flight Lt Arnav Ghosh, who ejected safely. No civilian causality was reported as it crashed in the open fields.

Incident took place on Tuesday when the ill-fated aircraft MiG-21 type 96 of the IAF taken off from Ambala based air base on a routine training sortie. At around 11 am it crashed in the fields of Rajpura near Ambala. The pilot immediately ejected safely and he did not receive serious injury. Though, he was taken to the hospital for first aid. Army and air force personnel from Ambala airbase and cantonment cordon off the entire crash area and to gather the remains of the aircraft.

The single-engined-MiG-21s have a horrifying track record. Of the 793 MiG-21s inducted into IAF since 1963, over 340 have been lost in accidents.

Known as 'Flying Coffin' or 'Widow Makers', it is third MiG type aircraft that has crashed in this year in the country.
During the last three years, around 42 accidents of Indian Air Force (IAF) aircrafts have taken place. In these accidents 17 pilots, 24 service personnel and 5 civilians have lost their lives.

Army Survey finds 30% overweight

A study on the health of Indian Army personnel has thrown up worrying results. Four out of five personnel surveyed, including officers, were found suffering from pre-hypertension, about a third were overweight and two-thirds had low levels of good cholesterol (HDL), caused by lack of exercise.

The sample survey was conducted by the defence ministry and Indian Council of Medical Research on 767 'healthy' personnel including 130 officers. Their ages ranged from 18 to 50 years.

The study also found a majority of the personnel had bad eating habits. Most of them added salt or pickle to their food and used ghee/butter regularly.

Alarmingly, the prevalence of pre-hypertension in the group was higher than in the general population. While 40-60% of Indians show these symptoms, it was as high as 80% among the Armymen. Pre-hypertension is a risk factor for heart disease and is characterized by mildly high blood pressure - 120-139mm Hg systolic pressure and a diastolic pressure of 80-89.

Almost 67% were found to have low HDL cholesterol level - a sign of low physical activity. More embarrassingly, 30% had a body-mass ratio of over 23, putting them in the overweight category.

Young Armymen must cut down on smoking and go easy with their salt and ghee, says a recent survey that found more than 80% personnel suffering from pre-hypertension, a risk factor for heart disease.

"Lifestyle modifications such as reducing the intake of saturated fats and salt in diet and reducing smoking can achieve a downward shift in the overall blood pressure, thus reducing the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease," says the survey conducted by the defence ministry and Indian Council of Medical Research.

The study, published in the latest issue of the Indian Journal of Medical Research, was conducted over two years. Of 767 personnel studied, 670 were married. Personnel with known history of ischemic heart disease, hypertension, obesity and diabetes were excluded from the study and only "healthy" ones included.

Most of the soldiers identified as pre-hypertensive were in the habit of using extra salt and pickles and had a lot of ghee or butter. "In the Army, we have an authorization scale for ration which includes fresh vegetables, fruits, bread, butter, rice and milk among others. But people also eat from outside. The diet differs from person to person," an Army officer said.

R.K. Dhowan assumes charge as Naval Vice-Chief

Vice-Admiral R.K. Dhowan has assumed charge as Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff at the Integrated Headquarters succeeding Vice-Admiral D.K. Dewan.

Vice-Admiral Dhowan has held key command and staff appointments, including operational command of missile corvette INS Khukri, guided missile destroyers INS Ranjit and INS Delhi and Flag Officer Commanding (Eastern Fleet).

Assignments

His staff assignments include Deputy Chief of Naval Staff and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy and Plans) at New Delhi; Commandant of the ‘National Defence Academy' at Khadakvasla; Indian Naval Adviser at the High Commission of India, London; and the Chief Staff Officer (Operations), Western Naval Command, Mumbai.

A Navigation and Direction Specialist, Vice-Admiral ‘Robin' Dhowan is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Services Staff College and Naval War College, Rhode Island, U.S. He also excelled during his initial training winning the coveted ‘telescope' as Best Cadet and later the ‘Sword of Honour' during his Midshipman training.

The Navy also announced the retirement of Vice-Admiral Dewan as Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff after 38 years of service. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy in Pune, he was commissioned in 1973 and held several key appointments, including the Chief of Personnel, and Vice-Chief of Naval Staff between August 2009 and 2011.

His tenure as the Vice-Chief was marked by special achievements such as ensuring cent per cent utilisation of naval budget in the last two fiscal years with over 80 per cent increase in capital expenditure. He was instrumental in promulgation of the 15-year Maritime Capability Perspective Plan 2012-2027.