The Indian Defence Ministry has on Friday announced to appoint Lt General Vijay Kumar Singh as India’s next Chief of Army Staff. At present, Lt General Vijay Kumar Singh has been serving as commander-in-chief of the Eastern Army Command. He will succeed incumbent army chief General Deepak Kapoor in the office on March 31.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has taken decision in this regard on Thursday. Lt Gen Vijay Kumar Singh has been honoured with AVSM and YSM. He was commissioned in 2 Rajput (Kali Chindi) on June 14 1970.
He was commissioned in 2 Rajput (Kali Chindi) on June 14 1970. He assumed command of Eastern Command as the 30th Army Commander on March 01, 2008. The General is a third generation Rajput officer. Singh was awarded Yudh Seva Medal. He has vast operational experience in Counter Insurgency Operations, Line of Control and High Altitude environment.

Gen Kapoor Has Gone Partially Deaf in Left Ear, Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor suffered acute deafness in his left ear.
As a result, the Indian army chief has been placed in a lower medical category just four months before retirement. A lower medical category indicates partial disability and entitlement to higher pensions.
Medical records suggest that Gen Kapoor suffers from “noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss (bilat)”.
The doctor’s certificate, issued on November 23 last year, says during the army chief’s visit to the US in July 2009, “he was closely exposed to loud noise in the form of small weapons firing and gun firing during a counter-terrorism demo by US soldiers. The general officer also fired some of the weapons in field firing range. Since then he (has) developed acute deafness in the left ear. He was unable to discriminate (between) spoken words.”
A normal army officer should be in SHAPE-1 — SHAPE is an acronym for psychological, hearing, appendages (limbs), physical and eyes.

NEW DELHI: Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor has claimed that Indian army is ready to battle Pakistan and China at the same time. Whereas, Lt-General A S Lamba said that Indian Military will have to fight the two war at the same time. General Deepak Kapoor said that Indian Air Force, Navy, and Army is effectively ready to face Pakistan and China. However, General Lamba said that India knows the next war will be between India and China, and Pakistan could be a part of it. India will get indirect support from America and Russia, he said.

If attacked by Pakistan and china at the same time, India will launch self-contained and highly-mobile `battle groups”, adequately backed by far superior air cover and artillery fire assaults, for rapid thrusts into enemy territory within 96 hours. General A S Lamba of Indian Army claimed that India within 48 hours of the start of assault can enter Pakistan, according to newspaper.

SYDNEY: Australia’s international student sector, the third largest export earner, is forecast to see a 20 percent drop in Indian students in 2010, costing $69.7 million, after a series of attacks on Indians students in 2009.

A study by The Tourism Forecasting Committee released on Wednesday found that while international tourism numbers were expected to grow by 4.3 percent in 2010, there would be a significant decline in international student arrivals.

It forecast 4,000 fewer Indian students, a fall of 21 percent compared with a 35 percent rise in 2009.

“The resultant loss in economic value to Australia could be as high as A$78 million in 2010 if these enrolments are not filled by other international students,” a statement by the Tourism Forecasting Committee said.

The study attributed the fall in Indian student numbers to a spate of attacks on Indian students that cast a shadow over the Australian education industry in mid-2009.

The attacks in Melbourne and Sydney, which police blamed on opportunistic criminals, escalated into a diplomatic issue between Australia and India after some Indian students and Indian media labelled the attacks as racist.

Australia’s international student sector is the country’s third largest export earner, behind coal and iron ore, totalling A$13 billion ($10 billion) in 2007-08.

In 2009, there were more than 70,000 Indians studying in Australia. Australia is a major destination for Indian students studying abroad, who recognise the cost competitiveness of Australian education services.

Enrolments of Indian students in Australia had increased at an average annual rate of around 41 per cent since 2002.

“What we’re saying is that based on consideration of visa applications there’s a 20 percent hit,” chairman of The Tourism Forecasting Committee, Bernard Salt, told local radio.

“This is a segment that has grown strongly throughout this decade but the downturn is expected in response to concerns that the Indian community have had about safety,” said Salt.

“I suppose the query is whether in fact this is a structural issue that will be with us for some time, that is one fifth of the market has been evaporated, or whether in fact this is a knee-jerk, just a one-year reaction,” he said.

The president of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia, Gautam Gupta, said the forecast drop in Indian students is not as bad as first predicted after the attacks.

“We were predicting a drop of about 50 percent, so if the drop is about 20 percent, that’s significantly lower than what was the prediction about three months back,” he told radio.

Gupta said Indian student numbers could rebound as early as 2011, if attacks continued to decline. The study said the negative impact from the attacks should not continue beyond 2010.

($1 = 1.118 Australian Dollar)

India News: The three Indian generals who were accused of having an involvement in a land scam have been indicted.
Military Secretary Gen Avadesh, Lieutenant General PK Raj and Major General Ramesh Halgali have been alleged of making a fake NCO of the 70 acres land, adjoined to a military base near Darjeeling, to give it to a private organization.
The military inquiry team appealed for court martial of Gen Avadesh and Lt Gen PK Raj, and court proceeding against Maj Gen Ramesh.
However, the final decision would be taken by Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor in this regard.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan News: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said Indian Army Chief’s statement about limited nuclear was is irresponsible, adding that disputes between Pakistan and India can only be resolved through meaningful dialogue.
Talking to media at Islamabad airport before departing for four day visit to Germany and UK, PM Gilani urged international community to realize that the amount of sacrifices Pakistan rendered in war against terrorism is more than any other country. During his visit Prime Minister will exchange views on important regional issues with top brass of Germany and Britain. In first phase, Prime Minister will arrive in Berlin to meet German President Horst Koehler and Chancellor Angela Merkel. On the occasion, enhancement in cooperation between both the countries in economic, investment, trade and defence sectors will come under discussion. Gilani will also attend a conference on investment as keynote speaker in Frankfurt. Prime Minister Gilani will meet his British counterpart Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband during his visit to Britain.

Situation Will Worsen in Region: Gen Deepak Kapoor. Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor has warned that the situation will worsen further in South Asia as a terror threat over India looms large.
In an interview with an Indian TV channel, General Kapoor said that the world has already seen two wars in the region. He painted an ominous picture of the ground situation in one the most volatile Asian regions. Every country in South Asia has been a victim of terror sometime or the other, General Kapoor said.