The octogenarian father and mother of late Flt Lt Jayant Rishi, who are settled in Panchkula (Haryana), were honoured at a specially organised brief presentation ceremony at Air Force Station, Chandigarh.

The father of the martyr, Mr Sushil Chandra Rishi and mother Damyanti Rishi were presented with a cheque for rupees one lakh, a scroll depicting the heroic deeds of the brave fighter pilot and a special memento by Air Cmde S K Banerjee, AOC, 12 Wing, on behalf of the Chief of Air Staff. The President, Air Force Wives Welfare Association (local), Mrs Rina Banerjee and other senior officers of the wing were also present on the occasion.

Born on July 5, 1945, Flt Lt Jayant Rishi was commissioned in the IAF in 1963 and served as a fighter pilot. He was killed in action while defending the motherland in Western Sector on December 4, 1971 during the Indo-Pak war.

The function was held at Chandigarh as Mr Rishi was unable to go to New Delhi, where the Air Headquarters had organised a ceremony to honour the next of kin of its officers and Airmen who made supreme sacrifice.

- D S Rawat

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal A Y Tipnis, accompanied by Mrs Molina Tipnis, visited Air Force Station, Gorakhpur. The Air Chief and his wife were received by the Air Officer Commanding of the station, Air Cmde B N Gokhale and Mrs Meghna Gokhale.

Air Chief Marshal Tipnis was introduced to all the Principal Staff Officers and Commanding Officers of the Air Force Station by Air Cmde B N Gokhale. Therafter, he was presented with an impressive guard of honour. He also visited the war memorial of the station where he laid wreath and paid his tributes to the martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice.

Air Cmde B N Gokhale later briefed the Air Chief on salient aspects of the station. The Air Chief Marshal also visited the squadrons and units at the station and expressed his satisfaction over their preparedness to meet all exigencies. He visited the residential areas of the station and was satisfied to see the neat and clean living environment provided to the Air Force personnel working at this base. He later addressed all officers of Air Force Station at the Sekhon Hall. Air Chief Marshal Tipnis also witnessed a volleyball match.

Mrs Molina Tipnis, President Air Force Wives Welfare Association was accorded a warm welcome by Mrs Meghna Gokhale at a meeting organised by Air Force Wives Welfare Association. Later, she visited all the welfare ventures run by Air Force Wives Welfare Association at Gorakhpur. She expressed satisfaction on the welfare work done by the ladies of AFWWA Gorakhpur. It has improved the quality of life in the campus and has also helped the dependents of Air Force personnel in vocational training. She also visited the Air Force Hospital and Air Force School and was satisfied with quality of services being provided to the Air Force personnel and their dependents.

- Sqn Ldr R K Singh

A Familiarisation Capsule (FAMCAP 2000) on simulators and computer based training (CBT) was organised by Simulator Development Division under the aegis of Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, Secunderabad on behalf of HQrs ARTRAC. The representatives of some PSUs and private firms associated with simulator development also participated in the event. Lt Gen D B Singh, Commandant, MCEME inaugurated the capsule. He emphasised the need and advantages of simulator and CBT based training and elaborated on the urgent need of building up in-house development capabilities.

The main objective of the capsule was to familiarise the participants with the basic working of simulators already inducted so as to be able to exploit them effectively in their formations and establishments. The capsule helped to gain an insight into the simulators which are under development at the Simulator Development Division. In addition, it also gave an exposure to the preparation and use of CBT packages.

Simulator Development Division demonstrated various simulators developed by the Division like ‘B’ vehicle driving simulator, hand grenade simulator, small arms range trainer (DRONA), anti-pers mine simulator (NMM-14), pop-up target system, commando trainer and aiming trainers for Tank T-72, ICV BMP etc. Various Cat ‘A’ establishments also presented the CBTs developed by them for mutual benefit.

- Col R K Jaiswal

Maj Gen R N Wadehra, Additional Director General (ADG) Recruiting, Army Headquarters, paid a one-day inspection visit to Headquarters Recruiting Zone (UP) in Lucknow Cantonment. Brig Deepak Kapur, Deputy Director General Recruiting (UP), received the ADG and conducted him around the headquarters during inspection.

During deliberations, stress was laid on organising recruitment rallies in remote and inaccessible areas to benefit the poor who otherwise have to spend some money on bus or train fare as well as on making their own arrangements for stay.

Earlier, Brig Kapur introduced officers of the headquarters to the visiting dignitary.

- Dhirendra Ojha

Surgeon Rear Admiral S P Malhotra took over as Commanding Officer of Indian Naval Hospital Ship Asvini. He took over the command from Surgeon Rear Admiral HP Mukherjee.

Commissioned in 1964, Rear Admiral S P Malhotra is an ENT specialist. He has been a teacher and examiner both at Mumbai and Pune Universities, published many articles in medical journals and also conducted many research projects. He took part in both 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars as Regimental Medical Officer and commanded the 319 Field Ambulance in 1989-90.

He was Director Medical Services (Personnel and Management) at Naval Headquarters prior to taking over present appointment. He is also the Vice Chairman of Rehabilitation Council of India for Hearing Impaired.

- Cdr R Madhusoodanan

Maj Gen D K Sengupta, the MG Army Ordnance Corps of Headquarters Central Command, Lucknow carried out the inspection of ordnance depot at Allahabad Fort. He was received by the Commandant of Ordnance Depot, Col S K Mohan who introduced the Major General to all the officers of the depot. Col Mohan later briefed the Major General on various aspects of warehousing of wide range of inventory held at the ordnance depot at Allahabad. He also elaborated on various security precautions and other contingency plans of fire fighting adopted at the depot to ensure safety of stores from fire hazard.

Maj Gen Sengupta later inspected a wide range of stores and was satisfied with the storage conditions and fire fighting precautions at the depot. He congratulated the Commandant Col S K Mohan for high morale of officers, troops and civilian work force who were instrumental in the upkeep and proper stocking of stores. He, however, stressed the need of adopting the modern concepts of inventory management and warehousing in order to ensure optimum utilisation of available resources.

- Sqn Ldr R K Singh

The President, Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA), Western Command, Mrs Daulat Oberoi inaugurated a homoeopathic clinic and a beauty parlour at Chandimandir Cantonment.

The homoeopathic clinic will provide free consultancy and medicines at subsidised costs. It is being run by Dr Seema Sethi who is an Army Officer’s wife and a gold medallist from the Homoeopathic Medical College, Chandigarh.

The beauty parlour will provide facilities in facials, weight loss, facial uplift, laser treatment for pimples and other services with modern techniques, besides conducting short and long duration diploma courses for wives and daughters of all ranks. The parlour is being run by Mrs Apeksha Gill, a qualified beautician and the wife of a battle casualty officer.

- D S Rawat

The first ATM service in Indian Air Force was inaugurated by Mrs Molina Tipnis, President Air Force Wives Welfare Association (central) at Subroto Park shopping complex in New Delhi. The facility, set up by the State Bank of India, is the first exclusive trailer for the Air Force personnel.

The project was conceived and executed by Air Force Central Accounts Office (AFCAO) in collaboration with SBI. AFCAO is the central organisation which processes and maintains the pay, allowances and provident fund accounts of the entire Indian Air Force personnel and has been the pioneer in the field of computerisation of pay accounting.

Air Marshal DC Dhyani, Air Officer Administration, Air Vice Marshal Anjaneyulu, ACAS (Accts), Mr H Lal, CGM (North Circle) SBI and Air Cmde Surjit Singh, AOC, AFCAO, were present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Mrs Tipnis said that this welfare step of vast potential was one more endeavour of Indian Air Force to enhance the quality of life of Air Force personnel and their families by putting technology to use.

The 953 AD Regiment Workshop, EME celebrated its golden jubilee in the new millennium at its permanent location in Western Command. The celebrations took the form of a re-union. The retired officers, JCOs and ORs who have contributed to the glory of the unit over these fifty years were invited on the occasion.

A pagal gymkhana was organised in the unit playground for all officers, JCOs, ORs, ex-servicemen and their families. The event was made more enjoyable by the active and whole-hearted pariticipation of all. The family welfare meet was attended by the families of officers, JCOs and ORs. Mrs Aditi Uberoy, the first lady of the workshop addressed the families on the special occasion and gave away prizes, gifts and sweets.

The barakhana organised on the occasion, was attended by Brig A K Verma, Commander 15 (I) AD Brigade, officers, JCOs and other ranks with their families.

- Capt Vipin Kashyap

In an effort to bring the alienated youth of the border villages of Turtuk, Tyakshi and others into national mainstream, Maj Gen S Thapliyal GOC, 3 Infantry Division addressed these villagers at Tyakshi.

The GOC announced following actions by the Army: (a) provision of one generator, dish antenna and one TV for villagers to be installed in school building in Tyakshi; (b) local youth would be employed as porters more in number; (c) locally produced vegetables and fruits would be bought by the Army; (d) qualified local youth to be recruited in Ladakh Scouts and would be trained by the Army unit in that area; (e) children of these villages would be included in Bharat Darshan by school children of Ladakh; and (f) the grievances of the locals would be communicated to civil administration for redressal.

Col P K Chakraborty, Colonel Administration flagged off an Army bus from Partapur to base camp and Tyakshi. This bus would run regularly for jawans and ex-servicemen.

- Lt Col P Chakraborty

The NCC cadets of Vallabh Vidyanagar participated in a big water distribution drive at Meghraj in Sabar Kantha district and nearby areas. Four teams of NCC officers, cadets and combatants fanned out carrying water in water bowsers and canters loaded with syntex tanks. The water was supplied to a number of villages. The response at all places was overwhelming.

The activity came as a big relief to the needy in drought affected areas. The efforts put in by NCC cadets were praised by one and all.

- Col Rishi Sharma

Thirteen Engineer Regiment of 475 Engineer Brigade organised Children Summer Bonanza 2000. Brig YR Maindiratta, Commander 475 Engineer Brigade inaugurated the bonanza and stressed the necessity of these programmes for an all-round development of children.

On the inaugural day of the bonanza, an essay writing competition was organised for children of different age groups. Keeping in view the need to understand environment related issues, an eco-quiz was organised on the succeeding day. The tiny tots also had a chance to express their creativity while participating in the painting competition for children below seven years. The highlight of the bonanza was the career counselling session conducted by Dr A S Mathur of MD University, Ajmer. The counselling was very effective and well received.

While giving away the prizes, Brig YR Maindiratta thanked Col Hardeep Dhanny, Commanding Officer, 13 Engineer Regiment for his regiment’s result oriented contribution by organising this ‘dream come true’ event for the children.

- Capt BS Poovaiah

The Air Force station, Jodhpur won the South Western Air Command Hockey Championship 2000 beating Air Force station Jamnagar by 4-2. The final match was played at Jodhpur. The championship was inaugurated by Gp Capt H K Arora from Air Force station, Jodhpur. The inaugural match played between Jodhpur and Jamnagar was won by Jodhpur 3-0. In this match the South Western Air Command hockey team was selected for further training.

Gp Capt Ashok Kumar distributed prizes to the winners.

- Maj (Dr) A K Janardhanan

Two hundred and ninety-one prizes were distributed at the 13th annual prize distribution ceremony of the Army Public School (APS), Lucknow, held at Surya Auditorium in Lucknow. The chief guest on the occasion, Dr (Ms) Sheema Rizvi, State Minister for Medical Education (UP), in her brief speech wished the students a brighter future.

The overall championship, for having been adjudged Cock House, went to Trishul House which topped in study, culture and debate besides standing third in discipline. Whereas Archit Khare (X-C) bagged Brig V H M Prasad Scholarship for scoring highest marks in mathematics and general science put together, Nivedita Srivastava (X-A) got the Lt Col Mukesh Chandra Sharma Memorial Scholarship for scoring highest marks in CBSE in Hindi and social science.

Thirty-five AWWA scholarships of Rs 300 each were also given away to students in various categories. Besides special prizes in art education and work experience, 10 best all-rounder prizes, 103 prizes for 100 percent attendence, 57 prizes for best turnout and 52 prizes in academics were awarded. Netra Bahadur Gurung of class XII (Arts) and Rukhsar of VII-C were adjudged the sportsman and the sportsgirl of the year, respectively. Special prizes for leadership were bagged by Nikhil Srivastava of XII-A and Basma Waris of XII-B.

For their commendable contribution Arif Hussain Mr Subhash Joshi, Mr R K Shukla, Mrs M Srivastava and Mrs M Agarwal were presented teachers awards. The principal of the APS, Lt Col Dinesh Sinha proposed vote of thanks on the occasion.

- Dhirendra Ojha

Hav Shaji MJ of Corps of Signals won a silver medal at second South Asian Bodybuilding Championship 2000 at Kathmandu. He represented India in the light middle weight (above 80 kg) category. Hav Shaji M J created history and added yet another feather in the Corps of Signals’ cap by winning an international medal. He was the only player from Services to represent India.