ISSUE 392 =12-03-2021

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As protests erupt, CM says Maha
civil service exams in a week
Rafales' second squadron
at Hasimara to counter
threats from CHINA
Mumbai : Rattled as massive
protests erupted across Maharashtra
after the state civil service prelims were
postponed for the 5th time in 12 months,
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray stated
here on Thursday evening that the
crucial exams will be held "within a
week". "The March 14 exams of
Maharashtra Public Service
Commission were postponed due to the
Covid-19 crisis. Since there are lots of
administrative issues involved in the
current situation, the exams shall not be
held this Sunday. However, the Chief
Secretary shall announce the new date
on Friday," Thackeray assured in an
address to the state.
Earlier, thousands of youths took to
the streets across the state protesting the
government move postponing the
March 14 MPSC preliminary examinations,
forcing police to resort to mild
caning in some parts.
Some of the angry candidates threatened
to "commit suicide" outside the
exam centres, while others warned that
they would stage sit-ins till the government
withdrew the notification.
Thackeray urged them to continue
their studies and await the announcement
of the fresh dates and also cautioned
them against falling prey to vested
political interests, though sections of
the candidates expressed displeasure at
the postponement.
The MPSC 2020 prelims, scheduled
on March 14, have been postponed for
the 5th time in the past one year owing
to the Covid-19 crisis, putting the future
of many in jeopardy, the candidates
rued. Previously, the exams were scheduled
on April 5, September 13, Sep. 20,
October 11 (2020) and the latest on
March 14, but were postponed owing to
the pandemic and the lockdowns in
force, Pune's Yuvak Kranti Dal
Kamlakar Shete said.
An estimated 260,000 plus candidates,
including several women, in the
21-30 age group, who have travelled
from remote parts of the state, were
hoping to appear for the prelims for two
objective-type papers at various centres
in the state on Sunday. Conducted annually
by the statutory body, the exams
would open the doors for successful
candidates in various government jobs
across sectors based on merit and the
applicable reservation criteria. Taken
aback by the road blockades, sit-ins,
slogan-shouting and other forms of agitation
that erupted in Nagpur, Pune,
Aurangabad, Amravati, Solapur,
Nanded, Kolhapur, Jalgaon and other
places, the local police and district
administrations rushed to the spots to
control the tempers and the situation.
At some places, the agitating students
squatted or lay on the roads, vowing
that they would not move from there
till the exams were conducted as scheduled
on March 14.
As police took to mild caning of
protesting candidates in Amravati and
some other places, Thackeray spoke
with the Director-General of Police
Hemant Nagrale and other officials
instructing them to show restraint vis-avis
the protesters. Ruling ally and State
Congress President Nana Patole,
Minister Vijay Wadettiwar and others
called up Thackeray and urged him to
work out a solution to the sudden crisis
on priority given that emotions were
running high. Bharatiya Janata Party's
Leader of Opposition Devendra
Fadnavis slammed the Maha Vikas
Aghadi government for the move and
demanded that Thursday's notification
be cancelled and the exams conducted
immediately. "Such repeated postponements
of the MPSC exams result in
huge financial losses and mental torture
to the students who prepare for it for
years. The notification must be withdrawn
immediately," Fadnavis tweeted.
MVA constituent Nationalist
Congress Party legislator Rohit Pawar
urged the government to resolve the
issue at the earliest and said he was
"personally in favour of conducting the
exams" but after taking all Covid-19
precautions at all venues.
"The repeated putting off has
immensely traumatized the candidates.
The economically weaker students
make huge efforts to pay for their travel
expenses to the exam centres, repeated
preparations for the exams, all this goes
waste with each cancellation," Shete
said. Moreover, some senior candidates
who are in the borderline age groups are
worried that such cancellations would
make them age-barred and deprive them
of government employment.
Several other political leaders across
parties have appealed to the state government
and the MPSC to consider the
plight of the candidates and make
arrangements to hold the exams as per
the schedule.
New Delhi : The Indian Air
Force plans to raise its second
squadron of Rafale fighter jets at
Hasimara Air Force base in West
Bengal by next month to counter
threats from China.
Hasimara is a strategic base
for IAF operations because of its
proximity to Bhutan, the
Chumbi Valley where lies a trijunction
between India, Bhutan
and China, and Doklam where a
standoff took place in 2017. The
tri-junction has been a matter of
concern for all the three countries.
"Second Rafale Squadron is
being raised at the next Main
Operating Base (MOB)
Hasimara in mid April this year,"
said an Indian Air Force official.
The first squadron was raised
in Ambala after first batch of
five Rafale aircraft landed on
July 29, 2020. These aircraft
were inducted on September 10
at Ambala Air Base into the 17
'Golden Arrows' Squadron. The
Indian Air Force has received 11
jets till now out of the 36 ordered
from France. Six more jets are
expected to be delivered in a
month. The remaining aircraft
are likely to be in India by April
2022. Currently, IAF pilots are
being trained in France.
The two squadrons of Rafale
jets will add wings to the IAF's
depleting fleet strength.
The two squadrons with 18
jets each at Amabala and
Hasimara have been planned
keeping in mind the operations
against Pakistan on the western
front and China in the eastern
sector.
Hasimara earlier had a MiG-
27 squadron that has now been
decommissioned.
India had inked an inter-governmental
agreement with
France in September 2016 for
procurement of 36 Rafale fighter
jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000
crore. A 4.5 generation aircraft
with the latest weapons, superior
sensors and fully integrated
architecture, Rafale is an omnirole
aircraft which means it can
carry out at least four missions in
one sortie.
Armed with Hammer missiles,
it will also have beyond
visual range missiles like
Meteor, Scalp and Mica, increasing
their ability to take on
incoming targets from a distance.