INDIAPak’s waning usefulness, IS behind Obama’s N-concern
Indrani Bagchi | TNN | Apr 4, 2016, 02.43 AM IST
NEW DELHI: In late 2015, elements in the Obama administration reportedly offered a "nuclear deal" to Pakistan — to get Islamabad into the Nuclear Suppliers Group in return for Pakistan taking a series of steps to rein in its nuclear weapons, particularly the tactical weapons which, in a country teeming with jihadi groups, could be a recipe for disaster .
Indian commentators were more upset about the nuclear "offer" to Pakistan than Pakistan itself. The nuclear programme there is the sole preserve of the army which dismissed the offer with the contempt it deserved. Pakistan maintains its position — its nuclear weapons are all targetted at India, and are a response to India's conventional superiority. Moreover, their tactical nukes are direct response to India's supposed 'Cold Start' doctrine, one that has been more publicised than implemented. US officials, when questioned, maintained they would continue to incentivise Pakistan to contain their nukes.
India has, for some time, drawn attention to the dangers posed by Pakistan's tactical weapons. Former NSA Shivshankar Menon described them as the "jihadi edge" to Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme. But there was little pressure on Pakistan from the world, partly because of its potential usefulness in Afghanistan, partly due to China's support to Pakistan which insulates it from much global pressure.
In the past couple of months though, Pakistan's "usefulness" has been somewhat tested. The quadrilateral coordination group which was aimed at bringing the Taliban to the table for talks with the Afghan government, so the US could withdraw, has not gone anywhere. The Taliban remain virulent in Afghanistan, showing no sign of wanting to engage in peace talks.
What appears to have sharpened the Obama administration's concerns about Pakistan's tactical nukes is the fact that two suspected IS terrorists were shot trying to access Belgium's nuclear plants. Recent reports point to a worrying trend highlighted by counter-terrorism experts — that IS is expanding its footprint in Balochistan, which is where most of Pakistan's nuclear assets are housed.
Barack Obama, therefore, had little choice but to highlight the biggest threat to international security — of terror groups accessing nuclear weapons, or nuclear material.
However, the US establishment has equally bought in to the Pakistani explanation that their nuclear weapons are all due to India.
Indian commentators were more upset about the nuclear "offer" to Pakistan than Pakistan itself. The nuclear programme there is the sole preserve of the army which dismissed the offer with the contempt it deserved. Pakistan maintains its position — its nuclear weapons are all targetted at India, and are a response to India's conventional superiority. Moreover, their tactical nukes are direct response to India's supposed 'Cold Start' doctrine, one that has been more publicised than implemented. US officials, when questioned, maintained they would continue to incentivise Pakistan to contain their nukes.
India has, for some time, drawn attention to the dangers posed by Pakistan's tactical weapons. Former NSA Shivshankar Menon described them as the "jihadi edge" to Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme. But there was little pressure on Pakistan from the world, partly because of its potential usefulness in Afghanistan, partly due to China's support to Pakistan which insulates it from much global pressure.
In the past couple of months though, Pakistan's "usefulness" has been somewhat tested. The quadrilateral coordination group which was aimed at bringing the Taliban to the table for talks with the Afghan government, so the US could withdraw, has not gone anywhere. The Taliban remain virulent in Afghanistan, showing no sign of wanting to engage in peace talks.
What appears to have sharpened the Obama administration's concerns about Pakistan's tactical nukes is the fact that two suspected IS terrorists were shot trying to access Belgium's nuclear plants. Recent reports point to a worrying trend highlighted by counter-terrorism experts — that IS is expanding its footprint in Balochistan, which is where most of Pakistan's nuclear assets are housed.
Top Comment
The best defense is a good offense, Pakistan should empty all it's stock pile of nuclear weapons on india and wipe this shit-hole off the maps.Barack Obama, therefore, had little choice but to highlight the biggest threat to international security — of terror groups accessing nuclear weapons, or nuclear material.
However, the US establishment has equally bought in to the Pakistani explanation that their nuclear weapons are all due to India.
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Teachers spot ‘discrepancies’ in JEE question papers
TNN | Apr 4, 2016, 02.20 AM IST
NEW DELHI: Over a million students took the paper-based Joint Entrance Examination (Main) on Sunday at over 2,000 centres. And like last year, teachers have spotted "discrepancies" in this year's paper too but without the CBSE's own answer key, there's no way to be sure.
"Question 84 (in Set F) has two answers and question 17 appears to have no matching answer in choices given. The mathematics section is a shade tougher than last year's with a few lengthy questions," says R L Trikha of FIITJEE. The CBSE's own answer-key isn't public yet. "It's hard to make any claims without the key," adds Keshav Aggarwal of Turning Point, "But there were some ambiguities in the chemistry part. Chemistry is usually easy but wasn't this year. Mathematics was relatively tough and physics, mediocre." Aggarwal thinks the "qualifying score" will "hover around 105-110 again."
The exam is in two parts. Paper I was similar in pattern to the ones that candidates have taken from 2011 to 2015. "The paper is balanced and is set from CBSE syllabus of Class XI and XII," adds Trikha. The second paper was similar to last year's.
"In Physics, there were two questions which had more than one correct answer. Many students reported the section on mathematics to be lengthy. In chemistry, distribution of questions was quite skewed with more questions from organic chemistry. One question was found to be ambiguous in chemistry also," says Aakash Chaudhry of Aakash Educational Services. Aggarwal figures the "qualifying score" will "hover around 105-110 again."
The top two lakh candidates will qualify to appear in the JEE Advanced to be held on May 23.
"Question 84 (in Set F) has two answers and question 17 appears to have no matching answer in choices given. The mathematics section is a shade tougher than last year's with a few lengthy questions," says R L Trikha of FIITJEE. The CBSE's own answer-key isn't public yet. "It's hard to make any claims without the key," adds Keshav Aggarwal of Turning Point, "But there were some ambiguities in the chemistry part. Chemistry is usually easy but wasn't this year. Mathematics was relatively tough and physics, mediocre." Aggarwal thinks the "qualifying score" will "hover around 105-110 again."
The exam is in two parts. Paper I was similar in pattern to the ones that candidates have taken from 2011 to 2015. "The paper is balanced and is set from CBSE syllabus of Class XI and XII," adds Trikha. The second paper was similar to last year's.
"In Physics, there were two questions which had more than one correct answer. Many students reported the section on mathematics to be lengthy. In chemistry, distribution of questions was quite skewed with more questions from organic chemistry. One question was found to be ambiguous in chemistry also," says Aakash Chaudhry of Aakash Educational Services. Aggarwal figures the "qualifying score" will "hover around 105-110 again."
The top two lakh candidates will qualify to appear in the JEE Advanced to be held on May 23.
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Airline cancellation, booking charge hikes under DGCA lens
Saurabh Sinha | TNN | Apr 4, 2016, 02.11 AM IST
NEW DELHI: In a much belated move, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has finally brought the constant hikes in cancellation and rebooking charges by airlines under its scanner. DGCA chief M Sathiyavathy has asked her deputy Lalit Gupta to examine the entire gamut of these charges and submit a report on the same this week.
The regulatory move comes as a leading low cost carrier last week hiked cancellation charges to a flat Rs 2,250 for all passengers cancelling up to 2 hours before the flight departs. Before this, passengers cancelling were charged Rs 1,900 if they cancelled tickets more than a week prior to scheduled departure. This was the fourth upward revision in a year. Other airlines are also expected to follow suit.
"As the safety regulator, we ideally should not interfere in the commercial decisions of airlines. But in this case we are getting complaints from the public. Based on the Lalit Gupta report, we will act if the cancellation/rebooking charges are found to be unreasonable," said a senior DGCA official.
In the last one year itself these charges have been hiked several times by some airlines. They started last year with Rs 2,000. Later they had three slabs: Rs 1250 for cancellations 30 days before flight; Rs 1,500 for cancellation from 30 days to a week before departure and Rs 2,000 for a week before flight time. After that these charges were revised to be between 1,900 and Rs 2,250.
Consumer organisations have been complaining to the DGCA for almost a year but the regulator has not acted so far. Last year, Air Passengers' Association of India chief Sudhakara Reddy had sent a mail to the aviation ministry and DGCA over the same issue.
The regulatory move comes as a leading low cost carrier last week hiked cancellation charges to a flat Rs 2,250 for all passengers cancelling up to 2 hours before the flight departs. Before this, passengers cancelling were charged Rs 1,900 if they cancelled tickets more than a week prior to scheduled departure. This was the fourth upward revision in a year. Other airlines are also expected to follow suit.
"As the safety regulator, we ideally should not interfere in the commercial decisions of airlines. But in this case we are getting complaints from the public. Based on the Lalit Gupta report, we will act if the cancellation/rebooking charges are found to be unreasonable," said a senior DGCA official.
In the last one year itself these charges have been hiked several times by some airlines. They started last year with Rs 2,000. Later they had three slabs: Rs 1250 for cancellations 30 days before flight; Rs 1,500 for cancellation from 30 days to a week before departure and Rs 2,000 for a week before flight time. After that these charges were revised to be between 1,900 and Rs 2,250.
Consumer organisations have been complaining to the DGCA for almost a year but the regulator has not acted so far. Last year, Air Passengers' Association of India chief Sudhakara Reddy had sent a mail to the aviation ministry and DGCA over the same issue.
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