The newest cutting edge weapons and military equipment have come on display in the Moscow region, as the unprecedented Army-2015 expo and forum gets underway.
The expo is scheduled to last until Friday. On Wednesday, it opens to the general public, and anyone will be able to take a peek at the newest weapons, armor and aircraft that have been developed for the Russian military, some of which are on display for the very first time.
There are also sections dedicated to robotics and space tech, as well as a display of “non-traditional weapons”. These include things with names more suited for science fiction: laser, particle beam, orbital kinetic and microwave weaponry.
Of course, the exhibits are not all stationary. Viewers will be treated to flyovers and aerobatic stunts by combat helicopters and jets, as well as a “tank ballet” show in which ace tank crews and self-propelled artillery pieces will demonstrate their driving skills.
Drones and robots are heavily featured at the expo. There are unmanned vehicles which can be operated on the ground, in the air, on water and underwater. Their functions are wide-ranging, from minesweeping and rescue work, to reconnaissance and armed defense. Russia’s Defense Ministry has developed a complex program to create and introduce new robotics technology which will span the next 10 years.
The show’s overall aim is to provide a forum bringing together Russian military manufacturers and those who employ military technology in Russia and abroad.
“This complex is, figuratively speaking, a defense supermarket, which other countries’ militaries can visit to take a look, to try things out, take a drive or a shot, and purchase something,” Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said, according to First Channel.
President Vladimir Putin endorsed the exhibition himself, paying a visit on opening day. He said some of the items exhibited, which have no equal in other countries, are already being deployed in the Russian military.RT news
Future roadmap for Smart Cities in India
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| Moving forward, the 2nd edition of Smart Cities India 2016 Expo will be held atPragati Maidan, New Delhi, during11-13 May 2016. Kindly advice your interest in participating in the upcoming edition. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DON’T MISS: The Government has proposed new laws for labeling food. Helen Wellings tells us more.
Scam in transfers & postings in transport department causes inconvenience to Mumbaikers due to paucity of Inspectors in RTO offices
There are nearly 30 posts of inspectors lying vacant in the three RTO offices of Mumbai (Central, West, East). This has happened due to the recent transfer of a large number of inspectors out of Mumbai and inadequate replacement of the same.
Lucrative Postings
It is said that Mumbai is not considered a “lucrative” posting in the RTO. Inspectors have to work hard and they get only petty bribes. Bribes are usually high in places that have checkposts and hence Inspectors who wish to make money illegally would prefer to be posted in such places; namely – Thane, Solapur, Aklug, Panvel, Dhule, Jalgaon, Nadurbar, Chandrapur. It is rumoured that Inspectors are willing to pay huge bribes to get these “lucrative” checkpost assignments.
Till recently it was not possible for officers to get themselves transferred at will. All transfers and postings were made based on the recommendations of a Committee that comprised of the Transport Secretary, Transport Commissioner and a representative of the General Administration Department. The Committee would study the workload in different parts of Maharashtra and the performance of the Inspectors and makes recommendations to the Transport Minister. The entire process was documented and all postings accounted for.
But Transport Minister Diwaker Raote has totally rejected the recommendations of this committee and made all transfers on his whims. And the whims were the result of a scam. It is rumoured that a message was sent out to all Inspectors saying if they wished for a specific posting they could contact a retired official – Mr Khade and he would be the sole decision maker of all transfers. Mr Khade is a retired Transport Official and it is said that he has been working directly out of the Transport Ministry office in the Mantralaya. It is alleged that for a fee he gave all Inspectors from Mumbai the “creamy” postings at various checkposts.
Inconvenience to Mumbaikers
Road accidents are the direct result of poorly maintained vehicles and bad drivers. And the reason there are unfit vehicles on the road is that the RTOs rarely really test a vehicle; they just sign maximum number of files. The same goes for driving license tests – its possible to issue so many licenses as Inspectors just sign files instead of conducting tests. More issuances = more bribe collections.
The Bombay High Court has made a landmark judgement in this matter. The court noted that abnormally high number of issuances was a testimony to the fact that no test was being in done, just files being signed. In order to ensure that every case was tested properly, the High Court studied the various issues and fixed a quota that stops the inspector from doing more than x number of issuances or tests in a day.
In order to reduce corruption the previous Transport Commissioner encouraged a system of online appointment. The fixed quotas and the online appointments should have eased the lives of the citizens. But the absence of Inspectors has thrown this whole system into a toss. Citizens are waiting days for an appointments and the result is the corrupt practices are back into play.
Aam Aadmi Party has written to the Chief Minister to immediately look into the scam. The CM has asserted that he believes that decision making should be made through processes and the Ministers’ should delegate responsibility to bureaucrats. But in the Transport Ministry, processes have been thrown to the winds and the Transport Secretary & Transport Commissioner have been reduced to mere figureheads.
The letter to the CM is attached.
Sincerely
Preeti Sharma Menon
National Spokesperson
Aam Aadmi Party
Hong Kong Government votes on electoral reform http://bit.ly/1MKet9E
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