KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI: An admission of the Archeological Survey of India's failure to conserve and maintain all heritage sites in the country is reflected in the Union Cabinet on Thursday deciding to set up a new National Commission for Heritage Sites by bringing in a legislation in Parliament's session next month.
The commission will take care of all the heritage sites unlike only the notified archeological sites being taken care by ASI or the state archeology departments.
An official said there are large number of heritage sites that are currently not on the ASI list.
The legislation will empower it to issue directions to owners and controllers of the heritage sites for their conservation and maintenance and to ensure compliance of such directions.
The legislation will also provide a framework for meeting international obligations under UNESCO Heritage Conservation to which India is a signatory since 1977.
The tasks to be assigned to the commission are: - Formulation of short and long term policies of conservation, protection and management of heritage sites, - Laying down standards and guidelines; - Establishment of a heritage sites roster; and - Recommendation to the Central Government for nomination of heritage sites for inscription on UNESCO World Heritage list.
The 8-member commission will have members with expertise in the fields of Archaeology, History, Architecture, Ecology, Conservation, Sociology, Anthropology, Science and Technology and Environmental Sciences.
Indian Army to have amphibious force on the lines of the Navy's marine commandos NEW DELHI, Jan 29 (Agencies): Modelled on the lines of the Indian Navy's marine commandos, the Indian Army will get its own amphibious force specialising in land and marine warfare by next month, an official here said.
"The amphibious brigade of the Army has been undergoing training for over a year at Thiruvananthapuram and will be formally launched by the Defence Minister (AK Antony) next month," a defence ministry official said.
Named the 91 Infantry Brigade, the amphibious force has a strength of 3,000 personnel.
"The soldiers have been drawn from the Sikh, Gorkhas and Madras regiments," the official added.
Amphibious warfare is the utilisation of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to send troops ashore.
In the modern era, amphibious warfare persists in the form of commando insertion by fast patrol boats and mini submersibles.
"In modern warfare, an amphibious landing of infantry troops on a beach is the most complex of all military manoeuvres," an army official said.
"The undertaking requires coordination of numerous military specialities, including air power, naval gunfire, naval transport, logistical planning, specialised equipment, land warfare, tactics and extensive training in the nuances of this manoeuvre for all personnel involved," the official said.
A well-planned and executed amphibious operation - basically a tri-service operation launched from the sea by carrying soldiers and their weaponry on a ship and affecting a landing on enemy shore - could change the course of a war.
The Indian Army has been augmenting its amphibious capabilities for long.
One of the most advanced amphibious warships of the Indian Navy, the INS Shardul, was affiliated to the 5 Armoured Regiment of the Indian Army last year.
Loaded with state-of-the-art equipment, INS Shardul is an amphibious warship capable of transporting personnel and accomplishing all objectives of beaching operations.
The 5 Armoured Regiment holds some of the most potent and advanced tanks in the world.
Since 2002, the regiment has been at the cutting edge of the mechanised operations.
