1. Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the third meeting of the present Council. It is my privilege to present the report covering important developments during the year 2006. A copy of the report has been placed on the table and will be included in the Minutes as an Appendix. Copies will subsequently be forwarded to Life Members.

Finances

2. Audited accounts for 2005-06, Revised Estimates for 2006-07, and Budget Estimates for 2007-08 are already with you. Our Chartered Accountant has been invited to clarify any points that you may have.

3. The finances of the Institution continue to be healthy. The USI Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulation and the USI Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research will require continued funding support if they are to fulfill the objectives that have been set. This point is to be discussed as part of the Agenda.

Membership

4. Membership state as on 30 Nov 2006 was :-
 

USI Journal

5. 13,000 copies of the USI Journal are now being printed. The current price of Rs. 75/- per copy came into effect from 01 Jan 1999. A 20 year subscription arrangement commenced in 2004; 40 units have so far subscribed at the rate of Rs. 5,500/- each. Over one thousand copies of the journal are being subscribed to by various units, libraries and individuals. During the year a large order for 445 copies was placed by CGDA Training Division.

USI Digest

6. 2000 copies of the USI Digest are printed half yearly and come out in Mar and Sep. Service Headquarters are purchasing 1800 copies (Army – 1300, Navy – 200, AF-300) at a concessional rate of Rs. 50/-. Copies are available for general sale at Rs. 75/- each. 90 units are subscribing on an yearly to three yearly basis. Complimentary copies are sent to Council Members. Sixteen issues have so far been published. The Digest contains articles, taken from foreign magazines after due permission, which are considered useful for wider dissemination to our Service fraternity. Some original articles by our officers that cannot find place in the Journal are also included from time to time.

Library

7. Books. During the period 01 Nov 2005 - 31 Oct 2006, 370 books were purchased, 68 books were received for reviews and 225 books were presented.

8. Access to Library Through Website. This has been implemented from Aug 2006.

Seminars

9. National Security Seminar-2006. This was held on 23 and 24 Nov 2006 on the subject of “The Rise of Naxalism and Implications for National Security”. Proceedings are being compiled for publication.

10. Seminar on Higher Defence Organisation. This was held on 24-25 Aug 2006. Service Officers and representatives of Army War College, College of Naval Warfare and College of Air Warfare also participated.

Lectures/Round Table Discussions

11. National Security Lecture 2006. The lecture by Dr Arvind Virmani, Principal Adviser Planning Commission, on the subject of “Future Economic Contours of the Asia-Pacific and South Asian Regions and Impact on Global Strategic Architecture” is scheduled to be delivered this evening at 1800 hrs.

12. The Tenth Colonel Pyara Lal Memorial Lecture. This was delivered on 20 Sep 2006 by Vice Adm Raman Puri, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd) on the subject of “Integration of Space Based Systems with Air, Land and Maritime Power, and their Role in National Security”. It was presided over by Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, Chief of the Air Staff. The text has been published in the USI Journal for Jul-Sep and Oct-Dec 2006.

13. The Fourth Maj Gen Samir Sinha Memorial Lecture. This was delivered on 26 Apr 2006 by Shri Ved Marwah, IPS (Retd) on the subject of “Demographic Imbalance and Implications on National Security – A Management Challenge for India”. It was presided over by Shri NN Vohra, IAS (Retd). The text has been published in the USI Journal for Apr-Jun 2006.

14. Other Lectures/Discussions. List of other talks/discussions conducted during 2006 is given at Appendix A attached.

Gold Medal Essay Competition

15. 129 entries were received this year as compared to 137 last year. Results will be declared during the meeting.

USI Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulation

16. The USI-CS3 has been functioning since 01 Jan 2005. Fellowships are being granted normally for a two year period. Presently there are 11 Senior Research Fellows, two Research Fellows, one Associate Research Fellow and one Research Associate. Service wise breakdown is Army – eight serving, one retired; Navy – one serving; AF – one serving; BSF – one serving; and three civilians. Six monthly presentations and discussions are conducted on the project studies; subsequently these will be published as monographs. Research Fellows are also encouraged to contribute articles in newspapers / journals and take part in seminars elsewhere. Details of projects are given at Appendix B attached.

17. Deputy Director (Research) has conducted a number of Scenario Exercises outside USI – at Army War College, Police HQ J&K and National Academy of Administration etc.

18. The Centre has started an e-Journal on the USI website under the title of “Strategic Perspectives”, wherein articles by Research Fellows related to their research are posted.

19. Brig Vinod Anand (Retd) and Col Amarjit Singh, both Senior Research Fellows at USI, visited Taiwan from 26 to 29 Sep 2006 under the bilateral exchange programme with the Institute of Taiwan Defense and Strategic Studies (ITDSS). They had discussions on Information Operations, Paralysis Warfare, Missile Operations, and Modelling and Simulation. The interaction also involved Integrated Assessment Office of Ministry of National Defense. The officers called on the Minister of National Defense and the Vice Chief of General Staff, and also visited the Joint Exercise and Training Center.

20. It appears that funding the Centre through annual grants is not feasible without subjecting the USI accounts to outside scrutiny. Hence it is intended to provide project funding from time to time. This has been included as an Agenda point.

21. From the 39 books published out of 41 projects awarded by the erstwhile USICR, a royalty of Rs.4,66,929/- has so far been received for 10,969 books sold. Two project reports are awaited.

USI Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research

22. The project under the aegis of the Maharana Pratap Chair on “Regimental Badges, Lineages, Battle Honours, Ethnic Composition and Regimental Bibliography of the Indian Army 1750-2003”, is being undertaken satisfactorily.

23. 1000 copies of “The Indian Army – A Brief History” were printed and sold out. Second edition of 500 copies is being brought out in Jan 2007. In end Sep 2006 a Hindi edition was also brought out for direct sale by the publisher, with USI retaining copyright and royalty share.

24. Details of projects are given at Appendix C attached.

USI Centre for UN Peacekeeping

25. Training Capsules. The following peacekeeping training capsules were conducted :-

26. Seminar. A national level seminar on the subject of “Bridging the Gap Between Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding” was conducted on 16-17 Nov 2006.

27. Funding. Financial assistance is being provided by MEA on an event-by-event basis.

Correspondence Courses

28. The number of students who took the courses during 2005-06 was 2604 as against 2359 last year. Course wise details are given below :-

IPS Officers Course

29. The second five day vertical interaction course was conducted for 16 IPS officers from 04 to 09 Dec 2006. Ten Service Officers (7 from the Army, 1 from the Navy and 2 from the Air Force) also attended. Subjects covered were LIC, terrorism, naxalism, insurgency and religious fundamentalism. The event was funded by the MHA.

Interaction with Foreign Institutions

30. Joint Seminars.

.