Defence personnel call on Chief Minister

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 31

As many as 13 senior defence personnel led by faculty in charge Anwar Haleem from the Indian Foreign Services called on Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh at his official residence here today.

Ten officers from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force and three from Bangladesh, Malaysia and Japan, are undergoing a special course on ‘National Security and Strategic Studies’ at National Defence College, Delhi. They were on a field visit to study the different aspects of socio-economic development, law and order, empowerment of women, health, agriculture, education, power and functioning of non-governmental organisations, so as to get a picture of the cultural and social heritage of the state.

They also interacted with the Chief Minister about various aspects of development, including the issues impacting the human resource development scenario and social harmony. They congratulated the Chief Minister for the initiatives taken for the betterment and welfare of the girl child.

The Chief Minister said education was the foundation stone of development of any nation and Himachal Pradesh was the first in terms of education among big states and was awarded recently for education and inclusive development by an independent agency. Development in agriculture, horticulture and tourism and was also discussed on the occasion. These officers will also meet self-help groups in Shimla and a few NGOs working at Dharamsala. Besides, they will also interact with senior officers at the Secretariat. Present amongst others were Dr G Anupama, MR Mishra, Brigadier SK Vidyarthi, Brigadier Gopal Verma, Commodore Vineet Mccarty, etc.