General Indian Defence News

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
12-June, 2017 16:19 IST
Defence Ministry website becomes more user friendly

Ministry of Defence website (www.mod.nic.in) has migrated to the new Content Management Framework (CMF) as per the Guidelines for India Government Websites (GIGW). The new website will be dynamic in nature.


The new website would not only be user but also gadget friendly, catering to diverse needs of different sections of people, including the differently abled.


The salient features of CMF are: it standardises government websites complying with GIGW Guidelines; accommodates users with special needs, especially hearing and visual; improves presentation by giving it a contemporary look and feel; and enhances content delivery through availability of responsive interface over a wide range of devices, including smart phones and tablets.


NW/NAo/DK/Rajib

 

[Bakshiraj]

Kashmir conflict: Indo-American Union will destroy Sino-Pakistani alliance

​

Kashmir conflict started simultaneously with the end of the British rule in India in 1947 and subsequent establishment of the Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The long lasting territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, later joined by China after it had seized Aksai Chin in the Sino-Indian border war of 1962, is still staying unresolved. There have been daily perpetual skirmishes over this whole period.

At various times many international organizations and countries, including the USA, have offered their mediation in the effort to find solution to the Kashmir issue. But the government of India has been firmly turning aside these offers, for the disputed lands, illegally retained by Pakistan and China should belong to India exclusively without any debate. This is the position shared by absolutely all Indians.

With the new president coming to power in the USA a significant shift in the settlement of the Kashmir conflict teethed: the White House voiced its readiness to take the side of India striving to set its control over the whole territory of Kashmir. It became known during the Indian and American representatives' May meeting on issues relating maritime security cooperation.

India, after it had gotten support of the USA, hit Pakistan and China with the blow they will be unable to recover from. Both states are going not just to be deprived of some of their territories, massive financial losses will be inflicted on them as well. China, traditionally supportive of Pakistan and denying the right of India to Aksai Chin, Arunachal Pradesh and other areas, invested as much as $62 billion into the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This project is aimed at ensuring the advancement of the Pakistan economy via creation and development of transport infrastructure, energy projects, and special economic zones.

CPEC started to partially function only in November, 2016, when the cargo from China was transported via the Gwadar Port further into Africa and Western Asia. With the current volume of the Chinese investments and slow pace of the project it would take many years or even decades for CPEC to be paid off. But the aid of the White House to India in regaining full control over Kashmir means that the Chinese investments into the Pakistan economy and disputed area were all in vain and will actually result in multibillion losses. "India will get part of the prospective CPEC infrastructure based on the territory of Kashmir. Pakistan will also retain some elements of the CPEC infrastructure on its soil, but China will be cut from Pakistan and subsequently deprived of any chance to use this corridor. Actually Beijing will be left with nothing," asserted Prof. Vijay Chinthabathini, who has devoted his whole lifetime to exploring the problems of Kashmir.

It is plain clear that neither Pakistan, nor the Celestial Empire will ever willingly give the illegally hold lands back to India. Any talks with Pakistan are just out of question, for that country's authorities have been engaged in longstanding effort to beef up activities of extremists against India.

As for China, India could well look into the possibility of talks with the Chinese authorities, if they were only able to reveal their pragmatic approach towards Kashmir issue. But this perspective was also ruined after the recent statements made by Hua Chunying, Deputy Director of the Foreign Ministry Information Department of the People's Republic of China. She declared that China is going to further develop its cooperation with Pakistan. The way to unlimited Indo-American partnership in Kashmir appears to be open.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/scepticism-over-national-security/article19109653.ece

Contrasting remarks by Army and Air Force chiefs kick up a controversy
Almost contrasting statements by the Army and Air Force Chiefs in recent days about military preparedness has kicked up much discussion about India’s real military preparedness. One of the consensus emerging in the discussions is a more serious response on security issues from the government.

Two weeks ago, Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat said that the Indian Army was ready to fight a two-and-half front war — facing China, Pakistan and dealing with militancy simultaneously.

Whereas, two days ago, Indian Air Force Chief (IAF) Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa said his force did not have enough fighters for a two-front war.

Speaking on the issue, Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash told The Hindu, “The way national security is being handled is not commensurate with the security environment which is extremely serious at the moment.”

On a part-time basis

Giving instances on this, Admiral Prakash said there was no full-time Defence Minister, which showed the lack of seriousness, and secondly, despite several measures being proposed, “there is no real increase in the pace of modernisation”. He said, “Broadly in the longer term situation, the Armed forces are well prepared and the IAF is rightly concerned. The concern is not about the preparedness but it is about the processes and delays. The Air Chief is probably concerned about that.”

Navy better off

Commenting on the Navy’s preparedness, Admiral Prakash said that the Navy was relatively better off as it is not heavily reliant on imports.

However he pointed out some problem areas like submarines and helicopters. “Again after six Scorpenes there is a big gap. There is a lacuna,” he noted.

Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Manmohan Bahadur (retd), Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies said that the Air Chief’s statement conveys the importance of augmenting the strength of IAF fighter squadrons. “It does not mean that IAF’s operational preparedness is lacking,” he said.

On the need for 42 fighter squadrons, Mr. Bahadur said that while the capability of fighters had gone up, so had the threat matrix in which missions were to be executed.

“Force strength required is dependent on geopolitical realities,” he added.

Several Army officials stressed that the Army was fully prepared for a two-front or a two-and-half-front war.

“We should be able to handle both fronts very comfortably unless a third party comes in,” a senior officer stated.

He elaborated that the war reserves and overall preparedness had gone up over the past few years.

 

[ejaz007]

India Plans to Cancel Defense Deals Worth $3 Billion

The Indian government is set to announce the scrapping of defense deals worth more than $3 billion of naval helicopters, armored recovery vehicles and torpedoes. Indian Defense Minister Arun Jaitley has moved a recommendation to scrap long-delayed defense purchases in favor of ‘Make in India’ program.

New Delhi (Sputnik) – The first such recommendation is for armored recovery vehicles which were contracted with India’s state-owned BEML in 2012 for $275 million. The contract was for 204 WZT-3 made by Polish company Bumar and imported by BEML. The deal is supposed to be scrapped over corruption charges, and lack of indigenization efforts by BEML. Indian Army had purchased 352 WZT-3 in three previous contracts from 1999 to 2005. As state-owned DRDO has developed armored recovery vehicle (ARV) and private firms like L&T are interested in supplying them to the Army, the government may opt for the indigenous ARVs.

Jaitley is also not in favor of purchasing 18 naval multi-role helicopters of Sikorsky S-70B due to prolonged contract negotiation including high cost quoted by the firm in 2014. Indian Navy had issued the tender nine years ago to replace UK's Westland Sea King. India’s state-owned HAL is also working on naval multi-role helicopters and is expected to find support from Narendra Modi government.

"To my mind, it makes little sense because what is intended to be achieved by scrapping these programs and awarding them to the Indian companies can be achieved even by going ahead with them as in either case the Indian companies will need to tie up with the foreign vendors to manufacture the desired platform or equipment in India," Amit Cowshish, former financial advisor to the Indian Defence Ministry, told Sputnik. "This is what Buy and Make category is all about. The government can lay down any conditions it wants the foreign manufacturers to adhere to in regard to the transfer of technology under this category."

The government is also looking to scrap the 300 million euro contract for the purchase of 98 Blackshark torpedoes, manufactured by a Finmeccanica subsidiary, in favor of another contract which will have a ‘Make in India’ component.

Last month, the Arun Jaitley-led India’s Defense Acquisition Council had scrapped the short-range surface-to-air missile system (SRSAM) in favor of $2.7 billion purchase of DRDO’s developed Akash missile. Rafael Advanced Defence Systems with Spyder, Rosoboronexport with Tor M1, and Saab with the Bamse SRSAM were in competition for this contract.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/201706121054543780-india-defense-deals/

 

[Hindustani78]

The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurating the Restored Heritage Buildings, at Regimental Headquarter, PBG, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on July 04, 2017.

The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Restored Heritage Buildings, at Regimental Headquarter, PBG, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on July 04, 2017.

The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee addressing at the inauguration of the Restored Heritage Buildings, at Regimental Headquarter, PBG, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on July 04, 2017.

 

[RISING SUN]

Sealing Pakistan border priority, 'smart fence' by March 2018: BSF chief
Sealing the Indian border with Pakistan is an immediate "priority" and a smart technology-aided fence will be in place along the Jammu sector by March next year, the BSF chief said on Wednesday.

Border Security Force DG K K Sharma, in the same breath, added that as the country's relations with its eastern neighbour Bangladesh are "very good" at present, a similar plan to make the Indo-Bangla border impregnable would be taken up once the "resources" are available.

"My priority is Pakistan, as anything that happens here (along the Indo-Pak border), has grave consequences. We are working to ensure complete sealing of this border and make it more fortified," the Director General said on sidelines of an event to announce the 'BSF half marathon for martyrs' to be held in October this year.

"We are implementing a comprehensive integrated border management (CBIM) plan and are running a pilot project to make our international border (IB) along Pakistan secure," he said.

This project will be in place in the Jammu sector (of the IB) by March next year, Sharma said.

Asked if there were any similar plans for the 4,096-km long India-Bangladesh border, the DG replied "it is a question of priority".

Both the governments of India and Bangladesh have good relations and the ties between the BSF and its counterpart Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) are also at an all-time high, the DG said.

"We are also conducting simultaneous coordinated patrolling wit the BGB ... once we have the resources (after completing the border sealing task with Pakistan), we will do it on the eastern side," Sharma said.

He added that the project to create 'smart fencing' along the Indo-Bangla border has "not started" as of now along the eastern frontier.

The BSF DG's statement comes in variance with that of Union home minister Rajnath Singh who has earlier said that the Assam portion of the Indo-Bangla border (about 200kms) will be completely sealed by the first half of 2018.

He added that the challenges of guarding these large borders on the two flanks of the country are very "dynamic" and hence the security requirements keep changing and nothing can be said to be adequate.

"We are modernising our equipments and the Indo-Pak border will be more fortified by the use of advanced technology. What we keep doing, I am sure, will have to be followed by my successor even," he said.

Talking about the security situation along the Indo-Pak border, the BSF boss said terror "launch pads are always active to infiltrate terrorists from across the border into India".

"We are committed to ensure fool proof security along the border despite all hardships and challenges at these two borders," he said.

Sharma said since the last year, there has been no infiltration from across the IB that is under the absolute control of the force.
He added that these instances instead have taken place from the Line of Control (LoC), where the BSF is deployed under the operational command of the Army.
Talking about the half-marathon, the BSF chief said it will be held in the national capital on October 22, a day after the national police commemoration day, in the memory of its martyrs.

The about 2.5-lakh personnel strong force was raised in December 1965.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...8-bsf-chief/articleshow/59884948.cms?from=mdr

 

[Hindustani78]

The Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Defence, Shri Arun Jaitley addressing the Unified Commanders’ Conference, in New Delhi on July 10, 2017.

Ministry of Defence
10-July, 2017 19:53 IST
Unified Commanders’ Conference 2017

1. The Unified Commanders’ Conference for the year 2017 commenced on 10 July 2017 at New Delhi. The Conference provides a platform for discussions at the apex level on all ‘Joint’ issues amongst the three Services.

2. The Conference was attended by the RM, RRM, NSA, the Service Chiefs and other senior military and civil officials of the Ministry of Defence and Tri-Service Organisations/Institutions.

3. RM, in his address to the Conference stated that there is a deep sense of appreciation in every citizen of the country and the Govt for the exemplary manner in which the Services have been conducting themselves. He expressed his satisfaction in the way the Armed Forces have been handling the multiple challenges to security. He also appreciated the strong thread of ‘Synergy’ in the interactions during the Conference. He stated that there is a clear realisation in the Govt that issues relating to the Services cannot be kept pending for long and the Govt will be decisive in its approach.

4. He also assured the Armed Forces that with resource availability increasing within the Indian economy, Capital expenditure will be a priority area.

5. Chairman COSC & CNS, Admiral Sunil Lanba welcomed the gathering & addressed the audience. Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, Chief of Army Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, Defence Secretary, Shri Sanjay Mitra & Chief of Integrated Staff, Lt Gen Satish Dua also addressed the conference.

Col Aman Anand

 

[Hindustani78]

Cabinet19-July, 2017 20:40 IST
Cabinet approves Cadre Review of Indian Defence Accounts Service, IDAS

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Cadre Review of the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) under the Ministry of Defence. The decision provides for an increase of 23 (twenty three) posts which includes 1 post at Apex Scale, 6 posts at HAG level, 6 posts at SAG level and 10 posts at JAG level and reduction of 1 post at HAG+, 12 posts at STS level and 10 posts at JTS level.

The Cadre review of IDAS has come in the wake of the functional requirements, cadre structure and career progression of the officials belonging to the service.

****

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
25-July, 2017 15:38 IST
Audit of Allotted Defence Budget

Details of funds allotted and utilized for the modernization of Armed Forces under Capital Acquisition during last three years is as under:

(Rs. in Crores)

Year

BE
RE
MA
Expenditure

2014-15
75148.03
66151.73
65706.04
65862.38

2015-16
77406.69
65400.00
61699.39
62235.54

2016-17
69898.51
62619.36
64853.86
68252.87


Ministry of Defence is undertaking the following two types of Audit:

Internal Audit: It is conducted by Defence Accounts Department while performing function of payment and accounting of all Defence expenditure. In certain cases this is pre-audit i.e. before release of payment and in other post-audit i.e. after payments have been realised. Internal Audit is a continuous function as it is clearly intertwined with the payment and accounting functions of Defence Account Department. The major findings of the internal Audit are highlighted in an annual internal Audit report issued by CGDA.

External Audit: This is the statutory audit done by C&AG as in the case of other Ministries / Departments. This is also known as test Audit as it is a test check over the Internal Audit conducted by Defence Accounts Department. This is periodic and conducted as per Audit calendar.


During the last three financial years, 154 contracts have been signed with Indian and foreign vendors involving value of Rs.2,07,296.34 crore for capital procurement of defence equipment for Armed Forces.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri Surendra Singh Nagar and Shri Sanjay Raut in Rajya Sabha today.

Ministry of Defence
25-July, 2017 15:37 IST
Budgetary Allocation for Defence Forces

The allocation for Army, Navy and Air Force under “other equipment” in Revised Estimate (RE) 2014-15 was Rs.26,535.26 crores. It was increased to Rs.32,275.95 crores in Budget Estimates (BE) 2015-16.

Broadly, the following items are included under “other equipment”.

Service

Army

(1) Armaments (2) Electronics (3) Ammunition (4) Engineering (5) Missiles (6) General Stores (7) Medical Equipment (8) Disaster Relief Stores (9) Security related Equipment, etc.

Navy

(1) Electrical / Electronics (2) Weapon Equipments (3) Space & Satellites Equipments (4) Electronic Warfare Equipments (5) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (6) Security related Equipment, etc.

Air Force

(1) Upgradation / Modernisation of facilities at BRDs. (2) Solid State Flight Data Recorder (3) Ground Power Unit (4) Servicing Air-Conditioning Trolly (5) Universal Hydrolic Servicing Trolly (6) Drive Generator and installation kit for IAF Aircrafts (7) Flash and Reader (8) Critical aggregates (9) Additional Sites for IMMOLS (10) Network Station (11) Booster and Accessories of VUHFRT set up-322 for Air Defence Radar Units (12) V/UHF RT set for OSA-AK system (13) Specialist Adventure equipment and accessories (14) Rotable, Test equipments, Machinery and equipment of all kinds including Medical and Security related equipment, DG sets and UPS (15) Guns / Tanks / BMPs and connected Stores (16) Radars and AD Systems (17) Various Signal Equipments (18) Equipments for Engineers (19) Security related equipment, etc.


This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shrimati Thota Seetharama Lakshmi in Rajya Sabha today.

**********

Ministry of Defence
25-July, 2017 15:34 IST
Private Sector involved in Defence Manufacturing

Some of the policy initiatives taken by the Government to ease the entry of private sector in defence manufacturing are as follows:

• The parts / components, casting and forgings of defence equipments have been excluded from the purview of industrial licensing under Industries (Development & Regulation) [IDR] Act, 1951. Initial validity of industrial licence for defence has been revised to fifteen years, further extendable upto eighteen years for existing as well as future licenses under IDR Act.

• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy in defence sector has been reviewed in June 2016, and as per the new policy, FDI up to 49% is allowed under automatic route and above 49% under Government route wherever it is likely to result in access to modern technology or for other reasons to be recorded. To further the ease of process of approvals, the Government has abolished Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The work of granting Government approvals for Foreign Investment under the extant FDI Policy has been entrusted to the concerned Administrative Ministries / Departments.

Since the opening of Defence Industry Sector for Private Sector Participation in 2001, the Government has issued 342 Industrial Licenses to 205 Indian Companies. The Licenses have been issued with the major conditions such as:

• Adequate safety & security procedure would need to be put in place by the licensee. The Companies shall comply with the security guidelines applicable to them based on the security categorization indicated in the licence.

• The defence items produced by such companies will primarily be sold to the Ministry of Defence. However, they can also be sold to other Government Entities under the control of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Public Sector Undertakings, State Governments and other different Licensee Companies without the approval of Department of Defence Production (DDP).

• The Companies shall furnish Half-Yearly Returns regarding details of items produced and entities to whom sold in the prescribed proforma to the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and Department of Defence Production.

Till date, 66 Licensed Companies covering 109 Licenses have reported commencement of production.

As per the provisions of Security Manual, the Companies who have reported commencement of production are security audited by Intelligence Agencies once in two years.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri Ram Kumar Kashyap in Rajya Sabha today.

Ministry of Defence
25-July, 2017 15:17 IST
Share of Defence Budget

The share of the Defence Budget as per the traditional format followed as a percentage of the GDP from 2013-14 to 2017-18 is as under:

(Rs. in crores)

Year
BE
GDP
Defence Budget % of GDP

2013-14
2,03,672.12
92,80,803.00
2.19

2014-15
2,29,000.00
99,21,106.00
2.31

2015-16
2,46,727.00
106,35,426.00
2.32

2016-17
2,49,099.00
114,43,718.00
2.18

2017-18
2,62,389.81
168,47,455.00
1.56


Armed Forces maintain a balanced inventory by an optimal mix of vintage, current and state of art equipment. Ratio of capital outlay is not defined. Further, the Capital budget is reserved for committed liabilities incurred in the previous years for purchase of modern equipment and also for funding new procurements in the present year. The Revenue budget is for servicing of old equipment and its existing technology.

The ratio of revenue and capital outlay to GDP from the year 2013-2014 to 2017-2018 is as under:

Year
Revenue
Capital
GDP
Ratio of GDP
Revenue
Capital

2013-14
116931.42
86740.71
92,80,803.00
1.26
0.93

2014-15
134412.05
94587.95
99,21,106.00
1.35
0.95

2015-16
152139.00
94588.00
106,35,426.00
1.43
0.89

2016-17
162759.00
86340.00
114,43,718.00
1.42
0.75

2017-18
175861.16
86528.65
168,47,455.00
1.04
0.51



This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Prof. M. V. Rajeev Gowda in Rajya Sabha today

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
27-July, 2017 17:05 IST
Ministry of Defence enhances Financial Powers of Armed Forces

In an unprecedented move, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has decided to delegate substantial financial powers to the Armed Forces for undertaking works for perimeter security of sensitive military installations. This has been done primarily to expedite the decision making process involved in the modernisation of the security apparatus of airbases and defence installations. The Vice-Chiefs of the three Services have been empowered to place orders, procure equipment and carry out civil works without further seeking approvals of the MoD.

The financial delegation represents a significant jump in the powers currently exercised by the Services. The Defence Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley has also fixed strict timelines to ensure that the works are undertaken on priority and in a time-bound manner to ensure full security of our critical defence assets.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
28-July, 2017 15:38 IST
Women Personnel in Defence Forces

Presently, women are recruited in Indian Army as Officers through Short Service Commission (SSC) on all India merit basis along with men candidates. Women Officers are inducted in Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, Army Education Corps, Judge Advocate General Branch including Engineers, Signals, Intelligence and Electrical & Mechanical Engineering branches. In addition, they are also commissioned in Medical Branch Army Medical Corps (AMC), Army Dental Corps (ADC) and Military Nursing Service (MNS). Further, Women Officers are eligible for grant of Permanent Commission in Judge Advocate General (JAG) Department and in Army Education Corps (AEC) of Army.



The IAF has pioneered the entry of women as officers in flying and ground duty.


In Indian Navy, women officers are inducted through Short Service Commission, in Logistics, Law, Observers, Air Traffic Control (ATC), Pilots (Maritime Reconnaissance Stream), Naval Armament Inspectorate cadre (NAIC), Naval Architecture and Education Branch.



The details of women officers in Army (excluding Medical, Dental & Nursing Branch), in Indian Air Force (excluding Medical and Dental Branch) and in Indian Navy recruited during the last three years, Service-wise, are as under:-



Year
Army
Navy
Air Force

2014
104
57
155

2015
72
35
223

2016
69
43
108

The percentage of women officers in the three services of armed forces are as under:-


Percentage of women officers

Army
Navy
Air Force

3.64%(as on 1.1.2017)
4.49%(as on June 2017)
13% (as on July 2017)


In 2011, the Government approved consideration of women Short Service Commission Officers (SSCOs) for grant of permanent commission along with men SSCOs in specific branches in the three services viz. Judge Advocate General (JAG), and Army Education Corps (AEC) of the Army and their corresponding branches in Navy and Air Force, Naval Constructor in Navy and Accounts Branch in Air Force.


In March 2016, approval has been accorded for induction of women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers as Pilots in Maritime Reconnaissance (MR) stream and in the Naval Armament Inspectorate (NAI) cadre. The inductions are planned commencing from mid 2017.


In the Indian Air Force since 1993, women officers have been inducted in all branches and stream as Short Service Commissioned Officers except in the fighter stream. However, IAF has revised Short Service Commission scheme to induct women into the fighter stream on experimental basis for five years. The first batch of three women officers was commissioned in the fighter stream on June 18, 2016.


In addition, steps like increasing tenure of women officers and improving promotional prospects in Army have been taken to increase participation of women in the Army.


This information was given by Minister of state for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri Harish Chandra alias Harish Dwivedi in Lok Sabha today.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
04-August, 2017 15:05 IST
Defence Deals


The details of contracts signed with foreign vendors since 2014-15 are as under:-

Year
No. of contract
Value(Rs. in crore)

2014-15
18
11261.72

2015-16
17
29171.75

2016-17
23
81129.62

2017-18(upto 30.06.2017)
3
1579.21

The foreign vendors are mainly from USA, Russia, Israel, UK, Germany, France and Sweden.

Capital procurement of defence equipment is undertaken from various domestic as well as foreign vendors in accordance with the extant Defence Procurement Procedure, based on threat perceptions, operational challenges and technological changes and to keep the Armed Forces in a state of readiness to meet the entire spectrum of security challenges.

Government is taking measures for modernization of the Armed Forces, through inducting of new equipment and upgrading of existing equipment and systems. The modernization projects are progressed as per Services Capital Acquisition Plans and under the extant Defence Procurement Procedure.

Government regularly monitors progress of ongoing procurement projects so as to ensure that these are concluded expeditiously.


This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab in Lok Sabha today.

 

[RISING SUN]

US looking to help India modernize its military, Pacom commander says
Defense trade between the U.S. and India has totaled about $15 billion over the past decade, and the leader of the U.S. Pacific Command says that spending rate could increase as the two countries work to modernize India’s military.

The U.S.-India relationship “places India on the same level that we have many of our treaty allies," U.S. Navy Adm. Harry Harris told the Press Trust of India.

"This is important, and I believe that together we will be able to improve India's military capabilities in significant and meaningful ways,” Harris said.

India has also invested heavily in defense deals with other partners in recent years, including a $630 million missile defense deal signed in April with an Israeli aerospace firm, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The U.S. has cultivated its relationship with India’s military as part of efforts to keep peace in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, the Times of India reported. Japan and Australia have also been regional partners, the report said.

“I think the trilateral relationship between India and Japan and the U.S., that relationship is very important," Harris told PTI, adding that Australia remains another key player.

India and the U.S. have conducted joint naval exercises in the Malabar region, on India’s west coast, since 1992, with Japan joining in 2015. Harris said the U.S. “could explore together bringing Australia into the exercise,” however that’s “a decision for India to make.”

President Trump spoke of the U.S.-India relationship in late June, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the White House.

“Both our nations have been struck by the evils of terrorism, and we are both determined to destroy terrorist organizations and the radical ideology that drives them. We will destroy radical Islamic terrorism,” Trump said at the time.

Modi did not use the same terminology, but stressed the importance of “doing away” with terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens, apparently reflecting Indian concerns about militants based in Pakistan, India's historical archrival. He said the U.S. and India will enhance intelligence-sharing.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/0...ernize-its-military-pacom-commander-says.html

 

[RISING SUN]

Goa Shipyard Ltd Mulling Use Of CNG As Fuel For Naval Warships
Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), in collaboration with Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and the ministry of petroleum and natural gas plans to use natural gas as fuel for next generation naval warships.

The project, currently in the proposal stage, will be undertaken as a pilot study through an agreement with the key stakeholders.

“I have suggested to Goa Shipyard and the Indian Coast Guard, and maybe GAIL will partner with these two agencies. We want to have a pilot study to see whether we can use LNG or CNG as a fuel, which is cheaper and cleaner for marine shipping,” minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan said, who made the proposal to GSL while commissioning the Indian Coast Guard ship (ICGS) ‘Shaurya’.

ICGS Shaurya is an offshore patrol vessel that will be stationed along the western coast and is tasked with protecting India’s off-shore assets and the exclusive economic zone. The offshore patrol vessel is the fifth, in a series of six offshore patrol vessels, that the Coast Guard had tasked GSL to build.

“The Indian marine sector usually uses high speed diesel. Gradually, new fuels like CNG and LNG are coming in. We will soon have a technical memorandum of understanding with these three organizations,” Pradhan said.

Gas India Limited (GAIL) is the largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company, and has a 175km long Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) pipeline that terminates at Vasco. Pradhan wants to utilize this pipeline to provide fuel for warships that GSL builds for the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. “We can see how we can create engineering capability, because the Coast Guard needs both, high speed and slow (speed) ships for surveillance. We have to work out how can we do this with gas fuel. We want to start that project in Goa Shipyard limited,” Pradhan said.

GSL chairman and managing director Shekhar Mital said that the shipyard had already commenced discussions with the inland waterways authority to explore how CNG or LNG can be used as a fuel.
http://defenceaviationpost.com/goa-shipyard-ltd-mulling-use-cng-fuel-naval-warships/

 

[RISING SUN]

Indian arms dealer’s Swiss accounts under scrutiny
Swiss authorities have received requests for information concerning possible Swiss bank accounts of Indian defence deals broker Sanjay Bhandari. He is under investigation for allegedly helping Swiss firm Pilatus secure an order for 75 training aircraft for the Indian Air Force in 2012.

The decision on whether or not to release information relating to Bhandari’s Swiss assets was announcedexternal link on April 11 in the Federal Gazette. The decision itself is confidential and it is not known if any bank details were transmitted to the Indian authorities. Bhandari is currently a fugitive and is believed to be hiding in England.

A raid conducted on Bhandari’s premises by income tax officials in 2016 unearthed documents allegedly showing a payment of CHF750,000 ($774,000) made by Pilatus to his firm Offset India Solutions in 2010. This June, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched a preliminary enquiry into whether the payments had anything to do with Pilatus winning a huge contract - worth over CHF500 million - in 2012 to supply the Indian Airforce with 75 PC-12 MKII training aircrafts.

When contacted, Pilatus declined to comment on the CBI investigation.

End of an era
Request for banking information of this kind could soon become a thing of the past. As of 2017, the ‘Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters’ has come into effect in Switzerland. Now countries with which Switzerland has signed agreements - including India – will no longer need to request information on their citizen’s Swiss bank accounts. The data will be handed over automatically once a year. However, this data can only be used for tax collection efforts and cannot be made public.

Switzerland has begun collecting such data from 2017 onwards and begin sharing it with select countries (mostly European ones) from 2018. India is among another batch of countriesexternal link that will have to wait until 2019 for the first data exchange, pending parliamentary approval.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/pilatu...aler-s-swiss-accounts-under-scrutiny/43409576