General Indian Defence News

[Local_Legend]

Government-working-on-rs-30000-crore-corpus-for-venture-capital-funds-in-defence-sector

NEW DELHI: A Rs 30,000-crore corpus for venture capital funds (VCFs) for
defence production by foreign companies — that's the big idea the
government is working on.

A ministry of defence (MoD) concept note, which ET has reviewed,
proposes that foreign defence companies that have sold equipment to
India can invest in VCFs as part of their offset obligations (at least
30% of the contract value must be invested back in India).

Foreign companies can invest up to 25% of their offset obligations in
such funds. But the capital won't be repatriable, only dividends will
be. Such VCFs will be cleared by the defence ministry. They will have to
register with the Securities & Exchange Board of India, as all other
funds do.

The government sees a Rs 30,000-crore potential for such VCFs.
Investment, the note says, will be in companies undertaking defence
research and in medium, small & micro enterprises (MSMEs).

MSMEs are typically part of the supply chain for larger projects. "It is
expected that in a span of the next five years, the fund will be of the
size of Rs 30,000 crore," another note on the defence offset fund drawn
up by the MSME ministry says.

"This (the idea for a VCF) is to enable MSMEs to access funds in order
to receive technology and contribute to the growth of Indian defence
manufacturing and exports, hitherto perceived to be constrained by lack
of access to funds," the MoD note reads.

 

[Local_Legend]

GENERAL ATOMICS POSITIONS ITSELF IN FLOURISHING INDIAN UAV MARKET

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is planning a move into the Indian market with its Predator family of unmanned air vehicles in the wake of diplomatic initiatives that should ease restrictions on the sale of the technology to New Delhi.

It will establish an office in India’s capital by the end of the year and the manufacturer is thought to be targeting a requirement from the Indian navy with the Guardian maritime surveillance variant of its Predator platform.

“We are looking forward to continuing to enhance our co-operation with India by working with the US government to provide the Indian navy with persistent, operationally proven maritime domain awareness,” says Linden Blue, chief executive of General Atomics.

The decision to set up in India comes just weeks after the country was accepted into the Missile Technology and Control Regime (MTCR), enabling other member countries to sell it UAV systems.

Although the aim of the MTCR is to restrict the proliferation of missiles, UAVs and similar technologies are also included in its remit.

India has had little success in developing indigenous systems – the Nishant programme was plagued by aircraft losses – and it has entered into a number of agreements to co-develop western platforms.

This includes a February 2015 deal between Bangalore-based Dynamatic Technologies and US firm AeroVironment that will lead to the development of the “Cheel”, a system derived from the latter’s family of small UAVs. Tata Advanced Systems is also partnered with Boeing to develop unmanned technology.

Elsewhere, General Atomics and the Dutch NLR aerospace laboratory on 14 July signed an agreement to work on integrating UAVs in non-segregated European airspace.

“NLR’s tremendous airspace and air traffic control modelling and simulation capabilities allow us to test and validate civil airspace integration concepts for medium-altitude, long-endurance [MALE] unmanned aircraft systems,” Blue says.

“NLR’s contribution to Predator B’s integrated detect and avoid system helps further international acceptance of MALE UAS flight in civil airspace worldwide.”

General Atomics is developing the Certifiable Predator B variant, which is designed to be operated in national airspace in adherence to NATO standards.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/a...-positions-itself-in-flourishing-indi-427560/

 

[Ankit Kumar 002]

Joint Military Exercises with Foreign Nations

The number of exercises conducted with friendly foreign nations during the last three years are as under:

2013 - 23
2014 - 28
2015 - 28


These exercises help enhance interoperability with defence forces of friendly foreign countries and in increasing military to military cooperation.

In 2015, Joint Exercises have been conducted with Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand etc.

This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Dr. T Subbarami Reddy and Smt Ambika Soni in Rajya Sabha today.

DM/NAMPI/RAJ   PIB

 

[Local_Legend]

Auditor berates defence PSUs for delay in supply of critical arms

Contracts worth ₹30,038 crore stand delayed

NEW DELHI, JULY 26:
The government auditor on Tuesday came down heavily on the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) for delaying the supply of critical weapons and equipment, hampering the much-needed modernisation plan of the Indian armed forces.

“Inordinate delay in supply of critical weapons and equipment by Defence PSUs during XI Army Plan (2007-12), hampered the modernisation and capability enhancement plan of Indian Army,” the Comptroller & Auditor General of India stated in its report – Union Defence Services Army, Ordnance Factories and Defence PSUs – that was tabled in Parliament. It said contracts worth ₹30,038 crore, which account for 63 per cent of the total value of DPSU contracts, concluded by the Ministry of Defence during XI Army Plan, were delayed.

What caused the delay

“Major reasons for delay were undue time taken in development, delay in successful evaluation of pilot sample, heavy dependence of DPSU on foreign vendors, ambiguity in contractual terms,” the auditor said.

Besides impacting defence preparedness, the delay had financial implications towards loss of interest on payments made to DPSUs.

The objective of self-reliance in defence production had also not been achieved, it added. The report stated that under the Department of Defence Production in Ministry of Defence, DPSUs and Ordnance Factories (OFs) were set up in phases to achieve self-reliance, thereby reducing dependence on imports.

ALH delivery

The CAG also observed that HAL did not supply a single Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) during the XI plan. It supplied 17 such helicopters between March 2013 and June 2015, all of which were discarded by the Army due to deficiencies and technical snags.

“Failure in timely supplies was despite advance and progressive payment of ₹3,550.85 crore made to HAL between December 2007 and July 2015, which included an advance payment for the helicopters to be supplied during XII Plan,” the CAG noted.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com...in-supply-of-critical-arms/article8902577.ece

 

[Local_Legend]

Defence electronics may generate $72 bn biz: IESA

India’s defence electronics business will add $72-billion market opportunities within the next 10-year period, and the government has decided to form a task force to come up with new policy initiatives.

In an interaction with DH, India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) President M N Vidyashankar said the organisation has presented a report before Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, last Monday in New Delhi.

“IESA presented the report before the defence minister on the opportunities in defence electronics, both platforms and systems, and quantified it at $72 billion. We gave him the smallest details on sectors to understand how the IESA reached this volume. The Defence Ministry will soon appoint a task force to look at tapping the low hanging fruits in this business segment,” said Vidyashankar.

The IESA president also said the meeting had the participation of the Defence Ministry Secretary, the Additional Secretary of DeitY, the Joint Secretary of DeitY, Directors of DeitY, and all service chiefs. If the low hanging business opportunities are capitalised soon, Vidyashankar said India will get many marketing and manufacturing opportunities in this sector.

“A few things can be done immediately to make this happen. The task force will identify these areas and monitor their implementation. While India’s information technology industry generated a total of $150 billion revenue for the past 30 years, defence electronics is giving us $72 billion within a decade,” he said.

He said the IESA report has used the heat matrix to identify the core competencies of Indian companies in the defence electronics.

“The report has brought out a mapping, which elaborates on the current capability of the private sector. It also explains what all capabilities will be achieved within the next two years, five years and 10 years. The report also elaborates on what all capabilities the private sector can achieve in platforms, systems and subsystems with foreign partnership and joint ventures,” he said.

Vidyashankar said India has 700 companies working in this area and once they tap the $72 billion opportunities, it will cross 2,000 companies. “We are eminently placed in the design aspect of defence electronic systems, and now it is important to convert this capability into a very efficient ecosystem for manufacturing,” he said.

Vidyashankar said that DEFTRONICS 2016, the third edition of the annual aerospace, defence & internal security event to be held in Bengaluru on August 4 and 5, will be organised in association with Nasscom.

“This year’s theme is ‘Building India’s Strategic Electronics Ecosystem’ for greater self-reliance and global relevance – defence, aerospace and internal security sectors,” Vidyashankar said.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/560560/defence-electronics-may-generate-72.html

 

[proud_indian]

@Local_Legend I suggest you to use normal size text when you post as it's very uncomfortable to eyes

 

[Local_Legend]

@Local_Legend I suggest you to use normal size text when you post as it's very uncomfortable to eyes

Sorry Sir . Well noted . That font size comes when I copy paste the text . I will be careful next time . Thank you for pointing it out .

 

[Perpendicular]

https://twitter.com/x/status/758371525519024128

 

[jha]

https://twitter.com/x/status/758371525519024128

True that, Diplomacy can only buy us some time. Fires must be ready and deployed.

 

[Perpendicular]

True that, Diplomacy can only buy us some time. Fires must be ready and deployed.

I believe the border disputes India has and the kind of neighbors with, there is no chance of talks will able to resolve anything.

 

[jha]

I believe the border disputes India has and the kind of neighbors with, there is no chance of talks will able to resolve anything.

This is the Key...

 

[Perpendicular]

This is the Key...

I fear history will repeat itself, only this time it will be in Asia instead of Europe.

 

[Local_Legend]

DRDO to showcase state-of-the-art defence technologies in Parliament premises

Premier research institution, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will organise an exclusive exhibition in the Parliament premises to showcase various defence and technology products developed indigenously.

The event, which would be inaugurated by Speaker of Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan on August 3, would be held in Parliament Library Building.

The Members of Parliament from both Lok Sabha andRajya Sabha are expected to visit the exhibition to get a first-hand account of huge work undertaken by DRDO and their successful implementation.

The three-day long exhibition will display numerous state-of-the-art defence technologies, products and systems developed by various DRDO laboratories indigenously. This would include the BrahMos missile, the 'Arjun' main battle tank, AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control System), Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher 'Pinaka', Remotely operated vehicle, NBC Recce Vehicle, Wheeled Armoured Platform (WHAP), Laser Ordnance Disposal System (LORDS), Varunastra Torpedo, Mobile Automatic Robotic System (MARS), Various type of Radars and other products.

During the exhibition, DRDO will also organise a virtual reality display of Arjun Main Battle Tank, BrahMos Missile, AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control System) & LCA-Tejas.

Established in 1958, the DRDO and its network of 52 dedicated defence laboratories all across the country have been engaged in developing critical defence technologies covering a wide array of disciplines like missile, aeronautics, armaments & combat systems, life sciences, micro-electronic devices, cyber technologies, electronics and communication, radars, laser technology, naval system, material technologies for the Indian Armed Forces.

The research agency has also tied up with several academic institutions, national Science and Technology agencies, public and private-sector undertakings to carry out research and development work and fulfilling its foremost objective of making India fully self-reliant in defence technology design and production.

http://www.business-standard.com/ar...es-in-parliament-premises-116080200125_1.html


TEXMACO INKS MOU WITH ROSOBORONEXPORT FOR DEFENSE EQUIPMENT

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Sandeep Fuller, ED & CEO of Texmaco Rail and Engineering spoke about the MoU that the company signed with Russia's Rosoboronexport for defence products. He further added that the products will be developed in Russia and made in India.
Below is the verbatim transcript of Sandeep Fuller's interview to Ekta Batra & Prashant Nair.
Ekta: Tell us more about this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), what does this mean in terms of production tie up with you?
A: Rosoboronexport happens to be the leading exporter of defence equipment and it is a Russian government company which exports all the defence equipment that are canalised out of Russia. We have a tie up with them for the manufacture of future combat vehicles, co-development of the future combat vehicles and the upgrades of the combat vehicles which are right now slated to be taking place.
We also have an agreement with them for development of ammunition for the armed forces. However, Texmaco is a leading engineering and manufacturing set up and we expect to work with them for the co-production of these items for the Indian defence sector.
Prashant: This Company is already doing the things that you described; you are entering the MoU for, modernising armoured vehicles, ammunition, etc. What are you going to do as part of this? Essentially, what I am asking is why does the Russian company need an Indian partner? If they are already supplying all these things, what is the need for the MoU from their perspective?
A: From their perspective, this is a Make in India item and they will need to do this co-engineering in India and the manufacture in India. And the manufacture in India will obviously help in developing our technologies and our capabilities in the defence sector.
Prashant: So, this is going to be built in Russia and assembled here? How will it work?
A: No, it is going to be developed in Russia, then co-engineered in India and after that, it will be manufactured in India.
Ekta: How much of your business comes from defence currently and how much of a ramp up do you expect? When does execution begin?
A: As of now, we have only been producing wagons for the defence sector which is a very small percentage of our turnover, but as time goes by, perhaps, when we developed the BMP-2s and start doing the upgrades for the Indian army, we could expect a very percentage of our turnover coming from this sector.
Prashant: Is there any capital commitment as part of the MoU? If there is none at this point in terms of actual commitment, what do you think you need to bring to the table in terms of capital to get this going?
A: We already have a very large establishment doing manufacturing. There will be specialised equipment required by way of a capital commitment and I think we are in a position to invest that much to get on those special equipments.
As far as the manufacturing capability goes, let me tell you that we have one of the best manufacturing facilities available.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/bu...oronexport-for-defence-equipment_7161321.html

 

[Ankit Kumar 002]

https://twitter.com/x/status/762966130331877376

https://twitter.com/x/status/762966353334665216

https://twitter.com/x/status/762966647342850048

@PARIKRAMA @anant_s @Abingdonboy @MilSpec @Water Car Engineer

Despite having these proofs why is it that there is " Zero " difference between the policy of India towards these issues , be it present or past government's ? All the governments have been dormant and reactive on this, not proactive .

They made a hill out of a mole on Yadav, used it as a propaganda against us, why is it that we are not able to even put our stand clearly ?

Even if we stick to our useless " Dossier Policy " , shouldn't we make sure nations who matter in international politics take a note of it ?

 

[Ankit Kumar 002]

Field Firing Ranges

The total number of Field Firing Ranges with the Indian Army are 66. It is not in the interest of national security to disclose further details.

The Criteria for setting up of new Field Firing range are as under:-

· Training and operational requirements of the Field Formations.

· Dependency of troops on the Field Firing Range.

· Availability of land to satisfy the danger area template for the weapon system(s) envisaged to be fired.

· Availability of good road and rail communication network.

· Economic viability of acquiring a Field Firing Range in the vicinity of the cantonments.

The Field Firing Range is set up based on the requirement of Indian Army. It is not in the interest of national security to disclose details of such proposals. However, there is no proposal for setting up of a Field Firing Range in the State of Jharkhand.

This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri Sunil Kumar Singh in Lok Sabha today.

****


NAMPI/RK
(Release ID :148816)