Made in India military weapons and support systems

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Textiles
14-May, 2018 18:28 IST
Smt Smriti Irani Chairs Meeting of Stakeholders on ‘Samarth’- Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector

Union Textiles Minister, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani addressing the meeting of stakeholders on Samarth in New Delhi.

A meeting of stakeholders on Samarth – Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector under the Skill India Mission was held in New Delhi today to familiarize the stakeholders about the scheme and its guidelines. The meeting was chaired by Union Minister of Textiles, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani. The broad objective of the new scheme is to skill the youth for gainful and sustainable employment in the textile sector covering the entire value chain of textiles, excluding spinning and weaving.

Minister of State for Textiles, Shri Ajay Tamta and Secretary, Textiles, Shri Anant Kumar Singh also addressed the stakeholders. The concerns of the stakeholders and challenges faced by them during implementation of the previous scheme were discussed in the meeting. Feedback from the concerned stakeholders on how the scheme can contribute and benefit the textile industry and boost skill development in the respective sector was also discussed.

The scheme, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 20th of December last year, is intended to provide demand driven, placement oriented National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) compliant skilling programmes to incentivize and supplement the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the textiles sectors. The scheme targets to train 10 lakh persons (9 lakh in organised and 1 lakh in traditional sector) over a period of 3 years (2017-20), with an outlay of Rs. 1300 crore. The guidelines of the scheme were released on 23rd of April 2018.

The meeting was attended by the senior officials of the Textiles Ministry, institutions and organizations under it, representatives of textile industry, State Governments, training institutions among others.



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The Union Minister for Textiles and Information & Broadcasting, Smt. Smriti Irani chairing the Stakeholders meeting on ‘Samarth’ - Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles Sector, in New Delhi on May 14, 2018. The Minister of State for Textiles, Shri Ajay Tamta and the Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Shri Anant Kumar Singh are also seen.

The Union Minister for Textiles and Information & Broadcasting, Smt. Smriti Irani chairing the Stakeholders meeting on ‘Samarth’ - Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles Sector, in New Delhi on May 14, 2018. The Minister of State for Textiles, Shri Ajay Tamta, the Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Shri Anant Kumar Singh and other dignitaries are also seen.

Ministry of Defence
14-May, 2018 19:51 IST
DRDO Awards – 2016 & 2017 Presented by RM

Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman gave away the DRDO Awards- 2016 & 2017 to various DRDO scientists for their outstanding contributions, while commemorating the National Technology Day, here today. Some of the prominent scientists, who received the award, include former Secretary Department of Defence R&D, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri and Director General, DRDO Dr VKSaraswat for DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award – 2017, former Secretary Department of Defence R&D, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri and Director General, DRDO Dr VasudevKalkunteAatre for DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award – 2016, the Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri, Distinguished Scientist & Director General (Missiles & Strategic Systems) Dr G Satheesh Reddy for Technology Leadership Award – 2016, etc.

Speaking on the occasion, Smt Sitharaman said India being one of the largest procurer of defence equipment, the emphasis on indigenisation has to be reiterated, which has happened in the last four years. She stated that if India were to be a manufacturing hub for Defence products, indigenization has got to be on the top of the agenda. She said that manufacturing cannot be continuously and constantly with borrowed technology and hence that is where DRDO’s Research & Development plays a very critical role.

The Raksha Mantri congratulated all the scientists who received the awards and wished them a great bright future. She also wished the organisation and all its scientists the very best.

The Chairman DRDO and Secretary Department of Defence R&D, Dr S Christopher also addressed the function and e-launched the ‘Navrachna’ implementation programme during the event. It was attended by senior officials from the three Services, DRDO and the Ministry of Defence.



************

The Union Minister for Defence, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman giving away the DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award - 2016 to the former Secretary Department of Defence R&D, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and Director General, DRDO, Dr. Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre, during the presentation of DRDO Awards - 2016 & 2017, in New Delhi on May 14, 2018. The Chairman DRDO and Secretary Department of Defence R&D, Dr. S. Christopher is also seen.

The Union Minister for Defence, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman giving away the DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award - 2017 to the former Secretary Department of Defence R&D, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and Director General, DRDO, Dr. V.K. Saraswat, during the presentation of DRDO Awards - 2016 & 2017, in New Delhi on May 14, 2018. The Chairman DRDO and Secretary Department of Defence R&D, Dr. S. Christopher is also seen.

The Union Minister for Defence, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman giving away the Technology Leadership Award - 2016 to the Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister, Distinguished Scientist & Director General (Missiles & Strategic Systems), Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, during the presentation of DRDO Awards - 2016 & 2017, in New Delhi on May 14, 2018. The Chairman DRDO and Secretary Department of Defence R&D, Dr. S. Christopher is also seen.

The Union Minister for Defence, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman addressing the gathering during the presentation of DRDO Awards - 2016 & 2017, in New Delhi on May 14, 2018.

 

[Hindustani78]

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
16-May, 2018 15:26 IST
Cabinet approves development of Trunk Infrastructure Components for Integrated Multi Modal Logistics Hub known as "Freight Village" at Nangal Chaudhary in Haryana under Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the following proposal of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion:-


i. Development of Freight Village, an Integrated Multi Modal Logistics Hub (IMLH), Nangal Chaudhary, Haryana on 886.78 acres of land to be implemented by the project Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in two phases.

ii. Financial sanction of Rs. 1029.49 crore for development of Phase I and in principle approval for development of Phase II of the project. Expenditure on Phase I comprises cost of entire land at Rs. 266 crore including cost of the land to be used for development of Phase II.

iii. Investment of Rs. 763.49 crore by National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) which includes of Rs. 266 crore as equity and Rs. 497.49 crore as debt in the SPV; and

iv. Bidding for trunk infrastructure development by SPV on EPC basis;


Impact:

The project has enormous economic value in terms of direct and indirect benefits and multiplier effects on the economy. The economic benefits of the project will include creation of employment, reduction in fuel costs, boosts to exports, reduction in vehicle (trucks) operating cost, reduction in accident related costs, increase in collection of taxes by the State Government, reduction in pollution, etc.


The proposed development of a Freight Village as Multi Modal Logistics Hub is estimated to generate over four thousand direct and six thousand indirect employment. Job creation will not be limited to core logistics facilities but would also entail opportunities for entire logistics supply chain.


Details:

• The construction of trunk infrastructure will be undertaken in two phases. Phase I will be implemented by financial year 2020-21.
• The award of various construction packages will be made in a manner so that the entire construction of trunk infrastructure gets completed simultaneously.
• Phase-ll of the project will be reappraised in 2028 or earlier, if so required, for suitable financial sanctions.
• For implementation of proposed Freight Village, an SPV has been incorporated as a 50:50 Joint Venture of Government of India through NICDIT and Government of Haryana through HSIDC under the name "DMIC Haryana Multi Modal Logistic Hub Project Limited".

The Freight Village will be connected through Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) at Dabla, which is at a distance of approximately 10 kms. This logistics hub integrated with the DFC would have the following components:


i. High speed connectivity to key ports and Industrial Centres;

ii. Lower cost of supplying goods - faster freight operations & removal of

multiple handling costs;

iii. Improved service quality;

iv. Real time freight tracking and data analysis;

v. Single-point solution to all logistics need like loading/aggregation/packaging/ storage;

vi. Speedy access to ports from hinterland;

vii. Economy of scale in supply chain operations with reduced cost and time of operations;

viii. Last mile gateway port connectivity from the hinterland;

ix. Contain unorganized growth of container freight stations.



Background:

Government of India (Gol) is developing the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, as a global manufacturing and investment destination around 1,504 km long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) as the backbone. Investment Regions and Industrial Areas have been identified for development in this corridor, across six States namely Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.



Haryana is a major industrial and trading hub in North India. Potentially high rate of industrial development has to be supported through additional infrastructure to handle the transport of raw material and manufactured goods. Haryana is expected to witness container traffic of about 10 Million Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit (TEUs) by 2025. Hence, development of a Freight Village in Mahendragarh district of Haryana has been considered necessary to achieve the following objectives:



i. Improving efficiency of operations of existing industries in the region as well as attractiveness of the region as an investment destination for various categories of industries, warehousing and logistics operators;

ii. Tapping potential traffic along the Western DFC and of Northern states which is likely to galvanise rail-based freight movement with high-end operational features of faster and high-capacity freight trains. It will serve as a world-class multi modal facility that provides for efficient storage/transitioning of goods to/from DFC, thereby catering to the escalated freight traffic;

iii. Offering an attractive destination to freight companies and customers to boost industrial development in the region and creating economic opportunities. The facility will not only house standard container handling activities but will create various value added services.



AKT/VBA/SH

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
21-May, 2018 19:03 IST
Raksha Mantri Inaugurates Workshop on AI in National Security and Defence

The Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the ‘Stakeholders’ Workshop on Artificial Intelligence in National Security and Defence, Listing of Use Cases’, here today. It was attended by Chairman DRDO & Secretary Department of Defence R&D Dr S Christopher, Secretary (Defence Production) Dr Ajay Kumar and other senior officials of the Ministry of Defence and Services.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), a branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behaviour in computers, has shown significant technical advancement in some of the developed countries.

• Most of this progress is due to advances in the AI sub-field of Machine Learning (ML).
• Most experts believe this rapid progress will continue and even accelerate.
• Most AI research advances are occurring in the private sector and academia.

AI has a potential to have transformative impact on national security. It is also seen that AI is essentially a dual use technology. While it can fuel technology driven economic growth, it also has potential to provide military superiority. India has strong IT industry and huge talent pool of engineers which are advantages which need to be leveraged. To study the whole gamut of issues surrounding strategic implications of AI in national security perspective, in global context, a multi-stakeholder Task Force represented by members from the Government, Services, Academia, Industry Professionals and Start-ups has been constituted with the approval of the Raksha Mantri for developing future roadmap on AI with following goals -

• To establish tactical deterrent in the region.
• To support its peaceful and commercial use.
• To mitigate catastrophic risk.
• To visualize potential transformative weaponry of future.
• To facilitate in keeping a check on non-state actors.
• To develop intelligent, autonomous robotic systems.
• To enhance capabilities for collection and analysis of data and also creation of data.
• To bolster cyber defence.

The Terms of Reference for the AI Task Force, of Ministry of Defence are as under-

• Study use of AI by other leading countries including US, China, Japan, Germany, Russia etc.
• Study of level of AI/ML development in India in general and specific in the context of defence needs.
• Make recommendations of making India a significant power of AI in defence specifically in the area of aviation, naval, land systems, cyber, nuclear, and biological warfare; Recommendations to include both defensive and offensive needs including counter AI needs. Make specific recommendations with respect to arrangements for AI safety required within defence ecosystem.
• Make recommendations for policy and institutional interventions that are required to regulate and encourage a robust AI based technologies for defence sector in the country. Specific suggestions for increased focus on AI within DRDO, BEL, service units, selected academic institutions of the country.
• Considering that most AI work is happening in private sector, make recommendations to work with start-ups/commercial industry in the field of use of AI for defence purposes.
• Recommendations for RFIs that need to be floated in next 2 years on dual use AI capabilities.
• Make recommendations regarding appropriate strategies of working with startups in US working in this area.
• Recommendations for funding required to achieve aforementioned goals.

The AI Task Force of Ministry of Defence under the Chairmanship Shri C Chandrasekharan, Chairman of Tata Sons, has met twice on 10 February and 28 April 2018. In the last meeting it was discussed that one of the key approach for the use of AI is to work on building profile that mimics normal behaviour by learning from the data generated from a given use case. Then using machine learning/ deep learning techniques, one can draw correlations among various parameters in an automated way (from the huge data set) and can flag pattern and anomalous behaviour for further analysis and insights. This essentially forms the basis for AI based applications. Thus, it was decided that a Stakeholders’ Workshop on AI in National Security and Defence shall be organized for ‘Listing of Use Cases.

The Union Minister for Defence, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman at the inaugural ceremony of the ‘Stakeholders’ Workshop on Artificial Intelligence in National Security and Defence, Listing of Use Cases, in New Delhi on May 21, 2018. The Chairman DRDO and Secretary Department of Defence R&D, Dr. S. Christopher, the Secretary (Defence Production), Dr. Ajay Kumar and other senior officials of the Ministry of Defence and Services are also seen.

The Union Minister for Defence, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman addressing at the inaugural ceremony of the ‘Stakeholders’ Workshop on Artificial Intelligence in National Security and Defence, Listing of Use Cases, in New Delhi on May 21, 2018.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/business/In...h4033-crore/article23956818.ece?homepage=true

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Tuesday said its subsidiary L&T Construction has won orders worth ₹4,033 crore in the domestic market.

“The buildings and factories business of L&T Construction has bagged orders worth ₹4,033 crore,” the engineering and construction major said in a BSE filing.

L&T said the company has secured an order from a government client for the design and construction of 1,125 residential towers of G+3 floors in Visakhapatnam, Prakasam, Guntur and Krishna districts in Andhra Pradesh.

It has won another order from a cement manufacturer for the construction of cement plants in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh on design and build model.

The company said it has bagged another turnkey order from a government client in Patna (Bihar) to establish a cancer institute along with the supply, installation and commissioning of medical equipment

Shares of the company were trading at ₹1,327.60 apiece, up 1.04 per cent on BSE.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
22-May, 2018 18:39 IST
DAC Approves Measures to Simplify Defence Procurement Procedure

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, met here today.

In continuation of its efforts to streamline defence procurement procedures and to reduce timelines so as to ensure timely delivery of equipment to the Armed Forces, the DAC discussed and approved various measures to simplify the defence procurement procedure. These measures will be incorporated in the DPP-16, the manual governing the defence procurement procedure. The significant changes inter-alia include devolution of powers within the Ministry of Defence and the Service Headquarters, concurrent running of the acquisition process instead of sequential stage clearance, deletion of repetitive processes, aligning of various documents with revised financial guidelines, amongst others. These measures will go a long way in obviating undue procedural delays and will hasten activities besides shrinking procurement timelines.

These amendments form part of the ongoing Business Process Re-engineering in Defence Capital procurements.

 

[MimophantSlayer]

Ministry of Defence
22-May, 2018 18:39 IST
DAC Approves Measures to Simplify Defence Procurement Procedure

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, met here today.

In continuation of its efforts to streamline defence procurement procedures and to reduce timelines so as to ensure timely delivery of equipment to the Armed Forces, the DAC discussed and approved various measures to simplify the defence procurement procedure. These measures will be incorporated in the DPP-16, the manual governing the defence procurement procedure. The significant changes inter-alia include devolution of powers within the Ministry of Defence and the Service Headquarters, concurrent running of the acquisition process instead of sequential stage clearance, deletion of repetitive processes, aligning of various documents with revised financial guidelines, amongst others. These measures will go a long way in obviating undue procedural delays and will hasten activities besides shrinking procurement timelines.

These amendments form part of the ongoing Business Process Re-engineering in Defence Capital procurements.

We also need a national aeronautics commission to speed up acquisition and overseeing the development of different type off aircrafts.

Very much like how a Space commission under the PMO has bore such wonderful results for ISRO.

 

[Hindustani78]

 

[Hindustani78]

A joint operation conducted by the 6 Assam Rifles and 27 Assam Rifles on Monday got them a major breakthrough against subversive elements .

Through the recovery of a huge cache of arms, ammunition and explosives in Manipur’s Ukhrul district as even taken as sample (Aaron Chown / AFP Representative Photo)

 

[Hindustani78]

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
23-May, 2018 15:43 IST
Cabinet approves restructuring of balance sheet of Scooters India Limited, Lucknow

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for restructuring of balance sheet of Scooters India Limited, Lucknow (SIL) by way of:

1. reduction of equity of Rs. 85.21 crore in the share capital of SIL held by Government of India against accumulated losses. The reduction would be deemed to have taken effect as on 31.03.2013 and
2. freezing the interest on the Non-Plan loan of Rs. 1.89 crore released to SIL during 2012-13 from the date of its release to the company and conversion into equity of the outstanding principal amount of Rs. 1.89 crore.

With this approval, the balance sheets of Scooters India Limited from 2012-13 onwards will be regularised and further restructuring will be effected accordingly. This is also expected to clear a hurdle in the process of disinvestment of the company.

***

 

[Hindustani78]

Ocean researchers has now generated a comprehensive in situ observational dataset of the physical, chemical and biological parameters of the southern Bay of Bengal, air–sea interface and the overlying atmosphere. The ocean–atmosphere interaction plays a major role in controlling the weather systems associated with the Indian summer monsoon (June–September).

The field programme was carried out as a part of the Bay of Bengal Boundary Layer Experiment (BoBBLE) to collect the dataset, onboard one of India’s research ships Sindhu Sadhana, and the findings were recently published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

The two-month study — June to July 2016 — was carried out on multiple platforms (ship, ocean gliders and Argo floats) to measure salinity, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll content in the sea water.

Gliders equipped with photosynthetically active radiation sensors were used for studying the biological components of the water. “Phytoplankton was studied, as the southern Bay of Bengal is a biologically productive region [which is] rich in chlorophyll content,” he says. “The physical processes such as upwelling at the Sri Lankan Dome and [the] nutrient carried by monsoon currents support the biological process.”

June 02, 2018 19:51 IST
Updated: June 02, 2018 19:53 IST

Researchers on board the ocean research vessel Sindhu Sadhana.



National Institute of Oceanography - Council of Scientific and Industrial Research flagging off the indigenously built Research Vessel Sindhu Sadhana

The ship built at ABG Shipyard in Gujarat and equipped with ultra modern research facilities was flagged off by MP K. Haribabu in the presence of NIO-Goa Director S.W.A. Naqvi.

It carries 29 scientists headed by V.S.N. Murthy, in-charge of NIO Visakhapatnam Regional Centre and 28-member crew headed by Captain S.R. Lokhande.

“RV Sindhu Sadhana is a new asset for underwater exploration to carry out monsoon experiments and know ocean processes in deep sea basins of Andamans.

It will be useful for carrying out studies on poly metallic nodules in Central Indian Ocean to explore deep-sea minerals like nickel, copper and cobalt-rich manganese crusts,” Dr. Naqvi said.

The vessel is designed for a cruising speed of 13.5 knots and endurance of 45 days.

It has 10 modern laboratories fitted with state-of-the art equipment to facilitate high precision data and sample collection.

RV Sindhu Sadhana has facilities for online data collection and processing from single-beam and multi-beam echo sounders, water column and sub-bottom profiler, gravimeter, magnetometer, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler and conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiler.

It also has autonomous weather station (AWS), air quality monitors and sampling gears such as A-frame, Gamma frame, CTD winch and deep sea winches with supporting cranes.

The vessel has dynamic positioning system to allow holding the ship at a point for various sampling including 240 meter long sediment cores.

It can facilitate precise deployment of instrumented moorings, towing of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).

India: CSIR-NIO's Research Vessel Dedicated to Nation

 

[MimophantSlayer]

GaN research by DRDO for AESA radars.

 

[Hindustani78]

Photos: A peek into the world’s largest graveyard for ships in Alang
Jun 03, 2018 14:33 IST

• 
  

7/8
Ship breakers globally bought 25.2 million deadweight tonnes (dwt) of vessels upto early July, against 33.8 million dwt all of last year, with Bangladesh being the largest buyer, according to shipping services firm Clarkson. “Everyone thought prices will improve and bought a lot, but now they are sitting on huge inventories,” said Islam. “It will be a disaster in the coming months”, he adds. (Amit Dave / REUTERS)

7/8
Considering the risk factors, the European Commission will introduce tougher environmental controls after December. While not specifically banning beach scrapping, owners of ships registered in EU countries will have to scrap them at approved facilities, a move that could favour countries such as China and Turkey where ships are taken apart in docks. But for many that could come too late and some, including Alang’s Sagar Laxmi Ship Breakers, are simply targeting other industries such as construction. (Amit Dave / REUTERS)

7/8
A worker carries a gas cylinder past decommissioned ships being dismantled at the Alang shipyard in the western state of Gujarat. Hit by a flood of cheap Chinese steel and new European Union environmental rules, more than half of the ship-breaking yards have shut in the past two years and the future of the trade in India and neighbours Bangladesh and Pakistan is bleak. (Amit Dave / REUTERS)

7/8
Workers wearing protective gear arrive to dismantle a decommissioned ship. The trade in Alang used to employ about 60,000 directly, with thousands more in spin-off businesses. But roads on the 11 km (7 mile) beach front that locals say used to buzz with people and trucks, now appear deserted and dozens of shops displaying everything from crockery to computers ripped out of ships are struggling to get supplies. (Amit Dave / REUTERS)

7/8
Workers pull a rope tied to a decommissioned oil rig to dismantle it. According to the Ship Recycling Industries Association India, the number of active yards in Alang have fallen to 50 this year from more than 100 in 2014 and the number of vessels beached also dropped to a six-year low of 275 last year. “China is selling below the price of recycled steel,” said Amit B. Padia, owner of Sagar Laxmi Ship Breakers. (Amit Dave / REUTERS)

7/8
In India, with a plunge in steel prices, ship owners are getting about $3.6 million less for the 25,000 tonnes of recoverable metal from a typical iron ore or coal carrying ship than just eight months ago. Following the figures, the situation is equally bad in Pakistan, “It has always been a cyclical business but people who have been in this industry tell me this is the worst in 30 years,” said Shoaib Sultan, the owner of Horizon Ship Recycling in Karachi. (Amit Dave / REUTERS)

7/8
“People are running this business from their heart, not from their mind,” said Chintan Kalthia, whose company R.L. Kalthia Ship Breaking Pvt Ltd runs one of Alang’s more modern yards. “But this is my last ship. This business is dying,” he added. (Amit Dave / REUTERS)

7/8
Workers sort out metal scrap from a decommissioned ship at the shipyard. “Three years ago there were about 80 yards, now it’s down to 25. I think another 10-15 yards will go,” said Zahirul Islam, director of PHP Shipbreaking and Recycling Industries Ltd in Chittagong. (Amit Dave / REUTERS)

7/8
Ship breakers globally bought 25.2 million deadweight tonnes (dwt) of vessels upto early July, against 33.8 million dwt all of last year, with Bangladesh being the largest buyer, according to shipping services firm Clarkson. “Everyone thought prices will improve and bought a lot, but now they are sitting on huge inventories,” said Islam. “It will be a disaster in the coming months”, he adds. (Amit Dave / REUTERS)

 

[MimophantSlayer]

HAL carries out hot weather tests on its LUH in city
Source: The Hitavada Date: 06 Jun 2018 11:25:57
583

By Nandu Andhare,

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) carried out some critical tests on its latest platform named Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), in the city on Tuesday.


Speaking exclusively to The Hitavada, HAL’s Chief Test Pilot Wg Cdr Unnikrishna Pillay(Retd) informed that the LUH has tremendous demand from all the three wings of Defence services, mainly for its utility of being used as an Air Ambulance, that can carry two stretchers, one doctor and one attendant, or load of 1.2 tons, besides the crew of two. Moreover, the ageing fleet of Chetaks and Cheetahs are becoming more demanding with regards to its maintenance and increasing demands of the Services of getting a better, more modern platform, with superior avionics, to meet its requirements of operating in adverse weather conditions like hot climate, cold climate, high altitude pickets, mountains and valleys and the missions over the sea. “The Chetaks and Cheetahs,” said Wg Cdr Unnikrishna, “I have served very successfully for 50 years now and time has come to replace them.

The LUHs are suitably designed and are easy to maintain because of indigenous technology and can be suitably modified to suit the requirements of the buyer. Moreover, with Indian economy looking up, LUH assures us of a big market for its use. India used to earlier tie up with a foreign manufacturer to design a chopper for our use, costing a fortune. Today, we have the technology to design a platform suitable to our needs.”


The LUH has high-tech computers on board, has its own cooling system, which needs to be monitored in hot weather conditions. Similarly, gear box with oil with thermal cooling system, engine and other things that are critical, need to be tested in such hot weather conditions. “So, we parked the chopper on the tarmac, exposed it to the Sun and let it absorb the outside heat, so as to give us data on how the various systems on board are behaving in such trying conditions. There are temperature sensors fitted on the chopper at various points that provide data to the systems monitoring on the ground and on reaching the limit prescribed, it alerts the pilot. There are designers and technicians on the ground who will monitor flaws, if any, and avoid risks,” Wg Cdr Unnikrishna told The Hitavada.


LUH has also has a good civil market, which will flourish ,once the Defence services start using the choppers and its trained Crew and technicians are available after their retirement, to fly in the civil service. HAL is a huge organisation having more than 30,000 employees, with factories in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, UP and Kerala. “There is one coming up in Goa now. I have been with HAL since 1999 , after retiring from the Indian Air Force and currently stationed at Bangalore,” explained Wg Cdr Unnikrishna Pillay.


Asked about his next visit, Wg Cdr Pillay gave that handsome boyish smile and said, “Yes, but with a Multirole Helicopter, a heavy lift machine, designed by HAL. But, it will take three years for that.”


Asked about his completion of the mission in Nagpur, Wg Cdr Pillay reiterated, “Yes. Now, we fly out on Wednesday and reach Bangalore. We will later go to Leh for the cold weather tests”.

http://thehitavada.com/Encyc/2018/6/6/HAL-carries-out-hot-weather-tests-on-its-LUH-in-city.aspx

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
10-August, 2018 17:24 IST
RM to Launch UP Defence Industrial Corridor Projects at Aligarh

When the ‘Make in India’ initiative was launched to transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub, Defence Manufacturing was identified as one of the 25 key sectors. The announcement of setting up of two corridors – one in Tamil Nadu and the other in UP- exclusively for defence manufacturing in the current year’s budget, is a logical continuum to this policy of the Government. In the intervening period of almost 4 years, several steps have been taken to promote indigenisation in the defence sector. The inclusion of the Indigenous Design, Development and Manufacture (IDDM) category and giving it the top priority in capital acquisition, introduction of the Make Procedure, simplification of the licensing process and modification of the offset policy, are some of these steps. Introduction of a more industry friendly Defence Production Policy, further revisions to the offset policy, simplification of export and import processes are also in progress and are likely to be implemented soon. While these steps are all in the right direction, there is a need for focussed action at a localised level and develop specialised zones dedicated to various facets of defence production.

For the corridor in UP, six nodal points have been identified, viz. Agra, Aligarh, Lucknow, Kanpur, Chitrakoot and Jhansi. Stakeholder interactions have already been held in Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra and Jhansi. All the interactions have seen huge response from the industries in and around the locations. The interactive meets were organised by the Indian Industries Association (IIA), which is the largest organisation of Small and Medium Industries in UP.

The next day-long interactive session is scheduled in Aligarh, in hotel The Royal Residency on August 11, 2018. Raksha Mantri, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman and Chief Minister of UP, Shri Yogi Adityanath, Ministers of UP and senior officials of the Central and State Government would be present for the interactions. Senior representatives from the DPSUs, Ordnance Factories and DRDO will also be present. There will be an exhibition of products by the Armed Forces/DPSUs/DRDO which are planned to be indigenised over the next five years. Interactive sessions with Ambassadors of several countries and captains of the Indian defence industries and the Industry Associations have also been planned.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
27-June, 2018 16:10 IST
MoD Enhances Financial Powers of DRDO

To enhance efficiency and effectiveness of Defence Research establishments, Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman has decided to delegate greater financial powers to various authorities. This wind of change in Defence Research and Development (R&D) is intended to neutralise the ill-effects of over-centralisation and facilitate quicker decision making. This is in line with similar financial delegations made to Armed Forces in the last one year. The delegated powers now stands enhanced as under:-

• Powers of Secretary, Defence R&D to sanction projects and for procurements enhanced from Rs. 75 Crore to Rs. 150 Crore and for the Directors General (DG) enhanced from Rs. 50 Crore to Rs. 75 Crore
• Enhancement of powers for Proprietary Article Certificate (PAC) cases
  • From Rs. 50 Crore. to Rs. 150 Crore for Secretary Defence (R&D);
  • From Rs. 25 Crore to Rs. 75 Crore to DGs;
  • From Rs. 2 Crore to Rs. 5 Crore for Lab Directors.
• Enhancement of powers for Single Tender cases
  • From Rs. 50 Crore to Rs. 75 Crore for Secretary Defence (R&D);
  • From Rs. 25 Crore to Rs. 37.5 Crore for DGs;
  • From Rs. 1 Crore to Rs. 2.5 Crore for Lab Directors.
• All Competent Financial Authority empowered to reallocate funds, reduce and enhance costs of projects/programmes within their delegated powers.
• The powers of Director General (DG) have been enhanced from Rs. 3 Crore to Rs. 5 Crore for sanctioning Research projects to Universities, Technological Institutions and to Indigenous Defence Industry under the Technology Development Fund Scheme of DRDO.
• Powers of post-contract management and maintenance support in respect of contracts for which CFA is the Ministry of Defence, have been delegated to Directors General of DRDO in line with the delegations already made to the Armed Forces.
• Delegations for Hygiene and Maintenance Contracts, training expenses, miscellaneous and contingent activities have been rationalized and enhanced to ensure that sanctions are given at the Director and DG levels with minimal flow of files to DRDO HQ.

Consequently, the powers for sanctioning of projects and for procurements that were hitherto with the Secretary Defence R&D have now been delegated to the Directors General of DRDO and the delegation to the Secretary, Defence R&D has been doubled, A number of powers relating to day-to-day functioning that were centralized at DRDO HQ have now been delegated to the DGs and Lab Directors. The delegations also bring flexibility in Universities and by indigenous defence industry. All the delegations that had been made in respect of the services have also been extended to the DRDO.

The Director Generals of DRDO has expressed their satisfaction at this major initiative by the Government and have opined that these forward-looking measures would ensure that majority of the decisions relating to implementation and functioning would largely be taken within the technology clusters whereas policy issues would primarily come to the Government. Given the geographically dispersed Clusters and Laboratories, this will be greatly reduce file movements to and from the DRDO HQ at New Delhi and facilitate faster decision-making.

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