Three decades? This could only happen in India. A dud, over budget, over priced, failing in tests, over weight, over hyped failed project. Would have been declared as failure by any other sane country long time ago.
Hmm, Mark-I is a failure now let’s try a new version. Another excuse to waste more money and time, and what is the guarantee that it would be a success, this time around?
Now the maths of DRDO is quite apparent from this paragraph. Lets read again a DRDO official said in February (I suppose it is Feb 2011) “"In 24 months from now or in early 2014, the Arjun Mark-II tanks will be ready for production,” 24 months from now would be to February 2013, where this early 2014 comes from? It shows the time is already extended by year+. Knowing DRDO track record, it would be a miracle if it is ready by 2020.
Another proof of obsolete technology, test five years ago, was not used in first or second batch of MarkI, but would be used in Mark II after a lapse of over 10 years?
How about a glass roof for better view?
Hmm, so MARK II after so many improvements and new features is 90% “indigenous”. How “indigenous” was MarkI? And what are the guarantees that this is not another hoax of indigenous capabilities?