The Indian hi-tech industry is growing fast, but for particular equipment such as modern pocket UAVs,Delhicontinues to launch billion dollar contests (it is to be noted that 10% of armament sales worldwide is directed toIndia).
The remote-controlled aircraft, or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are the latest developments featured by all modern armies, andDelhihas decided to equip its own forces with mini-UAVs . The Indian Air Force and Navy have issued a tender for the supply of 100 mini-UAVs, and the selection decision is going to be made by the end of the year.
According to declarations, sources indicate that two companies have submitted their proposals, but it seems that other manufacturers may join the competition later.
Currently, the Israeli Bluebird and the US AeroVironment have offered their products, which are the MicroB and the Raven (or maybe the Puma) respectively.
This tender is part of the wider process to increase Indian hi-tech equipment. It is also to be noted that only yesterdayIndiashowed a demonstration of force by launching its already-tested Akash missiles
ARMY CHIEF SLAMS BEML ON TATRA, AWARDS IT RS 1,500-CR DEAL
NEW DELHI: The outgoing army chief, General V K Singh, claims he scuttled a Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) bid to sell overpriced Tatra vehicles to the Indian Army. But, in February 2012, the army quietly signed a contract with BEML for an even larger and more controversial purchase: a $275-million (about Rs 1,500 crore) contract for 204 armoured recovery vehicles (ARVs).
Last week, the army chief declared in a television interview that he knew the WZT-3 ARV contract was a scam and BEML should be investigated in detail. He called the Tatra deal “a wake-up call for us to start examining other areas where things could have gone wrong”.
But in February, BEML was nominated, without bidding, for the lucrative order for additional WZT-3 ARVs. Disregarded entirely was the fact that in three previous contracts for a total of 352 WZT-3 ARVs (44 in 1999; 80 in 2002; and 228 in 2005), BEML had disregarded the contractual stipulation to indigenise the ARV. Instead, the Indian defence public sector undertaking (DPSU) imported fully built ARVs from a Polish company, Bumar, fitted cosmetic Indian components and supplied these to the army.
The WZT-3 ARVs are essentially T-72 tanks kitted for repair and recovery, rather than for fighting. Instead of a gun and turret, the T-72 is fitted with a heavy-duty crane, winch and repair equipment. This allows the ARV to travel cross-country with tank columns, repairing tanks that break down.
The purchase of these essential vehicles has been fraught with controversy. In 2003, Brigadier Inder Mohan Singh was a Deputy Director General in the Master General of Ordnance (MGO) Branch, which handles the procurement of “in-service equipment,” as the WZT-3 was since 1999. He has told Business Standard the tendering process was manipulated to ensure BEML emerged the lone bidder. The tender was sent out to only two PSUs, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and BEML; only BEML bid. When Larsen & Toubro threw its hat in the ring, the defence ministry’s acquisitions chief ruled it out as an “unsolicited bid”. That left BEML, the single vendor, at liberty to dictate terms.
Top L&T officials verify this happened, though the company has declined to comment officially, since it had not been invited to bid.
Brig I M Singh saysUkrainethen wrote in, offering their T-72 based ARV for trials. This was an attractive offer, sinceUkrainewas willing to use the T-72 chassis and running gear thatIndiawas already building near Chennai, while importing only the recovery gear. This, says Singh, would have made their ARV 30-40 per cent cheaper than the WZT-3. He put up an official proposal that the Ukrainian ARV be invited for trials, since this was a Rs 1,000-crore contract that should not go to a single bidder.
That idea was quickly shot down by the MGO himself, Lt General V K Jetley, whose brother, Colonel Virendar Jetley, had been employed by Bumar India, a joint venture between Bumar Poland and the New Delhi-based Chemon Group, headed by prominent Delhi cigar baron, Chetan Seth. “Within days, I was removed from the ARV cost negotiation committee,” says Brig Singh.
Chetan Seth, interviewed by Business Standard, confirms Col Virendar Jetley was his employee. However, he denies any influence was exercised.
Arms dealers have long sought a link with the MGO’s office, which controls a large chunk of the defence budget.
The owner of Vectra, Ravi Rishi, now under the CBI scanner in the Tatra case, employed two successive MGOs soon after they retired: Lt Gen R I S Kahlon, from the time he retired till his death last year; and Lt Gen S J S Saighal, who hit the limelight when Eurocopter, which employed his brother, Lt Gen H S Saighal, won a massive Indian contract for 197 light helicopters. The defence ministry overturned that decision after rivals protested.
With the contract for 228 WZT-3 signed in 2005, BumarPolandbegan sending shiploads of ARVs to Mumbai. While BEML was supposed to indigenise these quickly, Brig I M Singh says BEML did absolutely no work on the ARVs.
“The Bumar ARVs did not even go to the BEML plant. When the ship fromPolandreached Mumbai, we would send drivers to unload the ARVs. They would load the ARVs onto a train to Ordnance Depot, Kirkee, from where the frontline units would collect them,” says Brig Singh.
Chetan Seth admits the ARVs never went to BEML but claims some Indian parts would be fitted onto the ARVs in Ordnance Depot, Kirkee. “It took some time, but we indigenised drivers’ periscope sights; drivers’ adjustable seats; periscopes; and radios. We had a team of five Polish engineers in Kirkee,” avers Seth.
Approached for comments, BEML chief, V R S Natarajan, said he would respond in a press conference once the army chief retired. When pressed for answers, he asked for an emailed list of questions, to which he has not responded.
Meanwhile, another Chetan Seth company, Optic Electronics, was providing an illustration of how “indigenisation” worked in the WZT-3.
According to a senior Chetan Seth employee, Optic Electronics functioned from ab SEZ in Noida, importing surplus parts fromEast Europedepots, touching these up, and then re-exporting them at a 500 per cent profit.
“Optic Electronics would import the day sights for each WZT-3 ARV for $5,500. These stained, often rusty, parts would be cleaned up and re-exported to BumarPolandfor around $25,000. These would then be fitted onto the WZT-3,” says the Seth employee on condition of anonymity.
Chetan Seth says he built day sights in partnership with a Polish company called PCO. He admits providing day sights for the WZT-3, but denies they were surplus parts from junkyards.
Ironically, the “indigenisation” of the WZT-3, which never crossed even 20 per cent, was being done through low-tech routes like ploughs, driver sights, towing ropes and seats, even as India was running a full T-72 tank manufacturing line at Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi, and building T-72 engines at the Engine Factory, Avadi.
Business Standard learned during a visit to Avadi last November that the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) had quoted a price of Rs 40-50 lakh per engine for the WZT-3, but BEML rejected this as too high. Consequently, Bumar continues to source the engine fromEast Europe. The OFB’s quote has also been rejected for the latest order for 204 WZT-3 ARVs, which bodes ill for any prospect of indigenisation.
The ministry of defence has not responded to an emailed request for comments.
BOEING DELIVERS US NAVY COMBAT PLANE WITH INDIAN EQUIPMENT
NEW DELHI: US aircraft major Boeing has delivered an electronic warfare combat plane to the US Navy fitted with Indian equipment manufactured by defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited.
The Boeing-made EA-18G Growler, a variant of the F-18 fighter aircraft, was delivered to the US Navy with a “BEL-produced cockpit sub-assembly which provides cockpit floodlighting compatible with the aircraft’s night vision imaging system (NVIS),” the company said in a release.
The contract to BEL in this regard was awarded by Boeing in March 2011 for working on sub assemblies of F/A-18 Super Hornet cockpit.
“That contract included options to renew annually for up to four years. As a result of BEL’s demonstrated performance, Boeing recently exercised an option to renew the contract for another year,” the release said.
Commenting on the development, Boeing India Vice President Dennis Swanson said, “BEL’s work on P-8I, Super Hornets and Growlers is another example of how Indian companies are becoming a part of the global supply chain while Boeing helps them expand their opportunities across the global aerospace industry.”
BEL has produced other parts also for the EA-18 Growler, which include a complex-machined stowage panel for the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System connector cable and an avionics cooling system fan test switch panel with an NVIS-compatible floodlight assembly.
BEL has also provided ‘Identification Friend or Foe’ interrogators and communications systems for the Indian Navy’s fleet of P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
MAHINDRA SATYAM OPENS DELIVERY CENTRE IN FRANCE FOR AEROSPACE
NEW DELHI: IT firm Mahindra Satyam today said it has set up a delivery centre inToulouse,France, dedicated to aerospace and defence sector.
This is part of the company’s larger strategy of expanding footprint inEuropewith focus on strengthening relationships with regional aerospace and defence businesses, Mahindra Satyam said in a statement.
The centre is Mahindra Satyam’s second such investment after its dedicated aerospace centre inHamburg,Germany, in 2008, it added.
The centre will ramp-up to house up to 80 people towards the end of this year and will offer engineering services.
It will also function as a front office for developing the services around technologies like SAP, PLM and application management services.
The new centre is expected to shore up operations and create opportunities for local talent in engineering, IT and communications domains, it added.
Mahindra Satyam is a certified supplier to EADS, a global leader in aerospace, and has been involved in strategic engagements with Airbus since 2004.
It has engineering, IT and manufacturing engagements with EADS companies acrossFrance,Germany,UK,IndiaandChina.
“Franceis an important market for us and we are committed to investing on multiple fronts and enhancing the value delivered to our customers,” Mahindra Satyam CEO CP Gurnani said.
Aerospace and defence is a key growth sector for Mahindra Satyam and the company said it expects to invest in both its organic and inorganic growth.
This centre is part of the company’s strategy to offer a ‘Global Delivery Platform’ to its partners, Mahindra Satyam said.
This is aimed at reducing risk, creating a seamless organisation with partners and allowing the company to tap into skills and expertise that may not be available inIndia, it added.
“The establishment of a delivery centre inToulousewill help expanding Mahindra Satyam’s operations inFrance, generating jobs and making use of local talent in the areas of Aerospace Engineering and Information Technology,” Indian Ambassador in France Rakesh Sood said in the statement.
BEL SUPPLIES SUB-ASSEMBLY FOR US FIGHTER
BANGALORE: There is now a little bit of BEL in the US Navy’s electronic attack aircraft, the Boeing EA-18G Growler.
Bharat Electronics Ltd said it produced a cockpit sub-assembly for the Boeing Growler. On May 3 this year, Boeing delivered to the US Navy the first EA-18G featuring the BEL sub-assembly.
The defence public enterprise got an initial contract for this work in March 2011. The value of the order was not given.
The sub-assembly provides cockpit flood-lighting compatible with the aircraft’s night vision imaging system. Boeing has renewed the contract for another year; it can do so for up to four years.
BEL said it had delivered some more parts of the EA-18G. “Some of these cockpit sub-assemblies will also be installed on the Boeing [fighter planes] F/A-18E/F Super Hornets,” it said. The others are a complex-machined stowage panel for the joint helmet mounted cueing system connector cable; and an avionics cooling system fan test switch panel with an NVIS-compatible floodlight assembly. Mr Dennis Swanson, Vice-President of International Business Development for Boeing Defense, Space & Security in India, said, “BEL’s work on P-8I, Super Hornets and Growlers is another example of how Indian companies are becoming a part of the global supply chain.”
BEL also provides “Identification Friend or Foe” interrogators and Data Link II communications systems for the P-8I sea observation aircraft that the Indian Navy has acquired. BEL and Boeing set up an Analysis & Experimentation Centre inBangalorein 2009.
PRIVATE SECTOR FIRMS IN DEFENCE SEEK COVER AGAINST RUPEE VOLATILITY
NEW DELHI: With the rupee sinking against the dollar, the domestic private sector connected with the defence industry has sought protection against exchange rate fluctuations in the contracts they undertake.
“It has been done in the past so it is nothing new. RBI publishes certain rates. Some agreed rates are decided right at the beginning. Whatever the difference in the agreed rate and what prevails on the day the contract is incurred is compensated. The Government takes over sovereign risk. This is commonly done in several contracts. There have been cases in the refinery and fertiliser sectors. Public sector has always had this (cover),” the Chairman, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Defence Committee, Mr M.V. Kotwal, said.
He added that industry would not have sought this cover in normally stable situation.
In an effort to bring about transparency in the defence sector, FICCI has suggested that a Joint Secretary in charge of private sector be made part of the Committee of Acquisition.
The FICCI Secretary General, Dr Rajiv Kumar, said that the suggestion has been made in writing and that this one structural change would make an “entire difference.”
Issues relating to taxation are almost among the other issues that the Committee wants the Government to look at.
“If there is an order which the PSU wins and subcontract to another company which is not a DPSU, they are able to pass on the duty exemption to that company. But the exemption is not available to the private sector if it wins the contract,” FICCI officials pointed out.
INDIA DECLINED TO SELL N-TECH TO IRAN, IRAQ & LIBYA
Indiadeclined to sell nuclear technology toIran,IraqandLibyain the 1980s in spite of being offered “huge” sums of money, said a leading defence journal.
According to a report, all the three countries offered “huge” sums in the early 1980s, but the then prime minister Indira Gandhi said a firm “No”. Surprisingly, then Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was most upset and when his persistent efforts yielded no response, he went to the extent of sending only a junior minister for her funeral.
Iranasked for nuclear technology as well as a military training school for its officers somewhere inIndia, again offering substantial monetary compensation for both, but Indira Gandhi saidIndiawould not play its friends against one another.
Indiahad in fact been training Iraqi Air Force pilots, thanks to the commonality of the Soviet aircraft with the two countries. The defence cooperation had begun before the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war, but Indian instructors, their number reaching 60 at one time, had no mandate except to continue the training programme in accordance with the relevant agreements.
IndiaandIraqhad strong military ties in the form of training and at one time, there were about 60 Indian Air Force (IAF) officers imparting training to their Iraqi friends on Soviet-supplied aircraft, common to both the countries. One of the Indian instructors was also given the highest possible award by president Saddam Hussein.
IranandIraqwere then in the thick of their long, eight-year war, which cost each side heavy casualties and meant no victory for any side. Gandhi’s special envoy for the Gulf, Romesh Bhandari, in fact was then shuttling between the Iranian and Iraqi capitals of Teheran andBaghdadto forge peace.
Iraqin fact was supposed to host the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in 1983, but asIranwas not willing to participate in it inBaghdad, where a new conference hotel – Rasheed – had been set up by Swedish companies, the venue was moved toNew Delhiat Bhandari’s suggestion.
Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi also wanted nuclear technology and whenIndiarefused, he hassled the Indian companies and workers to pressure Gandhi but she did not budge.
SINO-INDIAN BPM HELD IN ARUNACHAL
ITANAGAR: To strengthen the friendship betweenIndiaandChina, a special Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) was held today at the historic Maitri Sthal near the Bum La Pass in Tawang District of Arunachal Pradesh.
“It is one of the three special BPMs conducted at Bum La on the Indian side every year”, a defence communiqué said here. Brig J S Rajpurohit heading the Indian Army Delegation received the Chinese delegation.
The meeting began with the welcome address by both the delegation leaders followed by a formal interaction wherein both the sides re-affirmed their resolve to strengthen the friendship and to maintain peace and tranquility along the border, the communique said.
The BPMs between the army personnel of India and China serve as a vital platform for resolving local issues and fostering confidence with a view to maintain peace and tranquility in the area, it said.
NO SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY TO MARINES: HC
KOCHI: The Kerala high court on Tuesday ruled that the two Italian naval guards arrested in connection with the February 15 killing of two Indian fishermen could be tried under the Indian law as they were not entitled to sovereign immunity.
The court also slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the marines – Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Girone. The dependents of the slain fishermen were also told to pay a penalty of Rs 10,000 for wasting the court’s time by filing additional petitions as a “pressure tactic” to force an out-of-court settlement. The penalties were imposed while dismissing the marines’ plea to quash the charges against them. The petitioners claimed that the incident had happened outsideIndia’s jurisdiction.
The court accepted advocate-general K P Dandapani’s contention that the Indian Criminal Procedure Code and IPC were applicable in the incident as the Centre had brought contiguous and exclusive economic zones under the purview of Indian laws in August 1981.
As the crime was committed within theIndian territory, passive nationality principle would be applicable, the bench observed. The passive nationality principle gave the government the right to try an accused for an offence committed in the region.
“The marines are liable to the penal jurisdiction of Indian courts and the state government was right in registering a case and proceeding with the investigation,” the court ruled.
Dismissing the marines’ argument that they were discharging the sovereign function ofItaly, the court observed that they were not sailing in a government-owned vessel. The marines were on private contract aboard Enrica Lexie, which was recently allowed to leaveKochi.
The court also pointed out the lack of records to prove the shooting was ordered by the ship’s captain or the marines’ supervisor at the navy. “It has to be inferred that they did it at their own whim. By no stretch of imagination can it be held that the shooting was an act in exercise of sovereign function. It’s neither an action in defence of the state nor one in defence of the vessel but a private, illegal, and criminal act.”
Responding toItaly’s claim that the marines would be tried for murder in that country, the bench observed thatItalyhad not made any effort to ascertain the truth. It had only made a request for some documents.
“Even if any investigation has been launched inItaly, it seems to be proceeding at a snail’s pace. All these, along with the absence of a request to extradite the marines, show that there is total lack of bona fide in the argument that the marines would be prosecuted inItaly,” the court observed.
‘IT HAD ALWAYS BEEN MY DREAM TO BE A FIGHTER PILOT’
PUNE: For academy cadet captain G Dayakar Reddy, it had always been a dream to be a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. And he gave everything it took to realize the dream.
Reddy, who bagged the President’s gold medal for standing first in the overall order of merit of the 122nd course at the National Defence Academy (NDA), is now set to join the Air Force Officers Academy atHyderabadfrom July 7.
Son of a pharmacist from Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh, Reddy had no one in the family to look to for inspiration in his pursuit of a career in the armed forces. His first association with a regimented life came when he joined theSainikSchoolat Korukunda in Vizianagaram.
“I always wanted to be a fighter pilot and I am looking forward to my training at the finishing academy,” said Reddy. He belongs to the ‘Oscar’ squadron, which has bagged the champion squadron banner at the NDA for the third successive year.
Battalion cadet captain Sashbind Singh Pal, who stood second in the overall order of merit to bag the President’s silver medal, comes from a family with a military background. “My father, Subhedar S M Singh, is posted at the Ordnance Depot at Talegaon near Pune,” he said.
Pal, who hails from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, did his schooling at theMilitarySchoolin Belgaon, Karnataka prior to joining the NDA. He belongs to the ‘Echo’ squadron of the academy.
“I was not so good in studies but I was good at sports,” he said. “Right from childhood I wanted to have a career in the armed forces. “I want to join the infantry.”
Battalion cadet adjutant J S Aswal also belongs to a family with a military background. “My father, Rajinder Singh Aswal, is a subedar in the army. He inspired me and wanted me to become an officer in the armed forces,” said Aswal.
“It’s an altogether different feeling to be part of the NDA and I am eagerly looking forward to my training at the officers academy,” said Aswal, who hails from Garwhal in Uttarakhand region. “I got to learn a lot of things during my life at the NDA,” he added.
AK ANTONY ORDERS PROBE ON DEFAMATION PLEA AGAINST GENERAL VK SINGH
NEW DELHI: Defence Minister A K Antony has directed Defence Secretary Sashikant Sharma to examine the petition sent to him by retd Lt Gen Tejinder Singh seeking action against outgoing Army Chief Gen V K Singh for issuing a “defamatory” press release against him.
Defence Ministry sources said the minister has asked the Secretary to look into the petition sent by Tejinder Singh on Tuesday.
After failing to get any relief from the High Court before the Army chief’s retirement, Lt Gen Tejinder Singh had on Tuesday approachedAntonyfor taking disciplinary action against Gen V K Singh for issuing an allegedly defamatory press release against him.
In a petition toAntony, the retired official said “to facilitate disciplinary proceedings against Gen V K Singh, who is retiring on Thursday, you are requested to pass an order for his ‘attachment’ under Section 123 of the Army Act.
Under Section 123, action can be taken against any officer or personnel for offences committed during service even three years after his retirement from the Army.
He alleged Gen V K Singh and four other subordinates had “conspired to issue the press communique. To my understanding, you are the only appropriate and competent authority to initiate necessary action against these individuals for committing offence under Section 63 of Army Act.”
Along with his application, he has attached the press release issued by the Army Headquarters on March 5 which alleged that Tejinder Singh was behind leaking stories in the media about tapping of phones of Defence Ministry officials by the Army and offering a bribe on behalf of Tatra Vectra.
The Army release had also claimed Tejinder Singh was being questioned by authorities for procuring of the air monitoring equipment allegedly without proper sanctions.
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