Category Archives: Drdo

Drdo

CBI finds Embraer deal fixer, may unmask bribe recipients

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TNN | Updated: Sep 29, 2016,

embraer-29-sep-2016NEW DELHI: CBI claimed on Wednesday that it has managed to track down a middleman, a foreign national, who was allegedly paid $5.5 million as commission by Brazilian company Embraer to bag a Rs 1,350 crore ($208 million) jet deal with India in 2008.

Sources said investigation has established that the payment was linked to the sale of jets to India. Although sources refused to identify the “middleman” or spell out his nationality citing confidentiality clause undergirding cooperation among investigating agencies, they said he is a controversial figure and has been known to be conduits for arms deals. “We will ask Embraer why did they pay such a big amount to the gentleman in connection with the deal with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for airborne surveillance systems,” said a CBI officer, adding that the breakthrough could put the agency on the trail of other beneficiaries.
CBI sources said they will approch law agencies of some countries, including Brazil and UK, to get details on him and other aspects like the mode of payment. “That is how this business functions. The defence contractor pays the money to the middleman who, after retaining his own share, distributes the money to those who may help him swing the deal,” said a source.

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Files reveal links between Agusta, Embraer deals

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By Ashish Singh | NEW DELHI | 18 September, 2016 – The Sunday Guardian
ashish-embraer-story-edited-1The DRDO was not on board with the IAF over selection of the Embraer aircraft.
ashish-embraer-story-edited-2The CBI has registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) against unknown Ministry of Defence officials to probe the Embraer aircraft deal scam, in less than 12 hours after this correspondent revealed on NewsX the minutes of four meetings held in December 2006 to finalise the aircraft for the AEW&C project.

This correspondent has revealed that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was not on board with the Indian Air Force under then Air Force chief S.P. Tyagi over the selection of Embraer aircraft.

PE is the very initial measure taken by the CBI to examine any case before lodging a First Information Report (FIR) against suspected persons.

The CBI told this correspondent that “CBI has registered a PE (preliminary enquiry) against unknown officials of the Ministry of Defence (GOI) and others. This on a reference from the said Ministry on allegations related to M/s. Embraer employing an agent to facilitate various contracts. These include the contract for AEW&C project wioth CABS/DRDO for procurement of 3 aircraft”.

This correspondent has accessed the key 10-page documents that form part of the “Embraer files” that are being investigated by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. The documents contain the minutes of the four meetings held in December 2006 to finalise the aircraft for the AEW&C project.

In the first of the four meetings, held at Air Headquarter, New Delhi on 5 December 2006, the documents suggest, then Programme Director (AEW&C) Dr S. Christopher (who is currently the DRDO chief) had proposed two alternative options with different configuration and endurance for the aircraft as a platform for this project. He also pointed out that better options will be available with the change of aircraft. But the Air Force under S.P. Tyagi overruled Christopher’s arguments and stated that the DRDO will work with Embraer, the world’s third largest aircraft manufacturer that is now under the scanner of the US and Brazilian authorities for alleged kickbacks.

The Embraer files accessed by this correspondent reveal that four meetings had taken place on 5,6, 8 and 19 December 2006 among the Air Force officers, DRDO officials and the scientific adviser to the then Defence Minister, A.K. Antony.

“Dr. Christopher brought out that better options will be available with change of aircraft. The Chairman (the then Deputy Chief of Air Staff) stated that we need to work with EMB-145 and develop a prototype with the configuration that CABS will formulate and send to IAF for consideration”, stated the minutes that are available with this correspondent.

The minutes further state: “The Programme Director, AEW&C stated that CABS has proposed two options with different configuration and endurance. DCAS asked him to submit a clear proposal of what can be achieved with a 24T aircraft.”

The Defence Ministry is also expected to seek information from Brazil and the US through Indian defence attachés deployed in Indian embassies in the two countries.

According to the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, Embraer had allegedly engaged a UK-based defence middleman and paid him kickbacks in order to ink the deal with India. Media reports further alleged that Embraer officials had paid commissions to middlemen in order to finalise similar deals in Saudi Arabia. The US Justice Department has been scrutinising Embraer’s deal with India.

The newspaper report claimed that the Brazil based company came under the US scanner after the US Justice Department smelled a rat in 2010 following the former’s contract with the Dominican Republic.

In 2008, a $208 million deal with Embraer was signed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for three ERJ-145 aircraft to build indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems for the Indian Air Force. The three aircraft were to serve as an air-borne radar system known as airborne early-warning and control systems or AEWCS for the Indian Air Force.

Significantly, the Embraer deal reminds one of the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam due to the many similarities. Both Embraer and Augusta deals were inked when S.P. Tyagi was the Air Force chief and A.K. Antony was the Defence Minister.

Both deals were cleared between 2008 and 2010 despite alternative options being available. In both deals, UK based middlemen and aircraft company officials are allegedly involved.

Drdo

DRDO working on health monitor for soldiers

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TNN | Sep 17, 2016,
drdo_logo_new-copyTrichy: The Defence Research and Development Organisation is working on a wearable health monitoring system for soldiers, said P S Pandian, director-technology, DRDO, Bengaluru, explaining the varied scope of bio medical research for students.
Speaking at the inauguration of the instrumentation and control engineering department at the National Institute of Technology here on Friday, Pandian said that as long as we perform normal activities without much strain, we may not be able to identify or detect any serious health problem.
Gone are the days when we think about ailments affecting people in their 40s or 50s; even 20-year-olds with no such family medical history get diabetes and high blood pressure. A device that will keep track of a person’s health condition and send alerts much before an ailment becomes serious will help avoid crises. Such gadgets gain significance as they can save the lives of soldiers, he said.
Medical devices technologies have the potential to transform the world of healthcare as the internet did to the world of commerce. In future, people will be able to turn on tele-health products in their homes with a healthcare provider, acquire medical data and information and manage their wellness programme, said Pandian.
However, regular calibration, maintenance, testing and certification of the medical devices were needed on a regular basis to obtain the correct prognosis and treatment. He urged students to come forward and work on interdisciplinary areas to develop prototypes.
Pandian said the bio medical industry had grown in a big way and instrumentation and control engineering had become an integral part of our life. Citing the example of automated flight operations which mostly work on instrumentation, Pandian said the progress of control and instrumentation engineering was rapid and had vast scope in the future.
N Sivakumaran, head, ICE department, said students of the department need to work more on prototype developments in healthcare technology. The growth of electronics, electrical, mechanical, materials, computers, information technology and communications had led to a large number of medical devices being employed for health care purposes.
Advancements in computing and communications allowed for practices such as “telemedicine,” a system utilising the internet by which patients could be diagnosed and often treated by physicians from far away.

Drdo

Government asks CBI to probe in allegations of corruption in purchase of three Embraer aircrafts

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By Express News Service Published: 15th September 2016 – The New Indian Express
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started analyzing allegations of Brazilian aviation major Embraer hiring a UK-based agent and paying commissions to swing the $208 million deal for three Emb-145 aircraft inked with India during UPA rule in 2008.

The government had asked the agency to probe in allegations of corruption in the purchase of three Embraer aircraft for Defence Research and Development Organisation in 2008

The agency sources said officials are going through the reference and any decision to start a probe in the matter will be taken soon after analysing all the documents.

If the agency is satisfied that it has enough prima facie evidence to initiate an FIR, it will start or else it might register a preliminary enquiry to gather enough material for registering a regular case, they said.

Government had stated that the allegations were of a serious nature and the CBI will probe.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier this week said that, “If there is a criminal angle, then the CBI will probe as the Ministry cannot”. “If only procedural issues are involved, then the Defence Ministry can do an internal investigation,” he had said.

The deal for purchase of three Embraer aircraft during the UPA regime has kicked up dust with US authorities going into alleged payment of kickbacks. The deal has come under the scanner of the US Justice Department which has been probing Embraer for alleged payment of bribes to secure contracts.
Soon after, the reports of irregularity surfaced, the DRDO has already sought a report from the Brazilian firm, which has said it has been looking into graft allegations over the last five years.

DRDO investigation through report from Brazilian firm is a separate investigation. Parallel investigation has been started by CBI

The Special Investigation Team probing AgustaWestland bribery scandal will also probe this scam.

The deal was signed in 2008 between Embraer and the DRDO for three aircraft equipped with indigenous radars for AEW&C (airborne early warning and control systems). The first “modified” aircraft was delivered to DRDO in 2011, with the other two following later.

After several missed deadlines, the AEW&C project is now slated to be completed by December. Present DRDO chief S Christopher was the AEW&C programme director and head of the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS) before he was chosen to head DRDO in May 2015 by the NDA government.

Sources claimed that role of the committee, comprised of officials from IAF and DRDO is also under scanner, which shortlisted the Embraer deal.

Brazil’s top newspaper, the ‘Folha de Sao Paulo’, had reported on September 8 that the possible bribery in the 2008 Indian deal was under the scanner of the US justice department, which has been investigating Embraer since 2010, after a contract with the Dominican Republic raised suspicion. The scope of the investigation has now been widened to examine Embraer’s dealings with eight other countries, including India and Saudi Arabia.

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Narayana Murthy named Director of RCI, DRDO

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14 September2016 – BuisnessLine – The HIDU

BHVS Narayana Murthy
                                                                                      BHVS Narayana Murthy

HYDERABAD, SEP 14.: BHVS Narayana Murthy, an expert in Avionics has been appointed as Director, Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), Hyderabad.

During the past three decades he has made contributions towards design, development and delivery of onboard computers, Missile launch processors, real-time mission software etc

He is an alumni of NIT, Warangal. For his contributions to various defence R&D projects, he won several awards and recognitions. The Astronautical Society of India Rocket and Related Technologies Award, AGNI Award for Excellence in Self Reliance as a team Leader, DRDO Scientist of the Year Award being some of them.

The RCI is a premier DRDO laboratory of APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex spearheading the design, development and delivery of state-of-the-art Avionics Systems for entire Indian missile development programmes.

The Avionics Systems (Onboard computers, Navigation, Control) developed under the leadership of Narayana Murthy has played a key role in the success of the Indian ICBM class Agni 5 and other missions, said a DRDO press release.

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Embraer aircraft deal: Defence Ministry asks CBI to probe allegations

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By: PTI | New Delhi – September 14, 2016 -The New Indian Express
The deal for purchase of three Embraer aircraft during the UPA regime has kicked up dust with US authorities going into alleged payment of kickbacks.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier this week said that, “If there is a criminal angle then the CBI will probe as the Ministry cannot”. (AP Photo)
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier this week said that, “If there is a criminal angle then the CBI will probe as the Ministry cannot”. (AP Photo)

The Defence Ministry has asked the CBI to probe allegations that kickbacks were paid in the USD 208 million Embraer aircraft deal that DRDO had struck with the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer during the UPA rule in 2008. Government sources said that since the allegations were of a serious nature, the CBI has been asked to probe. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier this week said that, “If there is a criminal angle then the CBI will probe as the Ministry cannot”.
“If only procedural issues are involved, then the Defence Ministry can do an internal investigation,” he had said. The deal for purchase of three Embraer aircraft during the UPA regime has kicked up dust with US authorities going into alleged payment of kickbacks. The deal has come under the scanner of the US Justice Department which has been probing Embraer for alleged payment of bribes to secure contracts.
DRDO has already sought a report from the Brazilian firm, which has said it has been looking into graft allegations over the last five years. The deal was signed in 2008 between Embraer and the DRDO for three aircraft equipped with indigenous radars for AEW&C (airborne early warning and control systems).

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier this week said that, “If there is a criminal angle then the CBI will probe as the Ministry cannot”. (AP Photo)

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DRDO sets timeline for fixing grievances to discourage direct complaint to PM Modi

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By Pradip R. Sagar 14 September 2016 The New Indian Express
modi_afp-14-sept-16

NEW DELHI: As scientists involved in defence research continue to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with their grievances, DRDO headquarters has asked all its department heads to take timely action on these complaints to avoid direct communication with PM or Defence minister.

Following series of complaints, the DRDO’s vigilance department has now fixed a deadline to complete probe into any grievance within in ten days of receipt of complaint.

Days after assuming office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked government officials to give their suggestions directly to his office. But, within months, the PMO’s desk handling grievances was flooded with hundreds of representations. To address complaints, Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, in August 2015 issued an instruction that writing directly to the PMO by violating the prescribed channel of communication has to be viewed ‘seriously’ and is liable for ‘disciplinary action’.

But, despite strict instructions from the Cabinet Secretariat, several scientists have been continuously approaching prime minister’s office and defence minister.

“In absence of appropriate action to be taken on such complaints, the complainant addresses his grievances to various authorities including the Raksha Mantri (defence minister) and Prime Minister’s Office,” according to an stinker from the vigilance department head of the DRDO, Dr. JP Singh, Director, Vigilance and security writes..

“It has been noted with concern that neither any timely action is taken by the head of Clusters or establishment on complaints which are addressed to them, nor any action taken report is forwarded by them headquarters,”

Vigilance department believe that because of in-action by concerned Clusters or Establishments in the DRDO, ‘copious correspondence among various government agencies take place as all the complaints were processed as per extant of guidelines of the DoPT.

“All heads of Clusters/ Laboratories/ Establishments and Units are requested to take timely action on complaint directly addressed to them and forward Action Taken Report to the Chief Comptroller with ten days of the receipt of complaint,” Dr. JP Singh, Director, Vigilance and security writes.

Citing a Cabinet Secretary note on official communication channel, the DRDO headquarters in August last year, had issued detailed instructions to all its laboratories for strict compliance regarding representations being sent directly to higher authorities bypassing the prescribed channel of communication.14-sept-16-the-new-indian-express

Drdo

CBI will probe Embraer deal if evidence of criminality found, says Parrikar

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September 11, 2016 – THE HINDU
‘Will make a statement only after studying the DRDO report’

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said he might recommend a CBI probe into the Embraer aircraft deal if it displayed “criminal nature” after the DRDO wrote to the Brazilian company seeking details of the deal involving three EMB 145 aircraft.

“I have directed the DRDO to send a complete report on the deal by Monday. I will study the report first before making any concrete statement on the issue but I can tell you as of now that if it displays criminal nature, I will hand over the case for CBI probe,” Mr. Parrikar told media persons in Vadodara.

He said: “If there were procedural issues, then an internal inquiry will be ordered.”

The deal

India has asked an explanation from the Brazilian aircraft-maker Embraer following media reports of an international investigation into the alleged payment of bribes to secure an aircraft deal in 2008.

A U.S.-Brazil investigation into the Embraer deal, uncovered a bribery case, leading to a deal between the company and DRDO in 2008.

According to Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, Embraer had been under investigation by the United States Justice Department since 2010 “when a contract with the Dominican Republic raised the Americans’ suspicions.”

India had signed a $208-million deal in 2008 for procuring three Emb-145 aircraft.

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CBI may probe Embraer deal, if needed, hints Parrikar

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ANI | Sep 11, 2016,- The Times of India
VADODARA: With the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) writing to Brazilian company Embraer, seeking details on a report that it employed an agent to sell three EMB 145 aircraft to the DRDO in 2008, defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday asserted that if the issues display a criminal nature, then it will be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Speaking to the media here, Parrikar stated he has asked the DRDO to submit a complete report on the matter on Monday, and it will be only after that that he can make a concrete statement.
“I am not going to give a knee-jerk reaction and just make a statement based on rumours. I have asked for a report, which will be submitted on Monday, and if the issues are of a criminal nature, then we can forward this case to the CBI for a criminal investigation. If there are just procedural issues, then we can do an internal investigation,” Parrikar said.
Admitting that he was himself unaware on several nuances of the issue since it happened in 2008, the defence minister reiterated that he will make a composite statement on the case only after he gets the report on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked the Centre to probe the aircraft bribery allegations linked to manufacturers of the Embraer.
A joint US-Brazil investigation into Embraer has uncovered a bribery case leading to a deal signed between the company and DRDO in 2008 for three aircraft equipped with indigenous radars for AEW&C (airborne early warning and control systems).
The company has been under the scanner of the United States Justice Department since 2010 after a contract with the Dominican Republic raised suspicions.
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