Tag Archives: MMRCA

Drdo

Antony talks tough, says will cancel ‘murky’ deals

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TNN Mar 30, 2012, 01.32AM IST

NEW DELHI: India will not hesitate for a moment to cancel any defence deal, even if it’s in the final stages of finalization after technical and commercial evaluations, if any malpractice or corruption is found in it.

With murky wheeling and dealing in arms deals again resurfacing after Army chief General V K Singh’s allegations as well as some unsubstantiated charges of irregularities in the $20-billion MMRCA project doing the rounds, defence minister A K Antony on Thursday made it clear that action would be taken even if the contract had already been inked.

India, said Antony, had enough safeguards like the “integrity pact” to protect its “interests and money” in already-inked contracts worth over Rs 100 crore. “We will take strong action if any malpractice, corruption or lobbying is established…there will be no mercy, there is zero-tolerance for corruption,” he said while speaking at the inauguration of the ‘DefExpo-2012’ here.

As for the MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project, under which final commercial negotiations are now being held to acquire 126 French Rafale fighters after elimination of other contenders, Antony said an inquiry was being conducted into an MP’s complaint of alleged wrongdoings in it since the government has to be “careful” at every stage to ensure “no foul play”.

Two of the 15 members in the defence ministry’s Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC) have questioned the methods adopted to conclude that Rafale was cheaper than Eurofighter Typhoon in lifecycle costs.

“But the matter was resolved, with the observations of the two being recorded…all committees face dissent from one or more members…it does not mean the process will come to a stop,” said a senior official.

Antony said the CNC would take at least six months to conclude. Then, there will several layers of scrutiny at different levels, ranging from finance to the Cabinet Committee of Security, to vet the deal.

“We do not throw any complaint into the dustbin. There is a parallel inquiry also going on to inquire into the MP’s complaint. If we are satisfied that there is no foul play, then only will we go forward…We will proceed only if everything is clear,” he said.

Drdo

Tatra trucks are fine, says DRDO Chief

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Surinder Jeet (USA)
01 Apr, 2012 02:03 AM
V K Saraswat has not answered the general’s allegations. The general has said that Tatra is too expensive. DRDO has not disputed it. That Tatra is delivering the service is like saying Bofors Guns are firing. They should. Can Tatra or similar truck be bought from other suupliers? Will they give more for the same money or will they cost less. DRDO would be wise not to drag itself into lime light. As it is it is in trouble for its own scandals and poor performance. My question now is,”why did they enter the fray?. What is their interest”?

jk (delhi)
01 Apr, 2012 01:48 AM
Everybody is trying to cover their as***, DRDO is a joke, even after many decades what indeginious product has come out of their stable?, even if there is one or two, are they being mass produced and are they world class that they are being exported?. This and other public sectors are a drain on the economy. I have a feeling DRDO’s palm has been greased and money exchanged to go for these trucks.

RAhul (Delhi)
01 Apr, 2012 01:35 AM
DRDO is scinetists are just feeding on tax payers money.If we need to procure defense equipment from pverseas suppliers…Why not close down DRDO.

subhash (h.pur)
01 Apr, 2012 01:23 AM
Mr. VK Sarasvat, The strength of the elephant is not under the clot but the cost.We are paying the price of 5 elephant to get only 3 . Kickback; corruption and nazrana ,whatever you call is the issue.

aks (USA)
31 Mar, 2012 11:43 PM
EXcept one or two divisions in DRDO all others are either doing nothing or are useless for nation, the so called scientists go to office to search internet play computer games and to gossip… I have tonnes of friends in DRDO and what I am saying here is there daily routine Most of the things made by DRDO is either obselete or useless for army and airforce… therefore we have to go for an MMRCA or BARHMOS as DRDO is incapable ….even the engine for LCA has still to come …DRDO is a political agency , where people know how to make comments like our incapable , despicable politicians

dkddn2 (delhi)
31 Mar, 2012 11:35 PM
Saraswat should be ashamed of heading of an organisation that cannot create anything but rebrand the foreign products. Is he not ashamed of the fact that DRDO had not been able to identify an Indian manufacturer for these missiles ? DRDO is infact a middleman now.

Abihshek (India) replies to dkddn2
01 Apr, 2012 12:29 AM
I don’t know about now but atleast in 2005, even to sit for an interview with DRDO/ISRO, the candidate had to be among the top 3 or 5 of his class. It was dream to work for them but I couldn’t even sit for the interview. And I’m sure everybody knows what kind of people are USUALLY among the top 3, especially in India. So a majority of people who work for these organizations are rote-learners who can memorize and score in exams but are not creative. I’m now working abroad in an Aerospace company who were happy to accept me. There would be thousands like me who would be dying to work for these organizations but can’t due their stupid recruitment policies.

Arif (India)
31 Mar, 2012 11:28 PM
That shows intelligence of DRDO chief. Either he is on drugs or does not understand issue. Issue is about :(1) Bribe (2) Middleman (violation of rule) (3) When Tata and Ashok Leland can produce better trucks then why Tatra?

 

Bloger

Indian Mig 21 nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

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Gursimran Khamba , Hindustan Times
October 10, 2011
First Published: 17:07 IST(10/10/2011)
Last Updated: 17:31 IST(10/10/2011 

The Indian Air Force came in for a surprise today as the Nobel Foundation in Sweden nominated the Mig 21 for the Peace Prize in 2012, shortly after announcing Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman as winners for 2011. In a press release, the Nobel Foundation states “We would like

to appreciate the role of the IAF Mig-21 which is the most prominent aircraft to reject the notion of war by deciding to crash in entirety before any conflict arises, thus saving thousands of innocent lives. Unlike Barack Obama who was given the prize despite being at war with two countries, the Mig 21 is only at war with its inability to survive a flight.”

Indian defence analysts however were not amused. “This seems like an attempt by the Scandinavians to mock the equipment levels of the Indian Air Force. They are probably still peeved that the SAAB Gripen got rejected by the IAF for the 126 MMRCA fighter contract, and they’re using the Nobel Foundation as a front to publicly humiliate us. If they really had to award an Indian institution why not the DRDO which till date hasn’t made a defence product that works? Or why not Narendra Modi, whose fans would have you believe that the recently concluded Sadbhavna yatra is the biggest thing since the Dandi March?”

Left wing groups have called the announcement an imperialist conspiracy to destabalise India. Rita Menon, a prominent social activist who issues a lot of press releases that media houses throw in the trashcan without even looking said, “This is nothing but a technique for Scandinavians to penetrate the burgeoning Indian market like the white people who wanted to organize Miss World in 2006. India hasn’t given a shit about the Peace Prize ever since Gandhi didn’t get one. Mark my words, in five years they will get desperate and nominate Aamir Khan for building inter-faith peace and harmony”.