India Air Force to upgrade 8 ALGs in Northeast

In the next three years, the IAF will upgrade eight Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) in the northeast to strengthen its capabilities to carry out aircraft operations in that region.

"We are planning to upgrade eight ALGs in the northeast... By August, we are expected to sign the contract and in next three years, our capabilities would be improved in that region," Air Chief marshal P V Naik told reporters here.


The IAF chief said the upgrading of the ALGs along with the upgrade of the airfields there was the focus area for the force and more such fields were planned under the 12th Plan.

The IAF is strengthening its capabilities in the northeastern sector in view of the increased military presence of China along its border with India.

IAF has already based Sukhoi-30MKI fighters at airbases like Tezpur and Chabua.

ALGs in areas including Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Tuting, Ziro, Along and Vijaynagar as well as several helipads in Arunachal Pradesh are also being upgraded now, much like the western sector ALGs like Daulat Beg Oldi, Fukche and Nyoma in eastern Ladakh.

An empowered committee (on North-East infrastructure development) under the Chief of Air Staff-designate Air Marshal NAK Browne is continuously monitoring upgradation of the facilities, creation of new infrastructure and induction of assets in this region.

Asked about the gaps in intelligence set up, the IAF chief said, "Gaps in intelligence will exist in many countries as you would want more and more of it.

"There have been lot of moves by the Home Ministry in terms of combining the intelligence inputs of various agencies and it is paying dividends. Things have improved from what they were earlier."
Source : htt p://zeenews. india. com/news/nation/iaf-to-upgrade-8-algs-in-northeast_722295.html

Ajai Shukla: Building a submarine fleet in india

The Indian Navy has acted decisively over the years to create the capability and infrastructure needed for building surface battleships, but it has dithered in setting up an industry that could build submarines. Consequently, even as India’s 140-ship surface fleet is an imposing presence across a swathe of the northern Indian Ocean Region (IOR) from the Gulf of Hormuz to the Strait of Malacca, its 14 diesel-electric submarines hardly provide a matching underwater capability. Meanwhile, China, with at least 53 conventional and seven nuclear attack submarines (SSNs), poses a viable threat to our waters. Even Pakistan is boosting its submarine fleet to 11 vessels, of which nine will have air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems that are superior to anything in the Indian Navy.What makes submarines so important? Naval warfare is about gaining “sea control”, or dominating an operationally important tract of water. In a war with China or Pakistan “sea control” would enable the Indian Navy to bottle up enemy warships in their harbours; prevent seaborne operations by the enemy; and block commercial vessels from resupplying those countries. Sea control is a rich man’s game, requiring the deployment of naval assets in multiple dimensions: underwater, surface, aerial and space. India can hope to gain sea control only in its vicinity, ie the northern IOR. Then there is “sea denial”, a less force-intensive, spoiler’s option in which a navy deploys submarines and lays mines to deny the enemy sea control. For example, three or four Pakistani submarines lurking off India’s west coast would tie up Indian naval assets in locating and neutralising them, diverting those Indian vessels from the task of sea control. The longer a submarine can lurk underwater, ie “remain on patrol”, the longer it ties down enemy assets. Diesel-electric submarines like the Indian Navy’s must resurface periodically to charge their batteries, giving away surprise. In contrast, submarines with air-independent propulsion (AIP), and SSNs, can remain submerged far longer.
The Indian Navy, which aspires to “blue water” capability, must be capable of sea control in certain sectors, as well as sea denial further away, for example, at the choke points leading into the Indian Ocean from the South China Sea. That requires at least 24 conventional submarines for our coastal waters; and at least five to seven SSNs that can carry out sea denial for extended durations at very long ranges.
Unfortunately, the building of such a submarine force has been beset with blunders. The Indian Navy makes do with 14 old-style, diesel-electric submarines, of which just seven or eight are operational at any time. Six Scorpene submarines are currently being built under Project 75, but when they come on stream by late 2018 an almost equivalent number will have retired from the current fleet.
The ministry of defence (MoD) and the navy are aware of this crisis. In 1999, the Cabinet approved a 30-Year Submarine Construction Plan, for constructing 24 conventional submarines in India. Two simultaneous construction lines were to build six submarines each. One line was to use western technology; and the other Russian know-how. Based on this experience, Indian designers would build the next 12 submarines.
Twenty years after the plan was finalised, in 2019, India will have built just six Scorpene submarines. The reason is as simple as it is astonishing: with Indian shipyards competing to build tens of thousands of crore rupees worth of submarines, the MoD has failed spectacularly to bring any order to this melee. Instead of adjudicating decisively, setting up design and construction partnerships, and placing orders in good time, the MoD has – in typical Antony style – avoided a decision. Instead, it has set up committee after committee to identify which shipyard should get the orders. The latest, the Krishnamurthi Committee, has submitted split findings, setting the stage for Mr Antony to launch a fresh round of doing nothing.
It is time to thin out the crowded field of aspirants. Within the public sector, only Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) has built submarines. Its ongoing Project 75 to build six Scorpene submarines should be extended by another three vessels. Of these nine vessels, the last six must have AIP and the ability to fire missiles, changes that can be made easily. This should be India’s west coast production line.
On the east coast, L&T (which has gained experience building India’s nuclear submarine, the Arihant) should be permitted to join hands with Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), the MoD’s new shipyard in Vishakhapatnam, for building a second line of submarines with Russian technology. The L&T-HSL JV should also be designated the node for developing and building a line of SSNs, which remains a glaring hole in India’s defence capabilities. Every other country with nuclear submarine capability first built SSNs before developing the technology for SSBNs, as nuclear ballistic missile submarines are called. India alone has begun with a complex SSBN (the INS Arihant) and is continuing building more SSBNs without taking on the simpler design challenge of SSNs. Now, having leased the INS Chakra, an Akula class SSN, from Russia for the next ten years, India must integrate these experiences into an indigenous SSN line.
Meanwhile, the MoD must ensure that the expensive (Rs 6,000 crore) technology that it bought for the Scorpene, and will buy for the Russian submarine line, fructifies into a world-class indigenous design. This will require close involvement from the navy’s integral design establishment. A concurrent role must be allocated to NIRDESH, the newly set up National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding.
source : htt p://business-standard. com/india/news/ajai-shukla-buildingsubmarine-fleet/446636/

India Russia T50-2 PAKFA flame-out at MAKS air show

Flightglobal's Moscow-based correspondent Vladimir Karnozov was at the scene at 13:57 yesterday afternoon when Sukoi's T50-2 prototype experienced a dramatic flame-out at the ends of the MAKS 2011 air show. He files this witness report:

"Two bursts of flames erupted from the right engine and two loud "bumps" were heard. Thanks to the great length of the Ramenskoye runway - 5000 meters - the pilot managed to bring the airplane to a stop well before the aerodrome fence, but had to deploy brake parachute in addition to wheel brakes. The incident happened before eyes of some 200,000 visitors gathered to watch flight display. That day Sukhoi test-pilot Sergei Bogdan was to perform in the second operable PAKFA prototype, referred to as the T-50-2 or Side 52. Sukhoi admitted that the airplane suffered a technical malfunction and said the pilot acted "in accordance with manuals". The airframer ads the T-50-2 did not have any damage, while playing down the earlier media reports that the right NPO Saturn Item 117 engine developed surge. Rather, the company attributed it to "malfunctioning fuel supply system" in one case and "engine's FADEC" in another. The latter is strange since Sukhoi and Saturn claimed earlier the Item-117-powered PAKFA differs from the Su-35 with similar FADEC-equipped Item 117S engines in having a centralized comprehensive control system for flight controls, onboard systems and powerplant, which is a feature of fifth-generation fighters as opposed to fourth generation. Further to Sukhoi embarrassment, immediately after the incident the show organizers promised the public that the PAKFA would fly, calling for the first operable prototype T-50-1 to takeoff. But as the show closed down four hours later, the promise did not materialize. Rumors had it that the T-50-1 had gone to repairs shortly after flat-out flight performance on 17 August before Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin."

 Source : htt p://www.flightglobal. com/blogs/the-dewline/2011/08/video-witness-report-from-t50-.html

No compromise on nuclear safety: Manmohan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted on Wednesday that there would be no compromise on the safety of nuclear installations and officials had been instructed to ensure that such units had world-class safety facilities.

Dr. Singh, however, said: “ ... because there is a nuclear threat we must put a stop to the country's economic and social progress and technological development, and that we should not make use of new technologies and not exploit the potential that exists would be a counsel of despair. I don't believe that it does justice to our capabilities to meet the challenges that are on the horizon.”

Dr. Singh was replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on the safety of nuclear power stations vis-à-vis the accident in the Fukushima plant in Japan after it was hit by tsunami last year. He said concerns relating to the safety requirements of the nation's nuclear installations were paramount in the minds of the government and the Department of Atomic Energy.

After the Japan tragedy, he asked the atomic energy establishment to look at the safety features of each and every plant, both by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. “So, you have my assurance that we will not compromise in any way on nuclear safety.” 

source : htt p://www.thehindu. com/news/national/article2392302.ece

The Dalai Lama's War

IN THE late autumn of 1962, there was a short, intense border war between India and China. It resulted in the complete rout of an underprepared and poorly led Indian Army. For the two rising powers, the battle—and its outcome—was seen in national, civilizational and ideological terms. These nations were, or at least saw themselves as, carriers of ancient civilizations that had produced great literature, philosophy, architecture, science and much else, but whose further evolution had been rudely interrupted by Western imperialists. India became free of British rule in 1947; China was united under Communist auspices in 1949. The recovery of their national independence was viewed as the prelude to the reemergence of China and India as major forces in the world.
Thus, the defeat of 1962 was at once a defeat of the Indian Army by its Chinese counterpart, a defeat of democracy by Communism, a defeat of one large new nation by another and a defeat of one ancient civilization at the hands of another. In India, the defeat was also interpreted in personal terms, as the defeat of Jawaharlal Nehru, who had held the offices of prime minister and foreign minister continuously since independence in 1947.
That debacle at the hands of China still hangs as a huge cloud over Nehru’s reputation. And there is an intriguing comparison to be made here with his fellow Harrovian, Winston Churchill. British historian Robert Rhodes James once wrote a book called Churchill: A Study in Failure, whose narrative stopped at 1939. It excavated, perhaps in excessive detail, its subject’s erratic and undistinguished career before that date. But of course, all Churchill’s failures were redeemed by his heroic leadership in World War II. It is tempting to see Nehru’s career as being Churchill’s in reverse; marked as it was for many decades by achievement and success, these nullified by the one humiliating failure which broke his nation’s morale and broke his own spirit and body. The war began in October 1962; a year and a half later, Nehru was dead.
It is a legacy that still haunts the Sino-Indian relationship.
NEHRU WAS long interested in (and influenced by) China. His prolific writings—books, letters, speeches—reveal much of the man and how he came to be so deeply misled by the threat he (and his country) faced. Nehru saw China at once as peer, comrade and soul mate. His first major book, Glimpses of World History, published in 1934, puts his predilections on full display. It has as many as 134 index references to the Middle Kingdom. These refer to, among other things, different dynasties (the Tang, Han, Qin, etc), corruption, Communism, civil war, agriculture and banditry. Already, the pairing of China and India was strongly imprinted in Nehru’s framework. Thus China is referred to as “the other great country of Asia” and as “India’s old-time friend.” There was a manifest sympathy with its troubles at the hands of foreigners. The British were savaged for forcing humiliating treaties and opium down the throats of the Chinese, this being an illustration of the “growing arrogance and interference by the western Powers.”
In all his pre-1947 writings, Nehru saw China from the lens of a progressive anti-imperialist, from which perspective India and China were akin and alike, simultaneously fighting Western control as well as feudal remnants in their own societies. Chiang Kai-shek and company, like Nehru and company, were at once freedom fighters, national unifiers and social modernizers. It stood to reason that, when finally rid of foreign domination, the two neighbors would be friends and partners.
In the spring of 1947, with India’s freedom imminent, Nehru organized the Asian Relations Conference in New Delhi. Representatives of Asian nations already free or struggling for independence from European rulers were in attendance. There, Nehru called China “that great country to which Asia owes so much and from which so much is expected.” The conference itself he characterized as

an expression of that deeper urge of the mind and spirit of Asia which has persisted in spite of the isolationism which grew up during the years of European domination. As that domination goes, the walls that surrounded us fall down and we look at each other again and meet as old friends long parted.

Nehru believed that the fundamental areas of disagreement between India and China could be bridged; in particular, the unresolved detritus of the imperialist era that largely centered on Tibet. For back in 1913–14, a meeting was held in the British imperial summer capital, Shimla, convened by the government of India and attended by Chinese and Tibetan representatives (Tibet was by then enjoying a period of substantial, indeed near-complete, political autonomy from Chinese overlordship). Here the McMahon Line (which sought to demarcate the frontiers of British India) was drawn. When India became independent in 1947 it recognized this boundary, which largely followed the path of the Himalaya, and adopted it as its own. By this, Nehru and his government thought that the border between India and China, determined at the Shimla Conference, had been reaffirmed.
Even when the Communists took power on the mainland in 1949 and began to voice their reservations about the McMahon Line, the prime minister continued to give Beijing the benefit of the doubt. So did other influential Indians. The ambassador to China, K. M. Panikkar, was greatly impressed by the new ruler, comparing Mao Tse-tung to his own boss, Nehru. Both, he claimed—or fantasized—“are men of action with dreamy, idealistic temperaments,” both “humanists in the broadest sense of the term.”
source : htt p://nationalinterest. org/article/the-dalai-lamas-war-5742

Lieutenant, did you die in vain?

You will not get the adulation from the government that a martyred soldier gets in the US.

Your name will not be read out in any obituary reference in Parliament, as is done in the UK for all soldiers who fall in combat in the line of duty.
Your name will not be etched on any national memorial because we do not have one.
Sarvar Bali salutes Lieutenant Navdeep Singh, 26, who died fighting terrorists in the Kashmir [ Images ] valley last week.
I learnt about your demise from the ticker tape on one of the news channels. It was a big encounter and a very fierce one at that. A feeling of deep sadness enveloped me as I reflected on your youth which had been sacrificed in the Gurez sector in the line of duty.
What does your death mean?
You were too young to die, far too young! For whom and for what did you die then? This question haunted me last night and I will attempt to answer you.
You were probably from a village or a small town of India. You were perhaps the son of an army officer or JCO, or from an urban or rural civilian background. You could not be from one of the big cities where iron has entered the soul of our youth and where the only driving motivator is quest for money in the surreal environment of the corporate world.
Why did you join the army? Of course to get a job. But then that is over simplifying the question. You were possibly motivated by the traditions in your family and clan, you were probably enthused by the sight of your elder brothers, uncles or other men from your community in uniform, you were perhaps enchanted by the cantonment life where you may have spent your growing years.
On your last journey, you would not have got the adulation from the government that a martyred soldier gets in the US. Your name will not be read out in any obituary reference in Parliament, as is done in the UK for all soldiers who fall in combat in the line of duty. Your name will not be etched on any national memorial because we do not have one!
Symbolically you will become the Unknown Soldier for the nation, for whom the flame burns at India Gate, but your name will not be etched there. The names engraved on that monument are of the soldiers who died fighting for the British Indian Army [ Images ] and not those who have made the supreme sacrifice for Independent India! Can it get more ironic?
But do not despair, Lieutenant. Your comrades will do you proud! The senior-most officer would have led the homage that your brother officers will pay you before you left the Valley of Kashmir one last time. Your unit representatives must have escorted your body home. You would have been carried to the funeral pyre draped in the flag for which you died fighting.
The darkened and tearful eyes of your grief-stricken mother and the stoic figure of your father, benumbed by the enormity of this tragedy, will move even the most cynical.
I do not know Lieutenant at what stage of the encounter you fell, mortally wounded. But the fact that you were there on the lonely vigil across the Line of Control [ Images ] in Gurez, is enough to vouch for your valour. Your unit and formation commanders will see to it that you get the gallantry award which you so richly deserve. In due time your father or your mother will be presented the medal and parchment of your gallantry, which will be framed and find pride of place in your home.
Time will dull the bitterness of this tragic parting, which right now is the only feeling that engulfs your parents and siblings in its enormity.
Lieutenant you were lucky. You did not live long enough to get married and leave behind a grieving widow. You did not live long enough to have children. For when they would have come of age you would have seen in them a cynicism towards the army for which you died.
You will not see a young son who thinks his father is a hero and wants to follow his footsteps in joining the army only to be harshly dissuaded by his mother (or father) from following a profession which ranks so low for the youth of our country.
You were lucky not to serve long enough to see the army getting belittled. You did not live long enough to see the utter indifference and disdain for the army. Like you, a large number of valiant soldiers laid down their lives on the rocky heights of Kargil [ Images ], fighting against self-imposed odds. Today it is not even felt fit to publicly commemorate the anniversary of that stupendous military victory in a befitting manner, a war won by the blood of young men.
But do not despair Lieutenant. Your name will be etched for posterity in the annals of your Unit and your Regiment. A silver trophy with your name inscribed on it, will grace the centre table of the Unit mess. You will also find your name in the unit Quarter Guard, where annual homage will also be paid to you. The war memorials at the Formation HQ where you served and your Regimental Centre will proudly display your name for eternity.
If you joined the Army through the NDA, your name will be written in the Hut of Remembrance through which each cadet will pass, paying homage before his Passing Out Parade.
There will be an obituary reference to you from your comrades in the papers, which will be flipped over by most but which will be read in detail by people who have a connect with those who wear or wore the uniform.
As your parents head into the evening of their life, memories of your valour will be their most precious possession. When ever your mother will think of you her eyes will mist over but there will be more stars in them than you ever wore on your shoulders.
Your father may speak quietly about you but no one will miss the swell of pride in his chest. For your siblings you will always remain the real hero, and for that matter even for your community and village. A school or a road may well be named after you and you will become a part of the local folklore.
You died Lieutenant, because when the test came, you decided that you could not let down your family, your clan and your comrades, who always expected, without ever saying so, to do your duty. You, Lieutenant, have done more than your duty and made your memory their hallowed possession.
Lieutenant you did not die in vain!

Source : htt p://www.bharat-rakshak. com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=15074

IAF lost 46 fighters in 7 years: Govt

Indian Air Force (IAF) has in all lost 46 fighter aircraft in little less than seven years since 2005, government said on Wednesday.
"During 2008 to August 17, 2011, a total of 26 fighter planes of IAF had crashed. During the preceding three-year period of 2005 to 2008, 20 IAF fighter planes had crashed," defence minister A K Antony told the Rajya Sabha.
Replying to a question on crashes involving fighter planes, the minister said, "The makes of these fighter planes were MiGs, Su-30 MKI and Jaguar. Six pilots were killed in these crashes."

Source : htt p://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes. com/2011-08-24/india/29921585_1_indian-air-force-iaf-fighter-aircraft

Hooda punished for role in Adarsh: Army chief

The chief of Army Staff, General VK Singh, on Wednesday said that the army had taken action against retired Major-General R K Hooda, former General Officer (Commanding) for Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa area, who was allotted a flat in the controversial Adarsh housing society.

"The commission on inquiry (CoI) has punished General Hooda for not performing his duty on certain issues in the Adarsh case. As a result, Hooda lost his promotion (as Lt General). Another CoI has been set up to inquire about the transfer of defence land at Kandivli; a report is expected at the earliest. Action will be taken against those officers, however high-ranking they might be, for not doing their duty," Singh said.

The army chief was responding to a query from TOI as to whether the army has taken inspiration from Anna Hazare, an ex-army man, to clean up the system. "Anna is a good man. I would not like to comment further. So far as the army is concerned, I have maintained that we want to clean up the system. This will continue," Singh said.

Singh is in Mumbai for a two-day visit. Earlier, he gave a keynote address, "Indigenization of army supplies", at an event organized by the All India Association of Industries.

In its March 13 edition, TOI had mentioned that a three-man CoI, headed by Lieutenant-General J S Rawat, commandant of the Intelligence School in Pune, did not find any evidence of Hooda misleading superiors about the fact that the land did not belong to the army. However, Hooda was issued a show-cause notice for failing to inform the army headquarters that he has taken a Rs 30-lakh bank loan and withdrawn Rs 5 lakh from his provident fund to pay for the Adarsh flat. n the Adarsh Housing Society scam, Chief of the Army Staff General VK Singh on Wednesday said that the Army had taken action against retired Major General (then serving) R K Hooda, former General Officer Commanding for Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa area and one of the allottees in the 31-storey building.

"The Commission of Inquiry (CoI) has punished General Hooda for not performing his duty on certain issues in the Adarsh case. As a result of which the officer lost his promotion (as Lt General). Another CoI has been set up to inquire transfer of defence land at Kandivali and where, a report is expected at the earliest. Action too will be taken against those officers, however high ranking they might be for not doing their duty," Singh said.

The army chief was responding to a query from ToI to whether the Army had taken any inspiration from Anna Hazare, an ex-army man to clean up the system. "Anna is a good man. I would not like to comment further. So far as the army is concerned, I have maintained that we want to clean up the system. This will continue," said Singh.

Singh is in Mumbai for a two-day visit - the first time after he took over as army chief in 2010. Earlier, he gave a keynote address on "Indigenisation of Army Supplies" at a interactive organized by the All India Association of Industries.

ToI in their March 13 edition had mentioned that a three man CoI headed by Lieutenant General J S Rawat, commandant of the Intelligence School in Pune did not find any evidence of Hooda misleading superiors on the fact that the land did not belong to the army. The former GOC however, was issued a show-cause notice for failing to inform the army headquarters that he had taken a Rs 30-lakh bank loan and withdrawn Rs 5 lakh from the provident fund (PF) to pay for the Adarsh flat. 

sources : htt p://timesofindia.indiatimes. com/city/mumbai/Hooda-punished-for-role-in-Adarsh-Army-chief/articleshow/9726686.cms

Navy prevented 34 piracy attempts in Gulf of Aden

Navy warships have prevented 34piracy attempts and apprehended 120 Somali pirates since theirdeployment in the Gulf of Aden in October 2008.

"26 Indian Navy ships have been deputed in the Gulf ofAden since October 2008. A total of 1,731 ships have beenescorted. 34 piracy attempts have been prevented by the Navythere," Defence Minister A K Antony told the Rajya Sabha inreply to a question. He said a total of 120 pirates have been apprehended and73 fishermen and crew rescued in four operations of Navy inEast Arabian Sea in 2011.

The Minister said the Navy was cooperating with othernavies operating there and the Arabian Sea.

Meanwhile, replying to another query, the Minister saidthe Navy had also played a crucial role in rescuing a Chinesemerchant vessel from being hijacked by the pirates in May thisyear.

Answering another query, the government denied that therewas a scam in the Defence Ministry's department looking afterresettlement and rehabilitation of ex-servicemen.

sources : htt p://zeenews.india. com/news/nation/navy-prevented-34-piracy-attempts-in-gulf-of-aden_728098.html

Mahindra gears up for military march

Taps into group synergies for bigger defence play. With expertise in sectors as diverse as auto and infotech, the $12.5-billion Mahindra Group is tapping into group synergies to roll out its next big bet in the Indian defence space.The Indian Army’s future infantry combat vehicles programme, a $12-billion order to supply 2,600 vehicles, may actually see this playing out on the ground. Mahindras are among the four shortlisted entities, and if selected will actually see group entities Mahindra Satyam and Mahindra Systech collaborating with the defence division
Mahindra Engineering Services, a part of Mahindra Systech, is working on the automotive design aspects, while Mahindra Satyam is creating the information technology backbone, or “battlefield management systems” in the defence parlance. Systech’s role as a key component vendor will increase, once the entire supply chain is put in place.
“We saw defence as an emerging mega trend over a decade back. And, today, Mahindra Defence System (MDS), an operating group under Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) itself, is poised to handle bigger and integrated solutions that are much in demand. We now have the necessary state of readiness to achieve scale and be commercially viable, and can exploit the group advantage,” said Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director of M&M.
India is planning to spend $80-100 billion in defence capital purchases over the next decade. Currently, 70 per cent of this gets imported, though the political establishment has been trying to gradually open up to the Indian private sector.
But Mahindra was rather conservative while outlining the business prospects. “This is a sector where the opportunity is worth billions of dollars. But unlike retail, there is no predictability of orders or easy foreseeable demand patterns. I see this piece to be at least half a billion dollars for us alone in the near term,” he said.
The plans are not just on paper or restricted to prototypes. Already, 1,000 legacy armoured vehicles of MDS have been rolled out for various government services.
In fact, the Mahindras’ defence play is now becoming far more evolved. Defence Land Systems India (DLSI), Mahindra’s 74:26 joint venture with global defence and security company BAE Systems, has reached an inflection point, with the commercial roll-outs of its mine protection vehicles (MPVs), a first for the Indian private sector.
“It’s not about slapping steel. These MPVs are significantly different from our other auto platforms. We have altered the chassis, which has been supplied by Russian truck manufacturer Ural, and have indigenised the manufacturing to make it custom-made for Indian conditions,” said Mahindra.
The alliance with BAE has helped in technology and product capability transfer from BAE’s South African arm, OMC.
From its Faridabad facility, the first batch of six MPV-I vehicles will be headed for Jharkhand to assist armed forces in counter insurgency operations. Already, states like Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh have shown interest. “We are also expecting follow-on orders from Jharkhand,” said Khutub Hai, managing director and chief executive officer of DLSI. “The ministry of home affairs has a requirement of around 300 MPVs, for which request for proposals will be issued shortly.”
“Our vehicles are the most powerful in the category. It seats more people (16+2), as opposed to 10+2 in others. It also has a much higher level of improvised explosive device protection,” explained Hai.
According to Mahindra, BAE is the partner for all initiatives in land systems and depending on demand dynamics, it may even extend to include light artillery weapons like howitzers. But company officials said over the next year, series of initiatives were being planned for a much bigger and diversified interest.
The naval systems piece will get hived off into a wholly owned subsidiary, after which other global joint venture partners are likely to come on board. These partnerships can either be for specific projects or be omnibus in nature. The concentration here will mainly be for niche products of under water weapon systems, but maritime patrol boats could also be looked into. Mahindra Odyssea is already into the powerboats business.
To bridge the gap in defence electronics, M&M is looking at acquiring specialised companies. These buyouts will help integrate the electronics piece with the land, naval and the aerospace verticals. This, in turn, will be the catalyst to develop capabilities for manufacturing complex weapons systems and sub-systems.
Even with BAE, the scope is much larger. The common objective is to leverage India’s low-cost manufacturing and emerge as a hub for a bigger global supply chain. India, however, will be the dominant market to cater to. In this game plan, if required, existing partners or global arms like Navistar and SsangYong can also come on board.
sources : htt p://www.business-standard. com/india/news/mahindra-gearsfor-military-march/447112/

Goldman Sachs faces myriad legal challenges

Conventional wisdom in legal circles has long held that Goldman Sachs might escape further large fines or criminal charges for its role in the 2007-2009 financial crisis after reaching a $550 million settlement with securities regulators in July 2010.

But news that Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and other senior executives have hired their own lawyers, separate from the army of attorneys already retained by the company, was a powerful reminder for markets that Goldman is still the subject of myriad investigations.

Goldman has confirmed that Blankfein and other executives hired outside counsel when the Justice Department began investigating "certain matters" raised by the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Spokesman David Wells said it was a common practice for executives to have separate lawyers from those representing the company, and that Goldman was paying the executives' legal fees. He declined comment on how many executives had hired outside lawyers, or give their names.

Among the legal issues currently facing the bank are:

-- A Justice Department investigation launched after the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations referred its 640-page report on the financial crisis, which included a large section on Goldman's handling of mortgage-backed securities. The panel's chairman, Senator Carl Levin, said Goldman and its executives misled investors and Congress, but said it was up to federal prosecutors to determine if any crimes were committed.

Goldman has said it disagreed with many of the report's conclusions but took seriously the issues addressed. One deal involving collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) marketed as "Hudson," may provide prosecutors with the most compelling case for possible criminal or civil charges, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

-- In June, New York city prosecutors subpoenaed the bank to explain its actions in the run-up to the financial crisis. The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance, is not seeking new documents, according to one source, but wants to ask further questions about the information in the Levin report.

-- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating Goldman as part of a broader probe into the mortgage operations and securitization practices of seven banks. Schneiderman was removed Tuesday from the committee negotiating a nationwide foreclosure settlement with U.S. banks after he objected to a ban on further investigation of fraudulent business practices as part of the settlement.

-- The Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating Goldman's handling of mortgage-backed securities deals. When the SEC settled its case with Goldman last year, it expressly noted that that did not preclude further actions. One source said the SEC viewed the case as a continuing priority.

sources : htt p://economictimes.indiatimes. com/news/international-business/goldman-sachs-faces-myriad-legal-challenges/articleshow/9727859.cms

Syrian forces kill 14 despite Assad pledge

Syrian forces shot dead 14 protesters on Friday despite President Bashar al-Assad's pledge that his crackdown on dissent was over, activists said, as thousands marched across Syria, spurred on by US and European calls for him to step down.

Most of the violence broke out in the southern province of Deraa where the five-month-old uprising against Assad erupted in March, triggering a harsh response in which U.N. investigators say Syrian forces may have committed crimes against humanity.

"Bye-bye Bashar; See you in The Hague," chanted protesters in the central city of Homs. "The people want the execution of the president," shouted a crowd in northern Idlib province, reflecting deepening antipathy to the 45-year-old Assad.

Security forces shot dead five people, including two children, in the town of Ghabaghab south of Damascus, said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Residents and activists in the Deraa towns of Inkhil and Hirak said another eight protesters were killed by security forces and one other died in the Bab Amro district of Homs.

The main midday Muslim prayers held on Friday have been a launchpad for huge rallies across Syria and have seen some of the heaviest bloodshed, with 20 people killed last week in defiant protests where people chanted: "We kneel only to God".

Assad, from the minority Alawite sect in the majority Sunni Muslim nation, told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this week that military and police operations had stopped, but activists say his forces are still shooting at protesters.

"Maybe Bashar al-Assad does not regard police as security forces," said a witness in Hama, where security forces fired machineguns later on Thursday to prevent a night-time protest.

Syrian state television said the deaths in Ghabaghab were caused by gunmen who attacked a police post, killing a policeman and a civilian and wounding two others. It said gunmen also killed one person in Harasta, near Damascus.

Syria has expelled most independent media since the unrest began, making it difficult to verify reports of violence in which the United Nations says 2,000 civilians have been killed. Authorities blame terrorists and extremists for the bloodshed and say 500 soldiers and police have been killed.

SNIPERS ON ROOF Internet footage of Friday's protests suggested that although widespread they were smaller than at their peak in July, before Assad sent tanks and troops into several cities.

A doctor in Zabadani, 30 km (20 miles) northeast of Damascus, said army vehicles were in the town and snipers were on the roof to prevent crowds marching.

Protesters from Syria's Sunni majority resent the power and wealth amassed by some Alawites, who adhere to an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, and want Assad to quit, the dismantling of the security apparatus and the introduction of sweeping reforms.

The violent repression prompted coordinated calls from the United States and European Union on Thursday for Assad to step down and Washington imposed sweeping new sanctions on Syria, which borders Israel, Lebanon and Iraq and is an ally of Iran.

The shape of a post-Assad Syria is unclear, although the disparate opposition, persecuted for decades, has gained a fresh sense of purpose as popular disaffection has spread.

President Barack Obama froze Syrian government assets in the United States, banned US citizens from operating or investing in Syria and prohibited US imports of Syrian oil products.

"The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way," Obama said. "His calls for dialogue and reform have rung hollow while he is imprisoning, torturing and slaughtering his own people."

Adding to international pressure, U.N. investigators said Assad's forces had committed violations that may amount to crimes against humanity. The United Nations plans to send a team to Syria on Saturday to assess the humanitarian situation.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called on Assad to step aside and said the EU was preparing to broaden its own sanctions against Syria. Diplomats said the measures might include a ban on oil imports. Syria exports over a third of its 385,000 barrels per day crude output to Europe.

The United States, Britain and European allies say they will draft a U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution on Syria.

But Russia, which has resisted Western calls for U.N. sanctions, said on Friday it also opposed calls for Assad to step down and believed he needs time to implement reforms.

"We do not support such calls and believe that it is necessary now to give President Assad's regime time to realise all the reform processes that have been announced," Interfax news agency quoted a foreign ministry source as saying.

SANCTIONS IMPACT Despite the dramatic sharpening of Western rhetoric, there is no threat of Western military action like that against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, meaning Assad's conflict with his opponents seems likely to grind on in the streets.

It may also take time for the diplomatic broadside, backed by the new sanctions, to have an impact on the president who took power when his father, Hafez al-Assad, died 11 years ago after three decades in office.

Assad has so far brushed off international pressure and survived years of US and European isolation following the 2005 assassination of Lebanese statesman Rafik al-Hariri, a killing many Western nations held Damascus responsible for.

But Syria's economy, already hit by a collapse in tourism revenue, could be further damaged by Obama's announcement. US sanctions will make it very difficult for banks to finance transactions involving Syrian oil exports.

It will make it also challenging for companies with a large US presence, such as Shell , to continue producing crude in Syria -- although the impact on global oil markets from a potential shutdown of Syria's oil industry would be small compared to that of Libya.

Assad says the protests are a foreign conspiracy to divide Syria and said last week his army would "not relent in pursuing terrorist groups".

U.N. investigators said on Thursday Syrian forces had fired on peaceful protesters, often at short range. Their wounds were "consistent with an apparent shoot-to-kill policy". 

sources : htt p://timesofindia.indiatimes. com/world/middle-east/Syrian-forces-kill-14-despite-Assad-pledge/articleshow/9663959.cms

Egypt to withdraw ambassador to Israel over ambush

Egypt said early Saturday it will withdraw its ambassador from Israel to protest the deaths of five Egyptian security forces in what it called a breach of a peace treaty, sharply escalating tensions between the two countries after a cross-border ambush that killed eight Israelis.Retaliatory violence between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas also spiked in the aftermath of Thursday's attack. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 12 Palestinians, most of them militants, in the Gaza Strip, and nine Israelis have been wounded by Palestinian rockets fired into southern Israel.The Egyptian troops were killed as Israeli soldiers pursued suspected militants from the Gaza Strip who crossed the border from the Sinai Peninsula into southern Israel, killing eight Israelis on Thursday. It was the deadliest attack on Israelis in three years.There were conflicting statements about how the Egyptians were killed, but an Egyptian Cabinet statement said it held Israel ``politically and legally responsible for this incident,'' which it deemed a breach of the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries. It demanded an immediate investigation.In strong language, it said Israel was to blame because lax security from its side allowed the ambush to take place.``The Egyptian ambassador to Israel will be withdrawn until we are notified about the results of an investigation by the Israeli authorities, and receive an apology from its leadership over the sad and hasty remarks about Egypt,'' the Cabinet statement said.It was the first time in nearly 11 years that Egypt decided to withdraw its ambassador from Israel. The last time was in November 2000 when the Egyptians protested what they called excessive use of violence during the second Palestinian uprising.The decision to withdraw Egyptian Ambassador Yasser Reda came as hundreds of protesters have staged demonstrations in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo, raising a Palestinian flag and calling for expulsion of the Israeli ambassador in response to the killings.Egypt's official news agency blamed the Israelis for shooting and killing the five while chasing militants who killed eight Israelis in Thursday's ambush across the border in southern Israel.The Cabinet statement did not repeat that claim but accused Israel of trying to ``shirk responsibility for the recklessness of Israeli security forces in protecting the borders.''Israeli officials did not immediately comment on Egypt's decision, although the military promised on Friday to investigate the shootings.An Israeli military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, initially said a suicide bomber, not Israeli soldiers, killed the Egyptian security forces. He said the attacker had fled back across the border into Egypt and detonated his explosives among the Egyptian troops.Israeli media also reported that some of the sniper fire directed at the Israeli motorists Thursday came from near Egyptian army posts and speculated that the Egyptian troops were killed in the cross fire.It was not possible to reconcile the different versions.``There was an exchange of fire between Israeli soldiers and terrorists on the Egyptian border following the deadly terror attack Thursday morning. We are investigating this matter thoroughly and will update the Egyptians,'' the Israeli military said Friday.Thursday's attack signaled a new danger for Israel from its border with the Sinai Peninsula, an area that has always been restive but was kept largely under control by former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. The desert area has become increasingly lawless since Mubarak was ousted on Feb. 11 following a popular uprising.Relations between the two countries have been chilly since they made peace in 1979, but Israel valued Mubarak as a source of stability with shared interests in containing Iran and its radical Islamic proxies in the region.The violence could further damage ties if Egypt's political upheaval and a resulting power vacuum in Sinai allows Gaza militants, who had been pummeled by a punishing Israeli three-week war 2{ years ago, to open a new front against Israel in the frontier area.Anger rose after Egyptian officials said Thursday's gunbattles killed five Egyptian security personnel. An Egyptian security official said three died Thursday and two others died of wounds on Friday.``Israel and any other (country) must understand that the day our sons get killed without a strong and an appropriate response, is gone and will not come back,'' wrote Amr Moussa, former Arab League chief and now a presidential hopeful. He tweeted his statement along with, ``the blood of our martyrs which was spilled while carrying out their duties, will not be shed in vain.''Gunmen crossed the border from Egypt on Thursday and set up an ambush along a 300-yard (meter) strip, armed with automatic weapons, grenades and suicide bomb belts, the Israeli military said.They opened fire on a civilian bus heading toward the Red Sea resort city of Eilat, hitting a number of passengers, then riddled another passing bus and two cars with bullets and rigged a roadside bomb that detonated under an army jeep rushing to the scene. At the same time, Palestinian mortar gunners in Gaza opened fire at soldiers along the Gaza-Israel border fence.The assailants killed eight people, six civilians and two Israeli troops responding to the incursion. Israel said it killed seven assailants.Hamas, which controls Gaza, praised the attacks but denied any involvement. Israel holds Hamas responsible for all violence coming from the Palestinian territory and retaliated by striking the group.``This is a response to the terror attacks executed against Israel in the last 24 hours,'' the military said.Israeli aircraft struck several targets in Gaza, killing five Palestinian militants late Thursday and five more on Friday, including a senior member of the Islamic Jihad, according to Palestinian hospital officials. Two civilians were also reported dead.One of the rockets launched from Gaza Friday smashed through a roof of a Jewish seminary, damaging a synagogue in the port city of Ashdod and wounding six Israelis who were standing outside, Israeli emergency services said. Another hit an empty school while a third, aimed at the city of Ashkelon, was intercepted by the new Israeli anti-missile system known as Iron Dome.On Saturday, one of those rockets seriously injured two people in the port city of Ashdod, police said.A senior Israeli military officer who briefed reporters by phone said at least 15 Palestinians from Gaza took part in the assault. He also spoke on condition of anonymity according to military regulations.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited some of the wounded in the hospital Friday. ``We killed the head of the group that sent the terrorists, but this is just an initial response,'' he said. ``We have a policy to extract a very heavy price from those that attack us and that policy is being implemented in the field.''Israel said the attackers had come from Gaza and made their way into neighboring Sinai and from there into Israel. The attack was the deadliest for Israel since a Palestinian gunman killed eight people in a Jerusalem religious seminary in 2008.Israeli aircraft hit multiple targets in Gaza, the military said. Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Adham Abu Salmia said at least four militants were killed and a dozen injured Friday.One strike hit a motorcycle carrying senior militants from the Palestinian group Israel says is behind Thursday's violence. Another five militants including the group's leader were killed Thursday night.At the United Nations, diplomats said that Lebanon blocked the Security Council during a closed meeting on Friday from condemning the terrorist attacks in southern Israel. The United States had circulated a draft press statement to the council, which requires the support of all 15 council nations.``We think the council needs to speak out on this issue,'' said the U.S. deputy ambassador, Rosemary DiCarlo. ``We find it regrettable that because of one delegation we couldn't issue that in a timely way.''

sources : htt p://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes. com/2011-08-20/middle-east/29909110_1_israeli-soldiers-gaza-strip-israeli-airstrikes

China has strengthened nuclear missiles as deterrent against Indian : U.S.

“Pace of its military investments may destabilise regional military balances”

China has substituted liquid-fuelled, nuclear-capable missiles with “more advanced and survivable solid-fuelled” rocket systems, and this has been explicitly aimed at “[strengthening] its deterrent posture relative to India,” according to an annual report on the developments within the Chinese military, authored by the United States Pentagon.

In its report to the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon warned that the People's Liberation Army had replaced the CSS-2 Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles with its CSS-5 Medium Range Ballistic Missile systems. It also emphasised that China was further investing in road development along the Sino-Indian border that could “support PLA border defence operations.”

While the report was principally focused on the rapid step-up in Chinese military investments in recent years, including its aircraft carrier programme, cyber-warfare capabilities, anti-satellite missiles and the top-secret J-20 next-generation stealth fighter, the report also commented on India's concern at some of these regional developments.

Pointing out that India was also improving its infrastructure along its north-eastern border, the report said: “New Delhi remains concerned by China's close military relationship with Pakistan and Beijing's growing footprint in the Indian Ocean, Central Asia, and Africa.”

Despite burgeoning defence rapprochement manifested in the Sino-Indian Annual Defence Dialogue established in 2007, India had pulled out of high-level military exchanges following China's denial of a visa to a senior Indian general in 2010, the Pentagon report said.

Although Premier Wen Jiabao attempted to mend fences during his December 2010 visit to New Delhi “he did not address serious irritants... [and] a high degree of mistrust continues to strain the bilateral relationship,” the report added.

Regional tensions

Discussing the main findings of the Pentagon report, Michael Schiffer, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia, expressed alarm that the pace and scope of China's military investments were, overall, “potentially destabilising to regional military balances, increase the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation, and may contribute to regional tensions and anxieties.”

The report also warned of maritime implications for regional powers like India. In the context of the continuing tensions in the South China Sea, Mr. Schiffer said, in addition to planning for Taiwan contingencies, China placed a high priority on asserting and strengthening its maritime territorial claims.

“An increased PLA naval presence in the region, including surface, subsurface and airborne platforms and possibly one or more of China's future aircraft carriers, would provide the PLA with an enhanced extended-range power projection capability, with all the implications for regional rivalries and power dynamics that that implies,” Mr. Schiffer added.

sources :  htt p://www.thehindu. com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2398233.ece

Chhattisgarh Maoists step up attacks to taunt army: Experts

Hardly a week after a 500-strong army deployment landed in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region for the first time, Maoists on Thursday midnight launched their most deadly attack - using nearly a tonne of explosives, the highest ever, blowing up an anti-landmine vehicle and killing 10

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• Thrice in three days: Reds kill three troops in Chhattisgarh

policemen. The June 9 attack in Dantewada district, said to be the biggest rebel raid in terms of the quantity of explosives used in a single attack, is seen by experts as the Maoists way of taunting the army men.
Earlier the same day, the rebels gunned down five policemen in Narayanpur district.
In another raid, the Maoists attacked a CRPF camp Saturday and killed three jawans in Dantewada district. 
The presence of the army has apparently not made any impact on the rebels, much to the worry of the security top brass in the state.
Over 500 army personnel descended for the first time in the heart of a Maoist insurgency-hit area in Bastar region between May 30-June 2. The deployment, according to security experts, was to "psychologically hit the rebels".
The army, however, explained that they have stepped into the violence-hit territory only "for jungle warfare training, and not for anti-Maoist operation".
A top police official who served in Chhattisgarh's "war zone" for a long period, said he suspected that Maoists had used about a tonne explosives for the June 9 Dantewada blast.
"Look at their (Maoists) guts. They are hitting police using a tonne of explosives to toss up an anti-landmine vehicle in the presence of the army in Bastar. The double attack on June 9 was aimed at taunting the army," the police officer told IANS.
The forested pocket where the Maoists gunned down five policemen June 9 morning in Narayanpur district is adjacent to a sprawling base camp area allotted by Chhattisgarh government to the army's central command for developing a jungle warfare training camp, the official said.
"The midnight attack was the biggest carried out by Maoists in terms of the quantity of explosives they used," counter-terrorism expert Brigadier (Retd) BK Ponwar told IANS.
"It was not less than 60 kg explosives they used to blast the anti-landmine vehicle. It went up in the air several metres and then landed in pieces," Ponwar added.
According to Ponwar, who is director of the Bastar-based Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College, the previous biggest attack in terms of quantity of explosives - 40 kg - was in September 2005 when an anti-landmine vehicle was blasted for the first time. The attack killed 24 CRPF men.
Ponwar, who is a former commandant of the Indian Army's Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in Mizoram, said "the twin attacks in Bastar region June 9 and 10 clearly indicate that the Maoists are showing their defiance to the presence of the army".
He wondered why the police forces are flouting jungle warfare manuals over and over again.
A police official posted at Dornapal in Dantewada district that witnessed several deadly attacks in recent years, said: "We usually rush to the jungles on a single-source information that is mostly planted by rebels to trap us in landmine sites.
"Thursday midnight too the rebels planted information of Maoists gathering at a certain place and police moved without checking and rechecking the input. Finally we paid for it."
"It looks like the Maoists have night vision devices too that are helping them to trigger landmine blasts even late at night," he added.
Chhattisgarh has suffered nearly 2,200 casualties of police personnel and civilians related to Maoist violence since it formed as a separate state in November 2000.
Some 90% casualties were reported in landmine attacks in the Bastar region that has about 20% of the country's iron ore deposits.
sources : htt p://www.hindustantimes. com/News-Feed/chhattisgarh/Chhattisgarh-Maoists-step-up-attacks-to-taunt-army-Experts/Article1-708409.aspx

India Defence Land Systems Indian plans infantry combat vehicles, artillery systems

Defence Land Systems India, a joint venture between Mahindra & Mahindra and BAE Systems Plc, on Thursday said it plans to develop infantry combat vehicles and artillery systems as it looks to expand its product portfolio.

The company today announced handing over of six Mine Protected Vehicle India (MPV-I) to Jharkhand Police to mark the beginning of serial production of the landmine protected vehicles from its Prithla plant, near Faridabad.

It expects to sell about MPV-I next fiscal as it eyes big orders from the Home Ministry for CRPF and other state police forces for mine protected vehicles.

"We are among the four companies identified for Indian Army's future infantry combat vehicle, out of which two will be shortlisted. Already we are preparing ourselves to be ready if we are shortlisted for that," Defence Land Systems India (DLSI) Managing Director and CEO, Khutub Hai told PTI.

Moreover the company is "also looking at design and development of artillery systems" to widen its portfolio.

He said the company is leveraging on technology from BAE Systems and develop products that are cost effective but at par with global standards.

Commenting on the MPV-I, Hai said:"This is the first such vehicle of its kind indigenously manufactured by the private sector industry being delivered to the police forces in the country." While declining to disclose order size from Jharkhand Police, he said the firm expects to sell a total of about 20- 25 MPV-Is this fiscal.

"This will include repeat order from Jharkhand Police, which will be slightly bigger than the first order and also from five to six states which are actively combating Naxalites," Hai said without disclosing further details.

"For the next fiscal we are confident of doing about 100 MPV-Is and we are expecting orders from various state police forces," he said.

Globally such vehicles cost around about half a million dollars but DLSI is offering it "at a much lesser rate", he said.

At present, DLSI produces combat vehicles such as Rakshak, Rakshak Plus, Marksman and MPVi, armoured bus, riot intervention vehicle and Scorpio Uparmoured for VIP security.

The company's Prithla plant has a capacity to produce up to 800 vehicles a year, of which up to 120 are MPV-Is. In the last three to four years the company has invested about Rs 60 crore on the plant.

Source :  htt p://economictimes.indiatimes. com/news/news-by-industry/auto/automobiles/defence-land-systems-india-plans-infantry-combat-vehicles-artillery-systems/articleshow/9735819.cms

High costs stall Indian Army's plans on China border

The massive military modernization along the China border, including the setting up of the country's first Mountain Strike Corps, has run into a new hurdle with the government raising questions about the high capital expenditure involved in it.

Sources said the defence ministry has returned the Army proposal to set up the strike corps, and two independent brigades along the China border. The MoD has raised detailed queries about the high capital costs projected by Army headquarters. The Army has projected an expenditure of over Rs 12,000 crore for the entire proposal, which is part of New Delhi's efforts to catch up with China which has steadily built up outstanding military capabilities and infrastructure along the disputed Sino-Indian border.

The Army had sent the proposal to the MoD sometime in early 2010, for putting it up to the Cabinet Committee on Security for approval. In April, the PM had offered all government support for Army modernization along the China border during a presentation to him by the Army top brass. The Army leadership appraised the PM about the overwhelming capabilities of the People's Liberation Army along the border with India during the presentation.

Despite the PM's assurance, the MoD has now raised questions about the Army's assessment of Rs 12,000 crore needed to set up the new formations, and sent back the file to Army headquarters. "The concern is about the high capital expenditure projected by Army headquarters," senior sources said.

The Army proposes to set up the country's first Mountain Strike Corps and two independent brigades along the border with China. The corps would be India's fourth strike corps, and the first one for dedicated offensive operations in mountainous terrain. This is besides the two mountain divisions already being raised along the China border.

One of the independent brigades is to be stationed in Ladakh while the other would be based in Uttarakhand. The proposed corps could be headquartered at Pannagarh in West Bengal, a recent report said.

Sources said once the Army headquarters replies to the MoD query and other clarifications are settled, the file would be processed for final approval. "We are hopeful that it can be cleared this financial year," a senior source said.

Since the humiliating defeat in 1962, India has been on an extremely defensive posture along the China border, including a deliberate decision not to develop border infrastructure. In the process, as New Delhi stood by, China built up an impressive border infrastructure and capability to mobilize almost 500,000 troops in a matter of a few weeks to the Line of Actual Control with India. 

source : htt p://timesofindia.indiatimes. com/india/Huge-expenditure-for-China-border-military-modernization-questioned/articleshow/9740033.cms