Russia For Increasing Military Cooperation with India: Bonhomie with Pak May Sour Relations

According to an item published in the latest issue of Indian Military Review  Russia and India have systematically increased their cooperation in the military and military-technical cooperation spheres in 2014, within the ‘privileged strategic partnership’ the two countries share. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation detailed this cooperation in its Annual Report on Activities for 2014, posted on the Ministry’s official website.

Giving details, the new issue of Indian Military Review, published from New Delhi said, “Against the background of anti-Russian sanctions pressure, being imposed by the West, Moscow continued to increase cooperation with countries in the Asia-Pacific Region (APR),” the report noted. “The main focus was placed on this cooperation leading to a positive impact on Russia’s regions, and in particular the Far East and Siberia.”

In relations with India, Russia continued the highly dynamic dialogue within the ‘privileged strategic partnership’ of the two countries.

According to the report, on December 11, 2014, during the annual Russia-India Summit, in New Delhi, the new Indian leadership reaffirmed the country’s commitment to intensify bilateral relations.

“As part of the implementation of the flagship project in the energy sector – the construction of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India – the first energy block was connected to the electricity grid of the country, and work on the second block is continuing. Military and military-technical cooperation also grew steadily; in Russia, joint exercises were held by all branches of the Indian armed forces, and the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya (earlier the Admiral Gorshkov) entered into service in the Indian Navy,” the Foreign Ministry report said.

Pak-Russian Bonhomie

India may not officially give its take ever on this, but it is one development which won't go down well with the Indian government and won't be good for Indo-Russian relationship: the decision of Russia and Pakistan to hold joint military exercises first time ever.

The question is will India formally react to the Russia-Pakistan bonhomie? If it does and the Ministry of External Affairs issues a formal statement, though unlikely as per this writer's understanding, how will India react? Will India react like a jilted lover or will India be more understanding and react like a mature friend?

There are two ways of looking at the increasing bonhomie between Moscow and Islamabad. One is the emotive way of bilateral relations which have traditionally been very warm though the two sides have not made much song and dance about it. The other is the cold strategic calculus and fast changing geopolitics.

On the emotional plane of bilateral relations, India may act like a possessive spouse and howl at Russia being wooed by a new suitor, Pakistan. A discernible chill has set in Indo-Russian relations. This is visible from the declining bilateral trade which was below $10 billion last year and is likely to tumble further this year. This is despite the fact that the two sides had vowed to raise their bilateral trade to $20 billion in 2015!

But then Russia itself cannot escape the blame for this state of affairs. True, Russians were miffed over the fact that Indian defence import orders were drying up and the United States edged past Russia last year to become India's largest armament exporter. But that doesn't mean that Russia should lift its embargo on sale of weaponry to Pakistan as it did last year.

The decision of Russia and Pakistan to hold joint military exercises is nothing in comparison to the much bigger red rag the Russians waved at India last year. Sergey Chemezov, the head of Rostec Corporation, inexplicably went on record saying last year that Russia was open to military-technological cooperation with Pakistan and the negotiations on the sales of Mi-35 multipurpose military transport helicopters to that country were already underway.

However, Indian pressure has worked so far and no Russian official has shot off his mouth on sale of Russian attack helicopters to Pakistan since then. The other way of looking at increasing bonhomie between Russia and Pakistan is the fast-changing strategic matrix in the region.

Russia knows the importance of Pakistan as American and NATO troops have already started pulling out of Afghanistan. By next year end, Afghanistan will be completely on its own. Pakistan has been playing the waiting game for long and biding for its time.

Russia wants to keep Pakistan in good humour and needs Pakistan's services in Afghanistan, something that China has been doing for decades.

MILITARY JUSTICE- Armed Forces Tribunal Cannot be Challenged

The Supreme Court (SC) has held that all appeals against orders passed by the Armed Forces Tribunals (AFT) would lie with it and not with the high courts. The judgment, passed on 11 March, has implications for serving and retired defence personnel who have moved against the AFT to seek judicial redressal of their grievances.

Disposing of a bunch of civil appeals, an SC Bench comprising Justices Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya and NV Ramana upheld the judgments on the issue passed by the Allahabad High Court and the Andhra Pardesh High Court. The Bench, at the same time, set aside judgments passed by the Delhi High Court, which had ruled that high courts are empowered to hear appeals against AFT orders.

The Bench observed that Section 31 of the AFT Act specifically provides for an appeal to the Supreme Court but stipulates two distinct routes for such an appeal. The first route is sanctioned by the tribunal itself, granting leave to file such an appeal if a point of law of general public importance is involved. The second route is through provisions of the same section, which “appears to the Supreme Court” empowering it to permit the filing of an appeal against any AFT order.

Based upon earlier SC judgments, the Bench also observed that the high court will not entertain a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution if an effective alternative remedy is available to the aggrieved person or the statute, under which the complaint has been taken, contains a mechanism for redressal of grievance.

A bench of justices S.J. Mukhopadaya and N.V. Ramana said: “When a statutory forum is created by law for redressal of grievances, a writ petition should not be entertained ignoring the statutory dispensation. The high court will not entertain a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution if an effective alternative remedy is available to the aggrieved person or the statute under which the action complained of has been taken itself contains a mechanism for redressal of grievance.”

Justice Mukhopadaya said: “It is clear from the scheme of the AFT Act that jurisdiction of the tribunal constituted under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act is in substitution of the jurisdiction of civil court and the high court so far as it relates to suit relating to condition of service of the persons subject to Army Act, Navy Act and the Air Force Act, 1950.”

“When a statutory forum is created by law for redressal of grievances, a writ petition should not be entertained ignoring the statutory dispensation. The High Court will not entertain a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution if an effective alternative remedy is available to the aggrieved person or the statute under which the action complained of has been taken itself contains a mechanism for redressal of grievance,” the Bench noted.

In 2012, the Supreme Court had ruled that military litigants have no vested right of appeal against an AFT judgment. According to the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007, the apex court can only be approached if a "point of law of general public importance" is involved, or if the issue is important enough to warrant the attention of the apex court.

If the high court entertains a petition under Article 226 against the AFT orders bypassing the machinery of statute, that is Sections 30 and 31 of the AFT Act, there is likelihood of anomalous situation for the aggrieved person in praying for relief from this court, the Bench ruled.

Legal Provisions

The crucial sections at issue were Sections 30 and 31, which provided for appeals from the orders of the Tribunal. Section 30 states: “Subject to the provisions of section 31, an appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court against the final decision or order of the Tribunal (other than an order passed under section 19).”

Section 31 likewise states: “An appeal to the Supreme Court shall lie with the leave of the Tribunal; and such leave shall not be granted unless it is certified by the Tribunal that a point of law of general public importance is involved in the decision, or it appears to the Supreme Court that the point is one which ought to be considered by that Court.”

Sections 30 and 31, therefore, lay down the procedure for appealing an order of the Armed Forces Tribunal to the Supreme Court. Parallel to this, Section 33 excludes the jurisdiction of civil courts, and Section 34 provides the transfer of all pending cases (including cases in the High Courts) to the Tribunal, after the commencement of the Tribunal.

The question before the Court was whether Sections 30 and 31 barred the jurisdiction of the High Courts from hearing petitions (under 226/227) against the orders of the Armed Forces Tribunal. The Court began by pointing out certain specific provisions of the Constitution. Under Article 33 of the Constitution, Parliament may modify the operation of Part III to the armed forces. Article 227(4) of the Constitution, part of the provision dealing with the superintendence of the High Courts, provides that “nothing in this article shall be deemed to confer on a High Court powers of superintendence over any court or tribunal constituted by or under any law relating to the Armed Forces.” Article 136(2), part of the provision dealing with special leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, provides that “nothing in clause (1) shall apply to any judgment, determination, sentence or order passed or made by any court or tribunal constituted by or under any law relating to the Armed Forces.”

At this point, the following argument seems to be there to be made: admittedly, judicial review under Articles 226 and 227, and under Article 32, is part of the basic structure of the Constitution. But the Constitution itself, through various provisions, carves out an exception in the cases of the armed forces, where the scope of judicial review is to be regulated by statute (Articles 227(4) and 136(2)). Consequently, Parliament may, by law, bar the jurisdiction of the High Court to hear appeals from orders passed by the Armed Forces Tribunal.

Such an argument is open to objection. It also raises the fascinating question of whether an original constitutional provision can be unconstitutional because it violates the basic structure (if judicial review is part of the basic structure, than how can 227(4) and 136(2) be consistent with that?). The Court, however, did not make this argument at all. Instead, it first affirmed the proposition that the Armed Forces Tribunal Act cannot take away the jurisdiction of the High Court under Articles 226 and 227 (paragraph 25).

The Court then cited a number of precedents for the proposition that although the jurisdiction of the High Court could not be taken away by any statute, in deciding whether or not to exercise its jurisdiction, the High Court must take into account the legislative intention behind the statute in question. Citing the prior case of Nivedita Sharma vs Cellular Operators Association of India, the Court observed that “when a statutory forum is created by law for redressal of grievances, a writ petition should not be entertained ignoring the statutory dispensation.” (paragraph 25)

But what was the statutory forum in the present case? Here is where the judgment becomes somewhat murky. Paragraph 33 of the judgment is preceded by a heading called “Statutory remedy“. Here, the Court cited the case Union of India vs Brigadier P.S. Singh Gill, and extracted a lengthy set of paragraph that detailed the appeals procedure under Sections 30 and 31 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act. But Sections 30 and 31, as we saw, provide for an appeal to the Supreme Court. Surely the provision of an appeal to the Supreme Court cannot be the “alternative statutory forum” to the jurisdiction of the High Courts! 

But then what is the alternative statutory forum? The only possible answer has to be: the Armed Forces Tribunal itself. This, indeed, is what the Court implied earlier in the judgment. In paragraph 14, it stated that: “it is clear from the scheme of the Act that jurisdiction of the Tribunal constituted under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act is in substitution of the jurisdiction of Civil Court and the High Court.“

But there is a serious problem here. And that is the L. Chandra Kumar judgment. In that case, as is well-known, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court held that Tribunals, as they were constituted an functioning, could act complementary to the High Courts, but not as substitutes. This was because:

“The constitutional safeguards which ensure the independence of the Judges of the superior judiciary, are not available to the Judges of the subordinate judiciary or to those who man Tribunals created by ordinary legislations. Consequently, Judges of the latter category can never be considered full and effective substitutes for the superior judiciary in discharging the function of constitutional interpretation. We, therefore, hold that the power of judicial review over legislative action vested in the High Courts under Articles 226 and in this Court under Article 32 of the Constitution is an integral and essential feature of the Constitution, constituting part of its basic structure. Ordinarily, therefore, the power of High Courts and the Supreme Court to test the constitutional validity of legislations can never be ousted or excluded.”

This has been a constant position of law. In its recent judgment, striking down the National Tax Tribunals, the Supreme Court based its entire analysis on a detailed demonstration of how the Tribunals lacked the essential qualities of the Courts (judicial independence etc.), that would allow them to serve as effective substitutes.

The Court’s judgment, therefore, is question-begging. It takes the existence of the Armed Forces Tribunal to be evidence of an “alternative statutory forum” that is a “substitute” for the High Courts. On that basis, it holds that while the jurisdiction of the High Courts cannot be ousted, it should not exercise its jurisdiction because of the existence of the alternative forum.

Comments

Since litigation cannot now be taken before the Supreme Court as a matter of right, the AFT has become the only court for military litigants, effectively denying poor soldiers the right of judicial review. But, in contrast, a seven-judge Supreme Court Bench had deemed "unconstitutional" a similar ruling that prevented high court review of rulings of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and State Administrative Tribunals (SATs).

A jawan living in Tamil Nadu, or Assam, would have to engage a Supreme Court lawyer in Delhi, and bear all the expenses of travel in order to appeal against an AFT ruling.

The AFT was established in 2009 under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007, as a judicial tribunal that soldiers petition for justice before approaching civil courts.

Legal experts have questioned the AFT's independence, since it functions directly under the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The MoD appoints the judges to the AFT. The Defence Secretary (who is on the panel that selects AFT judges) is also the First Respondent in most cases filed by soldiers, sailors and airmen.

In November 2012, the Punjab & Haryana High Court ordered that the AFT be placed under the Ministry of Law & Justice. An MoD appeal against this verdict is pending in the Supreme Court.

There have been reports of the MoD extending largesse to AFT judges. In a RTI reply, MoD admitted spending over Rs 67 lakhs for "official foreign visits" by the then AFT chairperson and members, and having provided them with unauthorised canteen cards to shop at subsidised military retail outlets. AFT Administrative Members (military generals on the tribunals) are called to army formations to "sensitise" them about cases that they were hearing.

Legal experts point out that, if High Courts can no longer hear challenges and provide redress, the Supreme Court would directly receive a flood of appeals, diverting it from its primary task - to adjudicate on matters of importance and Constitutional issues.

(With inputs from Maj Navdeep Singh’s militaryinfo.com blog)

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CAG’s Report on the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Fails to Meet IAF Criteria: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India severely criticized the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project, through its report, on 8 May, pointing out that its Mark-I version had 53 “significant shortfalls” in meeting ASR (Air Staff Requirements), which have reduced its operational capabilities as well as survivability. The report titled “Design, development, manufacture and induction of LCA” was submitted to both houses of Parliament on 9 May.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) would be “constrained” to induct the fighter LCA without availability of a trainer model, thereby “adversely impacting pilot training”, the audit body said. The CAG noted that it was due to the delay in the manufacture and supply of LCA that IAF had to go for alternative temporary measures such as upgrading its MiG-21 BIS, MiG-29, Jaguar and Mirage aircraft at a cost of Rs 20,037 crore and revise the phasing out of MiG-21s. LCA Mark-I achieved Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) in December, 2013.

Shortcomings Listed

Listing the shortcomings, the CAG said that the LCA Mark-I failed to meet the electronic warfare capabilities sought by IAF as the Self-Protection Jammer could not be fitted on the aircraft due to space constraints.Also, it said that the Radar Warning Receiver/Counter Measure Dispensing System fitted on the aircraft had raised performance concerns, which were yet to be overcome till January 2015.

It added that the shortcomings in the Mark-I (increased weight, reduced internal fuel capacity, non-compliance of fuel system protection, pilot protection from front, reduced speed) were expected to be overcome in the Mark-II model.

“LCA Mark-I does not meet the ASR (Air Staff Requirement). The deficiencies are now expected to be met in LCA Mark-II by December 2018,” the CAG said.

While DRDO has always showcased LCA, christened Tejas, as an indigenously-developed aircraft and the indigenous content of the LCA was estimated by ADA to be 70 per cent, the CAG said it “actually worked out to about 35 per cent” as of January 2015.

Systems such as Kaveri engine, Multi-Mode Radar, Radome, Multi-Functional Display System and Flight Control System Actuators taken up for indigenous development could not be developed successfully, resulting in LCA’s continued dependence on the import of these systems, CAG said.

Listing out the concessions, the report says waivers were given for increased weight, reduced internal fuel capacity, non-compliance of all-weather operations, non-achievement of single point defueling, fuel system protection and pilot protection.

The CAG said that ADA’s decision to advance the building of two prototypes from Full-Scale Engineering Development (FSED) Phase-II to FSED Phase-I so as to utilise its savings on the grounds of accelerating the development process of LCA had failed to yield the desired results. This, the report said, was because preponed prototypes were deficient in terms of critical onboard systems (Multi-Mode Radar, Self-Protection Jammer, Radar Warning Receiver) and led to ADA using the Limited Series Production (LSP) aircraft (meant for IAF use) towards flight testing/evaluation of these critical on board systems.

“This was in contravention of the Cabinet approval (November, 2001) for phased development of the prototypes in FSED Phase-II after Technical Demonstrators had been built and flight tested for 210 hours,” CAG said.

It said that the long gestation period led to a change of weapon systems on LCA, necessitating the acquisition of new ones.

LCA Mk-2 Will Fulfill ASR

The audit body also had a word of appreciation for the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), saying its work centres on the indigenous development of the LCA, “which is comparable to many contemporary aircraft in the world”.

The report went on to add that the delays in identification, replacement and addition of weapons by IAF and their integration as per IAF requirement, to make the aircraft contemporary, also added to the worries.

"In addition, there have been delays in completion of work packages by various work centres, which indicated ineffective monitoring of the project by the Ministry of Defence," says the report.

HAL Delayed Augmenting Production Capacity

Criticising the slow pace of the LCA's entry into service, the report notes that Hindustan Aeronautics' manufacturing facilities can build just four fighters annually against an envisaged requirement of eight per year. CAG overlooks the fact that IAF has ordered only 20 LCAs with another 20 have been promised after the fighter obtains final operational clearance. Even so, HAL is enhancing its production to 16 LCAs per year, a decision that a future CAG report might comment on unfavourably if more IAF orders are not forthcoming.

Development Journey

IAF had proposed in the early 1980s that a new aircraft be developed to replace the MiG-21 fleet, manufactured during 1966 and 1987, after its phasing out in the 1990s.

The project for indigenous design and development of LCA was sanctioned in 1983 at a cost of Rs 560 crore, which was enhanced from time to time up to Rs 10,397.11 crore. Today’s figure of Rs 14,047crore includes the cost of developing both the IAF and naval LCA, covering both the Mark I version as well as Mark II. The air force Tejas Mark I has so far cost Rs 7,490 crore, and is within its budget of Rs 7,965 crore. The government, in June, 1984, constituted an ADA as a dedicated institution for the management of the LCA project.

IAF had issued Air Staff Requirement (ASR) in October 1985, envisaging a light-weight multi-mission fighter with contemporary air combat and offensive air support capabilities and excellent manoeuvrability for close air combat at low and medium altitudes.

The projected requirement was for 220 Light Combat Aircraft (200 fighters, 20 trainers) to be inducted by 1994.

However, LCA could only achieve IOC in December 2013, as against the earlier scheduled date of December 2005.The Full Operational Clearance (FOC), which was scheduled to be completed by December, 2008, is now slated to be achieved by December 2015, although experts say even that could be delayed.

The LCA Design

From the outset, the LCA was based on fourth-generation (Gen-4) technologies. The first of these is its "unstable design", which makes it more agile and manoeuvrable than "stable" aircraft that are designed to hold the path they are flying on.

Design. 

The lack of a horizontal tail is a unique feature of the Tejas, making it similar to the Dassault Mirage series of fighters. The plane also has a delta-wing configuration, which is the reverse of normal delta-wing fighters in that the angle of the sweep of the outer wing section is larger than the angle of the sweep of the inner wing section. The reverse configuration is normally used to balance supersonic and subsonic or transonic capabilities. The Tejas has an angle of incidence from the main axis of the wing, which gives the whole plane a larger dihedral force, improving its supersonic capabilities.

The Tejas uses the V-shaped air inlets typical of light fighters, the air inlets gather together towards the rear, sheltering the blades of the engine's axial compressor, preventing the scattering of radar, and adding to the craft's stealth capabilities. The oval air intakes are similar to the F/A-18C/D Hornet, with a diverter structure around them. All in all the design is in line with convention and has not shown much innovation.

Composite Materials. The Tejas has put an emphasis on reducing weight, and so it has used a lot of composite material. Forty-five percent of the plane's total weight is comprised of composite materials, including the fuselage, its vertical tailfin, the skin, the spars and the ribs of the wings, the elevons, the rudder, the air brakes and the landing gear doors. This cuts the plane's empty weight by 5.5 tons. The result is a lighter fighter that can carry more fuel and weapons.

Power Plant. 

The original plan for the LCA Tejas was that it would be fitted with the GTRE GTX-35VS Kaveri turbofan engine, but the development of the engine ran into a hitch, so they had to adopt the F414 instead. The engine was developed on the basis of the General Electric F404 and has an axial compressor with three fan and seven compressor stages and a turbine with one low-pressure and one high-pressure stage. Compared with the F404, the F414 has augmented thrust by 35%, pushing it to 60 kN military thrust and 98 kN with afterburner. Its thrust-weight ratio has been pushed to 9:1. India purchased the custom-made F414-GE-INS5 model, which has similar capabilities to the F414-GE-400, with a fully digital control system, making it quicker to react and more accurate.

Avionics. The LCA Tejas' avionics system has a top-down design and has made use of line-replaceable unit technology, ensuring smooth coordination and the minimum degree of interdependence. The Tejas' avionics system was designed by France, with three 1553B serial buses and two centralized 32-bit, high-throughput mission computers, including a communications subsystem, a mission subsystem, a self-defence system and a guidance and flight system. It uses ELTA's EL/M2032 radar system, which works in the X-band range, designed for both air-to-air and ground strike missions. It is effective within a range of 37-75 km. The LCA has "microprocessor-based utilities", which means that computers control all its on-board systems like fuel, weapons and environment control.

Glass Cockpit. 

The LCA has an all-glass cockpit, in which conventional dials are replaced by intelligent multi-function displays, and the pilot can fly, aim and operate weapons through a helmet-mounted display.

Flight Control System. 

The flight system of the Tejas has a complicated origin. Originally the aircraft was set to be equipped with a FADEC system developed jointly by Lockheed Martin and India, however, an Indian nuclear test led to sanctions being imposed against the country, ending the US-Indian cooperative endeavour. India then looked to Russian aircraft manufacturer Mikoyan and Moscow Air Production Organization for help, until the sanctions were revoked in 2001. India then ordered actuators from London-based BAE Systems, which were handed over in 2003. Then Lockheed Martin joined the development project once again. This lengthy process slowed down the entire development of the aircraft. It is believed that the flight control system is a match for the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon's relaxed static stability/fly-by-wire flight control system.

Combat Abilities. 

The LCA Tejas has just entered service and not developed its combat abilities as yet, so the only way to compare the two is to look at the weapons they will likely use and their weapon pylons. The LCA Tejas will likely be equipped with the Israeli Python-4 air-to-air missile and the Derby medium-range active radar homing missile. The CAG report points out that in December 2009, IAF asked for the R-73E air-to-air missile to be integrated with the LCA's radar and the pilots' helmet mounted displays. CAG also blames IAF for taking too long to identify a "beyond-visual-range missile" for the LCA.

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Exploring Defence Ties With S. Korea and Thailand

India wants to indigenously build four specialised amphibious assault ships, also called Landing Platform Docks (LPD) , which will be the biggest-ever made in the country other than the under-construction 40,000-tonne sea-borne aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. With such plans in mind Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar went on a three-day visit to South Korea. South Korea is the world biggest ship maker and a possible partner in the project.

Each LPD carries, in its huge lower deck, hundreds of troops with tanks, vehicles and cargo. Such a ship can deliver men and equipment near a sea beach and does not need a berthing dock, hence providing the option for landing thousands of troops near a spot chosen to attack.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had re-issued a request for proposal (RFP) to Indian private sector shipyards in September last year. Each of these will approximately cost Rs 6,000 crore and are expected to be delivered over the next 10 years. Each of these ships will be between 35,000 and 40,000 tonnes. Indian shipyards have been asked to locate their own foreign collaborator. The RFP was sent to ABG, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering, the last one being recently purchased by Anil Ambani.

Foreign shipbuilders offering such ships include DCNS of France, Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Fincantieri of Italy, South Korea’s Hanjin Heavy Industries & Constructions Co and Navantia of Spain.

The successful private shipyard and its foreign collaborator will be given the order for two such ships and the two others will be made by the MoD-owned Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam, at the same price being paid to the private builder.

India has sought a vessel of 213m with endurance at sea for 45 days. The vessel must be able to house combat vehicles (including main battle tanks, infantry combat vehicles and heavy trucks on one or more vehicle deck) and the vessel should be able to undertake all-weather operations involving heavy lift helicopters up to 35 tonnes.

Parrikar said on 13 April, “Talks will include wide-ranging subjects including collaborations in defence products”. Capabilities of that country are known, he said. South Korea makes some 30 per cent of all ships worldwide. Parrikar clearly said that a government-to-government deal is the best in case of certain defence technologies.

In Korea, Parrikar met his South Korean counterpart Gen Han Min-Koo here and discussed ways to expand defence ties. Parrikar also met senior South Korean defence officlals, including National Security Advisor Kim Kwan-jin, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and minister of defence acquisition progremme administration.

The two countries agreed to intensify efforts to develop mutually-beneficial partnerships in defence production. A statement said the two defence ministers "focused on ways to expand contact" between the their defence establishments and building deep partnerships between their defence industries.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar paying homage at the National Cemetery, at Daejeon, in South Korea 

Exploring Joint Ventures with Thailand

India is exploring a joint production and development venture in defence with Thailand. A high-level defence delegation from Thailand led by its Permanent Secretary for Defence visited New Delhi in late March, to explore joint production and development, besides sourcing of arms.

The Indian side was keen to assist Thailand in setting up a defence industry and had proposed a visit to Indian facilities for the Thai side. While major platforms and systems will not be discussed now, a start can be made on systems that the ordnance factories manufacture - from explosives to small arms and defensive equipment, sources said.

Thailand was offering India an upgraded defence relationship. It is a strategically-placed neighbour with whom India shares common cultural linkages. India's joint defence production has so far been confined to Russia, France, the US and Israel. An upgraded Indo-Thai defence cooperation is also significant amid China's growing ambitions and defence manures in the region.

The Defence Ministry has been keen on engaging with Thailand. The first initiative was made in 2013 during a visit by then Defence Minister AK Antony in which he raised the matter of joint production with his Thai counterpart, Air Chief Marshal Sukumpol Suwanatat.

There has been a keen interest by the Thai side to engage with Indian scientists as well as learning from the experience of setting up defence production facilities.

Till now, the bilateral defence relation has been limited to joint exercises and training between the armed forces. Last year, General Tanasak Patimapragorn, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) of the Royal Thai Armed Forces visited India.

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Terrorism and Insurgency are No. 3 in Corporate Risks

Climb 7 Places in FICCI-Pinkerton’s Risk Survey

FICCI, in partnership with Pinkerton Corporate Risk Management, launched the India Risk Survey 2015 Report on March 27, 2015 during the Seminar 'New Age Risks – 2015' at Federation House, New Delhi. The objective of the report is to inform and sensitize all stakeholders about the emerging risks for the developing economies like India so that well-planned and strategic policy decisions can be made.

The India Risk Survey 2015 (IRS 2015) attempts to showcase the views and perceptions of key business leaders, public figures, as well as professionals across various sectors and geographies regarding operational, safety and strategic risks. The survey spreads across the entire industry spectrum covering the different geographical zones of the country. The survey results will provide the industry and Government decision-makers with a very important tool to holistically analyze the impact of various risks so as to plan and execute strategies to prevent, mitigate or control the impact of these risks to business establishments.

As evident, the survey encompasses 12 key risks that pose a threat to the entire economic system of the country; and though each risk is rated on a mutually exclusive basis for the purpose of the survey, a deeper reading would reveal their interconnectedness across domains.

Continuing with the trend evident from last year, the focus of the respondents for risk analysis continues to be on how the entire gamut of corruption, scams and corporate frauds are affecting the economy. In 2015, ‘Corruption, Bribery and Corporate Frauds’ continues to be ranked as the topmost risk. The recent news coverage and public uproar related to various cases involving major corporate houses, justifies this trend as having the highest mind recall value, and has also been assigned the greatest concern in recent times.

If one were to conduct a root-cause analysis of the major corporate frauds of recent times, a common cause that would emerge is pilferage of data / sensitive information. 

Information security is a growing concern keeping in mind the technological advancements and the tendency of corporate houses to create more and more intellectual property and competitive strategies. Any compromise with the same is interlinked with providing an opportunity for frauds and for the corporate to stand a risk of incurring unimaginable losses. The realization of every industry waking up to this as a looming threat is best defined through the ranking of ‘Information and Cyber Insecurity’ this year, which climbed up 3 positions from 2014 to be ranked at No. 2.

The entire gamut of risks faced by corporate houses has enabled a typical perception from respondents across the globe; they are concerned with both the gravest external threat and the most perceived internal threat.

Over the last few years in India, the rising threat of terror incidents in major cities has caused considerable alarm; the devastation from these incidents may have easily disrupted the entire business continuity structure of the land. This concern can also be said to be the fastest growing one amongst the Indian professionals and can be seen by the rise in ranking of the risk of ‘Terrorism and Insurgency’ from 10th position in 2014 to 3rd in 2015.

Similarly, when speaking of internal threat, the impact of business espionage can no longer be ignored. Recent occurrences only illustrate various modalities of insider threat and how it affects and compromises the health of a company. The rise in ranking of the risk of ‘Business Espionage’ from 9th position in 2014 to 4th in the current survey validates the stand to bring our attention to this shifting concern of business organization.

For any economy that faces the above-mentioned risks, the external threat or risk of ‘Crime’ cannot be ignored and the respondents to this survey have ranked the same at No. 5 in 2015. This is also supplemented by the growing instances of crime against women in India, which has not only come in for severe criticism within the country but has also been a topic of discussion in all international forums, affecting the image of India as a suitable business destination.

The analysis of the above illustration does indicate that the top five risks that impact Indian business environment include: ‘Corruption, Bribery, and Frauds’; ‘Information and Cyber Insecurity’; ‘Terrorism and Insurgency’; ‘Business Espionage’; and ‘Crime’. The risks of ‘Strikes, Closures and Unrest’ and ‘Political and Governance Instability’, which were earlier in the top five risk brackets, have dropped in the rankings from No. 2 and No. 3 positions to No. 6 and No. 11 respectively. This is a major shift in the yearly trends primarily due to the positive impact caused by a perceived stable Government coming to power at the Centre post the 2014 general elections.

Trends in Terrorism & Insurgency

•           Terrorism and insurgency related incidents saw a marginal increase in 2014.

•           The states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand recorded the most incidents related to Left Wing Extremism, whereas the majority of terror-related incidents were reported from Assam.

The Year-on-Year Ranking Story

Terrorism has been one of the growing concerns for the Indian sub-continent in recent times. After the year 2000, serious attempts were made to stop the growing menace and India has been successful in combating causalities caused by terrorism. Incidents like the Mumbai attack in 2008 and other recent insurgent attacks in various parts of the country seem to be pushing the trend upwards.

To turn our attention to the Global Rankings, India ranks 6th on the Global Terrorism Index of 2014 (as provided by the Institute of Economics and Peace) out of a surveyed base of 162 countries. Another study conducted by the same institute, titled Global Peace Index 2014, also highlights the need for India to work on its internal conflict issues.

Plunging Deep - Incidence Mapping

There have been a series of arrests, wherein 77 people were nabbed across the country in 2014, in connection with terrorist plots and subversive activities. India has been on the radar of terrorists throughout the year; sporadic terrorist activities were reported from the active regions. Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) reported an attack in March 2014, preceded by an ambush in Chhattisgarh; similar attacks were witnessed in Assam.

In 2013-14, 205 of the country's 640 districts continued to be afflicted by insurgent and terrorist activities, including 120 districts where the Maoists remained active; 20 districts in J&K were afflicted by Islamist separatist terrorism; and 65 districts in six north-eastern states where numerous terrorist and insurgent formations operate.

The analysis of the fatality pattern indicates that the Indian states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand remained most prone to the incidents of Left Wing Extremism during the last three years 2013 - 2015. More than 50 per cent of the total fatalities reported across India occurred in these two states. The Indian state of Assam witnessed the majority of incidents related to terrorism during the last three years, i.e., 2013 - 2015. The majority of fatalities were reported in 2014 from Assam which stood at 305 vis-a-vis 101 in 2013. Terror related deaths in the state of Jammu and Kashmir also saw a marginal increase in 2014 with a figure of 193 vis-a-vis 181 in 2013.

Terrorism and Insurgency - Impact and Combat

Between terrorism and insurgency, India has suffered on multiple fronts. Apart from creating a vulnerable domestic environment with skeptical citizens, terrorism also affects the way the world sees a country as a potential business opportunity.

Realizing this, the Indian Government has launched multiple policy and strategy-led initiatives in order to ensure a peaceful life for its citizens and also to provide for comfort when it comes to grooming the business landscape of the land.

Extracted from FICCI-Pinkerton India Risk Survey 2015, released at the New Age Risks 2015 Seminar held at FICCI on 27 March 2015 in New Delhi.

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Rail Link from Lhasa to Kathmandu

China plans to build a 540-kilometre strategic high-speed rail link between Tibet and Nepal passing through a tunnel under Mt Everest, a move that could raise alarm in India about the Communist giant's growing influence in its neighbourhood.

China is considering tunneling under Mount Everest to connect better with the South Asian markets. The extended rail line from the Tibet’s capital Lhasa to Kathmandu in Nepal, will reduce India’s influence in Nepal.

"A proposed extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway to the China-Nepal border through Tibet would boost bilateral trade and tourism as there is currently no rail line linking the two countries," state-run China Daily reported on 9 April.

This was the first time a tunnel plan has been revealed because China had earlier discussed extending the Qinghai-Lhasa line to the Nepalese border without digging a tunnel.

The Lhasa line was extended to Xigaze, the second biggest city in Tibet, which is closer to the Nepalese border as Chinese authorities completed a 253-km long link railway line in August last year. 

The project would involve tacking on about 400 miles of rail to an already 1,200 mile track which takes 25 hours to traverse as it is. The move would provide easy transport in one of the trickiest terrains in the world, and increase China's influence in the region.

Historically, the mountain range that holds eight of the world's fourteen peaks that top 8,000 meters in altitude has served as a practical and cultural barrier. Nepal has long been in India's sphere of influence, but in recent years China has bought in to the struggling nation by investing in infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

Wang Mengshu, a rail expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that engineers will face a number of difficulties once the project begins.

"If the proposal becomes reality, bilateral trade, especially in agricultural products, will get a strong boost, along with tourism and people-to-people exchanges," he said.

"The changes in the elevation along the line are remarkable. The line is probably have to go through Qomolangma so that worker may have to dig some very long tunnels," Wang said. Qomolangma Mountain is the Tibetan name for Mt Everest.

As with any engineering project of this size, it is not without its opponents. The International Campaign for Tibet cautions that there are "dangerous implications for regional security and the fragile ecosystem of the world's highest and largest plateau."

Restrained by rugged Himalayan mountains with its "remarkable" changes in elevation, trains on the line would probably have a maximum speed of 120 kmph.

Wang said that the project is being undertaken at Nepal's request and that China has begun preparatory work.

Losang Jamcan, Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, told Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav during his visit to Tibet's provincial capital Lhasa that China plans to extend the Tibet railway to Kermug, the Chinese town nearest to Nepal border where a border trade port has been built.

During his recent visit to Nepal, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had asked the officials to conduct a feasibility study to extend the rail network to Kathmandu and beyond, the report said. According to state-run Chinese media outlets, Nepal has apparently responded favorably, requesting that the line be built. Besides Nepal, China had earlier announced plans to extend its Tibetan rail network to Bhutan and India.

Hu Shisheng, Director of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told official media that the aim of the rail line is to simply improve the local economies and people's livelihoods.

The feat would provide China with more influence over India's allies and neighbours as well as continue Beijing's plan to open up the Buddhist plateau of Tibet to tourism and modern Chinese culture.

Basically, a rail line from mainland China under the Himalayas would connect the nation to the billion plus inhabitants living below "The Roof of the World".

Comments

Prime Minister NarendraModi has made efforts to bolster the nation's regional pull, but the construction of a contiguous rail line between China and the Nepalese capitol Kathmandu would undermine his historical geographic advantage as early as 2020.

China has been scaling up its ties with Nepal much to the chagrin of India to stem the flow of Tibetans travelling through Nepal to meet the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala.

Beijing recently increased its annual aid to Nepal to USD 128 million from the previous USD 24 million.

The idea is to find a short route to Nepal in order to access the vast Indian market in a short time. China may be trying to involve Nepal in its Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar project because New Delhi has shown less enthusiasm for the BCIM project. 

If the proposal becomes reality, bilateral trade, especially in agricultural products, will get a strong boost, along with tourism and people-to-people exchanges. 

Potential link to India

From time to time, rumors of a land bridge to India and Bangladesh have appeared in various Chinese newspapers.

Although the Chinese government never planned an extension to India, many people have embarked on the possibility of this. Qinghai People's Congress Vice Secretary General Liu Palit is one of them. In an interview to 21st Century Business Herald, he supported a motion to establish a connection between the Pacific and Indian railway bridge on land, possibly linking the east coast port city of Lianyungang, eastern China, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Xining, Lhasa, Shigatse, through Nepal, and finally arriving in Patna, New Delhi, Mumbai and Karachi, Pakistan.

If the idea of the railway in Nepal's plains becomes reality, it can easily connect with the Indian railway network and further to Bangladesh.

Engineering Challenges

The QTR posed great engineering challenges. Working in the cold and in the high altitude with men and machines had to be addressed. Scores of workers were hospitalized due to exhaustion and altitude sickness. Others suffered from frostbite while working in the winter.

Four-fifths of the QTR is above 4,000 meters and over half the tracks were laid on ground that is frozen much of the year, with 345 miles on permafrost. The highest pass traversed by the train is 5,072 meters (16,737 feet). Parts of it climb through an earthquake zone in the Kunlun mountains. A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck in 2001. Dozens of earthquake monitors have been installed along the railway.

About half of the second section of the QTR was built on permanent permafrost. In the summer, the uppermost layer thaws, and the ground becomes muddy. The heat from the trains passing above is able to melt the permafrost even with a small change in temperature. The main engineering challenge, aside from oxygen shortages, was the weakness of the permafrost. For areas of permafrost that are not very fragile, an embankment of large rocks was sufficient. Meanwhile, in the most fragile areas, the rail bed must be elevated like a bridge. The engineers dealt with this problem in the areas of weakest permafrost by building elevated tracks with pile-driven foundations sunk deep into the ground. Similar to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, portions of the track were also passively cooled with ammonia-based heat exchangers.

Special technology was developed to prevent the tracks from buckling when temperatures drop to -37oC and to keep bridges and tracks stable as the ground shifts when it freezes and thaws. The entire length of track is placed an average of 25 feet above the permafrost, separating it from the areas that freeze and thaw daily and preventing damaging warps, buckles and strains.

Much of the track is raised on causeways or cooled with pipes that circulate liquid nitrogen and cool air beneath the rails and keep them frozen throughout the year. Some sections have metal sunshades that deflect the sun. In tunnels the earth is frozen artificially with refrigeration devices. In some places cooling agents are pumped through pipes deep in the ground.

The train is pulled by three diesel-powered, 3,800-horsepower engines made by General Electric, USA. They have been adapted to carry 15 carriages and a generator car to altitudes of more than 5,000 meters, where the locomotives achieve only 60 percent of their usual power because of thin air. The carriages have underbellies that protect the wiring from sand and dust storms, and complex ventilation systems that draw in air and release nitrogen while oxygen is pumped in the compartments.

The integrity and strength of the railroad is not fully secure. Due to climate change, temperatures in the Tibetan Plateau will increase by an estimated two to three degrees Celsius. This change is sufficient to melt the permafrost and, thereby, affect the integrity of the entire system. The effects of climate change have yet to be seen.

The air in Tibet is much thinner, with oxygen partial pressure being 35 to 40 per cent below MSL. Special passenger carriages are used, and several oxygen factories were built along the railway. Each seat in the train is equipped with an oxygen supply outlet. The Chinese government claimed that no construction worker died during the construction due to altitude sickness related diseases but reality is different.

First of India's attack Scorpene submarines undocked

Indian Navy's first Scorpene submarine under Project 75 was undocked  at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in the presence of the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R.K. Dhowan, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and others officials also graced the a puja ceremony to mark the auspicious launching of the vessel.

The ‘undocking’ marks the movement of the submarine mounted on pontoons from the berth area in the dock to the harbour where it will undergo further tests. 

(Representative image courtesy Wikipedia)

In 1999, India conceived a 30- year programme  to build 24 submarines. In October 2005, the contract for 'Project-75' was awarded to French defence giant DCNS to build six Franco-Spanish Scorpene-class diesel attack submarines at Mazgaon Docks Ltd. The deal involved extensive technology transfer agreements.

Christened as 'INS Kalveri' (meaning 'The Tiger Shark.) this submarine was scheduled to be inducted in 2012 (now revised to Sept 2016). Thereafter the next five submarines are expected to be rolled out at intervals of nine months each.

Commenting on the delay Parikkar said, “Time is crucial factor in completion of defence projects. I would urge the PSUs to double their production capacities in three years and complete the project on or before time,”.

The first four of the six submarines will be diesel-electric, while the last two will be Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation. This means that the first four submarines will not be able to remain submerged for long durations and will need to resurface to recharge its batteries  or using snorkeling pipe.

The submarine is built using special steel which can take high yield stress. Its high tensile strength allows it to bear high hydrostatic force allowing deeper depth dives.

The submarines are expected to will be armed with Black Shark torpedoes ( an advanced heavy weight torpedo missile developed by WASS, Italy and Exocet missiles (French-built anti-ship missile). The submarine  would be able to launch its armament whilst underwater or an surface with precision delivering a crippling blow to the enemy.

Indian Army To Use Swati Gun Locating Radars

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of the ministry of defence has cleared the acquisition of 30 weapon locating radars – Swati – from Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) at a total cost of Rs 1,605 crores ($256 million).

Till the Kargil War India did not have any Gun Locating Radar. It only had the British Cymbline Mortar locating Radar. A few pieces of the American ANTPQ 36, gun locating radars  were bought off the shelf to meet the immediate requirements during the Kargil War. The purpose of such radars is to find the position (location) from which the hostile flat trajectory, high angle trajectory guns & mortars and rockets are being fired on own troops. This facilitates the direction of the fire of own artillery guns & rockets to silence and destroy such enemy guns and rockets 

                    A scale model of the WLR. The array is at its maximum slew setting of 125°.

The DRDO and Bharat Electronics now has developed an indigenous radar for the purpose. Their first version was  called Rajendra. Swati  Radar is their latest improved version. It is believed that the DRDO scientists while testing the trajectory of the missiles at Chandipur observed that their tracking radars could pick up artillery guns booming at a nearby army firing range. This led to the development of Rajendra model & its improved version Swati.

The range for the Swati radar while tracking gun shells is more than 20 kms and for rockets, about 30 kms.

These radars will be used by the Surveillance and Target Acquisition Branch of Indian Artillery. Swati, the radar has been developed as a coherent, electronically scanned C-Band pulse doppler radar. 

The radar will automatically locates hostile artillery, mortars and rocket launchers and direct friendly fire to locate the impact point of friendly artillery fire to issue necessary corrections.

India to Have Third Consulate in Chengdu

After prolonged talks with China & an unfavourable outcome, India has reconciled to set up its Consulate in Chengdu. China ignored India’s proposal to re-establish its Consulate in provincial capital of Tibet Lhasa. The Consulate in Lhasa was closed during the 1962 war. Nepal is the only country to have a Consulate in Lhasa.

Chengdu has geographical proximity to Tibet. It is the capital of the well industrialised Chinese province of Sichuan. Several other countries including the United States have Consulates in Chengdu.

In view of the recent improvement of relations and growing trade and investments, this move is expected to further firm up diplomatic ties and expand trade between the two countries. 

Besides the Embassy in Beijing, this will be  fourth Indian Consulate in China. India currently has three other Consulates in China, viz., in Shanghai and Guangzhou and in  Hong Kong, which is termed as a Special Administrative Region.

India on its end has permitted China  to open its third Consulate in India in Chennai. For China, Chennai will mark a new opening in South India where it is looking to step up investments. China's  other Consul General missions are in Mumbai and Kolkata apart from its Embassy in New Delhi.

The official statement in this regard this is likely to be made during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China in May.

China has agreed to open a new land route for Indian pilgrims to travel to Kailash Mansarovar through Nathu La Pass. However it remains  reluctant to allow re-establishment of the Indian Consulate in Lhasa, perhaps due to its political sensitivities in Tibet.

China is to undertake a feasibility study to build a high speed railway connecting Chennai and New Delhi.

India, China likely to allow military officers in each other’s academies

 
India and China may  soon allow exchange of military officers on either side to attend courses at specialised military training academies in each other’s country.
The two countries,have fought war in 1961 due to claims and counter-claims along the 3,488-km-long frontier running all along the Himalayan ridge line.,  Currently there is little military exchange between the two countries.
India India suspects China to support Pakistan by launching a simultaneous two-front war in the event of a conflagration between India & Pakistan. Such a move is expected to be closely  monitored by not only Islamabad but also in Japan, USA and even Russia.
The offer to exchange cadets and officers in academies of either country was made during the visit by a high-level Indian delegation led by Air Marshal PP Reddy, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), to Beijing on March 20 by Admiral Sun Jianguo, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), made the offer, sources said.
The Admiral was of the opinion was that the two militaries should maintain high-level exchanges, enhance mutual trust, manage and control differences and deepen pragmatic cooperation in fields such as education and training.

Allowing exchanges in military academies has been discussed for the first time at such a high level. It is believed that the exchanges are possible at all levels e.g.the National Defence College or the Army War College, or other academies like the Indian Military Academy, IAF Academy or the Naval Academy.
So far India has not displayed any aversion to the proposal.
Defence Secretary RK Mathur will be in China on April 8 for the annual defence dialogue (ADD) where the matter is expected to come up for discussion and decision-making.

Chinese defends docking of submarines at Colombo port

China  strongly defended the docking of its submarines at Colombo port "We had the consent of the Sri Lanka side in advance," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters responding to Mangala Samaraweera's comments that the new government will not permit the docking of Chinese submarines.

Two submarines - one said to be nuclear powered - docked at the Colombo port last year during Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, a move that raised concerns in India.

Hua reiterated that Chinese submarines were on way to take part in the anti-piracy operations at the Gulf of Aden in Somalia through Sri Lanka and used the ports for re-supply.

"It is to my knowledge that policy of Sri Lanka side is to support the global anti-piracy campaign. It welcomes the docking of submarines from the friendly countries," it said. "These are normal and transparent activities. It also followed the international practices,"

After reports that one of the Chinese submarines docked at the Colombo port during the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last year, the new Sri Lankan government said it will not permit such dockings.

"I really do not know what circumstances led to some submarines coming to the port of Colombo on the very day the Japanese Prime Minister was visiting Sri Lanka," Samaraweera had said here last week, disclosing for the first time that the docking coincided with Abe's Colombo visit.

"But we will ensure that such incidents from whatever quarters does not happen during our tenure," said Samaraweera, who held extensive talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Hua, however, welcomed Samaraweera's comments terming China as an "all weather friend" and the friendship withstood the test of time.

Indian INS Kolkata destroyer to be fitted with Barak-8 missiles

INS Kolkata commissioned its most-advanced warship into the Indian Navy eight months ago, sans its primary weapon system - the Barak 8 long range surface-to-air missiles. It was meant to carry 32 of these missile on-board in ready-to-fire mode.

It is now reported that Indian Navy is set to integrate Barak-8 long-range surface-to-air missiles on the Kolkata-class guided-missile destroyer INS Kolkata. The missile has the capability to intercept approaching anti-ship missiles at a range of approximately 70 kms. The missile has been built at the Indian Government-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited based in Hyderabad and feature Israel's MF-STAR radar system and rocket motor from India.

The Barak 8 is considered a game-changer for the Indian Navy because it adds a world-class system designed to destroy any anti-ship missile launched by the Pakistani or Chinese navies.



Key to the Barak 8's ability to intercept incoming missiles is the Israel-made MF-STAR radar system which is capable of simultaneously tracking hundreds of airborne targets to a range of more than 250 kms.

The Barak 8, has been co-developed with Israel, features an advanced target tracking system designed by an Israeli company, and a rocket motor built in India.The missiles has completed trials, paving the way for integration on INS Kolkata in April or May.
The missile will simultaneously be fitted on board the INS Kochi, the sister ship of the INS Kolkata, which will soon be commissioned and subsequently, on the last ship of the class, the INS Chennai.

Cabinet nods for Defence, Telecom ministries agreement for 3 G spectrum

    Recently IndianTelecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad met Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to discuss 3G defence spectrum band issue.

    Indian Telecom operators have been demanding from the government  the auction of 20 Megahertz of 3G (2100 Mhz band) spectrum but the government had only assured auction of 5 Mhz of spectrum. All the 3G spectrum, which is proposed to be put up for auction, needed to be freed by the Defence Ministry. 

     Defence Ministry has agreed to free 5 Mhz of 3G spectrum initially and 15 Mhz when the government notified a dedicated spectrum for defence forces as 'Defence Band and Defence Interest Zone'. 

    The Defence will now vacate 15 MHz spectrum in the 3G band in exchange for the same amount of spectrum in another frequency band. In return, the Defence forces will be given an exclusive spectrum band.

    Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the eight-year dispute has been resolved between the two ministries. Prasad said that he expected the dedicated spectrum band for the defence sector could be notified in February. However, it will take at least a year for the transition to take place as it is a complex exercise.

     The Department of Telecom has announced dates for next round of spectrum auction for 800 Mhz (CDMA), 900 Mhz and 1800 Mhz bands but is yet to share details of 3G spectrum.

   Inter-ministerial panel Telecom Commission  is learnt to have suggested a base price of Rs 3,705 crore per megahertz as 3G spectrum base price for upcoming auction, about 11 per cent higher than what companies paid for the same during the 2010 sale. It is also 36 per cent higher than regulator TRAI's recommendation of Rs 2,720 crore per Mhz.


   The government expects to raise at least Rs 64,840 crore from the auction, excluding 3G.
During the event, the Minister invited suggestions from industry to improve connectivity in the country.

   The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is said to have ratified the deal which would make available more spectrum for telecom companies. But the vacated airwaves will not be put up for auction in February.

   The band between 1700 MHz and 2000 MHz is required to be harmonised and the Cabinet has approved that this harmony must be done within a period of one year.

   During this period, the Department of Telecom would set up a defence band exclusive for  use by the armed forces. The DoT will create a defence band along 50 km of the international border, which will be known as Defence interest zone.

   The Centre feels the arrangement is beneficial for telecom operators as they will get access to another 15 MHz of 3G spectrum. However, the industry had wanted this spectrum to be auctioned along with other frequency bands in February. The Cabinet had earlier decided that only 5 MHz of 3G spectrum will be sold now.