
Defence ministry ‘report’ picks holes in arms-buying procedure
A defence ministry document purportedly picking holes in India’s arms-buying procedures has painted a grim picture of how unreasonable delays are hindering the military’s modernisation, at a time when several key programmes are running years behind schedule and some remain stuck on the drawing board.
Only 8-10% of the 144 deals initiated during the last three years came to fruition within the stipulated time period, an NDTV report said on Monday, quoting from an “internal report prepared in late 2017 by minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamre”.
Hindustan Times could not independently verify the contents of the purported report and a defence ministry spokesperson did not immediately confirm or deny the report.
However, it is no secret that several projects have been hit by inordinate delays, experts say. These include the purchase of assault rifles, light machine guns, artillery guns, fighter planes, mid-air refuellers and submarines.
“I cannot comment on the authenticity of the report but the fact is that several of our projects are floundering at one stage or the other,” said a person tracking the military’s modernisation.
The development comes days after India dropped a plan to locally produce single-engine fighters in collaboration with a global defence contractor to expand the scope of the competition by including twin-engine fighters too. The Centre is preparing to launch a fresh hunt for fighter aircraft to sharpen the combat edge of the Indian Air Force, more than 10 years after it floated a global tender for the jets.
Quoting the purported “27-point” document, the channel said arms procurement was hindered by lack of accountability, multiple decision heads, duplication of processes, delayed execution, lack of real-time monitoring and a tendency to fault-find rather than to facilitate.
It added that the Make in India plan had failed to “demonstrate its true potential” due to flaw-ridden processes and delays.
The news report said from the time of issuing a global tender to hammering out a final contract, the delays hovered between 2.6 times to 15.4 times over the stipulated time frame.
It also said lack of synergy between the three services had put greater strain on the defence budget and different departments of the ministry “appear to be working in independent silos” on the basis of their interpretation of policy.
The report said at 120 weeks, the average time to clear files
at the global tender stage was six times more than the timeline prescribed in defence procurement rules.
“The fastest RFP clearance was accorded in 17 weeks, while the slowest took a monumental 422 weeks (over eight years),” the channel said quoting from the purported report.

Disagreeing with govt is not sedition, says SC
- India’s sedition law has an interesting past — it was introduced by the British in 1870, decided to be dropped from the Constitution in 1948 after discussions of the Constituent Assembly.

Centre plans tourism push to mark 75 years of Independence
- India will also promote tourism by celebrating 2022 as the Visit India Year through a promotion campaign highlighting India’s strengths like heritage, culture, art, wellness and yoga.

2 held for murder of sexual assault survivor’s father
- The ADG has constituted teams of police personnel from Aligarh to assist the Hathras police.

Teen held for murder of girl after rape bid
- The incident took place on Sunday afternoon, when the girl went to a wheat field, owned by the family of the accused, to collect fodder and water.

Only Centre can enforce new digital media rules: I&B ministry to states
- The provisions under the new rules relate to the code of ethics for digital news publishers, setting up of a grievance redressal system and the requirement of disclosure of information to Centre, the ministry said.

Spectrograph designed for Uttarakhand telescope
- The instrument will support the 3.6 metre Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT) in Uttarakhand, an official release from the department of science said on Wednesday.

‘Ceasefire need of the hour... desirable for both India, Pak’: Lt-Gen BS Raju
- Lt-Gen BS Raju said a quiet LoC will allow us to address the challenge of terrorism in a focused manner.

ED begins probe against Franklin Templeton
- The central agency has registered a case on the basis of an FIR registered by Chennai Economic Offences Wing in September last year.

Experts slam claim that human activity not behind recent flood
- Dhyani added that the burden on the ecology due to construction on Himalayan slopes made the region prone to disasters.

Supreme Court issues notice on Gautam Navlakha’s plea for default bail
- Navlakha claimed in his petition filed through advocate Shadan Farasat that the 90-day period for filing of charge sheet was over and he was entitled to default bail under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

GJM leader close to Bimal Gurung arrested under POCSO in Sikkim
- Lama was being considered as the GJM candidate for the Kalimpong assembly seat in the coming polls later this month.

Centre differs with SC on additional courts for cheque bounce cases
- Unhappy with the response, the bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to appear in the case along with Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikramjeet Banerjee, who presented the note to the Court.

Man in Maharashtra wanted to ride horse to office to overcome spinal problem
- The officer withdrew his request after an orthopaedic surgeon said his purpose would not be served by buying a horse.

India signs pact with Philippines for supply of BrahMos missile
