Home Ministry unveils draft policy on Arms and Ammunitions
December 21, 2009
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has unveiled a draft policy for regulating production and supply of arms and ammunition in the private sector. The policy, which supports the existing norm for production in private sector, stipulates certain conditions with a view to ‘prevent diversion to unauthorised hands.’ Under the draft guidelines, only big private companies willing to invest more than Rs. 50 crores (subject to maximum 26 per cent FDI) are to be issued industrial licenses by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in consultation with the MHA to produce various arms and ammunitions. However the supply of such items, except for sports weapons and the like, are strictly restricted to the defence forces, paramilitary forces and state governments. To enable the government to monitor the activities of producers, it authorises the District Magistrate of the concerning area to inspect and file report to the secretaries at state and central levels.
India, Israel to step up defence cooperation
December 23, 2009
Reports noted that India and Israel have decided to enhance bilateral defence cooperation in the areas such as trade in military goods, counter terrorism, intelligence sharing and joint R&D projects. The decision came after the meeting in New Delhi of Joint Working Group on Defence, co-chaired by director-general of Israeli Defence Ministry, Brigadier-General Pinchas Buchris (Retd) and Indian Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar. Israel is one of the biggest defence suppliers to India, supplying nearly $9 billion worth of military products since 1999. Last week the Defence Minister, AK Antony informed the lower house of the Parliament that India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) are presently working on two projects worth over Rs. 12,680 crores to develop long and short-range surface to air missiles for the Air Force and Navy.
Navy’s Submarine strength hit by delays
December 23, 2009
Reports indicated that Indian Navy’s submarine strength – presently comprising of 10 Russian Kilo-class, four German HDW and two Foxtrot – is likely to depleted to just five in 2014-15. The depletion is mainly due to the delays in induction schedule of new class submarines and obsolescence of some of the present ones. The Rs. 18,798 P-75 project under six Scorepene-class submarines are planed for induction by 2017 is facing delays of at least two years. It successor, the P75-I project, under which another six submarines are planned for induction at a total cost of nearly Rs. 30,000 crores, has not moved beyond the planning stage. It is believed that the MoD has not been able to decide which shipyard could execute the project.
Hindustan Shipyard is now under Defence Ministry
December 24, 2009
The central government has approved the transfer of the Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), a fully government-owned enterprise located in the port city of Visakhapatnam on the East coast of India from Ministry of shipping to the Ministry of Defence. A press Release issued by the Government said the transfer of shipyard would enable the defence ministry to meet “national security requirements of building strategic vessels for Indian Navy.” The decision, which came after the concerns expressed by the Navy about delays in constructing tactical submarines, is expected to boost the submarine and other shipbuilding activities. With the recent transfer, the MoD will have four dedicated shipyards under its direct control – Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL), Garden Reach Shipbuilding and Engineers (GRSE) and Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) and HSL.
