With the Defence Ministry debarring Singapore Kinetics, the Singaporean howitzer maker along with six other companies, from doing business in India for the next 10 years, the jinxed artillery modernisation programme of the Indian Army has suffered another setback. With India refusing to do business with Bofors following the ghost of 1984 scandal that cost Rajiv Gandhi his government and then blacklisting South African gun manufacturer Denel, the options for Indian Army have reduced a lot.
Indian Army's artillery wing is in dire need of modernisation with the force not inducting a single gun since 1987. The ban is going to have a huge boost for the US and the government might opt for procuring its artillery through government to government sales.
Here is the statement issued by the Defence Ministry-
MoD DEBARS SIX FIRMS
FROM BUSINESS DEALINGS FOR TEN YEARS
New Delhi: Phalguna
15, 1933
Monday, March 05,
2012
The Ministry of Defence today decided to debar six firms-
M/s Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd. (STK), M/s Israel Military Industries
Ltd. (IMI), M/s Rheinmetall Air Defence (RAD), Zurich, M/s Corporation Defence,
Russia (CDR), M/s TS Kisan & Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi and M/s RK Machine
Tools Ltd., Ludhiana – from further business dealings with the Ordnance Factory
Board, Department of Defence Production, MoD, for a period of ten years.
The firms were recommended for blacklisting by the CBI on
the basis of evidence collected against them. These firms were issued notice to
show cause as to why action against them should not be taken consequent to the
filing of the chargesheet in the case related to illegal gratification against
former Director General of Ordnance Factories Shri Sudipto Ghosh and
others. The decision to debar was taken today after taking into
consideration their replies.
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