Army Chief given marching orders!

After a lot of speculation about will they or will they not issue retirement orders for the incumbent Army Chief General VK Singh, the Military Secretary (MS) branch of the Indian Army today issued retirement orders for him. The order of MS branch that records the General's date of birth as May 10, 1950 has decided the date for Singh to hang his boots as May 31, 2012.

If the Defence Ministry had accepted May 10, 1951 as the General's date of birth, his tenure would have got extended by another 10 months.

The order issued three months before his superannuation will pave way for the selection of the next Chief.

Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Bikram Singh being the senior-most army commander remains the frontrunner in the race to the Army Chief's office.

India to manufacture 100 Bofors gun indigenously

Finally burying the ghost of Bofors scandal that has haunted successive Congress governments, the Indian Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has set on a daunting task of manufacturing 100 Bofors artillery guns indigenously from scratch, nearly 24 years after the first of these Swedish guns were inducted into the Indian Army.

The Indian Army has already placed an order with the OFB and the effort if successful will save the country millions and would give the country a capability to further improvise the guns to add punch to its firepower.

Speaking exclusively to me Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju said, "The Indian Army has put a substantial order for 100 of these Bofors guns. It is a huge task for the OFB. If we are successful, it will be a huge technology boost to the Indian defence market.”

The designs are already with the OFB and the Indian Army’s decision to go for 100 guns at the beginning of the project and testing the guns simultaneously as the manufacturing goes on will cut on the time for fructification of the project. Earlier, the Army was contemplating to get the two prototypes of the guns first, then to put them to extensive field trials and then once the designs were validated, the guns would have been put to mass production.

India had got the technology to manufacture the artillery guns after the deal was signed in 1986 to purchase 410 Bofors 155 mm howitzers. However, the controversy that ensued the allegations of kickback that involved the name of the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi sounded epitaph for all the things related to Bofors, despite the Supreme Court not finding any wrongdoing in the deal.

This meant that the OFB had these drawings for more than the two decades but never attempted to make the gun. The Bofors deal also hung around the Army’s neck like the proverbial “Albatross” with all its efforts to procure artillery coming to a naught and its failure to induct a single artillery gun since 1987. After the AB Bofors was blacklisted, South African firm met the same fate in 1997 and the latest Singaporean firm to be blacklisted was Singapore Technology thwarting Indian Army’s attempt to modernize its artillery inventory.

Age Row still not a closed chapter

The Supreme Court's order on the Army Chief General VK Singh's age petition suggests that the issue is far from being a closed chapter. With the Defence Ministry agreeing to withdraw, its December 30, 2011 order that dismissed the Army Chief's statutory complaint means that the complaint now stands revived.

While the Defence Ministry is yet to issue a fresh order on the complaint and to the Army's two branches - the Adjutant Branch and the Military Secretary Branch - General Singh's two date of birth stands and so does the controversy. Moreover, the Army Act does not specify any time frame for the Defence Minsitry to respond to the Army Chief's statutory complaint (as the lawmakers did not envisage a situation where in the Chief of the Army Staff will need to take resort to Statutory Complaint), so the Defence Ministry might as well sit on the complaint for as long it wants.

While the Government has maintained May 10, 1950 as the  General's date of birth for all official purposes the Army Chief has been claiming to be a year younger. Presently it seems that more drama is awaited in the controversy.


Pasted below is the Apex Court's order-

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO(s). 26 OF 2012
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO(s). 26 OF 2012
VIJAY KUMAR SINGH
Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
UNION OF INDIA
Respondent(s)

O R D E R

Interlocutory Application for impleadment is rejected.

2. General Vijay Kumar Singh, Chief of the Army - the petitioner - has approached this Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India challenging order dated December 30, 2011, Office Memorandum dated July 21, 2011 and order dated July 22, 2011. By these orders/office memorandum, the petitioner's date of birth in the service record has been recognised as May 10, 1950. The petitioner maintains that his date of birth is, in fact, May 10, 1951 and must be treated as such for all purposes in the service record.

3. A caveat has been filed on behalf of the respondent- Union of India. The matter initially came up before us on February 3, 2012. In the course of hearing on that date, certain issues cropped up particularly in relation to the decision making process leading to the order dated December 30, 2011. At the request of the learned Attorney General, the matter was adjourned for today.

4. As soon as the hearing commenced today, Mr. Goolam E. Vahanvati, learned Attorney General, handed over to us a short affidavit of K.L. Nandwani, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Defence, on behalf of the respondent. The affidavit is taken on record. It is stated in the affidavit that the order dated December 30, 2011 may be treated as confined to the order holding that statutory complaint filed by the petitioner was not maintainable. The second part of the order dated December 30, 2011 which deals with the merits on the diverse contentions raised in the complaint has been sought to be withdrawn.

5. We grant permission to the respondent to withdraw the order dated December 30, 2011 to the extent noted above. In view thereof, the petitioner's grievance with regard to the part of the order dated December 30, 2011 which deals with the merits of the controversy does not survive.

6. The principal controversy, accordingly, now remains to the challenge to the Office Memorandum dated July 21, 2011 and the order dated July 22, 2011. By the Office Memorandum dated July 21, 2011, the respondent has annulled the order issued by the ADGMP dated February 25, 2011 and has reiterated that the petitioner's official date of birth will continue to be maintained as May 10, 1950.

7. By order dated July 22, 2011 that followed Office Memorandum dated July 21, 2011, while maintaining that the petitioner's date of birth in the service record continues to be maintained as May 10, 1950, it has been held that there is no reason for it to consider effecting any change in the date of birth of the petitioner as recorded.

8. We have heard Mr. U.U. Lalit, learned senior counsel for the petitioner, and Mr. Goolam E. Vahanvati, learned Attorney General, and Mr. Rohinton F. Nariman, learned Solicitor General, for the respondent-Union of India, at quite some length.

9. In the course of hearing, Mr. Goolam E. Vahanvati, learned Attorney General, stated that the respondent-Union of India had not questioned the integrity or bonafide of the petitioner. He also stated that the contest by the respondent-Union of India to the Writ Petition was on a matter of principle and it did not reflect any lack of faith or confidence in the petitioner's ability to lead the Army.

10. As a matter of fact, the question before us in the Writ Petition is not about the determination of actual date of birth of the petitioner, but it concerns the recognition of a particular date of birth of the petitioner by the respondent in the official service record.

11. In view of the statement made by Mr. Goolam E. Vahanvati, learned Attorney General, and the limited controversy in the Writ Petition as indicated above, learned senior counsel for the petitioner does not wish to press the matter further and he seeks withdrawal of the Writ Petition.

 12. Writ Petition is disposed of as withdrawn.

.......................J.
(R.M. LODHA)

(H.L. GOKHALE)

NEW DELHI
FEBRUARY 10, 2012.

ITEM NO.39 COURT NO.8 SECTION X

S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO(s). 26 OF 2012
VIJAY KUMAR SINGH Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
UNION OF INDIA Respondent(s)

(With appln(s) for ex-Parte stay and exemption from filing O.T. and impleadment as party respondent and I.A. No. 4 ­ appln. for permission to file addl. documents)

Date: 10/02/2012 This Petition was called on for hearing today.

CORAM :
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE R.M. LODHA
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE H.L. GOKHALE

For Petitioner(s) Mr. U.U. Lalit, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Puneet Bali, Adv.
Mr. Prabhjit Jauhar, Adv.
Mr. Akshit Goel, Adv.
Mr. S.S. Jauhar,Adv.


For Respondent(s) Mr. Goolam E. Vahanvati, Attorney General
Mr. Rohinton F. Nariman, Solicitor General
Mr. Devadatt Kamat, Adv.
Mr. T.A. Khan, Adv.
Mr. Anoopam N. Prasad, Adv.
Mr. Nishanth Patil, Adv.
Mr. Anandh Kannan, Adv.
Mr. Ritin Rai, Adv.
Mr. B.V. Balaram Das,Adv.


For Impleadment Mr. Santosh Kumar Suman
Application (applicant-in-person)

UPON hearing counsel the Court made the following

O R D E R

Interlocutory Application for impleadment is rejected.

Writ Petition is disposed of as withdrawn in terms of the signed order.

(Rajesh Dham) (Renu Diwan)
Court Master Court Master
(signed order is placed on the file)

Second phase of largest Indian naval base further delayed

The Indian Navy’s ambitious plan for constructing its largest and exclusive naval base has been stuck for the last 26 years owing to budgetary constraints. The Rs 35,000 crore project has got further delayed as the Finance Ministry’s approval is yet to come through.

Located about 110 km from Goa, the naval base sprawling in 11,200 acres of land and 26-km long coastline in Karnataka is named INS Kadamba and will house around 40 warships, an air force station, helicopters and submarines once complete. The naval base, which will be among the largest military bases in Asia, has been mired with constant delays. 

It presently awaits the Cabinet Committee on Security’s (CCS) approval for the second phase. The proposal will be sent to CCS only when the Finance Ministry gives its nod.

Sources said: “The Finance Ministry has sought redrafting of a CCS note that means the monetary allocation will be pushed to the next financial year.” Once the work in the Phase-II starts it will take another 10 years for completion.

As per earlier schedule the Phase-II of the project had to be started at 2000 and finished by 2005. In the Phase-I, that commenced in 1999, the Navy has developed facilities for berthing of 10 ships. In the second phase the force will be more than doubling these facilities along with making a naval air base, tunnels for submarines, refueling facilities, and repair and maintenance facilities for its largest warships.

In the meantime the Navy has decided to go ahead with the ground work for the next phase like scouting for a firm to design, manage and construct the mammoth project that will give India one of the largest naval bases in the world on this side of the Suez canal.

The Request for Information issued by the Indian Navy on Friday sought Expression of Interest “to enable short-listing of reputable and capable consulting firms and institutions with proven track record, which could be appointed as a Project Management Consultant cum Marine Works Design Consultant (PMC & MWC) for Phase II-A of Project Seabird”.

The Ministry of Finance has in fact thrown budgetary spanners in the deal and blamed the Navy for failing to prioritize its modernization needs. Sanctioned in 1985, the base on the western coast is India’s first base exclusively for the naval ships capable of accommodating even the largest of its ship.

Karwar is located in the shadows of hills and a thick forest cover screen the base from prying satellites.

So far, the navy has been sharing facilities with commercial vessels at Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Kochi.  The Visakhapatnam harbor in the east has the capability to accommodate about 50 ships meeting Indian Navy’s requirement. But on the west coast, Mumbai being the commercial centre and shallow waters prevent berthing of larger warships like aircraft carriers. Moreover, due to congestion Mumbai port has little scope for expansion.

INS Kadamba also gives strategic leverage to the Indian Navy as its distance from Karachi; the nearest Pakistani port is more than Mumbai. This will further protect the Indian Naval assets from Pakistani missile attacks.

Another facility in the base is its ship-lifting capability that will help in lifting up warships up to 10,000 tonnes and to be transferred to the dry docks for repair. The ship-lift is a large platform that can be lowered into water and lift a ship vertically. This elevator will be able to life all the naval platforms except aircraft carriers and tankers.

 

Project Seabird

- To construct largest, exclusive naval base on western coast

- Rs. 35,000 crore project to spread in 11,200 acres area

- Berthing facilities for 50 warships including aircraft carrier

- Congested Mumbai hampers warships movement 

          

Strategic Gains

- INS Kadamba is farther from Pakistani port Karachi securing it from Pakistani missile attacks

- Karwar’s geographic environment with its hills and forest cover screen it from spying satellites

- Sea-depth provides easy berthing of warships

Money Constraints

- Mooted in 1985 initial outlay for Rs. 350 crore. Budgetary constraints force navy to redraw its plan in 1995

-  Work commences in 1999 with an allocation of Rs 2,500 crore

-  The original plan was to build berths for 22 warships but plan was partially shelved as money was received only for 10 berths in the Phase-I

- Problem in land acquisition further delayed the project

- The Phase-I completed in 2005

- The Finance Ministry approval for the second phase was expected by 2009

- Seeking modifications, Finance Ministry has accused Navy of failing to prioritize its needs

Other deals facing delay due to the lack of money

- The finance ministry objections led to cancellation of Rs. 6,000 crore tender for 6 mid air-refuellers sought by Indian Air Force

- The follow on order for long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft P-8I has been in limbo because of this

-  The need for 126 fighter jets was mooted in 2001 but the tender could be issued only in 2007

 

Air Marshal survives Mirage crash

A top Indian Air Force (IAF) officer had a narrow escape on Friday as a French-built Mirage-2000 aircraft crashed. The aircraft was piloted by the Commanding Officer the fighter Squadron and the sortie was part of the 25 years of the aircraft’s induction into the force.

Air Officer Personnel Air Marshal Anil Chopra and Wing Commander Ram Kumar had taken off from Maharajpura airbase in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh and it crashed in the ravines of Bhind, 32 km northeast of Gwalior around 12.10 pm.

“The engine of Mirage aircraft flamed out. Both the pilots tried to recover it but did not succeed,” sources said. Both the pilots managed to bail out in time. 

The sortie was part of the celebrations for 25 years of Mirage induction and Air Marshal Chopra was one of the first pilots to be trained on the fighter jets.

IAF is already going through one of the worst years in terms of fighter jets crashes as nine of its aircraft including its frontline jets known for their safety record like Sukhoi along with the Soviet-vintage MiG series crashed in 2011-12. The Mirage crash is also a setback as the single engine aircraft had a proven safety record in the force with only five crashes in its two and a half decades of service.

“This is the first engine failure of Mirage in the last 25 years,” sources added.

IAF has recently inked a $ 2.4 billion deal with Dassault, the French manufacturers of the aircraft, for upgradation of 51 fighter jets in its inventory. Two of the aircraft has already reached France and the rest 49 aircraft will be refurbished in India over a period of ten years.

IAF had inducted first of the Mirage fighter jets in 1987.  Mirage was renamed “Vajra” meaning “Thunder” in Sanskrit. Mirage has been assigned with nuclear strike role also. In 1999 when the Kargil conflict broke out, Mirage participated in the limited air operations that were undertaken.

Indian Armed Forces and Gay Rights!

Since the Supreme Court has kicked up a debate on the issue of legality of homosexuality in the country. I thought it befitting to write something about the stand of Indian Armed Forces on the issue. Pasted below is the story I wrote in 2009 after the Delhi High Court ruling decriminalising Homosexuality. The question still persists and can the armed forces ignore the direction of the winds. 

The US military, which for long has been following the policy of "don't ask, don't tell" on same-sex relationships, had last year in a landmark step lifted the 18-year old ban from openly gay and lesbian service personnel. Hailing the repealing of the ban, President Obama had said that no longer will the gay and lesbian members of the US armed forces will have "to lie about who they are".

What's your take?

Armed forces not gay over ruling on homosexuality

India’s armed forces have received the Delhi High Court’s judgement decriminalising homosexuality with a resounding “no”, with armed forces acts saying such behaviour is deemed unnatural and can be a punishable offence.

Gay rights remain a largely metropolitan phenomenon and homosexuality is strict taboo for a majority of India’s 1.1 million soldiers, the Indian military stresses. Citing global trends, it contends that legalising homosexuality in the services is not feasible.

“No armed force in the world has legalised homosexuality as in an institution like this it can have adverse consequences. Soldiers are posted in the remotest of areas and have to live in close proximity for long. Any legalisation of homosexuality would adversely impact inter-personnel relations,” a senior official of the Indian Army said, requesting anonymity.

“Moreover, our jawans come from a rural background and they do not consider homosexuality normal behaviour.”

During recruitment, the Indian military establishment does not ask the sexual orientation of the applicant. But in the forces, homosexuality is deemed “indecent” and “unnatural” behaviour and can lead to court martial.

Though the Armed Forces Act does not mention homosexuality, it is illegal under sections 45 and 46 (a) of the Army Act, 1950, and the Air Force Act, 1950, which deal with “unbecoming conduct” and “any disgraceful conduct of a cruel, indecent or unnatural kind”. Offenders are liable to face court martial. They may also be cashiered or suffer other punishment.

The Navy Act, 1957, makes “indecent act” and “unbecoming conduct” illegal, which effectively includes homosexuality.

The Delhi High Court ruled on July 2, 2009 that gay sex among consenting adults is not a crime. The court sought changes in the Indian Penal Code’s Section 377, a relic from the British Raj, which relates to “unnatural offences” and says that “whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal should be punished”.

The British Army now openly welcomes gays into its ranks. In the US, the policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is followed - gays are prohibited from speaking about their sexual orientation while serving in the armed forces. They face dismissal if they do so. The US Congress has passed a specific law that homosexuals are ineligible to be enlisted in the armed forces.

“The repercussions (of legalising homosexuality in the armed forces) in India would be very serious. There may be cases when a senior forces a junior into the act and proves it to be consensual,” another official of the Indian Army said.

According to the officials, there have been several incidents of homosexuals being asked to put in their papers and cadets being expelled from the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakvasla, for their “unbecoming conduct”.

“Though we think that sexual preferences are a matter of personal choice, legalising homosexuality in the armed forces is a big no. Just think about the NDA where one remains in close proximity with other cadets. Legalising homosexuality would certainly increase sexual harassment cases,” an Indian Air Force (IAF) official added. (The story had appeared while I was part of Indo-Asian News Service.)

R.I.P

17 killed as avalanche hits Army camp

17 Army men, including a young officer Lt Prateek, were killed as two avalanches hit army establishments in Sonamarg and Davar. An acclimatisation camp was going on at the High Altitude Warfare School, few kilometers away from Gulmarg. Many soldiers were still reported missing.

Bad weather is obstructing the rescue operations as no helicopter has been able to reach the afflicted area. The Army personnel are physically involved in the Search and Rescue operations even as mercury continued to plummet further. The avalanche was so strong that it destroyed even the permanent structures and inflicting heavy casualty.

Nerpa's Home Coming!

The nuclear-powered Russian-built submarine INS Chakra that India has taken on a ten years lease would touch the Indian shores in March first week, making it the sixth country in the world to operate a nuclear submarine.

The Akula class Nerpa submarine has been renamed INS Chakra after Lord Krishna’s invincible weapon Sudarshan Chakra for induction into the Indian Navy and is considered one of the stealthiest and deadliest nuclear submarine in the world. The force will be operating a nuclear submarine after two decades.

Sources have refrained from giving an exact date for security reasons. INS Chakra will be reaching Visakhapatnam, the harbor in Andhra Pradesh state on the eastern coast of the country.

Even though the vessel is not equipped with nuclear weapons, it would provide experience to the Indian Navy in operating similar platform with indigenous nuclear submarine programme INS Arihant inching closer towards completion. INS Arihant will complete India’s nuclear triad – the capability of delivering nuclear weapons by air, land and water.

A nuclear submarine is in sync with Indian nuclear policy of “no first use” and will act as “deterrence” for the adversaries in case the country is attack with nuclear weapons in the first place.

The home coming of INS Chakra will mark the materializing of the $920 million defence deal with Russia in January 2004 that has been wrapped under a veil of secrecy so far.

India is the 6^th country, after the US, Russia, France, Britain and China, to have a nuclear submarine. 

Musings of a Man in Uniform

I am trying to put up opinions of serving officers (anonymously of course) on various issues. The first in the series is on the controversy over the age of the Army Chief General VK Singh, which has now been put to rest. 

When to wish the Army Chief Happy Birthday?

I am a simple citizen. I do not fathom the intricacies or the mechanics of the legal system. My idea of justice comes from a simple understanding of right and wrong as ingrained through education which includes, most notably, social and cultural upbringing. Hence, when I observe a legal case through media lines, I assume that it ought to serve the primary purpose of reinforcing our faith in the law machinery of the nation.

This in itself may have many aspects. At the very outset, it would help me better understand the nature of my country and the values enshrined in the constitution. In this regard, my education taught me that free societies are based on the primary assertion of protecting the individual against the tyranny of stronger forces including the state itself. So, when I follow a case, it tells me if indeed the various organs of state, for all their respective shortcomings, are able to add up and deliver justice or are the tendencies aimed at giving bureaucratically impeccable settlements of a case by applying the knowledge and intricacy of 'rule position'. I am conscious that the evolution of civilization is deeply dependent on its ability to deliver justice and not just dispose cases.

Here's how I see the case of 'Gen VK Singh's Age Row' : Any citizen must have one date of birth and not something fixed by mutual consent or convenience. Departments within his own organisation were unable to decide this date. Until such time that this was decided, a certain date was taken into cognisance. In due course, the individual took the matter to the next higher authority. They too were unable to decide something that is routinely done at the lower divisions of office. Suspicion of vested interest could be debated against the individual and the establishment likewise.

Is the individual acting smart or had he been blackmailed by the representatives of the establishment in the past? Has he suddenly chosen to trade his long built 'honour' for a few more months in office or is he fighting the hidden arbitrariness of the establishment in achieving a premeditated successor? Is he using the law to his advantage (and is that a crime) or are we, the simple citizens, being led by vested parties in giving momentum to a malign campaign against a person who some representatives of the  establishment consider unsavoury? How much of his life or focus ought to be adamantly (or vehemently) devoted to this issue? Such questions are hardly germane to the elementary case – determining his date of birth!

I am reminded of a case in the past where a citizen (female) had alleged 'outrage of modesty' by another citizen (male). Public debate had made references to vested issues like inter departmental rivalries between the cadres that these two eminent people came from. Some even questioned the time lag in formally taking up a case where breach of dignity ought to have been clearly evident at the very outset of physical contact. Yet, and I am sure, we, the simple citizens, were all proud, that the law protected the right of the individual for seeking recourse from becoming time-bar or from isolating the petitioner. On the other hand, the Jessica Lal murder case saw considerable flip-flop over years. From 'Nobody Murdered.....' to celebrations on the deliverance of justice was a journey fluctuating between anxiety and expectations for the populace. Even now society remains uncertain whether sending the murderer to jail does indeed keep him from attending parties. The legal position to his 'medical holidays' is that seeking medical aid is his lawful right. Civilised society forbids speculating vested motives – even for a branded criminal.

Laws have been enacted to reduce subjective norms in judging people. Attempting to peep into the heart of a fellow human being and conjuring up our own idea of what vested desire might lie therein, is a right that no civilised society gives to any individual. Least of all if such an assessment is liable to be defamatory. History has it, that such incursions upon an individual's dignity were often decided by armed duel.  In fact, the legal establishment intends to curb such tendency of individuals to take the law into their own hands by encouraging them to seek formal recourse.

That, the Chief of a nation's army had to take a simple procedural matter to the apex court, ought to have implications for an ordinary citizen’s confidence in the establishment. We must also introspect the righteousness of our conduct in speculating ulterior motives on his part. On the other hand, the matter is now said to be settled and yet it must bear scrutiny that we, the simple citizens of India do not know what the date of birth was fixed at. Newspaper reports seem to suggest that there are two such dates as apply to his military life and as a citizen respectively.

They say that the law is blind. It delivers verdict without prejudice to related consequences. So, would some learned person kindly guide me, where a simple citizen may redress an odd grievance in the hope of clear justice (yes or no, guilty or not guilty, this way or that way) which does not inordinately take away the right to live with dignity. 

'We the People' must seek a healthy interdependence amongst departments poised to propel a nation's success. There is an urgent need to  curb the race for supremacy of each department being exercised through their control over the respective arena of responsibility. Such a format can only lay the foundation of drawing the military to follow likewise and one day, in the face of imminent need, we being left stunned by a tacit volte face by the last bastion.  

Lots of Laugh!!

Sleuths get access to Blackberry Messenger

New Delhi: The stalemate between the Government and the Canadian manufacturer of Blackberry has been resolved as the Research in Motion (RIM) Ltd has given intelligence agencies real time access to its Messenger service, implying that the sleuths can now read the messages sent from one Blackberry to Blackberry.

Also the government has got a backdoor access to Blackberry Enterprise Server as the agencies will be provided access as per specific requests to the service providers.

 
Confirming the news, sources said that the move would give a great boost to the counter-terrorism efforts of the government. “For Blackberry Enterprise Server, agencies would have indirect access through the service providers, who then will take specific queries to RIM. However, the Government is looking for real time access to the servers. This part is still being worked at.
 

A team of Government officials has already inspected the server. It is not exactly the solution wanted by MHA, which would have preferred a  capability to decode messages themselves so that they could conduct surveillance without disclosing the name of the suspects to the Blackberry manufacturing firm.
 

Next on the agenda is interception of emails through Yahoo and Gmail with the MHA directing the Department of Telecom to ask the service providers to ensure that all emails accessed from India should be routed through servers located in India.

After losing out fighter jet deal, delay in chopper deal concerns Europeans

After losing out to France in the multi-billion dollar fighter jet deal, Europe has now fixed its glaze on the contract for 197 light utility helicopters for the Indian Army. European firm Eurocopter has written to the Indian Army Chief regarding the delay in the finalization of the contract.

The 1.5 billion dollar acquisition process, where Eurocopter’s 350 Fennec is fighting it out with the Russian Kamov-226 Sergei, has been in limbo for quite long.

Expressing its concern over the “time frame taken” to finalise the deal, the European defence major said in its letter: “The technical evaluation process has now taken over 38 months and has not yet been concluded due to reasons which are unknown to us.”

The helicopters will be replace the ageing fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters which are the backbone of the Indian Army’s supply chain in the high altitude region like Siachen Glacier and the north east.

The Indian Army’s first attempt to procure 197 helicopters had got stalled in 2007 when the defence ministry cancelled the tender at the eleventh hour of signing the deal with Eurocopter. The second tender was issued in 2008. The deal has also hit air pocket after an anonymous letter received by the Defence Ministry alleged roles of arms dealers in the contract and over ambitious quality requirements hindered a particular trial.

Earlier this year, the parent company of the European firm had lost out to French Dassault fighter makers in the contract for 126 multi role fighter aircraft valuing a whopping $10.4 billion.

“We hope that this program after so many years will soon be successfully concluded and we would be proud to contribute to the self-reliance of Indian Armed Forces,” the letter added.

The flight trials of the two contenders had been completed in December 2010 and the report was submitted in February 2011. The report got approval of the Defence Ministry and the Technical Oversight Committee in October 2011 and January 2012 respectively.

The process will take a long time as the next step in the process is opening of the commercial bids of the two contenders in fray and then a commercial negotiation committee will be constituted to negotiate with the lowest bidder.

Out of the 197 helicopters, the Indian Army will induct 133 and 64 will go to the air force. Out of these helicopters 60 will be purchased in flyaway condition and the rest of them will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) under license.