Monthly Archives: August 2018

The sources said the price for 36 Rafales, as per the UPA tender, keeping the cost escalation and dollar rate in mind, comes to a little over Rs 65,000 crore.

New Delhi, April 17

A high-level team from France is expected to arrive here next month to firm up the order for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft by India as both countries have managed to narrow down their differences over pricing.

The development comes nearly four months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande signed a memorandum of agreement to purchase 36 Rafale combat jets.

The Indian side has been negotiating hard to bring down the price with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar refusing to buckle under pressure even as questions were being raised about the delay in signing the contract.

The deal comes with the clause of 50 per cent offsets, which will be a bonanza for the domestic industry as it will lead to business worth at least 3 billion Euros and creating new jobs in India.

The tough part of the negotiations that began in July 2015 was to get the French side to agree to 50 per cent offsets in the deal.

Initially, Dassault Aviation, makers of Rafale, was willing to agree to reinvest only 30 per cent of the value of its contract in Indian entities to meet the offset obligations.

The French side finally agreed to invest 50 per cent of the value following a phone conversation between Modi and Hollande late last year.

The commercial negotiations, as in the pricing of the planes, equipment and other issues, actually began only in mid-January this year.

“It is correct to say that differences over pricing as more or less being settled. A final deal should take place next month if all matters go as scheduled,” a defence source said.

Government sources said the deal has not been concluded yet but it is in “final stages”.

The sources said the price for 36 Rafales, as per the UPA tender, keeping the cost escalation and dollar rate in mind, comes to a little over Rs 65,000 crore.

This includes the cost involved in making changes India has sought in the aircraft, including Israeli helmet mounted display and some specific weaponry, among others.

“The effort is to bring down the price to less than Euros 8 billion (Rs 59,000 crore),” the sources said.

The expectation is that the final deal will be clinched by May-end.

Under the proposed deal, French companies, apart from Dassault Aviation, will provide several aeronautics, electronics and micro-electronics technologies to comply with the offset obligation.

Companies like Safran and Thales will join Dassault in providing state-of-art technologies in stealth, radar, thrust vectoring for missiles and materials for electronics and micro-electronics. — PTI

A French Rafale fighter aircraft. AFP file photo

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 15

India has finalised the Rafale fighter jet deal to purchase 36 jets from Dassault Aviation of France after negotiating teams from either side narrowed down their differences.

India has agreed to pay 7.89 billion euros (nearly Rs 59,000 crore) for the deal, top sources have confirmed. The Indian team has managed to bring down the deal price by nearly 11 billion euros.

This comes four months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande signed a memorandum of agreement (MoU) to purchase the 36 jets.

It was earlier expected that the final deal would be clinched in another month’s time by the middle of May.

The delivery of first of the jets will be made some 18 to 20 months later. The Indian Air Force (IAF) needs new fighter jets since its fleet of fighter jets is at its lowest in a decade.

The deal comes with the clause of delivering 50 per cent offsets that will create business worth at least Rs 22,000 crore for Indian companies.

French companies will provide several aeronautics, electronics technologies under the offset obligation to Indian companies. French companies Safran and Thales will join Dassault in providing radars, thrust vectoring for missiles and materials for electronics.

Sticking points gone

• 11 bn euros Price brought down by Indian negotiators
• 22,000 cr business for Indian firmsthrough 50% offsets in deal
• Oct 2017 delivery of the firstbatch of jets to start

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Sukhmani

As the temperature rises this summer, so does the cost for cooling your home. So this time, try using the air-conditioner less and cool your homes naturally by following a few simple tips. Fundamentally, the idea is to minimise sources of heat and remove built-up heat from inside.n Keep the sun out. Keep the house closed during the day. Don’t let in unwanted heat and humidity. Ventilate at night, either naturally or with fans.n Install outdoor window drapes and awnings, especially on windows facing the sun (east-facing windows in the morning and west-facing windows in the afternoons). Use insulated window films.n Up to 30 percent of unwanted heat comes from your windows, so utilising shades, curtains and the like can save you up to 7 percent of your bills and lower indoor temperatures by up to 10 degrees.n Install white window shades, drapes or blinds to reflect the heat away from the house.n Get rid of internal heat. The most common sources are appliances, electronic devices and lighting. Be aware from where the heat is coming. Now if you have air-conditioning, use it wisely. Don’t put lamps, televisions or other heat-generating appliances next to your air-conditioning thermostat because the heat from these appliances will cause the air-conditioner to run longer. The heat they produce will make it think your house is warmer than it really is, and your system will run harder than it needs to.n You should also try to avoid heat-generating activities, such as cooking, during the hottest part of the day. If you are cooking, use your range fan to vent the hot air out of your house. By reducing the amount of heat in your home, you will have to use less energy to cool it.n Paint your roofs with a specially formulated reflective white paint. This will help keep the house cool.n Humidity makes the room air feel warmer, so reduce indoor humidity. Minimise mid-day washing and drying clothes, showering, and cooking. And when you must do these things, turn on ventilating fans to help extract warm, moist air.n Along with the ceiling fans, use portable fans as well. Remember that even a mild air movement can make you feel 3 to 4 degrees cooler. Try a simple trick – fill a mixing bowl with ice (or something equally cold, like an ice-pack) and position it at an angle in front of a large fan, so that the air whips off the ice at an extra-chilled, extra-misty temperature. Trust me: it’s magic!n Switch to cotton sheets in your bedroom. Cotton is a smarter move this time of the year, as it breathes easier and stays cooler. And as an added bonus, buy yourself a buckwheat pillow or two. As buckwheat hulls have a naturally occurring air space between them, they won’t hold on to your body heat like conventional pillows do.n Temperature sometimes drops early morning and late evenings. When that happens, open up your windows and let the cool air in.n Ditch the incandescent lights. Incandescent bulbs waste about 90 percent of their energy in the heat they emit, so tossing them out will make a small difference in cooling your home while lowering your electric bill.n Avoid landscaping with lots of un-shaded rock, cement, or asphalt on the south or west sides because it increases the temperature around the house and radiates heat to the house after the sun has set. Plant shade trees around the house.

Masood Azhar

New Delhi, April 8

A National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court in Mohali today issued arrest warrants against Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and three others wanted in January’s Pathankot air base attack case.“In the Pathankot terror attack case, the judge of the NIA special court issued arrest warrants against the accused wanted in the case — Maulana Masood Azhar, Abdul Rauf, Kashif Jan and Shahid Latif,” said SK Singh, Inspector General, NIA, who is heading the probe into the attack.On March 28, when the talks between the NIA and the Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on the probe began, the Indian agency had shown the JIT evidence of the Pakistan link, including the involvement of the JeM in the attack. — TNS

In touch with India on JeM chief: China

• China says it is in “contact” with India over Beijing’s decision to block New Delhi’s move to ban Pathankot mastermind Masood Azhar. A Chinese official said: “China remains in contact with all relevant parties, including India on this matter… China opposes all forms ofterrorism.” PTI
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Navy’s all-women team concludes trek to PindariNew Delhi, April 5An all-women high-altitude trek to the Pindari river in Bageshwar district, organised by the Indian Navy to introduce women officers to the adventure sport of mountaineering, successfully concluded in New Delhi. The team, flagged off from New Delhi on March 22, reached Loharkhet on March 26 from where they commenced its high- altitude trek to the glacier through Dhakuri, Khati and Dwali. The team reached the Pindari glacier zero point (3,353 m) on March 30. — PTI

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 28

The coming up of a helipad near Dhalli on the outskirts of the town here could pave the way for re-starting the heli-taxi services which could give a major boost to high-end tourism in the state.The case for seeking forest clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest has already been submitted for developing the 0.77 hectare chunk of land as a helipad. However, the Ministry of Environment and Forest has now sought the mandatory no objection certificate (NOC) from the Forest Rights Committee of the concerned Gram Panchayat.The Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation has chalked out a plan to develop all basic facilities at this helipad which would help promote high end tourism. Besides having a VIP lounge, some other facilities like a hanger for parking the helicopters, a mandatory facility for starting helli-taxi services, will be there.The absence of air connectivity from Shimla for the last over three years has greatly impacted high-end tourism. Moreover, even if flights are resumed from Shimla, the airport is located at Jubbarhatti, which is almost an hour’s drive from here. As such the setting up of a helipad will help landing of chartered flights for the high-end tourist.“We want to give a second try to heli-taxi services which could not take off earlier due to the absence of a permanent place for the choppers,” admitted a senior official. He added that in case the helipad comes up near Dhalli, a separate area will be earmarked for the choppers of the various airline operators.It was in November 2010 that the state government had launched heli-taxi services with three airline operators- Simm Samm Airways Pvt Ltd, Mesco Airlines and Shiva Helli Services. However the initiative did not take off and there were practically no takers for the service. The efforts of the state government to seek 75 per cent viability gap funding from the Planning Commission did not fructify.Another major hitch was the problem being faced with the Defence Forces in stationing the choppers at Annandale Ground, which is under Army control. Now with the coming up of the helipad near Dhalli, this problem would be solved. The Tourism Department has identified 57 helipads all over the state, which will finally be linked by heli taxi service. To begin with the department intends start flights connecting Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla, Kullu-Manali, Dharamsala, Chamba and tribal areas of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti.

The Mughal Road reopened on Saturday. Tribune photo: Amin War

Ehsan Fazili

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 25

All road links to high-altitude areas, which were closed for the past nearly six winter months, are in the process of being thrown open to vehicular traffic.The strategic Zojila, which connects the Kashmir valley with the Ladakh region through the 434-km-long road, was open as the snow had been cleared off the road. “It will take a day or two to throw open the road officially after confirmation from our drivers,” said Brig AK Das, Chief Engineer of Beacon Project of the BRO. The Centre has already approved an all-weather road to the region. It will be completed in the next seven years.The 84-km-long Mughal Road, connecting Kashmir via Shopian district with Poonch district in the Jammu region, was opened for light vehicular traffic on Saturday. The only road link that has not been reopened so far is the Anantnag-Kishtwar road that passes through Sinthan Top. 

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 25

The world’s largest aircraft, the AN-225 Mriya, will make its maiden landing in India next month en route to Australia from Europe. The aircraft will make an overnight technical halt at Hyderabad.The aircraft will arrive in India from Turkmanbashi in Central Asia and proceed to Jakarta and hereafter to its final destination Perth. It is carrying a generator that weighs 116 tonnes.Sources in the aviation sector say May 13 is the tentative date for its arrival in India and it will depart the next day after staying in the country for 20 hours. They said Hyderabad was chosen for the halt for several factors such as runway length, ground manoeuvering area, technical facilities, air traffic density and proximity to the trans-continental air route.The six-engined Mriya, which means dream in Russian, is the longest and heaviest airplane ever built, with a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes. It was developed to transport the Soviet Braun space shuttle or other super-heavy and outsized cargo. Given its size, wing-span and engine wake, it can operate from a limited number of airports. Only one AN-225 was built in 1988 that served with the Soviet Air Force. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, it remained in storage for a few years and was later, after refurbishment, entered commercial service with the Antonov Airlines of Ukraine. The construction of a second airframe was started in the late 1980s, but it remains unfinished to date due to funding issues.The AN-225 can carry up to 250 tonnes of cargo as compared to 157 tonnes by the double-deck Airbus A–380, the largest passenger aircraft in service, or 80 tonnes by the Boeing C-17, the heaviest freighter operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF). In fact, the IAF has a close association with Mriya’s manufacturer, the Antonov Design Bureau, having operated sizable numbers of the AN-12 medium-lift aircraft and the AN-32 tactical transporter.While Soviet-origin aircraft such as the AN-12, AN-32, IL-76 and IL-78 have been the mainstay of the IAF’s logistic support fleet for the past few decades, Western aircraft such as the C-17 and C-130 have taken over a large chuck of this role. Western aircraft manufacturers are also strong contenders for the IAF’s medium transport aircraft and midair refueling aircraft requirements. The IAF has operated Western transport aircraft in the past, with the Dakota, Caribou, Packet, Otter, Constellation, Avro, Devox and Flying Boxcar prominent among them.