Army Chief General Bipin Rawat today said there is a need to focus on incorporating Artificial Intelligence and big data computing into the armed forces’ system.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat says it is time to focus on AI and Big Data Analytics. (File)
HYDERABAD:
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat today said there is a need to focus on incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data computing into the armed forces’ system, saying the northern adversary of the country (China) is spending “huge money” on this technology.
Addressing the valedictory function of the National Conference on “Self Reliance in Defence Manufacturing” in Hyderabad, he said rapid advances in technology necessitated incorporation of the industrial sector into defence manufacturing.
“Apart from guns and rifles, we will see lot of non-contact warfare happening. Future wars are going to be fought in cyber domain,” he said.
It is important to start understanding the relevance of AI and Big Data computing and how to incorporate this into the defence system, he said.
“Our adversary on the northern border (China) is spending huge amounts of money on Artificial Intelligence and cyber warfare. We cannot be left behind. It is time for us to also focus on AI and on Big Data Analytics rather than just keeping it confined to mere definitions,” the army chief said.
He said the defence forces needed equipment that were capable of deep viewing adversaries’ territories. “This equipment could either be based on satellites… which fortunately we have some but are not adequate to keep continuous surveillance and other means like drones, unarmed vehicles, remotely piloted vehicles.. this is the need of the hour.”
There is a need for a battle field management system, which would enable the commander to incorporate and integrate all the information that was available and hence, technology becomes very important, he added.
Noting that the Centre was opening two Defence industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, he said: “Rather than becoming an import industry we should become export oriented based on case-to-case because we do not want our technology to fall into our adversaries’ hands.”
He said there are some countries willing to share technology with India and the industry needs to partner with some of the foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers and see how best they incorporate technology and “we get manufacturing within our country.”
Emphasising the importance of preparedness for future dimensions of warfare, General Rawat said the Indian armed forces have to be prepared whether it was defence of borders, combating proxy wars, terrorism, insurgencies or other internal security disturbances.
“We have to understand that we have disputed land borders on our northern frontiers, partially unsettled borders on our western sector. So, we don’t see peace on the horizon anywhere in the near future.”
5 COMMENTS
The armed forces have to be ever prepared by imbibing new technologies, keeping pace with the advancements in warfare, he said.
Prove or Quit’: Rahul Dares Sitharaman to Prove Rs 1 Lakh Cr Orders Given to HAL, Minister Tells Him to ‘Start From ABCs’
Rahul Gandhi had said on Friday that Sitharaman evaded his questions on the controversial Rafale deal. However, she dismissed all allegations of corruption and accused Congress president of misleading the nation.
New Delhi: Slamming Nirmala Sitharaman for “lying” in Parliament over Rafale issue, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday demanded Defence Minister’s resignation.
“When you tell one lie, you need to keep spinning out more lies, to cover up the first one. In her eagerness to defend the PM’s Rafale lie, the RM (Raksha Mantri) lied to Parliament. Tomorrow, RM must place before Parliament documents showing 1 Lakh crore of Govt orders to HAL. Or resign,” he tweeted.
Rahul Gandhi
✔@RahulGandhi
When you tell one lie, you need to keep spinning out more lies, to cover up the first one.
In her eagerness to defend the PM’s Rafale lie, the RM lied to Parliament.
Tomorrow, RM must place before Parliament documents showing 1 Lakh crore of Govt orders to HAL.
Or resign.
Gandhi questioned her over a Times of India report that said that India’s leading defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is keenly awaiting formalisation of orders adding up to Rs 1 lakh crore mentioned by Sitharaman during the discussion on the Rafale fighter deal in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
The report quoted a senior HAL management official as saying that no actual order had either been placed or a single rupee had been released to the company.
Hours after Gandhi’s demand, the Defence Minister asked the Congress president to read the complete newspaper report, where it has been mentioned that “Sitharaman did not claim the orders were signed, saying they were in the works”.
HAL awaits orders for projects of 1 lakh crore mentioned by Nirmala Sitharaman – Times of India
India News: BENGALURU: India’s leading defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), grappling with stressed finances, is keenly awaiting formalisation of orde.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
A tweet from the minister’s office later asked him to “start from ABCs”.
NSitharamanOffice
✔@nsitharamanoffc
Dear Shri @RahulGandhi , looks like you really need to start from ABCs.
Someone like you who is hellbent on misleading the public will quote an article even before reading it.
Nirmala Sitharaman
✔@nsitharaman
Please read the complete report in @timesofindia to which you ( @RahulGandhi )are referring: “However, as the LS record shows, Sitharaman did not claim the orders were signed, saying they were in the works.” | India News – Times of India https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/hal-awaits-orders-for-projects-of-1-lakh-crore-mentioned-by-nirmala-sitharaman/articleshow/67402167.cms …
Gandhi had said on Friday that Sitharaman evaded his questions on the controversial deal. However, she dismissed all allegations of corruption and accused Congress president of misleading the nation.
Sikh devotees gather to pay obeisance at Bibi Chand Kaur gurdwara, to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, in Jammu on Saturday; and (right) a devotee takes a selfie with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar during his visit at Takht Sri Patna Sahib.
Veterans as political prop by Lt Gen Bhopinder Singh
Using Armymen for diplomatic muscle-flexing, be it in the US, UK or India, has become commonplace. In the end, it diminishes the institution’s name and glory
Globally, ‘veterans’ naturally gravitate towards conservative parties as the Centrist and Left-of-Centre parties are traditionally perceived to be ‘soft on security’. The Republican Party in the US and the Conservative Party (the Tories) in the UK usually garner more support than the Democratic Party or the Labour Party, respectively. With politics assuming more nationalistic undertones, political appropriation and positing of the ‘soldiers’ and their ostensibly-related causes has become more blatant and commonplace. UK Prime Minister Theresa May had slammed FIFA’s decision to disallow English football players from wearing ‘poppy’ lapels (in remembrance of soldiers who died in wars) as “utterly outrageous”; whereas US President Donald Trump came back from the Bastille Day military parade in Paris, wanting to replicate and top the same with his own version of a grand military parade. Clearly, centering the ‘soldier’ makes for good politics.
However, beyond the immediate traction, overplaying the symbolic hand on this tact without doing anything concrete or meaningful has diminishing returns. Already, the unprecedented cuts in the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions, affecting the ‘veterans’, have made ‘ex-service personnel account for one in 10 rough sleepers across the UK’. Indeed, in the US, Trump’s shocking mock of the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-affected soldiers or the ‘privatisation’ of the veteran health services, militate against the professed concerns for the uniformed fraternity. The lazy perception that these men and women of honour could join the Administration of the ruling political dispensations as ‘trophy-candidates’ and loyal ‘yes-men’, to project militaristic muscularity, patriotism and decisiveness on the bankrolling party, is slowly coming undone. It is true that the institutional ethos and regimental/corps spirit bequeaths these combatants with certain outwardly machismo, steel and heroic ‘branding’, but beyond the razzmatazz of their medals, uniforms and swagger, lie decades of hands-on experience, blood-sweat-toil in disturbed areas and years of training and reflection that make these people amongst the most balanced and nuanced individuals who do not suffer from knee-jerk reactions.
Usually, what comes as a surprise to the politicos is the latent gravitas, inherent sense of self-respect and the undying spirit of speaking the truth (gently but surely), that ultimately make the political masters uncomfortable in their midst. The retired Marine Corps General James Mattis (who recently quit as the US Secretary of Defence) is famous for telling his troops: “You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before your weapon.”
The healthy institutional diversity within the ‘barracks’ and the societal bonhomie under the most trying of circumstances make these veterans life-long believers in plurality and ‘inclusiveness’ that is above the regressive divides that beset and define partisan politics.
Combatants are also hardwired into believing “dissent is not disloyalty”, albeit, expressed in a certain form with the requisite context, form and dignity. Thus, the unmalleable spirit of ‘brothers-in-arms’ that swears only to the hallowed Constitutional spirit of the nation, riles against the political necessities, compromises and bigotry that usually accompany partisan politics.
Contrary to some caricaturised perceptions, soldiers are not war-mongering or blood-lusting cadres, as the nobility of the soldiers code ensures a more professional, rationale and reasonable instinct that differentiates a soldier from a mercenary. The legendary General Douglas MacArthur famously said: “The soldier above all prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war”.
The recent case of a similar realisation dawned on the draft-evader, Trump, who, in order to inject some testosterone of muscularity that befitted his contours of ‘America First’, got carried over by the Captain America-like superhero image of the iconic, four-star General, James Mattis (popularly known as ‘mad dog’ and ‘warrior monk’), and inducted him as the Secretary of Defence.
Perhaps, unknown to Trump was the erudition, sagacity and profundity that also came along with the Pattonesque-persona, whose real-time combat experience was enhanced by the scholarship that came with a personal library of over 7,000 books, unlike the empty rhetoric and vacuous bluster of a Donald Trump. The officer-like conduct in Mattis had insisted on a certain decorum and dignity in engaging with the allies, and not in the fanciful flights of temperamental rants that define Trump. Mattis’ exit and inability to get along with Trump mirrored the similar fate that beset other veterans, like the previous National Security Advisor, Lt Gen McMaster.
Historically, in India, too, veterans-turned-politicians have been amongst the most respected, well-read and responsible leaders like the classic cavalier Jaswant Singh, Maj Gen Khanduri and Rajesh Pilot — each of who did imminent justice and service to their respective political parties and administrative responsibilities. However, in the last few years, a new phenomenon emerged of newsroom-warriors plumed in their regimental regalia, thundering political invectives and positions dominating the prime-time slots. Thankfully, time and tide forced some into introspection, reflection and realisation that the politicos appropriated and misused the imagery of the ‘soldier’ for their own partisan purposes and basically the institutional interests and concerns remained unanswered, as before.
Election time is always fraught with the risk of such tactical propping of veterans as ‘show-horses’ for posturing patriotism and political muscularity. Care must be taken to ensure that the apolitical-construct and wiring of the Armed Forces is respected, and no ‘firing from the shoulders’ of these veterans is done to justify political pettiness, nefarious designs and selfish electoral objectives.
Like the veterans of yore, no implied extension of their military service should be encouraged to suggest an ‘institutional’ preference towards any political party — the veterans should propagate their partisan preferences in their individual capacity and certainly not on behalf of the ‘institution. A delicate line must be maintained. Irrespective of the political parties, matters concerning the ‘soldier’ have remained unaddressed and in crunch situations, the discomfort of politicians with the perspective and concerns of the ‘soldiers’ — be it in the US, UK or India — has led to the steady diminishment of the ‘institution’ in the national narrative.
(The writer, a military veteran, is a former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry)
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan army claimed to have shot down an Indian spy quadcopter in Bagh sector along the Line of Control on Tuesday. Defence spokesperson Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, in his official twitter handle, also said that not even a quadcopter would be allowed to cross the Line of Control (LoC). “Pakistan army troops shot down Indian Spy Quadcopter in Bagh Sector along Line of Control. Not even a quadcopter will be allowed to cross LOC,” he tweeted along with a picture of the drone. PTI
Allahabad as Prayagraj gets Centre’s approval
NEWDELHI: A fortnight ahead of the ‘Kumbh Mela’, the Centre has approved the renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj as sought by the Uttar Pradesh Government, officials said on Tuesday. The decision came more than two months after the state government, headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, took the decision to rename the historic city as Prayagraj. The Centre has given its consent for renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj about 10 days ago, a Home Ministry official said. The ‘Kumbh Mela’ in Prayagraj will start on January 15 on ‘Makar Sankranti’ and will conclude on March 4 on ‘Maha Shivaratri’. PTI
TILL OUR MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX COMES OF AGE, WE MUST STRIVE FOR BALANCE BETWEEN ALLOWING INDIGENOUS TECHNOLOGIES TO FRUCTIFY AND ACQUIRING WEAPON SYSTEMS FROM OUTSIDE
The uproar during the ongoing Rafale procurement process has been a unique experience. Never in the past has such a row been created over the acquisition of any weapon system. Even the air force has been roped in this duel with the chief of air staff being called a liar.
At present, the Indian Air Force is facing monumental challenges. Its combat aircraft inventory is depleting without much hope for recovery in the near future. It is struggling to tide over the problem of diminishing numbers. Its interest lies in acquiring a proven combat aircraft of Rafale genre that will see the air force through the coming decades.
After extensive trials along with American, Russian and Swedish aircraft, Rafale came out as a clear winner. It’s a multi-role fighter that has been operationally tested in war theatres of Afghanistan and the Middle East. Unfortunately, despite its acknowledged superiority as a modern combat aircraft, the deal for 126 Rafale fell through for devious reasons.
UPGRADE TO DETER
Not too long ago, the IAF was three times the size of the Pakistan air force and technologically far superior to the hordes of Chinese aircraft. At present, it is in a state of turmoil with dwindling inventory and an uncertain future. Today, it is down to 31 combat squadrons against the authorised strength of 42. Doubts are being raised in certain quarters if the IAF as of now is in a position to provide the requisite level of deterrence.
Inadequate indigenous production capabilities and incessant bickering among the political leaders has adversely impacted the combat potential of the air force. The chief of air staff is on record saying that the number of squadrons will still remain the same as today i.e. 31, even after the induction of Rafale and indigenous light combat aircraft (LCAs) in coming years.
In a bid to arrest further erosion in its fighter strength, the IAF has resorted to large-scale upgrade of existing aircraft such as SU-30 MKI, Mirage2000 and Jaguar. Addition of Rafale and the LCAs with delivery schedule of 2022 and the upgraded aircraft together may help arrest further decline in strength and stabilise the air force for the time being. But there is an element of uncertainty here. Known for limited capabilities and chronic delays, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is unlikely to contribute significantly towards making good the deficiencies in near future. Contracts signed in 2006 and 2010 for delivery in 2011 and 2016 are running way behind schedule. So far, the HAL has delivered only nine LCAs to the air force.
There are strong indications about the LCA project being shifted from HAL and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to the Indian Air Force. Perhaps, this is to overcome the blame game being played for perpetual delays by the stakeholders.
CHECK THE TAILSPIN
At present, the IAF inventory largely comprises third and fourth generation aircraft. If it has to keep pace with others, it urgently needs fourth generation plus aircraft. Our adversaries are gradually overtaking us both in terms of quality and quantity. The Chinese have a huge mix of aircraft inventory, of which 900 are modern combat aircraft. They are also focused on the development of fifth generation aircraft and intend to induct these into service at the earliest. Since Pakistan is largely dependent on the Chinese military wherewithal, they may too end up getting the latest generation fighters.
China’s defence budget is an eye-opener. At $175 bn (2018), it is nearly four times that of India’s at $ 45 bn. Even against Pakistan, our edge is no more the same as hitherto. The slide in our regional status has reached a worrisome stage.
The concept of deterrence is unfortunately not quite understood at the highest political level. The need of the hour is to have another six to eight fighter squadrons as soon as possible. Till our military industrial complex comes of age, we must strive for balance between allowing indigenous technologies to fructify and acquiring weapon systems from outside so as to be ready for any eventuality at all times.
Big increase in Rafale’s price came because a deal bypassing mandated procedures and made in the face of official objections resulted in €1.3 billion ‘non-recurring’ cost attributed to the ‘Design and Development’ of 13 India Specific Enhancements being spread over 36 instead of 126 aircraft
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision, announced out of the blue in Paris on April 10, 2015, to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France instead of the 126 asked for by the Indian Air Force for seven squadrons pushed the price of each fully fitted, combat-ready aircraft up by 41.42%. It was the National Democratic Alliance government’s acceptance of the cost of €1.3 billion claimed for the ‘design and development’ of 13 India Specific Enhancements (ISE), and the distribution of this ‘non-recurring cost’ over 36 instead of 126 bare-bones aircraft, that was the major reason for the big increase in price.
The NDA government has refused to disclose even to a privileged committee of Parliament full information on the pricing of a Rafale aircraft, contending that its agreement with France on the ‘Exchange and Reciprocal Protection of Classified or Protected Information’ stands in the way of such disclosure. The French government, however, has made it clear that this inter-governmental agreement is there only “to protect the classified information provided by the partner, which could, in particular, impact the security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment.” The restriction clearly does not apply to the disclosure of pricing details. In fact, a scan of news media coverage reveals that there has been selective background briefing by military and civilian defence officials on technical and other supposedly sensitive details of the deal and that these briefings have helped answer some, but not all the critical questions being asked about the Rafale deal, chiefly on the pricing of these medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA).
This article, based on information exclusively available to The Hindu, focusses on the interesting question of how and why the price per Rafale fighter jet of the F3-R standard, with practically the same configuration and capabilities, changed substantially over three points, in 2007, 2011, and 2016.
In 2007, five years before M/s Dassault Aviation was declared the L1 vendor, that is, the Lowest Bidder and the presumptive winner of the tender floated by the United Progressive Alliance government for the supply of 126 Rafales (18 flyaway plus 108 to be manufactured, under licence, in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited), the price quoted by the vendor for one flyaway bare-bones aircraft was €79.3 million. By 2011, the escalation cost factor had taken this per-aircraft price up to €100.85 million. In 2016, the 9% discount on the 2011 price obtained by the NDA government for the 36 Rafales it was buying from France through an Inter-Governmental Agreement brought this per-aircraft price down to €91.75 million.
But that is not even half the story. Dassault claimed a €1.4 billion cost for the ‘design and development’ of 13 India Specific Enhancements, that is, additional capabilities in the form of hardware as well as software that had been specified by the Indian Air Force all along, and this cost was negotiated down to €1.3 billion. What it meant was that the design and development cost, now distributed over 36 Rafale fighter jets, shot up from €11.11 million per aircraft in 2007 to €36.11 million when the deal was struck in 2016.
The Hindu has reviewed official documentation which reveals that three senior Defence Ministry officials on the seven-member Indian Negotiating Team (INT) objected to the high cost of €1.3 billion (brought down from the original €1.4 billion) assigned by the vendor, Dassault Aviation, to India Specific Enhancements for the 36 Rafale fighter jets. Rajeev Verma, Joint Secretary & Acquisitions Manager (Air), Ajit Sule, Financial Manager (Air), and M.P. Singh, Adviser (Cost) noted: “The cost of India Specific Enhancements (ISE) was too high.” (It is also a matter of official record that the three senior Defence Ministry officials objected to several other aspects of the proposed inter-governmental deal, including the inflated ‘benchmark price,’ but these issues need not concern us here.)
ALSO READ
Citing The Hindu report, Congress, CPI (M) slam Modi govt on Rafale deal
Objections overruledThe other four members of the Indian Negotiating Team – the Deputy Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, who headed the team; the Joint Secretary (Defence Offset Management Wing); the Joint Secretary and Additional Finance Adviser; and the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Plans) – overruled the objection. The relevant resolution states: “The seven member Indian Negotiating Team (INT) concluded by majority decision of 4-3 that the ISE cost of 1.3 bn euros at May 2015 EC was much better than that in the quote of 1.4 bn euros at EC 2009 in 126 MMRCA case. Further, it was concluded that ISE cost is a non-recurring cost (NRC) and is not affected by the number of aircraft purchased. The facts were presented to DAC [Defence Acquisition Council] which agreed to INT’s viewpoint and it was ratified by the CCS [Cabinet Committee on Security].”
The official record shows that various aspects of the government-backed proposal for the procurement of 36 flyaway Rafales were presented or referred back to the DAC on five separate occasions between August 2015 and July 2016. It is surely significant that every one of the 10 contentious issues raised within the INT was settled by a 4-3 majority vote. The negotiating team duly completed its work and its chairman submitted a report on August 4, 2016.
Thirteen India Specific Enhancements to the Rafale fighter jet were demanded by the Indian Air Force. | Photo Credit: Reuters
According to the government’s notes on the decision-making process submitted to the Supreme Court of India and shared with a group of petitioners in compliance with the court’s orders, “the INT report and the proposal for obtaining approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) was processed in Ministry of Defence…inter-ministerial consultations [took place] with Finance Ministry and Ministry of Law and Justice,” and the proposal was placed before the CCS on August 24, 2016. The proposal included the matter of pricing as well as other contentious issues relating to the proposed deal.
DAC’s role
It is again significant that there is no reference in the government notes to any further role for the Defence Acquisition Council headed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. The DAC was empowered to take a decision under the Defence Procurement Procedure, but Mr. Parrikar shied away from his responsibility and “progressed” the matter, in other words, passed the buck, to the Cabinet Committee on Security, as recommended by the INT chairman. All this was unsurprising considering that more than a year earlier Prime Minister Modi had spoken his mind, reversing the course followed over the previous decade and announcing, through an Indo-French joint statement in Paris, a decision to buy the 36 Rafale fighter jets in flyaway condition “on terms that would be better than conveyed by Dassault Aviation as part of a separate process under way.” The CCS, chaired by the Prime Minister, quickly ratified the majority decisions of the Indian Negotiating Team.
Thirteen India Specific Enhancements to the Rafale fighter jet were demanded by the Indian Air Force as part of its urgent strategic requirement in both the UPA-era bid and the 2016 deal. Besides the additional equipment to be fitted on the bare-bones Rafale fighter jet, this brought in the cost assigned by M/s Dassault Aviation to the design and development of these enhancements so that they could be ‘seamlessly’ integrated in the aircraft.
While the BJP government has refused to disclose what these 13 India Specific Enhancements are, partly on grounds of national security, it is extremely unlikely that this information can remain a secret from the international community of military experts and journalists specialising in defence and security matters. In fact, some of the information is already available in the public domain. An Indian Air Force document, cited by The Hindu’s Special Correspondent, Dinakar Peri, in a November 2018 report (https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-specific-rafale-add-ons-after-delivery-of-all-36-fighters/article25532159.ece), states that the 13 ISE capabilities are “not present in the Rafale aircraft being operated by other countries.” They include capabilities relating to radar enhancements “which will provide the force with better long range capability”, a helmet mounted display “through which IAF pilots will be able to counter many threats simultaneously”, the capability to start and operate from high-altitude airfields, an advanced infrared search-and-track sensor, “a very potent electronic jammer pod”, and capabilities pertaining to avionics. The Hindu has access to the full ISE list but will not be presenting it here, because the technical details contained in the list, which the government insists on keeping secret, are not strictly relevant to this story.
Special leverage?
An important question that arises is whether in 2015-2016 the NDA government had any special leverage that might have enabled it to extract substantial price reductions from France for the 36 fully fitted, combat-ready Rafale fighter jets. The answer is yes – and the leverage was provided by an attractive, if not mouth-watering, offer that came from the Eurofighter Typhoon Consortium which comprises leading aerospace and defence companies from the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain. In fact, the official documentation shows that the three dissenting members of the Indian Negotiating Team raised this issue in the following manner: “(f) Issue-6. The 20% discount offer of EADS [European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company] in 126 MMRCA tender was ignored. The INT should take EADS quote for 36 Rafale delivery equivalent and then compare prices.” The relevant INT resolution, adopted by a 4-3 majority, asserts that “the unsolicited offer of 20% by EADS in 126 MMRCA deal” was not in line with the provisions of the Defence Procurement Procedure and was also against Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines, since it was given after the bidding closed.
The Eurofighter had come through technical and flight evaluations carried out between 2009 and 2011 along with Rafale and been found to be fully compliant with the Indian Air Force’s MMRCA requirements. It had lost out to Rafale, on price. With the negotiations for the acquisition of the 126 Rafale fighter jets stalling for a complexity of reasons, the Eurofighter Consortium represented by Airbus (formerly EADS) sensed an opportunity. In a letter dated July 4, 2014 addressed to the then Defence Minister, Arun Jaitley, Domingo Urena-Raso, Head of Military Aircraft, Airbus Defence and Space, outlined a fresh offer. This featured 126 Eurofighter Typhoons, a 20% reduction in the total package price “compared to the numbers previously submitted”, improved aircraft capabilities, “favourable payment terms”, an enhanced transfer of technology process by setting up a production line and a Eurofighter Typhoon Industrial Park in India along with “a comprehensive training and support programme”, and the tantalising prospect of accelerated delivery of Eurofighter jets by diverting deliveries meant for Germany, the U.K., Italy, and Spain “to the benefit of the Government of India should you wish to utilize such an accelerated program.”
Nor did the new Eurofighter offer seem entirely “unsolicited.” Sr. Urena-Raso’s letter to Mr. Jaitley opens with this intriguing sentence: “The interest of the Indian Government to replace its existing fighter aircraft fleet has continually attracted our full engagement and we are hence delighted to respond to your request as conveyed through our Nations’ Ambassador.”
The opportunity to make full use of the leverage provided by the new offer from the Eurofighter Consortium was lost. The official stance that entertaining the offer at that stage was impermissible under the DPP and would also be violative of CVC guidelines was, at best, a debatable position to take. By going for an inter-governmental agreement, in lieu of a straight commercial contract with M/s Dassault Aviation, for the acquisition of 36 flyaway fighter jets instead of the 18 flyaway Rafales plus the 108 to be manufactured, under licence, by HAL, the Indian and French governments as well as Dassault were, in effect, crafting a new deal. Walking away from the deal under negotiation if the finally offered price was not right was certainly an option – and that knowledge should have given the Indian negotiators strong leverage with France. The leverage might even have been potent enough successfully to push for pricing and related terms that would have matched the Eurofighter offer.
Distributed over 36 jets
To sum up the new information presented in this article: In the 2007 bid by M/s Dassault Aviation, the ‘design and development’ cost of €1.4 billion claimed by the vendor for the India Specific Enhancements was to be spread over 126 aircraft. Although this fixed cost was negotiated down to €1.3 billion in the 2016 inter-governmental deal, it was distributed over 36 fighter jets. This straightaway meant an increase of €25 million in the price of each aircraft as compared with the UPA-era bid by Dassault.
The increase of €25 million was far greater than the 9% reduction in the price of a bare-bones aircraft offered by France in 2016. That this discount was applied to the price of a bare-bones, and not a fully fitted, combat-ready, Rafale was confirmed by Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO, Eric Trappier, in a November 2018 interview to ANI.
The 9% reduction was explained by Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at a press conference at the BJP’s headquarters on July 23, 2018: “The UPA invited quotes for 126 aircrafts in 2007. The price quoted for Rafale was Euro 79.3 Million, which also had inbuilt escalation formula. When the bid was opened in 2011, the proposed cost in the bid document was 100.85 Million Euros per aircraft; however, this also could not be finalized. When in 2016, after NDA came to power, under the inter-government agreement the cost per aircraft finalized was 91.75 Million Euros.” The Minister added: “Therefore the price determined during NDA Government is 9% lesser than what was negotiated during UPA Government. Therefore, the corresponding cost in Indian Rs 670.32 Crore per aircraft has been conveyed to the Parliament.”
What the Law Minister’s statement failed to say was that when the ‘non-recurring’ design and development cost claimed for the India Specific Enhancements was factored in, the per unit price negotiated by the NDA government for the 36 Rafale fighter jets worked out to €127.86 million, which was 41.42% higher than the price quoted by Dassault in 2007. When the escalation formula was applied, the price per aircraft agreed to by the NDA government turned out to be 14.20% higher than the proposed price per aircraft when the commercial bid was opened in November 2011 under the UPA government.
As confirmed by M. Trappier in his ANI interview, the 2007 and 2011 prices mentioned by Mr. Prasad were for the 18 flyaway aircraft. The remaining108 aircraft were to be manufactured under licence by HAL in Bengaluru, for which negotiations were at an advanced stage when the surprise announcement that India would buy 36 flyaway Rafales from France came from Paris in April 2015. Among other things, this meant jettisoning HAL and with it the plans for technology transfer, building self-reliance in the defence sector, and ‘Make in India’.
What was more, in exchange for the 9% reduction in price, the Indian government agreed to abandon the options or ‘follow-on’ clause, which was very much part of the deal being negotiated with M/s Dassault Aviation for the 126 aircraft. Dropping the follow-on clause – having an option for a follow-on contract to buy up to 50% of the quantity bought earlier, under the same terms and conditions – was a deviation from standard practice in defence contracts. In the deal under prolonged negotiation, the UPA government had an option to buy 189 aircraft with the same fixed cost of design and development of the India Specific Enhancements.
A fairly large literature, investigative, prosecutorial, and critical, is now available on various aspects of the Rafale deal of 2015-2016. This literature has shown or alleged that institutions and mandated or standard procedures laid down for defence acquisitions were bypassed; that guidelines were violated; that the benchmark price, a sort of ceiling for the whole package, discovered by financial experts was arbitrarily raised from €5.2 billion to €8.2 billion at political behest; that crony capitalism was behind the NDA government’s choice of key offset partners; that the Modi government took an indefensible risk by not insisting on a sovereign guarantee from the French government, as advised by senior officials in the Ministry of Law and Justice, and settling instead for a ‘Letter of Comfort’ from the French Prime Minister, which considering M/s Dassault Aviation’s fragile financial situation ‘is no comfort at all’ (in the eyes of a former senior bureaucrat who has gone on record); and indeed that the Indian Air Force was short-changed by the deal. In addition, top-level corruption and criminal misconduct have been alleged, notably by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, and three well-known public interest petitioners, Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, and Prashant Bhushan, who along with two others took their case to the Supreme Court of India but could not succeed.
Comparisons have been drawn with the Bofors scandal, by protagonists as well as antagonists, towards different ends. The process of decision-making on a vital defence acquisition in 2015-2016 does bear an eerie resemblance to how decisions were made in 1985-1986; but unlike Bofors, where journalistic investigation was able to uncover corruption disguised as ‘commissions’ paid secretly into Swiss bank accounts, no money trail has been discovered so far in the current case. What seems guaranteed is that we have not heard the last of l’affaire Rafale.
Women to comprise 20% of military police after graded induction: Nirmala Sitharaman
Women inductees in the military police will be done in a graded manner, and will eventually comprise 20 percent of its total strength, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Friday.
The decision to induct women in the military police with an aim to enhance their representation in the armed forces was announced by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat last year.
In a series of tweets, the official handle of the defence minister said, “to improve representation of women in our armed forces Smt @nsitharaman takes a historic decision to induct women for the first time in PBOR (Personnel Below Officer Rank) role in Corps of Military Police.”
It further said “the women will be inducted in graded manner to eventually comprise 20% of total Corps of Military Police.” Their role would range from probing rape and molestation cases to assisting the Army wherever required.
Last year, Rawat had said the process to allow women in combat role, currently an exclusive domain of men, was moving fast and initially women will be recruited for positions in military police.
Accordingly, the Army chalked out induction of approximately 800 women in military police with a yearly intake of 52 personnel per year.
Currently, women are allowed in select areas such as medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the Army.
The role of the military police includes policing cantonments and army establishments, preventing breach of rules and regulations by soldiers, maintaining movement of soldiers as well as logistics during peace and war, handling prisoners of war and extending aid to civil police whenever required.
Earlier this month, in a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said the Army has 3.80 per cent of its work force as women, the Air Force 13.09 per cent and the Navy 6 per cent. PTI
Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniv celebrations in US:: IN INDIA CREDITABLITY OF KARTARPUR CORRIDOR YET TO CONCLUDE
Washington: Year-long celebrations of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary have kicked off in the US to spread his message of brotherhood and sharing.
The Indian Embassy and Consulates have chalked out a calendar of activities, said India’s new Ambassador Harsh V Shringla.
He was addressing people gathered to celebrate the occasion; artiste Bhai Baldeep Singh played devotional music on Saturday.
“Guru Nanak was one of greatest philosophers and social reformers. His voice was an empowering call to unshackle the human mind of centuries of religious and political tyranny,” he said. pti
State Stalwarts
ALL HUMANS ARE ONE CREATED BY GOD
HINDUS,MUSLIMS,SIKHS.ISAI SAB HAI BHAI BHAI
CHIEF PATRON ALL INDIA SANJHA MORCHA
LT GEN JASBIR SINGH DHALIWAL, DOGRA
PATRON ALL INDIA SANJHA MORCHA
MAJOR GEN HARVIJAY SINGH, SENA MEDAL ,corps of signals
.
.
PRESIDENT DISTT LUDHIANA : ALL INDIA EXSERVICEMEN SANJHA MORCHA
BRIG SS GILL ARTY
PRESIDENT PANCHKULA HARYANA UNIT SANJHA MORCHA
BRIG DALJIT THUKRAL (Retd) BENGAL SAPPERS
PRESIDENT DISTT MOHALI :ALL INDIA SANJHA MORCHA
COL BALBIR SINGH , ARTY
SECY (HONY) NRI’s ESMs , ALL INDIA SANJHA MORCHA
SUB AVTAR SINGH
+1(647)501-8112
INDIAN DEFENCE FORCES
DEFENCE FORCES INTEGRATED LOGO
FORCES FLAGS
15 Th PRESIDENT OF INDIA SUPREME COMMANDER ARMED FORCES
Droupadi Murmu
DEFENCE MINISTER
Minister Rajnath Singh
CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF (2nd)
General Anil Chauhan PVSM UYSM AVSM SM VSM
INDIAN FORCES CHIEFS
CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF(29th)
General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM (30 Jun 2024 to Till Date)
