This fiscal, the IAF is facing a shortage of Rs 7,748 crore in its capital budget and of Rs 2,769 crore in revenue budget. file photo

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 9

While contacts for two additional airborne warning and control systems (AWACS) and a replacement of the C-130 that crashed are expected to be signed this fiscal, some key IAF procurements such as fighter aircraft, aerial refullers, and helicopters, and upgrade projects are likely to roll over to the next year due to paucity of funds.Parliament’s Standing Committee of Defence, in its latest report, has listed out 10 contracts worth over Rs 6,728 crore that are unlikely to be signed this year. This includes procurement of 56 new aircraft to replace the ageing Avro transporter, 48 medium-lift helicopters, six mid-air refuelling tankers, 20 Hawk advance jet trainers and 38 Pilatus basic trainers.The Indian Air Force’s wait for the much-needed KA-226 reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters, long-range surface-to-air missiles, engines for the Jaguar fighter, electronic warfare suite for the MiG 29 and avionics upgrade for IL-76/78 has also lengthened.For the Rafale fighter jets, the procurement of which has been hanging for about a decade, a separate proposal will be moved for additional funds in 2016-17 to procure the 36 aircraft after details regarding cost and delivery timelines are finalised, the committee observed.Among the eight contracts, valued at Rs 2,039 crore, that would hopefully be signed this year are AWACS, a C-130 special missions aircraft, 14 Akash anti-aircraft missile units, upgrade for medium helicopters, precision-guided munitions, recce pods for Su-30, armament suite for Dhruvs and radio sets.This fiscal, the IAF is facing a shortfall of Rs 7,748 crore in its capital budget and of Rs 2,769 crore in revenue budget. The shortfall in capital allocations will slow down modernisation, delay induction of important capabilities, erode IAF’s superiority and result in asymmetry in capability with respect to envisaged threat perception and flight safetyThe lower revenue allocation will impact procurement of spares and fuel, affect serviceability, and lead to shortfall in training, resulting in compromise of operational preparedness and expenditure for disaster relief operations.

Rs 6,728-cr contracts won’t be signed this yr

• In its latest report, Parliament’s Standing Committee of Defence has listed 10 contracts worth over Rs 6,728 crore that are unlikely to be signed this year
• This includes procurement of 56 new aircraft to replace the ageing Avro transporter, 48 medium-lift helicopters, six mid-air refuelling tankers, 20 Hawk advance jet trainers and 38 Pilatus basic trainers
• The wait for the KA-226 reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters has also lengthened

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 8

The Army held its ‘Chinar 9 Jawan Festival’ at Sanctorum Public School in Sangrama, Baramulla, on Saturday. The festival was attended by more than 2,300 students and locals from Baramulla district.An Army spokesman said the event was specifically planned for the students and the unemployed youth of Baramulla district.The event commenced with the finals of the inter-school debate competition, in which 12 students competed in two categories for the final prizes.Siaqa Mushtaq, a student of Sanctorum Public School, won the first position in Category-I while Tabish Nabi, a student of SRM Welkin, Sopore, was the runner-up in the competition. In Cateogory-II, Awzail ul Haq from SRM Welkin stood first.General Officer Commanding, Kilo Force, Maj Gen Jarken Gamlin addressed the gathering and complimented all for their participation and encouragement to the initiatives of the Army.“He promised the locals and the students of the Army’s continued and unstinted support in all matters related to the development of society and efforts to harbinger peace in the Valley,” an Army spokesman said.The event was attended by senior Army and police officers and officials from Baramulla.

Combat-ready: The paramilitary force is set to deploy 560 women commandos for anti-Naxal operations in select states. afp file

New Delhi, May 8

Breaking yet another proverbial glass ceiling, country’s largest paramilitary force CRPF is set to deploy over 560 women commandos for undertaking anti-Naxal operations in select Left Wing Extremism-affected states.The ambitious plan to deploy such a large number of women personnel in most challenging combat theatres in the country’s internal security domain got moving with a batch of 567 women passing out from the force’s training centre in Rajasthan’s Ajmer last week.CRPF Director-General K Durga Prasad said the full batch will now be deployed in phases in LWE areas in the ‘company formation’ style, which means about 100 personnel at one time.“These women who passed out on May 6 from Ajmer have been trained keeping in mind the LWE tasks rendered by us. We thought to give them the toughest assignment in the initial years of their service itself. Initially these women personnel will be deployed in one company at a time and after some time their deployment and work utility will be scaled up,” Prasad said.The DG added the force has already created living infrastructure and barracks for these women at certain locations while more such facilities will be created in due course of time. The CRPF, officials said, has been working on the concept that if Maoists can have women in their ranks, why not the security forces.The CRPF had initiated a plan in this regard last year when two small teams of these women personnel were sent for familiarisation exercises and based in CRPF camps in the worst-affected Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and some sensitive LWE hit areas of Jharkhand. Officials said they can easily interact with the local women folk which will not only help gather good intelligence but also help bring the force closer to the locals. — PTI

Trained in jungle warfare, unarmed combat

• The latest batch of CRPF women personnel have been trained for 44 weeks in jungle warfare, unarmed combat, smart weapons firing and other drills after which they got commissioned in the 232nd battalion of the force
• This is the fourth ‘mahila’ battalion of CRPF. A CRPF battalion has about 1,000 personnel
• The women personnel, once deployed, will be operating from active CRPF bases and will carry arms and undertake patrols like their male counterparts
• Recently, border-guarding force ITBP had declared that it will post its women personnel in full combat role in its units along the Sino-Indian border

The house razed during a gunfight between militants and security forces in Pulwama district on Saturday. Tribune Photo: Amin War

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 7

Three militants were killed in a four-hour-long gunfight in Pulwama district this morning. The killings triggered protests at many places, leaving nearly a dozen persons injured.The protests prompted the authorities to suspend train services between Baramulla and Banihal and snap internet and mobile services in south Kashmir.The gunfight erupted at Panzgam in Awantipora around 2 am when a joint team of the police, Army and CRPF cordoned off three houses in the village, nearly 35 km from Srinagar, after receiving an input that militants were hiding in the area.“As a search of houses suspected of sheltering them started, the militants opened fire, triggering a gunfight. Three militants were killed in the gunfight,” said Shridhar Patil, Superintendent of Police, Awantipora.Three AK rifles were recovered from the encounter site. The slain militants were identified as Ishfaq Baba of Tahab, Ishfaq Dar of Dogripora and Haseeb Palla of Brao Badan.While Baba and Dar were associated with the Hizbul Mujahideen, Palla was a member of the Lashkar-e-Toiba. The house where the militants were hiding was razed during the gunfight.The two Hizb men, both “category A” militants, had been active since 2014 and were involved in many incidents of violence. Patil said one Hizb militant was an accused in two cases of murder.They were close associates of 21-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, who had been spearheading the social media campaign of young militants. Palla had joined militancy last year.As news about the killing of militants spread, villagers thronged the encounter site. A 17-year-old boy was wounded after an unexploded grenade went off at the site. He was rushed to a hospital.Clashes broke out in Tahab as people came out on the streets, throwing stones at police and CRPF personnel. Youths threw stones at the CRPF camp and the clashes continued for almost three hours.The police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Nearly a dozen civilians and policemen were injured in the clashes. A shutdown was observed in the district.Before the encounter in Pulwama today, a total of 34 militants had been killed by security forces in various anti-militancy operations.

Teen hurt in blast

• As news about the killing of militants in Panzgam village of Pulwama spread, villagers thronged the encounter site. A 17-year-old boy was wounded after an unexploded grenade went off at the site. He was rushed to a hospital
• Two of the slain militants belonged to the hizbul Mujahideen and the third to the Lashkar

Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry

Islamabad, May 7

Pakistan today said the “trust deficit” needs to be removed for better relations with India even as it voiced support for any effort to restart the stalled bilateral dialogue between the two nations.On resumption of talks with India, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said Pakistan would support any effort to restart the dialogue process. Chaudhry said there was a “trust deficit” which needs to be removed for better ties between the two nations. “Whenever there will be talks between Pakistan and India, Kashmir will remain on top of the agenda,” he added. He also talked about the arrest of alleged Indian spy Kulbushan Yadav, and termed it as proof of “Indian involvement” in Pakistan’s internal affairs.India has acknowledged Yadav is a retired Indian Navy officer but denied the allegation that he was connected to the government. — PTI

Six students of the Army Public School in Udhampur participated in the Indian International Model United Nation in Jammu. A Tribune Photo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 5

Six students of Army Public School, Udhampur, participated in the Indian International Model United Nation (IIMUN) held at Jammu recently.The aim of conducting the academic event was to bring awareness among the students about the functioning of the United Nations.Students from various schools participated in mock UN Assembly, according to the country allotted to them. Each delegate debated on the issues related to their countries and probable solutions were charted out at the end. About 300 delegates participated from across the state.Angad Chatha from Class XI bagged the best delegate award, Vasupriya Awasthi from Class XI got the special mention award while Shrishti Jha, Umang Randhawa, Harman Deol and Anish Sundram got the verbal mention award.Applauding the efforts of the delegates and that of their mentor Rajeshwari Rajmohan, school Principal Sanjeev Kumar appreciated the participants for bringing laurels to the school.

File photo of AW101 helicopter

New Delhi, May 5

In an attempt to crack suspects’ code names and the alleged kickbacks paid in the VVIP choppers deal, the Enforcement Directorate has sought information from the Defence Ministry, Income Tax department and FIU to share details about officials and other individuals figuring in the case.

Officials said the agency has sought property details on 10 serving and retired officials of the Ministry of Defence and the Indian Air Force who had handled the procurement process of the AgustaWestland choppers at some point of their service.

It has also sought details from the IT department and the Financial Intelligence Unit to provide details of personal finances, transactions and investments made by some people suspected to have some connection to the case.

They said the references have been made in the light of a hand-written note by the alleged middlemen in the case, a document also brought on record by a Milan court that had sentenced Italian defence and aerospace major Finmeccanica’s former chief Giuseppe Orsi and the former CEO of the firm Bruno Spagnolini for corruption in the sale of a dozen AgustaWestland helicopters to India for VVIP purposes.

Sources indicate ED investigators have made some “analysis” of the probable identity of these code names and hence want to investigate the flow of funds and the “proceeds of crime” and possible kickbacks made in the procurement of these choppers.

With the help of data from the tax department and FIU, some evidence can be established, they said.

ED has also sought details of wealth of some officials in the Defence Ministry.

“This service-maintained data will be matched with current data being provided by the IT and FIU,” they said adding some officials of the MoD are in top positions now.

Widening its probe in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, the ED has also begun a trail of “cash” that is suspected to have been paid as alleged kickbacks for the purchase of these helicopters from UK-based AgustaWestland.

The financial probe agency has set the ball rolling with the second round of questioning of witnesses and accused in connection with the scam.

Ex IAF chief Tyagi questioned

Former IAF chief SP Tyagi was questioned by the ED on Thursday.

Tyagi arrived at the zonal office of the agency here just before 11 am and agency sources said he will be questioned and his statement recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ex-IAF chief was questioned in the same case by CBI for the last three days.This is the first time that the ex-Chief of Staff of the Indian Air Force has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate.

Agency sources had earlier indicated that Tyagi’s questioning was necessary in the light of a recent judgement of a Milan (Italy) court which had sentenced Italian defence and aerospace major Finmeccanica’s former chief Giuseppe Orsi and the former CEO of the firm Bruno Spagnolini on corruption charges in the sale of a dozen AgustaWestland helicopters to India for VVIP purposes.

CBI quizzes former IAF vice-chief, Khaitan

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began questioning former Air Vice-Marshal NV Tyagi and advocate and former board member of Aeromatrix Gautam Khaitan on Thursday in connection with the controversial Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland chopper deal.

The CBI on Wednesday grilled former IAF Chief S.P. Tyagi for the third consecutive day, and also questioned Khaitan.

SP Tyagi allegedly admitted to having financial interest in three companies: Banshi, Anuras and Shavan.

CBI sources said they were looking into links among Tyagi, his brothers, Khaitan and company and middleman, through whom the bribe was routed to India.

The CBI is also looking into Tyagi’s international visits after his retirement and his bank accounts and assets.

Khaitan claimed that during questioning he admitted to having set up IDS Tunisia, which sources say is a subsidiary of IDS India, one of the companies through which the alleged bribe was routed by AgustaWestland middlemen to other countries.

Khaitan was confronted with records of the companies that he allegedly had set-up before 2010.

Meanwhile, the CBI conducted raids at Tyagi’s Gurgaon residence on Wednesday.

CBI sleuths also conducted searches in 12 places in Delhi, Gurgaon and Chandigarh in connection with the alleged scam.

Satish Bagrodia, the brother of former union minister Santosh Bagrodia, has also been named in the FIR.

The CBI team had registered a preliminary enquiry on the basis of some important documents that it had obtained from Italian probe agencies in connection with the alleged payment of kickbacks by AgustaWestland to bag the chopper deal. A complete case would be registered once sufficient evidence is procured.

The Defence Ministry had earlier threatened to cancel the chopper deal and sought a CBI probe after the CEO of AgustaWestland’s parent company, Finmeccanica, Giuseppe Orsi, was arrested in Italy for his role in paying bribes.

The CBI had registered a case against Tyagi along with 13 others including his cousins and European middlemen.

Tyagi’s name cropped at various points in the said judgement.

The allegation against the former Air chief is that he allegedly reduced the height of the VVIP helicopters so that AgustaWestland could be included in the bids.

He took over as the Indian Air Force chief on December 31, 2005, and retired from service in 2007.

The ED had registered a PMLA case in this regard in 2014 and named 21 people including Tyagi in its money laundering FIR.

It had also arrested Khaitan and had also filed a charge sheet last year.

The ED had earlier submitted that Khaitan was on the board of Chandigarh-based company Aeromatrix which was allegedly a front firm for the financial dealings in the chopper deal.

Tyagi, however, has denied any wrongdoing on his part.

On January 1, 2014, India cancelled the contract with Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW101 VVIP choppers to the Indian Air Force (IAF) over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of paying kickbacks to the tune of Rs 423 crore by it for securing the deal.

The central agency has also issued Letters Rogatory (judicial requests) to ten countries in this case. — Agencies

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 3

The Army established a centre for women empowerment at Loran in Mandi tehsil of Poonch district today.It was inaugurated by senior Army officers in the presence of a large number of villagers from Loran and adjoining areas.The Army donated four sewing machines to the centre to empower and support women to take up sewing, stitching and embroidery work and enable them earn an income. The step is also aimed at generating profit for the women by selling the finished products at shopping complexes and markets in Rajouri, Poonch and Jammu, said a defence spokesperson.Members of the civil society in Loran applauded the Army’s noble work and conveyed gratitude for the selfless service.

In this photograph taken on February 18, 2015, a Rafale multi-role combat aircraft from Dassault Aviation of France takes off at Yelahanka Airforce Station in Bangalore. AFP file photo

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 3Even as the Ministry of Defence has agreed to the pricing of the 36 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation France, the Ministry of Law and Justice has made certain observations that are being incorporated in under-negotiation Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and France.The price as accepted by India is expected to be 7.89 Billion Euros or Rs 60,000 crore and that has been largely agreed upon. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar informed the Rajya Sabha in written reply on Tuesday: “Ministry of Law & Justice have made certain observations and the same will be adequately taken into account while finalizing the IGA, which is still under negotiations”.An Indian negotiating team has been constituted to negotiate the terms and conditions of the procurement of 36 Rafale jets and recommend a draft agreement. The meetings of the Indian negotiations team with the French side are underway, Parrikar’s reply said.As per the India-France Joint statement issued by the two countries during the Prime Minister’s visit to France in April last year, Government of India conveyed to the Government of France that in view of the critical operational necessity to have more fighter jets for the IAF.Both the sides have agreed to conclude an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for supply of the aircraft.