Amritsar, february 4

With restoration work in full swing at Jallianwala Bagh, the authorities have decided to close it from February 15 to April 12. A notice in this regard has been put up at the entrance.

Officials say March 31 is the target date for completing the first phase of facelift. “The effort is to re-open it in its new avatar within the stipulated time frame. The visitors’ entry has been restricted so that the pace of ongoing work is not affected,” said an official.

The work of restoration and allied services, which is estimated to cost around Rs19.36 crore, is being carried out under the supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India.

A new exit point with 15-foot-wide gate has been created. The old structure around the martyrs’ well has been replaced with glass walls so that the visitors can have a clear view of inside of the well.

A new light and sound show system has also being installed. The 50-seat auditorium on the first floor is being revamped with a 3-D projection system to showcase documentaries.

The bullet marks on original structures and surrounding walls are being preserved. For beautification, new landscaping and lighting arrangements are being done. Facilities for the visitors are also being improved.

MP Shawait Malik, who is also a member of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust, said the place would remain open till 9 pm after the completion of facelift. — TNS

es have formed an enquiry committee to find the root cause of the incident and suggest remedial measures.

“Normal operations have resumed and all leakages have been fixed and crude oil is being received from installations at Central Tank Farm, Duliajan,” the company said.

A joint team comprising Circle Officer of Tengakhat Circle, Dibrugarh district, State Pollution Control Board, fisheries department and OIL experts were reviewing the possible damage to the environment.

Once the expert committee submits its findings, necessary action would be initiated.

The video of the fire, with dense, huge, black smokes from the river covering the horizon, went viral on social media.

New Delhi, February 4

Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Tuesday said a CAG report that criticised the force for the delay in procurement of special clothing for soldiers serving in high altitude areas, including Siachen, is a “little outdated” as it pertains to 2015-16.

The Army is very well prepared today, he asserted.

The report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), which was tabled in Parliament on Monday, pulled up the Army for the delay in procurement of clothing, equipment, snow goggles and multi-purpose boots that are required to be provided to soldiers serving in high altitude areas.

After meeting a group of 30 journalism students of Abasaheb Garware College here, General Naravane told reporters: “If you look at the CAG report carefully, it pertains to 2015-16. So, it is not a report about the present times. So, it is a little outdated in that sense”.

“But I would like to assure you that as of today, in 2020, we are very well prepared and every jawan who goes to Siachen gets personal clothing worth approximately Rs 1 lakh. That is the kind of preparation we do for each and every soldier who goes there,” he added.

On the marginal hike in the defence budget, the Army chief said: “Defence budget has got a modest increase of 8 per cent year on year. We will be studying how to manage this budget and how to make full use of it. And we will continue to modernise”. “Notwithstanding what budget allocations are made, in the last year itself we have inducted more than four-five different kind of weapons, weapon systems and platforms. So, modernisation has never been an issue,” he said.

The defence budget was increased to Rs 3.37 lakh crore for 2020-21 against last year’s Rs 3.18 lakh crore, belying expectations of a significantly enhanced allocation to fast-track long-pending military modernisation. PTI

75 contracts (worth Rs 1,67,898 cr) of 210 in last four financial years have been signed with foreign vendors

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, February 4

As the ‘DefExpo 2020’ opens here, the emerging contours of India’s military equipment acquisition are clear: the ‘Make in India’ push is unfolding and could lead to possible exports of some equipment; however, for now, the reality is that India’s import dependence has grown, instead of getting reduced.

The Ministry of Defence supplied data to the parliamentary standing committee and it indicates ‘dependence on the foreign vendors is rising’.

In the financial year April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015, the total procurement of weapons and equipment was worth Rs 65,859 crore (approximately $9.40 billion). The committee report, tabled in December 2019, says during the

period, the procurement from foreign vendors was worth Rs 25,980 crore (approximately $3.71 billion) which works out to be 39.62 per cent of the

total expenditure.

In the financial year April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, the total procurement was worth Rs 75,920 crore (approximately $10.84 billion) and the purchase of foreign equipment amounted to Rs 36,957 crore (approximately $ 5.2 billion). It comprised 48.67 percent of the spending.

Actually, the last fiscal (2018-19) saw sharp spike over the one ( 2017-2018) previous to that. Imports increased by almost 10 per cent largely due to part-payment for cutting-edge imported equipment like Rafale fighter jets, the heavy lift helicopters, Chinook CH 47, and attack copters,

the Apache AH64E.

In 2017-18 the total procurement was worth Rs 72,732 crore ($10.39 billion) off this a sum of Rs 29,035 crore ($ 4.14 billion) or 39.92 percent of it, was on imports. In the past few years, imports have hovered between 37 and 39 per cent of all procurement.

In the last four financial years (2015-16 to 2018-19),

a total of 210 contracts were signed, off these 75 contracts worth about Rs 1,67,898 crore ($23.98 billion) have been signed with foreign vendors, including those from the USA, Russia, Israel, France, etc., for procurement of defence equipment for armed forces. The defence equipment imported during this period includes helicopters, aircrafts, missiles, rifles, artillery guns, simulators and ammunition.

The five-day defence expo (February 5 to 9) opens in this city tomorrow and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate it.

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Jammu, January 3

A Chetak helicopter of the Indian Army made an emergency crash landing after it developed a technical snag in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi on Monday, army officials said.

Both the pilots are safe, they said.

The chopper, which was on a routine sortie, developed some technical problem and had to make a crash landing in the Rudkhud area in Arnas belt of the district this morning, the officials said. — PTI

The brave ladies of Bhuj

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 2

The five-day DefExpo 2020, which will open in Lucknow on February 5, will see India engage with African nations in a big way. A unique feature of the event will be the India-Africa defence conclave. At least 14 Defence ministers from various countries of Africa will attend the India-Africa conclave.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said the India-Africa conclave was being hosted with the cooperation of the Ministry of External Affairs. “This is to look at the export potential of Indian-made military equipment such as artillery guns, missiles and vehicles,” he added.

The Department of Defence Production under the Ministry of Defence has set an aim to “achieve export of Rs 35,000 crore” by 2025 and overall achieve a turnover of Rs 1,70,000 crore ($26 billion approx) in defence goods and services by 2025. On DefExpo, Kumar said, “We have confirmed participation of 40 ministerial delegations,” adding that the 11th edition of the biennial mega defence exhibition would see more than 100 companies participating and this includes 165 foreign companies.

The theme of the exhibition is — “India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub”. The aim is to bring the leading technologies in the defence sector under one roof and provide a myriad of opportunities for the government, private manufactures and startups. The event will cover the entire spectrum of the country’s aerospace, defence and security interests.

The sub-theme of the exhibition is “Digital Transformation of Defence” which aligns with the concept of the future battlefield.