Indian Military

[Stratpost]

Gurmukh Singh, Ottawa

As India and Canada resume nuclear ties after 36 years, Indian companies discussed partnerships with their Canadian counterparts at the Nuclear Industry Conference and Trade Show which ended here Friday. The annual three-day trade show was organized by the Canadian Nuclear Association, a representative body of Canadian nuclear companies.

An Indian delegation led by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) associate director F Vohra also included representatives from L&T Infotech, DM Corporation and Avasarala Technologies Ltd.

“We have started discussions to formalize two or three memorandums of understanding. We met many Canadian companies to discuss joint ventures in India. We offered to become their vendors in the burgeoning nuclear energy market in India,” Vijay Joshi, director of Kolhapur-based DM Corporation, told IANS.

As India plans to raise its nuclear power capacity from 7000 MW currently to 63,000MW by 2032, Joshi said, “Canadian companies have a huge opportunity to bid jointly with India companies for tenders.

CHANDIGARH: Welcome to fortress Chandigarh, the city which, along with Mohali and Panchkula, resembles an armed garrison. With anti-aircraft guns placed strategically and Mohali declared a no-fly zone, no stone is being left unturned to secure the city before the prime ministers of India and Pakistan — along with a host of dignitaries from both countries — arrive for the India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal on Wednesday.
Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters are on standby for air surveillance and fighter jets at Ambala are just a moment away from scrambling in case of emergency. Foolproof security is not confined to the multi-tier system that includes Special Protection Group (SPG), National Security Guard (NSG), and Central and state police forces. For, also roped in is the National Technical Research Organization (NTRO) — a highly specialized technical intelligence gathering agency under the National Security Adviser.
A high level source told TOI that NTRO is tasked with air surveillance and it`s expected to use Israeli-made unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).

[Stratpost]

The matter of the blacklisting of Singapore Technologies by the Indian Ministry of Defense just gets curiouser and curiouser. The arms company has contradicted the basis of the report, tabled by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in Parliament, on the special audit it conducted at the request of the Ministry of Defense, into the facts and circumstances that gave rise to the corruption case against the former Director General of Ordnance Factories and Chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Sudipta Ghosh.

The arms company had been recommended for blacklisting by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in June last year, after Sudipta Ghosh was implicated in a corruption case. A decision to blacklist was held in abeyance last December to allow trials of artillery howitzers and other weapons systems to be conducted, subject to the investigations agency’s final report.

But in January the company claimed this was not the case and that it had not, in fact, been blacklisted.

[Stratpost]

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India was asked by the Ministry of Defense, in June 2009, to conduct an audit into the facts and circumstances that gave rise to the criminal case against the former Director General of Ordnance Factories and Chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Sudipta Ghosh.

While submitting that the institution of the CAG was neither ‘empowered nor equipped’ to conduct inquiries of a forensic nature, the CAG nevertheless accepted the charge and submitted a report to Parliament last week, that testifies to the acts of omission and commission, based on incompetence, lack of foresight or mala fide intent, that led to the recommendation of a blacklist of companies.

The recommendation for blacklisting Singapore Technologies (ST) arose from the issue of the supply of Close Quarter Battle (CQB) Carbines to paramilitary forces under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), India’s law enforcement and interior ministry.

ST was indirectly mentioned in the FIR (First Information Report) registered by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) against Sudipta Ghosh and so the ‘transaction with STK was put on hold in June, 2009 by MOD.