Part III of this analysis examines the implications of the single most interesting data point to emerge from the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. This date has never been mentioned in earlier media reports, and what is almost startlingly significant is not only what transpired on this date, but the fact of the date, itself.
Part II of this analysis examines how the defence ministry’s Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC) interpreted an inflated cost analysis of the Eurofighter bid and undervalued the cost of the Rafale bid, five times.
Part I of this three-part analysis is a contextual reading of the February 2019 CAG report and outlines how the IAF’s MMRCA contest was fixed to get the Rafale back into the contest after it was rejected, three times, and how the threats to a Rafale win were removed.
Even after two decades since the acquisition case, the Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) search has seen a system absent from trials and failing trials, being passed as technically compliant and ending up as, apparently, the cheapest. Also problematic is the difficulty its purchase could pose by provoking U.S. sanctions under their CAATSA.
India’s defence procurement continues to raise more questions than answers, points out Hemant Shivakumar, with the uncertainty over the order of Spike Anti Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) appearing to be the latest casualty to the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
During his visit to New Delhi, the the U.S. NSA is expected to deliver an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Washington D.C. in the week of June 12.
The Indo-US Defense Policy Group meet to be held in Washington DC this week comes shortly after a perceived snub to the US offer to co-produce Javelin ATGMs with the Indian order for Israeli Spike ATGMs.
The team is in the US to discuss the Defense Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) and terms for the new Defense Framework Agreement in a trip timed just before the Modi visit.
The Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement has asked PM Narendra Modi to implement One Rank One Pension, withdraw pension and benefit cases against veterans and set up a Military Veteran’s Commission.
Although the Council of Ministers has been sworn in, the priority accorded to defense modernization by the new prime minister in terms of allocation of portfolio and exclusive responsibility remains uncertain.
This meeting is significant as Karim is the first envoy of a Muslim majority country to meet Modi and is also a sign of growing international recognition of the Gujarat chief minister’s influence on national issues in New Delhi, in this case the Land Boundary Agreement.
