The Comptroller and Auditor General on Tuesday slammed the Defence Ministry and Air Force for "several instances" of deviation from rules in the procurement of VVIP choppers in the Rs 3,727 crore AgustaWestland deal.
'The range of purchases throw a light on India's threat perception as also its perceived role of being a stabilising influence in the region,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Arun Jaitley has clarified his custodianship of 3 ministries - finance, corporate affairs and defence.
French observers point out that Paris had no choice but to issue a denial given the importance of India's Rafale purchase for France's aerospace industry.
The central probe agency had filed a money laundering case to probe the deal and is carrying out the action to collect evidence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said.
The armed forces are facing a shortage of over 52,000 soldiers with the Army topping the list with over 21,000 vacant posts, the government said on Wednesday.
The defence minister also called the bickering against the deal as "disservice" to the armed forces, asserting that urgent requirement of the Indian Air Force was the main reason for sealing it.
The best available recourse to keep the defence sector healthy, is to source most of our requirement within the country so that procurement outlays under both the Revenue and Capital heads flow within the country, recommends says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
The ministry also decided to dispense with the requirement of the Integrity Pact Bank Guarantee to reduce the financial burden on the Indian defence industry, a move aimed at promoting domestic manufacturing.
Insufficient technology has been transferred during the ongoing Project 75, which involves building 6 Scorpene-class submarines.
When the IAF veterans' bail petition came up for hearing, in an unprecedented move, senior serving and retired Air Marshals and Air Vice Marshals rallied behind the accused officers and appeared before the court to give sureties for each, something that has never happened ever before.
Randeep Surjewala also accused the government of "doublespeak" and "sacrificing" national interests.
The Rafale deal issue and the Kashmir situation also came up during the Congress president's 30-minute-long interaction.
Congress has repeatedly alleged a "scam" in the purchase of Rafale fighter jets claiming the cost per aircraft in 2012 was agreed at Rs 526.10 crore while the one signed by the Modi government costs 7.5 billion (Rs 1,670.70 crore per aircraft).
The American-origin drones have been inducted by the navy under the emergency procurement powers granted by the defence ministry in view of the India-China border conflict.
The apex court at the same time made it clear that it does not want information on pricing and technical parameters relating to the fighter aircraft.
With the United Progressive Alliance-II's tenure coming to an end, France had wanted India to sign a pact to provide government guarantee for completion of negotiation for 126 fighter aircraft with Dassault company but Defence Minister A K Antony has refused to do so.
The Excalibur ammunition was developed in the US for improving the accuracy of the artillery shells in the war in Afghanistan which the Americans have been fighting for almost two decades now.
NSA Doval, defence top brass brief Union ministers on the deal to help them counter Opposition charges.
'The armed forces have been given clear indication that they have to give priority to Make in India and indigenisation and dependence on foreign source should be reduced.' 'Almost Rs 90,000 crores contracts have been signed during my tenure. Another almost Rs 70,000 crores are in the pipeline.'
No one really knows what proportion of the nation's wealth and income are available for defence
The notices were moved by Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Veerappa Moily, K V Thomas, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajiv Satav, sources said.
The Army has significantly bolstered its fire power along the frontier with China by deploying a range of rockets and artillery weapons and plans to procure an array of additional systems, including 100 K9 Vajra howitzers and UAVs, to augment combat prowess.
After a wait of 10 years, the Indian army will finally get 50,000 new bullet-proof vests after
Banning the import of platforms that are already being built in India serves little purpose.
It asserted that the jets are 'good' both in terms of quality and price.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday said the government is planning to legalise representatives of various foreign arms companies in the country, for speedy purchase of military hardware.
Here is an explainer and a timeline relating to India's purchase of 36 combat jets.
'China's opaque defence allocation processes are shrouded in mystery and have triggered security dilemmas among its neighbours and others,' notes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
The Indian Army on Tuesday issued a request for information for procuring integrated drone detection systems.
Dhanoa also hoped that the matter will be laid to rest saying that raking up such issues to get political gains, putting the interest of armed forces behind is not right.
The French have been rewarded for their obstinacy with exactly what they wanted -- an order for fully built Rafales without technology transfer.
The French government has rejected Indian negotiators' demand for a 50 per cent offset clause citing sharp cost escalation but offered to participate in 'Make in India' projects to carry forward the talks for 36 Rafale fighter jets that have hit turbulence.
The government is looking into the complaints about the procedure to determine the winner of the multi-billion dollar combat aircraft deal, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Thursday while admitting that there was no money to sign such a big deal in this fiscal.
With the IAF having rejected variants of 4 of the contending aircraft -- the Super Hornet, F-16, Gripen C/D and MiG-35 -- in flight trials carried out between 2009-2011 in the MMRCA tender, are the current contenders improved enough to pass flight trials conducted to the same standards?
Centre objected to the review petition and said that the basic grounds for seeking review of the verdict are the same as they were in the main petition.
According to officials, the list of 101 items includes towed artillery guns, short range surface to air missiles, cruise missiles, offshore patrol vessels, electronic warfare systems, next generation missile vessels, floating dock, anti-submarine rocket launchers and short range maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
Instead of ramming through change, Mr Parrikar has tied his own hands by placing reform at the mercy of numerous committees, says Ajai Shukla.
The disagreement over liability further complicates any early conclusion of the Rafale contract.
Rahul Bedi explains how 'miscellaneous' factors have posed a major hurdle in negotiating the Rafale deal.
