Godrej Group To Invest Heavily In Indian Defense Sector

The USD 1.7 billion Godrej Group plans to give a major push to its military equipment supply business, even as the government moves toward creating a level-playing field to private sector in manufacturing defence hardware.

"We are already in nuclear and space technology and... now plan to vigorously pursue the defence business where we scent immense potential," group chairman Adi Godrej told.

Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd is already a supplier of airframe sections for the Brahmos missile, besides equipment for satellite launch vehicles built by the Indian Space Research Organisation. The group also supplies equipment for the nuclear sector, both civilian and military and equipment for refineries. The group, whose revenues in 2006-07 touched USD 1.7 billion dollars, expects huge earnings from the nuclear business once the Indo-US civil nuclear deal is cleared.

Plans to pursue the defence supply business comes days after the government short-listed 13 private firms for granting the status of Rakshya Udyog Ratna. The list was handed over to Defence Minister A K Antony by Probir Sengupta, the chairman of the government-appointed selection committee, on June 6. Though it was not clear which firms made it to the list, such a status will pave the way for them to easily access foreign technology and collaboration to make sophisticated military hardware. It will also allow them to bid on par with state-run ordnance factories for military systems contracts.

Asked about the group's future plans, Godrej declined to give details, saying "it will not be appropriate for me to unveil the full plan as it is a sensitive matter." The Indian government had opened up the defence sector to private players in 2001 and the move to grant Rur status would pave the way for upto 26 per cent FDI.

The Ministry of Defence proposes to award contracts for defence production to private players worth Rs 20,000- 30,000-crore in the near future as a part of its initiative to source some of its requirements from private sector players. Both the Tatas and L&T have already secured licences for manufacturing several defence-related products from guns to tanks to battleships.

L&T is already planning to set up a ship-building yard which will manufacture battleships besides mulling a collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautics for aircraft parts. Apart from L&T and the Tatas, M&M and Ashok Leyland too supply vehicles to the military. A couple of foreign private players such as Lockheed Martin and Rolls Royce are also reportedly eyeing the high-potential Indian defence sector.

Godrej said, "We already supply equipment for satellites and certain other components for launch vehicles and their engines. He, however, ruled out the group entering the infrastructure sector.

Indian Government To Encourage Greater Foreign Participation In Defense Sector

Indian Government To Encourage Greater Foreign Participation In Defense Sector

Indian television news channel 'Times Now' reports that the Government Government is now proposing a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of 50 per cent in defence PSU's. Since 2002, a FDI cap of 26% was in place for defence sector.

The new proposal suggests that foreign investors can buy a stake of 50 per cent in defence PSU's involved in manufacturing. This could give them a controlling stake in the PSU. FIPB approval, however, is mandatory for the sector. In 2001, the Government had opened the defence sector to private participation, but the FDI in the private sector has been capped at 26 per cent.

What this means is that public sector companies like Hindustan Aeronautics, which manufactures indigenous defence aircraft like the flight trainer Kiran, could be on the block. Also on the block for foreign investment could be defence PSU's like Bharat Dynamics -- manufactures of the Agni and Prithvi missiles, BEML -- manufacturer of the trucks and launch vehicles used for various missile systems and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), manufacturers of electronic warfare equipment and surveillance radars.

Defence analyst Retd Air Comodore Jasjit Singh spoke to TIMES NOW on the issue and said, "Opening the defence sector to FDI will lead to infusion of new technology and investment in the Indian aviation industry." Big name companies like Lockheed Martin and Boeing have shown wide interest in investing in India's defence sectors. At a recent air show, Boeing and Lockheed Martin had showcased their products like the F-16 aircraft.

In the atomic sector, the Government has recently declassified the mineral Limonite as an atomic Mineral. Limonite is used in production of titanium alloys used in the aircraft industry and Titanium used for manufacturing of paints. Based on these recommendations, 100 per cent FDI will be allowed in mining of Limonite and production of Titanium. Mining of minerals classified as atomic minerals are governed by the Regulations set in place in 1998 and have not been allowed.

It is interesting to note that India has 30 per cent of the world's Limonite’s reserves. These proposals put forward by the Commerce Ministry to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and are likely to find several detractors as defence and atomic sectors are considered as sensitive sectors and a symbol of India's national pride.

Chile Shortlists HAL Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv

Chile has shortlisted Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter but there has been no decision as yet to buy the Indian-made Dhruv helicopters.

Chilean Army's Commander in Chief Gen Oscar Izurieta told India Strategic that Dhruv had indeed been shortlisted along with a couple of other machines but that the acquisition process was not yet over and no decision had yet been taken.

Chile has a requirement of 8 to 10 helicopters of the Dhruv type, he said, adding that trials were still on. Dhruv is built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at Bangalore.

The HAL Dhruv is a multi-role advanced helicopter made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It is currently being supplied to the Indian Armed forces (Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army); a civilian variant is also available. The type has been exported to Nepal and Israel, and is also currently being considered by Bolivia and Peru other than Chile. Specialised military variants include ASW machines and helicopter gunships

Gen Izurieta also said that Chile, India and Malaysia would form a Scorpene submarine club to help one another with training and spares to make the operations cost-effective. Chile has acquired two medium size Scorpenes from France, while Malaysia is buying three and India, six.

DRDO Ties Up With NASSCOM For Defense Information Technology Services products

DRDO Ties Up With NASSCOM For Defense Information Technology Services products

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of the Ministry of Defence has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), the premier chamber of commerce for software and services in India to strengthen cooperation and increase collaboration between the Indian IT industry and DRDO.

This MoU is an initiative to further innovation and the development of Intellectual Property in the domestic market in India. The MoU will help establish a successful working relationship between DRDO and the Indian IT industry and will advance issues of mutual interest. This initiative will also strengthen cooperation for enabling a long-term involvement of IT software companies in DRDO’s development projects.

Speaking on the occasion Shri M Natrajan, Director General Defence R&D said DRDO has taken a lot of initiatives for promoting increased partnership of private sector industry in the development of major systems. He said "as the modern military systems are becoming increasingly software intensive, we are keen to workout a long-term strategic arrangement with NASSCOM to enable Indian IT industry to partner DRDO labs in various software development activities mainly related to systems like Radars, Electronic Warfare Systems, Sonars, Flight Control, Avionics, Missile Systems, Command and Control Systems, Communication System etc." Shri Natrajan said the MoU seeks to facilitate defining long term strategic partnership with IT industry and to take further actions for finalizing methodologies for its effective implementation.

Shri Kiran Karnik, President NASSCOM said creating upstream linkages with the Indian R&D institutions is a key part of NASSCOM's focus on developing India’s innovation eco-system. He said DRDO has been responsible for developing a number of leading technologies in multi-focus areas spanning across aero-space, control systems, communication etc. which makes it the obvious choice for such a partnership. Shri Karnik said through this MoU the DRDO-IT industry partnership could liverage the experience and best practices gained through these engagements.

Indian Navy Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Order Under Scrutiny

The Indian Navy's first ever order for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), robotic machines that help in surveying the seabed, is under a cloud with two potential vendors alleging that the contract, worth Rs 260 crore, was awarded to a Norwegian company by the defence ministry without calling for tenders.

The contract was awarded to Norway's Kongsberg Maritime in February. Hydroid Europe, a company based in the UK, in a letter dated 13 April, alleged that Central Vigilance Commission guidelines and procurement procedures laid out by the defence ministry have been "disregarded while placing the orders for the equipment fit of the above vessels."

US-based Bluefin Robotics Corp, has also written to the defence ministry that due procedures were not followed. "I sincerely hope that, as per the procurement policy of the Indian ministry of defence, all major manufacturers will be invited to participate in technical and commercial negotiations prior to the award of the contract," said Bluefin’s April 24 letter.

AUVs, also called Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, are powered by batteries or fuel cells and can operate in waters as deep as 6,000m. The defence establishment uses them to ensure that there are no concealed mines or other explosive devices.

According to procurement procedures, the defence ministry can only bypass the tender route to award a contract if the supplies have features that are common with an existing platform. In this case, it was the first time that the navy was contracting to purchase AUVs.

This contract was awarded by the Alcock Ashdown Shipyard on recommendation from the Dehradun-based National Hydrographic Office, the survey arm of the navy. Neither the navy nor the defence ministry responded to multiple email queries sent by Mint over the last fortnight, though both confirmed receiving the questionnaire.

Meanwhile, a right to information application sent to the naval wing of the defence ministry by a Delhi-based individual, Ashok Kumar Shukla, was rejected by the ministry, citing that the information sought was exempt from disclosure.

India, Israel army brass hold talks

India, Israel army brass hold talks

NEW DELHI: Ahead of its hush-hush visit to Jammu & Kashmir, a top-level Israeli Army delegation held wide-ranging discussions with the Indian military brass on Wednesday to discuss ways to boost the already robust bilateral defence ties.

The delegation, led by Israeli deputy chief of general staff Major-General Moshe Kaplinsky, shared its views with Army chief General J J Singh, Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal F H Major and defence secretary Shekhar Dutt.

"The Israelis, in turn, got a briefing on India’s security perspectives in the region and beyond. Since both countries have a long history of dealing with terrorism, cooperation is now taking place in sharing of intelligence and counter-terrorism strategies," said a source.

As reported earlier by TOI, the Israeli delegation will be travelling to J&K on Thursday, with visits planned to the 16 Corps headquarters in Nagrota, which is tasked with guarding the Line of Control south of the Pir Panjal range, as well as Jammu and other places.

"The delegation will review the performance of the Israeli equipment being used along the LoC, like unattended ground sensors, HHTIs, among others. The Israelis will also share their experience of tackling infiltration in Gaza Strip," said the source. Later, the delegation is slated to visit the Western Naval Command at Mumbai.

Air India bids for Serbian carrier

Air India bids for Serbian carrier

Air India is considering making an offer for Serbia's national carrier, Jugoslavenski Aerotransport (JAT), in what would be the first major bid by an Indian carrier for an overseas rival.
But if Air India decides to push ahead, it faces the prospect of a bidding war with Russia's Aeroflot, believed to be the only other serious suitor for the Serbian carrier.
Mirjana Dragovic, a spokeswoman for JAT, told the Financial Times: "Air India and JAT are talking about an eventual merger or other kind of partnership."

Defence ministers from Germany, India call on PM Lee

Defence ministers from Germany, India call on PM Lee

SINGAPORE: Bilateral meetings between ministers is a common feature on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue these past few days. The German Defence Minister Dr Franz Josef Jung called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on Sunday. They discussed ways to further cooperate, both bilaterally and between Asia and Europe, and exchanged views on world security developments, including efforts in Afghanistan. Indian Defence Minister A K Antony also called on Mr Lee. They exchanged views on cooperation in defence and ways to enhance cooperation in maritime security. Mr Antony also expressed appreciation for Singapore's role in India's Look East policy and Mr Lee encouraged India to continue using Singapore as a springboard to broaden its engagement with East Asia.

INDIA HELPS SRILANKA

INDIA HELPS SRILANKA

SINGAPORE: The "rise of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) air power in Sri Lanka is of concern to India also." Emphasising this, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in Singapore on Sunday that India "will give Sri Lanka reasonable support for that."
Commenting on his talks with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama here on Saturday, Mr. Antony said he had conveyed India's willingness to extend "whatever possible help." He said the message to Sri Lanka was that "we are with you" on the issues of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity of the island-state.
At the same time, India expressed its preference for a "political solution" in Sri Lanka.
Patrolling
On Colombo's proposal for coordinated patrolling by the navies of the two countries along the maritime boundary in the Palk Straits, he said it was put across to Sri Lanka that India "will examine that."
Outlining Colombo's version of this conversation, Mr. Bogollagama noted, "Mr. Antony said they are examining it favourably."
So, it was inferred that an "agreement" had now been reached.
That could be seen as something "towards" or "leading to coordinated patrolling."
Mr. Antony has already affirmed that he had given "no commitment" to accept the proposal of coordinated patrolling.
At the conference, Mr. Bogollagama spoke about the threat to regional maritime security from the Sea Tigers.