Details

Created: 13 March 2015

NEW DELHI: BBJ and Embraer aircraft of Indian Air Force are used for airlift of VVIPs.  Both aircraft are fitted with TCAS-II anti-collision systems. The aircraft are supplied with these systems installed as a standard fit.  Hence, no separate funds are allocated towards fitment of anti-collision systems. The anti-collision technology is fitted based upon the assessed requirement.  All the modern transport aircraft of IAF viz C-17, C-130, BBJ, Embraer, IL-76, IL-78 and AWACS fleet have anti-collision system onboard. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Dr. Ratna De (Nag) in Lok Sabha today.

 

• LIGHT UTILITY HELICOPTERS

 

 

Defence forces have projected additional requirements of helicopters. The requirements are proposed to be met by fresh procurement under Buy & Make (Indian) category.  The helicopters are available on successful conclusion of procurement case in accordance with the contract. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri Adhir Ranjan Choudhury in Lok Sabha today.

 

•  AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES

 

 

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) as technology demonstrator.  A project has been taken up to demonstrate certain enhanced critical parameters of the AUV.  DRDO has undertaken a feasibility study for the development of different types of AUV platforms that could be used for a variety of roles, like surveillance and mine counter measures, etc. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri JC Divakar Reddy in Lok Sabha today.

 

•  RECRUITMENT OF SOLDIERS

 

 

From time to time Defence Civilian employees have been raising the demands that they should be granted Field Area allowance and Modified Field Area allowance as applicable to the service Personnel and for providing other allowances like Aeronautical Technical Allowance, Airworthiness Certificate Allowance, Flight Charge Certificate Allowance etc. at par with technical defence personnel.  It has not been found feasible to accept these demands as the job requirements and service conditions of Service Personnel and Defence Civilian employees are totally different.

 

Complaints relating to alleged irregularities / malpractices in recruitment of soldiers have been received from time to time.  In cases of complaints of involvement of touts, FIRs, where applicable, have been lodged.  During the last three years (2012 to till date), three cases of involvement of Service Personnel were found.  Court of Inquiry has been instituted in one case; preliminary investigation has been ordered in another case and in third, the CBI has registered a case.

 

Proactive measures have been taken on a continuous basis to streamline the recruitment process. These include deployment of vigilance teams, involving police and Government intelligence sources, introducing additional checks and balances in documentation procedure, online verification of documents where feasible, conducting awareness campaigns against falling prey to touts, in-house printing of Question Papers to obviate leakage. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri P Karunakaran in Lok Sabha today.

 

• ACQUISITION OF MISSILES FROM ISRAEL

 

 

 The contract for procurement of Barak-1 Missiles for Indian Navy was signed in October 2014 with M/s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd., Israel at a cost of Rs. 875.49 Crores. The Ministry has not issued any instructions blacklisting   M/s IAI and M/s Rafael from doing business with Government of India.  However, vigilance instructions on procurement proposals involving   M/s IAI and M/s Rafael were issued in 2011. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri Pralhad Joshi in Lok Sabha today.

 

•  NAVAL BASE AT SEYCHELLES BY CHINA

 

 

As per the information available, no Naval base has been established by China in Seychelles.  However, Government is aware of Chinese participation in development projects in the Indian Ocean Region and keeps a constant watch on all developments concerning our national security. Modernization of Indian Navy to create capability for future threats and challenges is an ongoing process. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri Ramdas C Tadas in Lok Sabha today.

 

• MANUFACTURING OF AIRCRAFT

 

 

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufacturers Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) for the civil purpose also at Bangalore.  So far, HAL has supplied ALHs to civil customers like ONGC, Government of Jharkhand, GSI, Border Security Force, etc.

 

National Aeronautical Laboratory (NAL) under CSIR has designed and manufactured two-seat Hansa trainer aircraft.  Around 15 numbers of this aircraft have been manufactured and delivered to IIT Kanpur and various flying clubs in the country.

 

 

Raw materials, a number of Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) and highly specialised test equipment hitherto not developed in the country and spare parts for which technologies have not been transferred by the Original Equipment Manufacturers are imported on need basis by HAL.  The details of year-wise total import for all programmes of HAL are as under:

 

 

 

Value (Rupees in crore)

 

Year	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15 (Up to December, 2014)
Import	5642.19	8662.66	12127.89	6504.71

 

The Government vide Press Note 3 of 2014 Series dated 26.6.2014 notified Defence Products List for the purpose of industrial licensing.  In the revised list, most of the components / parts / raw materials have been taken out of purview of industrial licensing thereby liberalising the entry barrier for manufacturing of components etc. by the Indian Private Sector.

 

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Shri Feroze Varun Gandhi and Shri Senguttuvan B in Lok Sabha today.

 

•  ARTILLERY GUNS

 

 

The Government has accorded approval for acquiring new artillery guns through five procurement cases that also involve indigenous production including at Ordnance Factories.  The guns are available on successful conclusion of the procurement process as per the contract signed. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri Ravinder Kushawaha and Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in Lok Sabha today.

 

• ORDNANCE FACTORIES

 

 

Kelkar Committee had recommended that “Ordnance Factories should be corporatized into a single corporation under leadership of      a competitive management.  This corporation should be accorded the status of Navratna”. The following steps have been taken by the Government on research and development initiative for innovation and import substitution in last one year:

 

 ·        To avoid the delay in processing of R&D projects at Ordnance Factory Board Headquarters (OFBHQ), financial powers have been delegated to all levels.

 

 ·        Factories have been given target to increase the expenditure on R&D activities to 3% of their turnover by the year 2018-19 in a phased manner.

 

 ·        Factories are being encouraged to associate themselves with reputed Academic Institutes for Research Assistance.

 

 ·        Core technologies have been identified for 12 Ordnance Factories to put in more focused efforts to cope up with Technology denial regime.

 

 ·        Joint working on some of the large projects with Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) from the inception stage and to render manufacturing assistance, wherever required by DRDO is being encouraged.

 

 This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Shri Gaurav Gogoi and others in Lok Sabha today.

 

•  MODERNIZATION OF ARMED FORCES

 

 

Budget allocation for modernization of armed forces under the Revised Estimates has been fully used during the last three years.  Details for the same including for the current year are as follows:-

 

(` in crore)

 

Year	BE	RE	Actual Expenditure	%age utilization w.r.t. RE
2011-12	56510.49	53292.30	56281.88	105.61
2012-13	66032.24	57395.46	58768.86	102.39
2013-14	73444.59	66406.41	66850.30	100.67
2014-15	75148.03	66151.73	56776.47	85.83

 

Note:- Actual expenditure for 2014-15 is upto February, 2015.

 

Utilization of Defence budget is monitored by means of the financial compilation prepared by Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) which captures the details of defence expenditure incurred all over the country. The progress of expenditure is reviewed periodically at various levels in the Ministry and Service Headquarters to identify any areas where expenditure may be lagging.   This helps to identify and resolve any problems in implementation of planned activities.

The desired capability defines the equipment to be procured. Towards this end, a number of proposals for increasing the combat capacity and mobility of Infantry are listed in the Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan.

 

The expenditure being incurred on modernisation is as an outcome of implementation of the Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP), which is sub-divided into five-year Services Capital Acquisition Plans (SCAP), which in turn form the basis of the Annual Acquisition Plans.

 

This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri Ram Kumar Sharma and others in Lok Sabha today.

 

•  CLEARANCE OF PROPOSALS BY DAC

 

 

 

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved 44 proposals for defence services during the year 2014-15.  Some of the major proposals relate to tanks, submarines, helicopters and artillery guns.  As per Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP)-2013, highest preference is given to Buy (Indian), Buy & Make (Indian) and Make (Indian) in that order and the lowest preference is given to Buy (Global) while categorising cases for approval of the DAC.

 

 

This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri Rahul Shewale and others in Lok Sabha today.

 

 

• NATIONAL CADET CORPS

 

 

Total funds released for National Cadet Corps (NCC) activities for the last three years and the current year are given below:-

 

(Rs. in crore)

 

 

Students participation in NCC has increased steadily over the years. Government has approved expansion plan of NCC in 2010 to increase the cadet strength of NCC from 13 lakh to 15 lakh in five phases of 40,000 cadets in each phase over a period of five years.  Consequently, 2 NCC Group HQrs, 20 NCC Army units, 2 Naval units and 2 Air units have been raised under the first and the second phase of implementation. No honorarium is paid to NCC Cadets.  However, cadets are entitled to Rupees 30/- as daily allowance during journey period to attend a NCC camp.

 

The following steps have been taken to encourage students to participate in NCC activities:

 

 ·        A calendar of training activities of NCC is issued in February / March every year.

 

 ·        Besides 1800 NCC camps conducted annually, a host of other social service and community development activities are undertaken.

 

 ·        NCC activities are planned with minimum interference in the academic curriculum of the cadets.

 

 ·        A minimum participation and attendance has been made compulsory for obtaining ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ certificates.

 

 This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri M Murali Mohan in Lok Sabha today.

 

•  ONE RANK ONE PENSION SCHEME

 

 

 The principle of One Rank One Pension for the Armed Forces has been accepted by the Government.  The modalities for implementation have been discussed with various stakeholders and are presently under consideration of the Government.  Financial implication could be calculated, once the modalities are finalized and approved by the Government. Possible amendments to the pension policies are being examined with a view to reduce litigation for removing disparities in pension of various ex-servicemen. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri Mullappally Ramachandran and others in Lok Sabha today.

 

•  INJURY TO FISHERMEN

 

 

On 12.1.2015, an incident took place off Kerala coast wherein two fishermen from a fishing boat ‘Rishika’ suffered minor injury from the ricochet of a warning shot fired by Indian Coast Guard Ship.  While on routine patrol, a Coast Guard interceptor boat asked the fishing boat ‘Rishika’ to stop for checking.  However, the boat did not respond and tried to escape.  Thereafter, the Coast Guard ship followed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for warning and stopping the boat, including warning on loud hailer, circling the boat and firing illumination rounds.

 

After all these measures were exhausted, the ship fired warning rounds.  The boat thereafter stopped and was boarded by Coast Guard ship’s boarding team for investigation.  It was found that the 09 crew on the boat were not carrying any ID proof.  It was also discovered that two of the crew members had suffered minor injury from the ricochet of the warning shot.  Both the injured crew were provided first aid by Coast Guard Medical officer and were taken to Trivandrum Medical College for treatment. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri P Nagarajan in Lok Sabha today.

 

• WOMEN PERSONNEL IN DEFENCE SERVICES

 

 

Women personnel in the Armed Forces are not being deployed for combat operations and on naval warships.  Induction of women in combat duties has not been recommended by the studies carried out by the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQIDS) in 2006 and High Level Tri-Services Committee in 2011. In the Armed Forces, Women are inducted as Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) along with men SSCOs with a tenure of upto 14 years.  All officers including SSCOs, irrespective of gender, are eligible to hold substantive rank of Lieutenant Colonel after completion of 13 years of reckonable commissioned service.  Further, Women SSCOs are eligible for grant of Permanent Commission in specific branches in the three Services viz. Judge Advocate General (JAG) and Army Education Corps of Army and their corresponding branches in Navy and Air Force; Naval constructor in Navy and Accounts, Technical, Administration, Logistic and Meteorology branches in Air Force in terms of extant Government Policy. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Dr Bhola Singh and others in Lok Sabha today.

 

• INDO – US AGREEMENT IN DEFENCE SECTOR

 

 

India and USA have finalised the new Framework Agreement on Defence Cooperation which would replace the existing Framework Agreement on Defence Cooperation expiring in June 2015. A dialogue has been established between both countries under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) for co-development and co-production of unique and exceptional technologies of mutual interest.  There is no joint production of weapons with USA at present. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri Nandi Yellaiah and others in Lok Sabha today.

 

• CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS BY PAKISTAN

 

 

 The details of ceasefire violations during the past two years and the current year are as under:-

 

 

 

Year	Along the Line of Control (LC) and International Border (IB) under operational control of Army	IB under Operational Control of BSF
2013	199	148
2014	153	430
2015 (upto 28th February)	05	156

 

 

 

No cross border firing in Rajasthan has been reported.  As per assessment, there has not been any increase in infiltration from Pakistan during 2014 in comparison to 2013. The affected families are identified and loss of property is assessed by the concerned State Government.  As reported, during the last three years (2012-2014) and the current year, 193 houses were fully or partially damaged in Jammu & Kashmir.

 

 The details of soldiers martyred during last three years are as follows:-

 

 

Year	Army personnel	BSF personnel	Total
2012	03	02	05
2013	10	02	12
2014	04	04	08

 

 

 

Ex-gratia relief to the affected families is paid by the concerned State Government.  The affected families are temporarily shifted to safer places and provided with accommodation with basic amenities along with medical aid by the respective State Governments concerned.

 

 

All violations of ceasefire are taken up with Pakistan military authorities at the appropriate level through the established mechanism of hotlines, flag meetings as well as weekly talks between the Directorate Generals of Military Operations of the two countries.  BSF, too, holds talks at various levels with its counterpart viz. Pakistan Rangers. Diplomatically, India has repeatedly emphasised, including at the highest level, the need for Pakistan to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control (LC) and abide by the ceasefire commitment of 2003 along the International Border and LC.

 

Government regularly reviews the threat perception to secure our borders and protect national interests.  Appropriate measures are taken from time to time to maintain / upgrade the country’s defence preparedness along the border to safeguard the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India.  Further the areas along the borders are kept under surveillance by regular patrolling by troops and other aerial, optronic and electronic means. This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav and others in Lok Sabha today.