Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Debate and Q&A on Modernisation of Indian Army in Parliament

Debate on Modernisation of Indian Army in Parliament

Modernisation of Artillery
 
The modernization of Artillery is being undertaken on a continuous basis. The following equipment has been inducted / upgraded into the Artillery:-
(i)   Pinaka Rocket System;
(ii) Smerch Rocket System.
(iii)       BrahMos Missile System.
(iv)        Upgradation of 130mm gun to 155mm /145 calibre.
Procurement action is ongoing for the following gun systems:
(i)   155mm / 39 calibreUltra Light Howitzer.
(ii) 155/45Calibre Gun from Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
(iii)       155mm / 52 calibre Towed Gun.
(iv)        155mm / 52 calibre Tracked (Self Propelled) Gun.
(v)  155mm / 52 calibre Mounted Gun System.
Acquisition of weapons and equipment for Armed forces is a complex activity and is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). The procurement cycle takes about 2-3 years for finalization of contracts, but can vary depending on the complexity of the issues involved.
This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Dr.Ratna De (Nag) in Lok Sabha today.
 Purchase of Trainer Aircraft 
 A contract for procurement of 75 Basic Trainer Aircraft was signed with M/s Pilatus Aircraft Ltd., Switzerland on 24th May 2012 at a cost of Rs.2895.63 Crore. The HPT-32 was the basic trainer aircraft in the Indian Air Force (IAF) till July 2009. The HPT-32 aircraft had persistent problems of engine cuts. The aircraft was grounded due to safety reasons on 31st July, 2009 after a fatal accident due to engine cut. This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Sugumar K. in Lok Sabha today. 
 Prithvi-II Missile  
Prithvi-II missile has undergone several successful tests. Development of work with pre-fragmented & composite warhead along with complete ground system has been completed. The system has been deployed in Army & Air Force. A training salvo flight trial was undertaken on 21st December, 2011 by Users in collaboration with DRDO.

This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri RayapatiSambasivaRao and Shri Suresh Kumar Shetkar in Lok Sabha today. 
 Coastal Security  
A coastal security ring all along our coast is provided by Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Marine Police. Review and monitoring of coastal security mechanism is a continuous process. Government has initiated several measures to strengthen Coastal Security, which include improving surveillance mechanism and enhanced patrolling by following an integrated approach. Joint operational exercises are conducted on regular basis among Navy, Coast Guard, Coastal Police, Customs and others to check the effectiveness of this approach adopted for security of coastal areas including island territories. The intelligence mechanism has also been streamlined through the creation of Joint Operation Centers and multi- agency coordination mechanism. Installation of radars covering the country`s entire coastline and islands is also an essential part of this process.

This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony in a written reply to ShrimatiBotchaJhanshi Lakshmi and Shri Ganesh Singhin Lok Sabha today.
Defence Budget
 
Total Defence spending of Rs.1,70,913.28crores during 2011-12 constitutes 1.92% of the GDP [(Advance Estimates) as per Economic Survey 2011-12]. Defence Budget of Rs.1,93,407.29crores as approved under BE 2012-13 would be 1.90% of GDP projected by Ministry of Finance. On the basis of unauthenticated data available, it is assessed that the Defence Budget as a percentage of GDP in Pakistan and China, is as under:-
Country
2010
2009
2008
2007
China
1.4
1.43
1.39
1.38
Pakistan
3.1
2.4
2.56
3.21
There is no basis for Government to certify the accuracy, or otherwise, of official defence budgets of foreign countries. Comparison of the data on defence spending vis-a-vis that of other countries is difficult due to lack of uniformity in treatment of different components of the expenditure and non-availability of accurate and latest published data. Nevertheless, the Government continues to monitor all developments in the immediate and extended neighbourhood which have an impact on national security.
            The details of allocation for Defence Budget under Budget Estimates (BE) 2012-13 are as given in the following table:
(Rs. in crores)
Service
BE 2012-13
Revenue
Capital
Total
Army
77327.03
19237.80
96564.83
Navy
12548.02
24766.42
37314.44
Air Force
17705.81
30514.45
48220.26
Sub-total
107580.86
74518.67
182099.53
SERVICES
DGOF
-535.09
399.96
-135.13
R&D
5995.56
4640.00
10635.56
DGQA
787.33
20.00
807.33
Sub-total Deptts
6247.80
5059.96
11307.76
TOTAL
113828.66
79578.63
193407.29
This budgetary provision has been allocated taking into account the requirement to meet the roles and responsibilities of the defence forces and national security imperatives. Additional requirement of funds as necessary will be projected depending on pace of utilization of allocation, progress of ongoing and new modernization schemes and other priority requirements.
All aspects of the geostrategic environment in the immediate and extended neighbourhood, which have a bearing on the country`s security, are taken into account in defence budget and expenditure related decision.
This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Om PrakashYadavand others in Lok Sabha today.
 Special Clothing for Personnel  
Special Clothing and mountaineering equipments are authorized to Army Personnel deployed in super high altitudes like Siachen/Kargil. Of the 55 items, 36 items are being procured indigenously and only 19 are being imported. In order to streamline the procedure, an Empowered Committee is in existence under the Chairman of Master General of Ordnance (MGO) of Army Headquarters with full powers of Competent Financial Authority. Sufficient quantities of these items are kept as reserve to avoid any shortage. Improvement in quality and development of indigenous resources for these items is a continuous process.

This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri A.K.S. Vijayan in Lok Sabha today. 
 Delivery of AJT Hawk  
The Hawk Mk-132 Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) was inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2008 as a fighter trainer with the aim to replace the Kiran Mk-ll/MiG-21 route of training. Keeping in view the delay in delivery of Hawk by HAL due to receipt of defective components, Jigs and fixtures from the foreign manufacturer on whom liquidated damages of 6.5 million GBP were levied, the original training plan by Hawk for 2010-11 was modified and pilots of the IAF were trained on the MiG-21 aircraft.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM PallamRaju in a written reply to Shri PonnamPrabhakar in Lok Sabha today
 Missile Development Programme
 
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) was started in 1983 and completed in March 2012. IGMDP was sanctioned to develop Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Nag and a Technology Demonstrator Agni Missile.
Achieved targets are:-
Prithvi series of missile has been inducted.
Akash missile is under production and induction.
Nag with re-configured Nag Missile Carrier (NAMICA) cross country trial has been undertaken.
Trishul missile system has been completed as "Technology Demonstrator" due to delay in development of state-of-the-art technology and change in requirement of Armed Forces.
Agni re-entry "Technology Demonstrator" project has been completed successfully and technology is used for Agni series of missile.
This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri WakchaureBhausahebRajaram in Lok Sabha today.
 Purchase of Transport Aircraft  
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of 56 aircraft as replacement of Avro aircraft under `Buy and Make` category on 23rd July 2012.

The aircraft to replace Avro aircraft are proposed to be procured through the `Buy and Make` route as per the Defence Procurement Procedure - 2011, with the stipulation that the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) will select a private Indian Production Agency for manufacturing 40 aircraft in India. The estimated cost of the project is Rs.11,897crore. This will encourage development of the Indian private sector in aircraft manufacture.

The deliveries of aircraft would commence within 24 months from the date of signing the contract and would be completed over a period of eight years.

This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri A. Ganeshamurthi in Lok Sabha today.

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