Posts Tagged ‘India’

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Norwegian killer Anders Behring Breivik supports Sanātana Dharma and the Saffron Brigade

July 24, 2011

Unlikely support for right-wing Hindu fanatics and their anti-muslim views can be found in the “manifesto” of the perpetrator of the Norwegian massacre – Anders Behring Breivik.

The manifesto appeared on line yesterday 

2083+-+A+European+Declaration+of+Independence

An unlikely combination: The Templar Cross and the Hindu Swastika

About Hindu nationalism he writes:

Saffronisation is a political neologism (after the saffron robes of the Hindu clerics), used to refer to the policy of right-wing Hindu nationalism (or Hindutva) which seeks to make the Indian state into a “Hindu nation” and its Sikh, Buddhist and Jain minorities incorporated into Hinduism. These nationalist movements are also called Sanatana Dharma movements.
A related term, the Saffron Brigade, is used as a descriptor of people and organisations in India that promote Hindu nationalism such as the Sangh Parivar by their critics, who allege a militant Hindu agenda. The Sanatana Dharma movements or Hindu nationalists in general are suffering from the same persecution by the Indian cultural Marxists as their European cousins. ………

The only positive thing about the Hindu right wing is that they dominate the streets. They do not tolerate the current injustice and often riot and attack Muslims when things get out of control, usually after the Muslims disrespect and degrade Hinduism too much. This behaviour is nonetheless counterproductive. Because instead of attacking the Muslims they should target the category A and B traitors in India and consolidate military cells and actively seek the overthrow of the cultural Marxist government.
India will continue to wither and die unless the Indian nationalists consolidate properly and strike to win. It is essential that the European and Indian resistance movements learn from each other and cooperate as much as possible. Our goals are more or less identical.
The PCCTS, Knights Templar support the Sanatana Dharma movements and Indian nationalists in general.

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Posted in Behaviour, India, Norway, Politics | 3 Comments »

New uranium finds help fuel India’s nuclear program

July 19, 2011
India has a flourishing and largely indigenous nuclear power program and expects to have 20,000 MWe nuclear capacity on line by 2020 and 63,000 MWe by 2032.  The target is to supply 25% of electricity from nuclear power by 2050.
But uranium ores in India are largely low-grade ores which are not usually economic for power generation (and are therefore mainly used for weapons programs). Because India is outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty due to its weapons program, it was for 34 years largely excluded from trade in nuclear plant or materials, which has hampered its development of civil nuclear energy until 2009.
The civil nuclear program is heavily dependent upon the continued import of nuclear fuels. Nevertheless new finds of uranium ore in India provide comfort for the continuing nuclear program in the wake of Fukushima.
Uranium mining in Andhra Pradesh, which has been held up for years by environmental and other activists, has finally begun. Andhra Pradesh’s uranium ore is five times richer than in India’s old mines at Jaduguda. But this does not solve India’s uranium shortage for nuclear power plants. Jaduguda ore has just 0.06% uranium, and AP will yield maybe 0.3%.
But internationally, commercial ores have up to 15% uranium and India will need imported fuel for the foreseeable future

From The Hindu:

Tummalapalle in Andhra Pradesh could have one of the largest uranium reserves in the world. Recent studies have indicated that it could have a reserve of 1.5 lakh (150,000) tonnes of the scarce material.

Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission Srikumar Banerjee said: “Studies have already shown that the area had a confirmed reserve of 49,000 tonnes and recent surveys indicated that this figure could go up even three folds.”

He said uranium deposits in Tummalapalle appeared to be spread over 35 km. Exploratory works are under way. At present, the country is estimated to have a total reserve of about 1,75,000 tonnes of uranium, apart from this.

Terming the new findings a major development, Dr. Banerjee, however, pointed out that the indigenous reserves would still not be sufficient to meet the entire demand of the country’s nuclear programme. “The new findings would only augment the indigenous supply of uranium. There would still be a significant gap. We would still have to import.”

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Posted in India, Nuclear Power | 2 Comments »

Jail time coming for Anil Ambani?

April 23, 2011

As an “anti-corruption” wave sweeps through the normally long-suffering and silent majority in India, Tihar Jail in Delhi is filling up with the rich and the famous now being caught up in the wake of the Satyam scams, the 2G scam and the pig-troughs surrounding the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

And about time too.

If this wave becomes a tsunami Tihar will soon need a new wing.

The 2G scam was based on the underpricing of 2G spectrum by the Telecom Ministry of India, resulting in a loss to the exchequer of some $40 billion and with a corresponding benefit to the companies being allocated the 2G licences. The former Minister and a number of other players are all currently in jail though a trial and convictions are still a long way away.

Back in February Tehelka reported:

THE 2G spectrum scam is getting murkier by the day. A well-known Maharashtra politician and a Delhi- based real estate group have now come under the probe agencies’ scanner for their suspected role in the scam.

This new revelation takes the probe to the doorsteps of political parties other than the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Over the past week, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has interrogated at length senior officials of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) and Amit Sarin, the Delhi-based billionaire and real estate tycoon, asking them to explain a string of suspicious transactions, particularly one where Rs. 100 crore was transferred to Mumbai billionaire Shahid Balwa a day after he applied for a telecom licence.

The CBI has unearthed a money trail of Rs. 100 crore that starts from the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, goes through the Delhi-based real estate company Anant Raj Group and Balwa, and finally ends with a company associated with the influential Maharashtra politician.

Now evidence is forthcoming from the banks involved in the jungle of transactions  involving the menagerie of companies controlled by Anil Ambani’s ADAG Group and which confirms that Anil Ambani was central to the games being played:

Anil Ambani and wife Tina were the only two individuals with unlimited powers to transfer money and make payments for the sevenAnil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) companies that are now under CBI investigation for their links to the 2G scam-linked Swan Telecom, according to the testimony of Amit Khot, deputy branch manager of ICICI Bank’s Nariman Point branch, where these seven companies have their accounts. 

From Tehelka again:

Swan, Tiger, Parrot, Zebra, Penguin, Giraffe: A corporate menagerie
The CBI believes that the conspiracy behind the Swan Telecom was hatched in early 2006 when ADAG created a web of newly formed companies named after animals.

The following six companies were incorporated between March and July 2006:
1. Swan Infonet (later renamed Parrot Contelesultants); incorporated on 17 March 2006
2. Penguin International Ventures Pvt Ltd (later renamed Reliance Utility Engineers) on 26 June 2006 
3. Swan Advisory Services Pvt Ltd (later renamed Zebra Consultants Pvt Ltd) on 21 March 2006
4. Giraffe Consultancy Pvt Ltd (later renamed Sidhartha Consultancy) on 27 June 2006 
5. Tiger Traders on 20 March 2006, and
6. Swan Capital Pvt Ltd (later renamed as Swan Telecom) on 13 July 2006

All these companies were incorporated with an initial share capital of 1 lakh each. Even these few lakhs allegedly came from the bank accounts of top ADAG officials. Besides, either an ADAG company or directors of ADAG owned equity in these companies. The addresses provided in the incorporation documents were those of the registered office of ADAG.

The ADAG Menagerie: Tehelka

Tina and Anil Ambani with friend

It would seem to be just a matter of time before Anil Ambani is taken in for questioning about the 2G scam but whether he spends any jail time remains to be seen. (Commentary removed – October 2014)

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Posted in Behaviour, Corruption, India | Comments Off on Jail time coming for Anil Ambani?

Success and goodness in management

February 21, 2011

From EOAM

Essence of a Manager

“Success is transient. Just like profit or cash-flow – it is over once it has been recognised. Goodness lasts longer – it is like a balance sheet item.”

“To be able to deal with bureaucrats in India it is necessary to understand that it is the potential for blame which has to be minimised while the potential for personal gain has to be maximised”.

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Posted in Behaviour, Management, Philosophy | Comments Off on Success and goodness in management

Cricket World Cup round up No. 1: Sehwag bludgeons, Kiwis soar and ambush marketing builds up

February 20, 2011
Cricket World Cup media

Image via Wikipedia

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup has started.

India easily won the opening match against Bangladesh as Virender Sehwag bludgeoned his way to 175.

New Zealand crushed a hapless Kenya by 10 wickets.

The ICC is concerned that ambush marketing cannot be stopped and it is eroding the value of its official corporate sponsorship contracts.

Some of the corporate contracts border on the obscene and the ambushers – who can be much more creative than the officially sponsored advertising – have my sneaking support.

The best fixtures calendar I have seen is here (modelled on the one made for the football world cup).

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Posted in Cricket | Comments Off on Cricket World Cup round up No. 1: Sehwag bludgeons, Kiwis soar and ambush marketing builds up

Indian MMRCA decision in two weeks – Eurofighter Typhoon still leads

February 13, 2011

A decision on the winner of the $10 billion Indian MMRCA deal for 126 fighters could be announced in two weeks and the contract signed by September. But in the normal way of these things I expect that a number of the losing contractors will object to whoever is chosen and some of the objections may well be in Court. There is no large Government contract placed in India without allegations of biased and “fixed” evaluations by the losers. But eventually the number of decisions overturned by such objections is very few. Whoever is called for negotiations when the winner is announced is 95% certain of being awarded the contract.

Eurofighter take-off: image india-defence.com

The word on the street is that the 4-nation European consortium’s Eurofighter Typhoon still leads after the commercial and strategic evaluation having already won the technical evaluation . But all the offset proposals put forward by the contractors may not have been fully evaluated yet. It would seem that technical considerations for one ( Lockheed Martin’s F-16IN Super Viper) and strategic considerations for the other ( Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet) may disallow the choice of the US fighters. The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is probably running second.

But there may yet be a surprise.

Business Standard reports:

Electrifying aerospace vendors at Aero India 2011 in Bangalore, Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshall PV Naik, announced today that New Delhi would decide within two weeks about which medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) it would buy, and actually sign the US $10 billion contract by September.

A panoramic view of Aero India 2011: image Broadsword (4.bp.blogspot.com)

“The CNC (Cost Negotiation Committee) is likely to start in a week or two. Taking that as the datum and giving [the CNC] another 6-8 months, the contract is likely to be signed in September”, declared Naik.
The CNC is a group of officials that negotiates, between the Ministry of Defence and the winning vendor, a final price for the sale.
Naik’s boss, defence minister AK Antony, had stated at Aero India 2011 yesterday that the globally-watched contract would be finalised by the end of the next financial year 2011-2012, i.e. by March 2012. By setting the deadline six months earlier, Naik appears to have put the MoD under pressure.
Asked for a clarification by Business Standard, Naik’s officiating deputy, Air Marshall RK Sharma, confirmed his chief’s announcement. Sharma clarified that the winning vendor would be issued an invitation within two weeks to appear for cost negotiations, while the CNC would actually meet within two months. An invitation to a vendor to appear in a CNC is tantamount to announcing the winner of a contract.
“The DAC (the MoD’s apex Defence Acquisition Council) will formalise the winner soon; we will then invite that company for negotiations”, said Sharma.
Six fighters are competing for the IAF contract: Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet; Lockheed Martin’s F-16IN Super Viper; the MiG Corporation’s MiG-35; Saab’s Gripen NG; Dassault’s Rafale; and a four-nation European consortium’s Eurofighter. Executives from these companies say they are baffled by Naik’s announcement. Asked in late-2010 to rework their offset bids, and with no date yet given for resubmission, the MoD does not have a key element needed to decide a winner.
“Is the MoD going to decide the contract winner without examining the offset bids?” asks a bemused executive, from one of the competing aircraft manufacturers.
……….

The air chief also voiced his apprehension that the contract could be delayed by “dissatisfied vendors (who) put a spoke in the wheel”, using allegations of wrongdoing to trigger long-running probes by investigation agencies.
Yesterday, a defensive Antony had announced that political considerations would play no role in deciding the winner. That seemed to suggest that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which will be required to approval the contract after the CNC negotiates a final price, would merely rubber-stamp the IAF/MoD decision.
Other than the impending contract for 126 medium fighters to boost the IAF’s dwindling numbers, the IAF chief also announced the impending conclusion, “within this financial year”, of the contract to upgrade the air force’s 20-year-old fleet of 52 Mirage-2000 medium fighters. This upgrade, which has been the subject of bitter negotiations between the IAF and French contractor, Thales, will give the Mirage-2000 another 20 years of service life by fitting on a new radar and a modern cockpit with state-of-the-art avionics and electronic warfare equipment.
While Thales had initially demanded US $52 million per aircraft, the deal has been concluded, say IAF sources to Business Standard, at US 39 million per aircraft.
Related:
https://ktwop.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/eurofighter-typhoon-leads-after-technical-evaluation-but-still-not-the-favourite-for-indian-m-mrca-contract/
https://ktwop.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/no-surprise-secret-technical-evaluation-in-indian-mmrca-deal-found-on-the-street/

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Posted in Aviation, Defense, India, International Trade | 6 Comments »

Aero India 2011 kicks off tomorrow: MMRCA and technology transfer are the issues of the day

February 8, 2011

The 5 day Aero India 2011 airshow kicks off tomorrow in Bangalore and is expected to attract over 600 equipment vendors from over 60 countries. It also brings to a head the discussions within India as to how to stimulate the indigenous aviation industry and whether offset requirements in defence procurement are effective. There is a school of thought that technology transfer should be used and that offset requirements do not contribute to developing the industry. In the background is the competition for the $10 billion, 126 MMRCA aircraft contract that must be decided in March / April.

DNA reports:

In the premier Indian defence journal, Maj Gen (Retd) Mrinal Suman — who retired from the Indian Army in 2003 and currently heads the defence technical assessment and advisory service of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) — prescribes that India, at present, urgently needs FDI in the defence and military aviation sector which is technology-centric with inherent flexibility. He has suggested that FDI could be 26% for low-tech products, while it could be 51%-74% for matured systems, and 75%-100% for cutting edge technologies.

Maj Gen Suman has decried the drastic fall in defence exports from ordnance factories from Rs41.07 crore in 2008-09 to a mere Rs12.28 crore in 2009-10, and has called it “a reflection of the nature of quality items being produced indigenously”. He has called for significantly increasing FDI and private sector’s participation in defence production and manufacture instead of just restricting to doors and frames of aircraft bodies. Suman also blasted India’s offset policy which envisages Indian companies to manufacture components worth 30% of any deal bagged by a foreign company as a seller to India. He termed it a “flawed policy” as it was not contributing to upgrading the indigenous technological base. He instead suggested that the current offset policy be amended to make transfer of technology the preferred mode.

While this is expected to take centre-stage at Aero India 2011, the intensifying contest for winning India’s $10 billion contract to procure 126 medium-weight multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCAs) will undoubtedly be the second most important issue in focus.

Not surprisingly, this is the first time ever that all six contenders for the contract are participating at an Aero India show — Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Super Viper (both from USA), MiG Corporation’s MiG-35 (Russian), Dassault’s Rafale (French), EADS’s Eurofighter Typhoon (European Union’s) and SAAB’s Grippen (Swedish).

The contest between these six, this time round, will be there for all to see with these aircraft displaying their skills and manoeuvrability to win the hearts of the Indian Air Force and ministry of defence experts who are expected to place a finger on one of them for procurement.

The IAF is procuring the 126 MMRCAs to bolster its depleting squadron strength. The IAF squadron strength is at present below the sanctioned strength — just 34 squadrons as against the sanctioned strength of thirty-nine-and-a-half.

There is a formidable Russian presence at the air show.

Russia will exhibit over 80 types of weaponry and will be represented by 35 companies at the upcoming Aero India 2011 air show, state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport said in a statement.
Russia will be represented by 35 companies, including MiG , Sukhoi, Almaz-Antei and Engineering Design Bureau.
Russia will traditionally promote MiG-35 and Su-35 fighter jets, the Yak-130 combat trainer, two versions of Il-76MD transport plane (with different engines), the Il-78MK aerial tanker and MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB naval fighters.
The Be-200 amphibious aircraft will most likely be one of the top attractions of the Russian exhibit as its popularity with foreign customers steadily grows. The plane could be used in a wide variety of roles, from maritime reconnaissance and rescue to firefighting.
Rosoboronexport and Russian helicopters will show the Mi-28NE attack helicopter, the light multirole Ka-226T and the heavy transport Mi-26. All three helicopters are currently taking part in separate Indian helicopter tenders.
The visitors will also be able to receive information about the Mi-35M combat transport helicopter, the Kamov Ka-31 radar surveillance helicopter and the Ansat and Kamov Ka-32A11BS multi-role helicopters.
The air defence part of the Russian exhibit will be represented by the Tor-M2E, the S-300VM, the Buk-M2E and the Tunguska-M1 systems.

Related: https://ktwop.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/eurofighter-typhoon-leads-after-technical-evaluation-but-still-not-the-favourite-for-indian-m-mrca-contract/

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Posted in Aviation, Defense, India | Comments Off on Aero India 2011 kicks off tomorrow: MMRCA and technology transfer are the issues of the day

Goldman Sachs cools on China and India

January 18, 2011

The growing inflation in India and China is a clear signal of overheating in their economies and Goldman Sachs (who are credited with inventing the term “BRIC”) are reducing their exposure to the BRIC countries.

The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China)

The Telegraph reports:

Goldman Sachs has issued a short-term alert on China and India as inflation rears its ugly head, advising clients to rotate into Wall Street and Old World bourses as a safer bet over coming months.

“We’re not as tactically positive on the BRICs as we have been,” said Tim Moe, the bank’s chief Asia-Pacific strategist, referring to the quartet of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

“To be frank, we may have held on too long to our overweight position in China last year. We have decided that discretion is the better part of valour and have tactically reduced our weight. Asia is not in the sweet part of the cycle. The longer-term picture of Asia outperforming the US is taking a breather,” he said, speaking at a Goldman conference in London.

The cooling ardour for China is significant shift for the bank that invented the term BRICs and has been the cheerleader of the emerging market story over the past decade.

India is an even bigger worry, with yawning twin deficits, and overheating visible on all fronts. The nation’s central bank warned this week of “surging inflation”.

“India’s current account deficit is running at a record pace of 4.1pc of GDP and it is 100pc funded by short-term portfolio flows, which cannot be relied on indefinitely,” said Mr Moe, describing Mumbai’s bourse as “crowded”.

Read more….

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Posted in China, Economy, India | Comments Off on Goldman Sachs cools on China and India

Development of stealth fighter aircraft moves East

January 10, 2011

Both China and India are developing 5th Generation stealth fighters; China on its own and India as part of a joint development programme together with Russia.

From http://china-defense.blogspot.com/2010/12/latest-batch-of-j-20-photos.html

Chinese Chengdu J20 - 5th generation stealth fighter: image http://china-defense.blogspot.com

Rumours from China’s Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC) and the adjoining Aircraft Plant No 132 suggest that a flight of a Chinese-developed fifth-generation fighter prototype would take place by the end of the year. Reportedly, two airframes (numbered 2001 and 2002) have been assembled at the 132 plant.

In August 2008 it was reported that 611 Institute was selected to be the main contractor for the development of the fifth-generation stealthy J-20, and that 601 Institute was the sub-contractor. It was rumored that 611 Institute has started to issue manufacturing drawings for constructing the first prototype, which is expected to fly by 2012, even though the full configuration one won’t fly until a few years later. The latest rumor suggested that a full-scale mock-up had been built at CAC.

From http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/j-xx.htm

File:Pak fa.jpg

Sukhoi PAK FA T50: image wikipedia

Russia and India are jointly developing the Sukhoi PAK FA / T-50 , which first flew in January 2010. In June 2001, India was offered ‘joint development and production’ of this new 5th generation fighter by Russia. Russia had been trying to sell this concept both to China and India for some time. It seems probable that China declined to participate in this project given a belief that Russia stood to gain more from Chinese participation than did China. That is, it would seem that China had determined that it could produce a superior product without Russian help. With the first flight of the Russian stealth fighter in 2010, an arguably superior Chinese steath fighter might be expected to take to the skies not too long thereafter.

Chinese combat aviation has made remarkable strides in recent years, moving from a collection of obsolete aircraft that would have provided a target-rich environment to potential adversaries. Today China flies hundreds of first rate aircraft, and even flies more Sukhoi Flankers [the aircraft the American F-22 was designed to counter] than does Russia. The Chinese stealth fighter has arrived right on schedule. Chinese military technology is generally rated about two decades behind that of the United States. while the advent of a Chinese counterpart to the F-22 fighter might be disconcerting, the first flight of the prototype American F-22 stealth fighter came on September 29, 1990.

From the Hindustan Times:
New Delhi, December 21, 2010: India and Russia on Tuesday finalised a contract for the biggest defence programme in the country’s history — a $30-billion (Rs 1,35,000-crore) project involving the joint production of 200-250 fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA). The aircraft, being called the perspective multi-role fighter (PMF), will exploit the basic design of the Russian Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA prototype, with modifications thrown in to meet the Indian Air Force’s “more stringent specifications”. The 30-tonne aircraft will be a swing-role fighter with stealth features for increased survivability, advanced avionics, smart weapons, top-end mission computers and 360-degree situational awareness. What will put the co-produced fighter in a different league is its ability to supercruise, i.e. sustain supersonic speeds in combat configuration without kicking in fuel-guzzling afterburners. Currently, the US Air Force’s F-22 Raptor is the only fighter in the world that can supercruise.
The contract for the joint design and development of the FGFA was signed between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and two Russian firms, Sukhoi Design Bureau and Rosoboronexport. The fighter will be jointly marketed to international air forces. The first prototype flew its maiden sortie in January 2010 and has conducted more than 40 flights. The IAF hopes to induct it by 2018.
A joint statement issued by the ministry of external affairs said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed that the December 2009 pact covering bilateral military cooperation during the next decade would lead to a more substantive engagement cutting across joint research and development, manufacturing and marketing activities.
In the meantime DNA reports:
 

HAL Tejas at Aero India 2009

HAL Tejas: Image via Wikipedia

India today joined a select group of nations manufacturing warplanes with the home-grown Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’ moving a step closer to its induction into the Indian Air Force after getting its Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) here. 

27 years after the project was initiated, defence minister AK Antony handed over the IOC certificate to Air Chief Marshal PV Naik at the HAL airport in Bangalore.

“This is only the semi-finals”, Antony said, adding the LCA would enhance national security and build the country’s own fighter aircraft capabilities.

The aircraft, with an investment of over Rs 14,500 crore ($3.2 billion), has been developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency after battling technology denial regimes and sanctions for nearly three decades. “After crossing a number of challenges and accomplishing a significant series of milestones including weapon delivery, in over 1500 sorties, the country is poised for a major turning point with the declaration of the IOC,” Antony said.

The IAF has plans to induct a total of around 200 planes of which orders for the initial 40 have already been placed by the IAF.

The aircraft, which costs between Rs 180 to 200  crore ($45 million)  per piece, is presently powered by American GE-F 404 engine and the advanced GE-414 engines have been chosen for powering the LCA Mk II aircraft, which are likely to be developed by 2014.

 

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Posted in Aviation, China, Defense, India, Russia | 2 Comments »

No surprise: “Secret” technical evaluation in Indian MMRCA deal found on the street

January 4, 2011

The Times of India reports on the bizarre story of a confidential file found on the street:

Even as the race for the “mother of all defence deals” enters the last lap, two IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officers of the defence ministry are now under the scanner for the mysterious way in which a “secret” file connected to the $10.4 billion project to acquire 126 new fighters went missing and was then found by a roadside.

There is an intense battle currently in progress to win the $10 billion deal for 126 combat aircraft (MMRCA – medium multi-role combat aircraft) where the final decision is expected to be taken by March. As I have posted earlier, the technical and flight evaluations on the 6 contenders were conducted by the Indian Air Force and their highly confidential and secret report was submitted to the Ministry of Defence  by early November 2010. Many rumours circulated at the time and the word on the street was that the Eurofighter Typhoon had won the technical evaluation. However this evaluation is merely one (but important) stage in the decision making process. The strategic and financial evaluations are under way and political lobbying is building up.  Some of this lobbying is at the highest levels of government and no doubt the recent visits to India by Obama and Medvedev and Sarkozy were utilised fully.

For all the contenders the technical evaluation is what determines what is left to be done to win the contract. The details in the technical evaluation report are most important for a contender to know how to compensate for any perceived failings. I am quite sure that every contender has managed by now to obtain a copy of the technical evaluation report. (To obtain copies of confidential reports from Indian bureaucrats is not in the realm of the impossible. In my experience obtaining reports and confidential documents from clerks in government service is much more effective than any Freedom of Information application and are not subject to any redactions.) I am equally sure that all the six aircraft manufacturers would have by now developed their sales strategies and lobbying plans based on the their weaknesses as recorded in the report. But what may have been missed by some is that unofficial dissemination of the “confidential” report is an expected event. It may even have been a deliberate leakage of the report as part of the Government of India’s buying strategy.

The six are:

  1. Dassault, Rafale, France
  2. Eurofighter, Typhoon, UK, Italy, Germany and Spain
  3. Lockheed Martin, F-16IN Super Viper, US
  4. Boeing, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, US
  5. Saab, JAS 39 Gripen, Sweden
  6. Mikoyan, MiG-35, Russia

Even though there are only 6 contenders, the number of lobbyists, sub-contractors and foreign embassy officials involved would have led to at least 100 copies of the report having been “sold” by various bureaucrats with access to the file. So I do not find it very surprising that one of the many “unsold” copies was abandoned somewhere. The value of such reports goes down sharply with time. It must have been at its most expensive immediately after it was submitted to government and before the many visits by various heads of state to Delhi. Again from my past experience of such things I would expect that the report probably had an initial “price” of around Rs 10 lakhs (about $20,000) but now some 2 months later, can probably be purchased for less than 1 lakh ($2,000).

Nobody is probably very bothered by this episode since the leakage of the report to the contenders is part of the game and already taken into consideration by the Government. In fact leakage of “perceived weaknesses” to a supplier is one of the best buying strategies to extract improvements in the supplier’s offer. The most senior bureaucrats in the Ministry of Defence are probably congratulating themselves for having managed to disseminate so many copies of the report before this particular slip-up.

But for now all the right noises will be made for public consumption. As the ToI reports:

Ordering an inquiry into the episode, defence minister A K Antony on Monday said he was “very clear that every officer has to be very careful at every stage” while dealing with the huge MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project. “We have viewed the incident seriously…the inquiry is in progress,” he said. It was last week that the “secret” file, which was earlier submitted to the MoD by IAF, went missing and was then found later in the day near Khelgaon Marg in South Delhi.

MoD was tight-lipped about the incident but sources said the file was apparently lost by the bureaucrats, one an additional secretary-rank officer and the other a director, while being taken to the Bharat Electronics Limited guest-house on Khelgaon Marg. The file was found by a security guard who then got in touch with the authorities concerned.

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Posted in Aviation, Business, Defense, India, International Trade | 1 Comment »

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