On January 13, 2021, as a part of Atmanirbhar programme, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi approved the procurement of 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas at the cost of Rs. 45,696 Crore for Indian Air Force (IAF). These include 73 LCA Tejas Mk-1A fighter aircrafts and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 Trainer aircrafts.
- LCAs are manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
- It should be noted that this is the first “Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)” category procurement of combat aircrafts with an indigenous content of 50% which will reach 60% by the end of the programme.
About Light Combat Aircraft Mk-1A:
It will be an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured state-of-the-art modern 4+ generation fighter aircraft.
- It will have over 40 modifications over the MK1 variant.
- Operational Capabilities: Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Missile, Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite and Air to Air Refuelling (AAR)
Design and Development of Infrastructure sanctions for IAF:
The CCS has also approved Rs.1,202 Crore Design and Development of Infrastructure sanctions for IAF to enable them handle repairs or servicing at their base depot in order to reduce turnaround time.
Target – IAF and HAL is likely to signed by March, 2021 on the mega deal and actual delivery of the aircraft are expected from 2024.
Additional Info:
–The above mentioned deal for the 83 Mk-1A jets will take the total number of Tejas variants ordered to 123.
–The first LCA MK-1A is expected to roll out from 2023-24 onwards.
–About 500 Indian companies in the design and manufacturing sectors will work with HAL in this procurement.
–The indigenous content of LCA-Tejas is 50 percent in Mk1A variant which will be enhanced to 60 percent
–Government has been majorly focusing on boosting domestic defence production and set a target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore (USD 25 billion) turnover in defence manufacturing by 2025.
–Indian armed forces are projected to spend around USD 130 billion in capital procurement in the next five years.
Cabinet approves MoU between India and UAE for Scientific and Technical Cooperation
The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on scientific and technical cooperation between the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- This MoU will enable sharing of knowledge, data and operational products for meteorological, seismological and oceanic services such as radar, satellite, tide gauges, seismic and meteorological stations.
- Notably, Oman Sea and Arabian Sea affect the coastal areas of India and North East of UAE through Tsunami.
- Both sides will cooperate to support the Tsunami Early Warning Centre (TEWC) and the field of Seismology.
Additional Info:
–This MoU is on the lines of the scientific activities being carried out by the respective Institutes in India and NCM-UAE during the UAE delegation visit at MoES on November 8, 2019.
Recent Related News:
i.On November 3, 2020 India hosted the 8th Meeting of the India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments(the Joint Task Force) virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was co- chaired by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways, and His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
ii.Ratan Tata was conferred with “Global Visionary of Sustainable Business and Peace” by The Indo-Israel Chambers Of Commerce during a virtual ceremony between the UAE, India and Israel.
About United Arab Emirates:
Capital– Abu Dhabi
Currency– UAE Dirham
About Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL):
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)– R Madhavan
Headquarter– Bengaluru, India
