The government on 7 November approved the policy to blacklist defence companies which are involved in corruption and wrongdoing related to arms purchase.The government has decided to impose heavy fine on the blacklisted companies instead of blanket blacklisting, and complete banning would be the last option with no other choice left.
- The concept of graded blacklisting and fines will be adopted as per new policy. It means that rather than banning a guilty supplier for ever, it will be banned for specific number of years from dealing in a particular segment along with suitable fine. The supplier will however be permitted to bid for projects in other segments.
- The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as its head approved the proposal of procuring fighter jets, tanks and attack helicopters with worth of around Rs 82,000 Crore.
Other approval of DAC :
- DAC gave Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to purchase 83 Tejas Mark 1A aircraft worth Rs 50,025 crore.
The Acceptance of Necessity (AON) approval for the Tejas fighter jets would be in addition to the 40 Tejas already ordered by the IAF - DAC gave AoN to purchase 15 Light Combat Helicopter(LCH) for the Indian Army and Air Force at a cost of about Rs 2,911 crore. Both Tejas aircraft and Light Combat Helicopters are being manufactured by HAL.10 are for IAF and 5 are for Air force.
- AoN for buying upgraded version of Russian T90 tanks 464 in quantity manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board for Rs 13,448 crore.
- Request For Proposal (RFP) for procurement of six additional Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers at a cost of 14,633 crore.
- Procurement of 598 mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) at a cost of Rs 1,100 crore.
HAL Tejas Aircraft
Tejas is a light weight fighter jet designed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) for the Indian Air Force and Navy. These light combat aircrafts(LCA) were the replacement for MiG-21 fighter jets. LCA was officially named “Tejas” in 2003.
- The Tejas is the second supersonic fighter developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) after the HAL HF-24 Marut.
New features in Tejas Mark 1A
- New generation Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar with simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-ground capability
- missile warning system
- Integrated advanced electronic warfare suite
- Advanced versions of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons
Pinaka multi barrel rocket launcher – Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited :
- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is an Indian aerospace and defence company governed by Indian Defence Ministry
- Headquarter: Bangalore, Karnataka.
- Chairman and CEO : T Suvarna Raju
Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) :
- Ordnance Factories Board works in the field of research, development, production, testing, marketing and logistics of product range in the areas of air, land and sea systems.
- It functioning under the Department of Defence Production of Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
- Headquarter: Ayudh Bhawan, Kolkata
- Director and Chairman : V. P. Yajurvedi
