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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
India kicks off much-needed review of arms procurement procedures
Review of its cumbersome defence acquisition procedure (DAP) of 2020. NEW DELHI: India has kicked off the much-needed comprehensive review of its cumbersome defence acquisition procedure (DAP) of 2020, with the aim to slash timelines in procurement of weapon systems and platforms as well as promote self-reliance in design, development and production with greater private sector participation. The defence ministry on Thursday said a committee headed by additional secretary and director general (acquisition) Dipti Mohil Chawla, which includes senior officers and representatives from the industry and academia, has already begun consultations with all stakeholders. Former health and I&B secretary Apurva Chandra, who had a stint as the DG (acquisition) in MoD, is the principal advisor to the committee. 'The panel has invited suggestions from stakeholders on various fronts, including procedural changes to streamline the acquisition processes, by July 5,' an official said. The aim of the DAP review is to meet the operational requirements and modernisation of the armed forces 'in a timely manner to ensure national security' and align acquisition procedures with govt policies to achieve 'atmanirbharta' (self-reliance) by promoting technology infusion through indigenously designed and developed systems. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025: Steel Suppliers From Mexico At Lowest Prices (Take A Peek) Steel Suppliers | search ads Search Now Undo 'The 'Make in India' policy also needs to be enabled by promoting defence manufacturing in India through facilitation of JVs and transfer of technology for the private sector, encouraging foreign arms manufacturers via FDI alignment, and establishing a global defence manufacturing and MRO hub here,' he said. 'The idea is also to promote design and development in both public and private sectors, with a focus on start-ups, innovators, and the private defence industry for indigenous technology infusion,' he added. At present, it often takes several years after a case gets the initial `acceptance of necessity' (AoN), which is followed by the floating of the initial tender or the RFP (request for proposal), field trials, commercial evaluation and the like, before the final contract is anywhere close to being inked. Defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh recently said that the timelines for some of the processes in the procurement cycle have already been slashed, which would save around 69 weeks overall. 'There is a need to shift away from the traditional nomination based cost-plus procurement focused mostly on the public sector to a more competitive pricing model where both the public and private sector can compete for orders. This approach is already being implemented for ship-building and recently for the AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft or the fifth-generation fighter) project,' he said. The MoD in the 2024-25 fiscal completely utilised the defence modernisation budget for the first time in the last five years. Moreover, contracts worth Rs 2 lakh crores were inked, which is the highest ever and double that of the figures in 2023-24, he added. The AMCA project, for one, certainly needs to be majorly fast-tracked after the defence ministry last month finally approved a new 'programme execution model' for prototype development, with greater private sector participation. Pakistan is on course to acquire at least 40 J-35A fifth-generation jets from China, which is now even flaunting sixth-generation prototypes with tailless airframes like Chengdu J-36 and Shenyang J-50, as reported by TOI earlier. The long meandering developmental history of the fourth-generation Tejas, which began way back in 1983, cannot be repeated. The IAF is still waiting to get the first Tejas Mark-1A `improved' fighter. Similarly, indigenous development of 110 Kilonewton engines, with or without foreign collaboration, to power the AMCA is critical. The IAF is currently grappling with just 30 fighter squadrons (each has 16-18 jets) when 42.5 are authorised.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Inside Track: Emergency Tactics
This June marks the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, a black mark in India's history when Indira Gandhi used sledge hammer tactics to silence the media. Even before the Emergency proclamation was signed, electricity supply to Delhi newspapers was shut off. Censorship was imposed and guidelines were so rigid that not a line on the mass arrests of Opposition politicians, censorship and shutting down of publications could be carried. When The Indian Express displayed a blank space in its editorial column to convey subtly to the readers the ugly reality behind the scenes, the censor decreed that in future, no blank spaces or quotes of famous personalities would be permitted in editorials. Nothing could be published on Parliament, except statements on behalf of the government, and the name and affiliation of the MPs who spoke. I & B Minister V C Shukla had police inducted into the Central Information Service to keep a close watch on journalists. Foreign correspondents were told to either sign a document to adhere to the government's media guidelines or leave. National Herald editor Chalapathi Rao, after a meeting with Shukla and his fellow editors, remarked to Sharda Prasad, Indira's media adviser, 'I have not seen such a performance of toadies even at the height of the British Raj.'' A question often posed is, can India have an Emergency-style repression of the media again? A total blackout of news, as happened between 1975 and 1977, is no longer possible since sources of information dissemination have multiplied. During the Emergency, there was only one government controlled TV channel, Doordarshan, and a few hundred newspapers. Fifty years on, the print media is just one segment in the huge spectrum of news operations. There are over 400 privately owned TV news channels. The Internet is crowded with messages from bloggers and vloggers on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook et al. The WhatsApp universe is available to anyone with a cell phone. Today, no matter how powerful a government and the number of media advisers, spokespersons and trolls — the equivalent of yesteryear censors — the narrative cannot be controlled if the facts do not match up. Even during the Emergency, news spread by word of mouth. But that has not deterred governments from attempting to control news dissemination, although the methods employed are more subtle and sophisticated, not in-your-face as with the Emergency. In my long years as a journalist, I have discovered one rule of thumb, that the more powerful the leader, the more ruthless he or she is likely to be in suppressing uncomfortable facts. For instance, towards the end of Rajiv Gandhi's tenure, I worked for a newspaper started by a major business house which was wound up practically overnight, ostensibly sold to a vernacular newspaper chain, because the coterie around the PM decreed that the daily had crossed the line in its investigative reporting. When governments are weak, particularly when they survive through shaky coalitions, which was largely the case between the regimes of PM Narasimha Rao, from 1991, to PM Manmohan Singh, ending in 2014, the media was particularly spunky. Incidentally, while the mild-mannered Singh as PM was often targeted by journalists, most of them refrained from offending the Congress's first family. There have been godi media in all regimes. Today we have the most powerful PM since Indira. If the yearly listing of Reporters without Borders is to be taken seriously, India has been pegged a lowly 151 on the World Press Freedom Index, down from the 80th spot in 2014. The opaque methodology of rating is highly suspect. It is based on subjective opinions of anonymous individuals, many with a deep suspicion of the BJP's Hindutva nationalistic agenda. Can India, with its plurality of opinions, news outlets and cacophony of critical voices even in the midst of a war, really rank lower than countries like Qatar, Rwanda and Congo? My own methodology to assess the index of media independence is based on three factors. The media should be financially stable and not dependent on government largesse. It should not be a stakeholder in business interests which could conflict with its role as a purveyor of truth. (It is therefore troubling that India's two richest men, Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, have expanding media empires.) The chill factor is another impediment to a free press. The media sometimes self-censors for fear of reprisal from the state which has been known to book journalists under non-applicable laws. The third indicator for a healthy press is the degree of the government's accessibility to the media. We may be better positioned today as regards media freedom than during the Emergency, but is that good enough? Do we fully reflect Tagore's immortal poem, 'Where the mind is without fear…''
Indian Express
09-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
11 Years of Modi Govt: From tomorrow, Centre to spotlight G20, Operation Sindoor, pension reform and more
Operation Sindoor, the successful hosting of the G20 summit in Delhi, the evacuation of Indians from Sudan and Ukraine, and a surge in defence exports: these will headline the national security achievements to be showcased by the Narendra Modi government as it marks 11 years in office on Tuesday, The Indian Express has learnt. In addition, the government will highlight other flagship policies and decisions implemented since it assumed power for a third consecutive term last year. These include the Cabinet's approval of caste enumeration in the upcoming census to secure accurate data for policymaking, and the rollout of a unified pension scheme to provide assured pensions to central government employees. The inauguration of India's first vertical lift sea bridge—the Pamban rail bridge—and the clearance for the Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express are also part of the list. Also on the list is progress under several flagship schemes since returning to power in 2024: guaranteed income via MSP, a special national mission to boost domestic production of pulses and reduce import dependency, steady access to electricity in rural areas, and affordable urea for all, among others. According to officials, the broader themes of the government's planned campaign include: serving the poor and marginalised, infrastructure development, Nari Shakti, the northeast, farmer welfare, national security and foreign policy, and ease of doing business. Government schemes and initiatives will be grouped under these categories, with Cabinet ministers and Ministers of State expected to play a key role in messaging. Officials told The Indian Express that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) began collating major reforms, achievements, and initiatives from the last 11 years—as well as progress made since June 2024—as early as April, to design a creative campaign. I&B Secretary Sanjay Jaju is learnt to have written to all ministries requesting relevant inputs for the campaign. Additionally, the I&B Ministry is learnt to have sought from other ministries a list of suitable locations for media tours to showcase the on-ground implementation of government schemes. According to officials, the tours aim to provide journalists an opportunity to interact with beneficiaries and other stakeholders, and to witness outcomes first-hand. The month-long media tours are intended to highlight success stories, innovations, and best practices in a bid to raise public awareness of the government's programmes and initiatives.
Time of India
29-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Cabinet nod for infra projects worth Rs 7,000 crore in Maharashtra, MP, Andhra
NEW DELHI: Cabinet on Wednesday approved extension of a national highway project in Andhra Pradesh and two multi-tracking of railway corridors in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, entailing a total investment of more than Rs 7,000 crore to push infrastructure development in the country. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now While the new four-lane 108-km Badvel-Nellore highway project will improve connectivity to Krishnapatnam port in Andhra, the multi-tracking of railway lines - Ratlam-Nagda and Wardha-Balharshah - will decongest East-West and North-South rail corridors, particularly for trains heading towards Mumbai. Announcing the decisions, I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the four-lane Badvel-Nellore corridor on NH-67 would be taken up on public private partnership mode. This will provide connectivity to crucial nodes in the three industrial corridors of Andhra Pradesh - Kopparthy node on the Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor, Orvakal node on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor and Krishnapatnam node on Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. The corridor will reduce the distance to Krishanpatnam port by around 40 km compared to the existing Badvel-Nellore road and cut travel time by an hour. On the railway expansion projects, Vaishnaw said the 3rd and 4th line on the Ratlam-Nagda route and 4th line on the Wardha-Balharshah route, covering four districts in MP and Maharashtra would increase the existing network of Indian Railways. "Bottlenecks on the Ratlam-Nagda and Wardha-Balharshah routes will be eased, resulting in movement of more passenger trains as the track availability will increase," he said. Vaishnaw said projects worth more than Rs 4.5 lakh crore had been approved in the transport and infrastructure sector during the third term of Modi government.
Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Kishore Kumar was banned during Emergency, never apologised for offending Sanjay Gandhi: ‘They rolled out a red carpet for him'
Kishore Kumar was one of the most celebrated singers of his time, and it was during the prime of his career that the government placed a ban on him. In 1976, six months after the imposition of Emergency, Kishore Kumar's songs were banned on All India Radio. In a recent interview, his son Amit Kumar shared what inspired the government to make this decision. Amit shared that Kishore was invited to sing for a show at Sanjay Gandhi Flying Club, but, for some reason, he declined the invitation. In a chat with Vickey Lalwani, Amit said that his father wasn't happy about the way that he was invited over the phone. 'Dad said, 'I can't come like this. You will have to send a representative to invite me'. This statement annoyed that officer. My dad said, 'Even if God comes and calls me like this, I won't go',' Amit recalled, and said that as soon as he said it, he was told he would be banned. 'They said we will ban you and within 8 hours, he was banned,' he shared. Amit said that during the ban, Kishore's songs were not allowed to be played on All India Radio. ALSO READ | Ban on Dev Anand and Kishore Kumar, Manoj Kumar taking the government to court: How Bollywood faced Indira Gandhi's Emergency Amit shared that the ban was lifted after a while thanks to Balasaheb Thackeray. He shared that a meeting was arranged between Thackeray, Raj Kapoor, Vijay Anand, Dev Anand and then I&B minister VC Shukla. 'My father was also there. Shukla ji came and there, the ban was lifted,' he said. When asked if Kishore apologised for his actions, Amit said that there was no apology from his father's end. 'He never apologised,' he said. Amit recalled that the show happened at a later date and was a three-day affair at Sanjay Gandhi Flying Club. Celebrities like Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra also marked their attendance at this show. Amit shared with a laugh that a red carpet was rolled out for him, and that the organisers had even hired people to yell out 'Kishore Kumar zindabad' when he walked the red carpet.
