A sudden increase in terrorist activities in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir during the preceding few weeks forced everyone to take note of the situation. Loss of five soldiers of elite Special Forces in early April followed by loss of a Commanding Officer along with another officer, two soldiers and a police officer in another terrorism-related incident did sound alarm bells.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on May 12, in his address to the nation called for a self-sufficient India (Atma Nirbhar Bharat). He also announced an economic relief package equivalent to 10 per cent of Indian Gross Domestic Product.
Talking about the pre and post COVID worlds, Prime Minister observed that in order to fulfil the dream of making the 21st century India’s, the way forward is through ensuring that the country becomes self-reliant.
Government has accepted and implemented three important recommendations of Committee of Experts (CoE) under the Chairmanship of Lt General D B Shekatkar (Retd) relating to border Infrastructure. These were related to speeding up road construction, leading to socio economic development in the border areas.
The Pandemic Effect
The Pandemic is a watershed event of 21st Century. The eventual normal is more than 4-5 years away. In between there will be many false normals. Major upheavals in geopolitics, economies and lifestyles on the cards. While the Indian economy is under the pump, this period also represents a period of economic opportunity for India as we seek ‘Atma Nirbhartha’.
Indian Army, on Friday, sent out a Request for Information (RFI) for purchase of three dozen tank transporters. “The vehicle will be used for transportation of Trailer 70 Ton Tank Transporter loaded with medium, heavy tanks weighing upto 70 Tons on metalled roads and tracks,” the RFI document said.
In order to give a boost to domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has approved the launch of Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) with an outlay of Rs 400 crore for creating state of the art testing infrastructure for this sector. The Scheme would run for the duration of five years and envisages to setup six to eight new test facilities in partnership with private industry. This will facilitate indigenous defence production, consequently reduce imports of military equipment and help make the country self-reliant.
Lieutenant General PS Rajeshwar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, Commander-in-Chief A&N Command, commissioned INLCU L57 into the Indian Navy on 15 May 2020 at Port Blair. INLCU L5
United States, on Thursday, awarded ‘firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee’ contract for 21 MH-60 Romeo to Lockheed Martin for India Navy’s multi-role helicopters programme. Lockheed will get $791,700,000 from US government for the Indian programme.
On April 2, 2019, US approved “Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to India of twenty-four (24) MH-60R Multi-Mission helicopters for an estimated cost of $2.6 billion.
Russian Helicopters holding company (part of Rostec State Corporation) supplied the first Ansat helicopter for EMERCOM of Russia. The rotorcraft was handed over to the Fund supporting the development of state authorities in civil defense, emergencies and elimination of consequences of natural disasters (the Fund). The helicopter has already been handed over to the North-Western Aviation and Rescue Center of EMERCOM of Russia, and is located on Kasimovo Airfield.