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The 4th Scorpene conventional diesel-electric submarine Vela is expected to be commissioned into the Navy by year end while Vagsheer, 6th and last Scorpene submarine which is under construction, is expected to be launched into water by year end, according to a defence source.
Vela was launched into water in May 2019 and is undergoing advanced stages of sea trials while Vagsheer is in advanced stages of outfitting.
India added 9.7 gigawatt (GW) of power generation capacity in FY21 (until February 28, 2021), Parliament was notified on Tuesday. Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister Mr. R K Singh stated in a written reply to Rajya Sabha that India added 9.7 GW of power generation capacity between April 2020 and February 2021, including 3.8 GW of conventional energy and 5.9 GW from renewable sources.
The roll-out event marked KRAS’ commitment to deliver more than 1000 MRSAM ‘missile kits’ for the Indian Army and Air Force over the coming years. These missile sections will then be ‘forwarded’ to Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) for further and future integration.
Indian Naval Landing Craft Utility (LCU) L58, the eighth and last ship of the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mark IV Class, was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands on March 18, 2021. Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) Lieutenant General Manoj Pande was the Chief Guest and Chairman & Managing Director, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) Rear Admiral Vipin Kumar Saxena, IN (Retd) was present for the event.
Called the VC 11184, the specialized Ocean Surveillance Ship was commissioned in October last year in a ceremony that was not made public, sources have told ET. The ship delivery was delayed by a few months due to the Covid-19 crisis but all tests and trails were cleared in 2020 to ensure it is ready to enter service.
India is now steadily cranking up its naval exercises with the “Quad” countries and other key strategic allies, even as US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin on Saturday began his first tour to Asia to bolster military cooperation and ensure “credible deterrence” against China.
Out of 61 roads, 27 with a length of 1,725.46 km are in Arunachal Pradesh, 12 with a length of 1,064.14 km are in Ladakh and 14 roads of length 355 km are in Uttarakhand. Himachal Pradesh too has five ICBR roads of length 116.99 km, while Sikkim has three roads of the length of 61.98 km, Singh said.
Two of the longest serving Artillery systems, the 130mm Self Propelled M-46 Catapult Guns and the 160mm Tampella Mortars were decommissioned today at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges. The ceremony was marked by the customary firing of last salvos. The decommissioning firing was attended by Lt Gen K Ravi Prasad, Director General Artillery and other senior officers.
‘Make in India’ initiative in defence sector is implemented through various policy initiatives which promotes indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence items. These initiatives, inter-alia, include priority to procurement of capital items from domestic sources under Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020; notification of ‘Negative list’ of 101 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them; simplification of Industrial licensing process; liberalization of FDI policy; simplification of Make Procedure; launch of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme; and implementation of Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India), Order 2017.
It said the drop in Indian arms imports seemed to have been the result of the country’s complex procurement processes combined with an attempt to reduce its dependence on Russian arms. In the last few years, India has taken a series of measures to boost domestic defence industry with an aim to reduce dependence on imported military platforms and hardware.
