Allocation For Lca Project Slashed
The government has slashed funds available for the light combat aircraft (LCA) programme to Rs 70 crore in 1997-98, from Rs 230 crore in 1996-97.
This is surprising as the first LCA flight is slated for November 1997 before which a number of last minute technical glitches have to be ironed out. The first flight was originally scheduled for June 1, 1996.
According to a confidential defence ministry paper on the LCA project, the scaledown was prompted by the Aeronautical Development Agencys (ADA) failure to fully utilise the previous years allocation.
Also Read
Sources said the ADA had already used up the Rs 2,000 crore allocated for the programme by the time of the LCA roll-out in 1995.
Defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has made a commitment that the LCA will fly by the end of the year and the ADA is under pressure to make Indias first indigenous fighter flightworthy by that time.
Sources said problems persisted with the wing and fly-by-wire avionics.
The flight control software also needs to be perfected and integration of landing gear is incomplete, they added.