Page 22 - Defence Ministry

Govt gives one-year validity to telcos for laying undersea cables

"In the interest of ease of doing business, DoT took up the case with MoD (Ministry of Defence) to extend period of their clearance from the present six months to one year.

Rajnath Singh urges stakeholders to be self-reliant in defence tech

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday asked stakeholders in the sector to focus on being "self-reliant in defence technology while keeping pace with technology outside". During his visit to Nagpur in Maharashtra, Singh also asked defence commanders to follow the correct maintenance and operational practices with the safety of personnel in mind, a release from a defence spokesperson said. Air Marshal Shashiker Chaudhary, AOC-in-C Maintenance Command, and other dignitaries from civil and military establishments received Singh on his arrival at the airport here. Singh interacted with some defence sector stakeholders at the airport, the release said. He was briefed about various activities undertaken by defence establishments, including the Army, the Air Force & defence PSUs, in this region, it said. While addressing the defence sector stakeholders, Singh advised them to focus on being "atmanirbhar (self-reliant) in defence technology while keeping pace with technology outside".

Rajnath Singh to launch two India-made warships in Mumbai on Tuesday

The navy's internal design house, the DND, has designed the four destroyers being built under Project 15B and seven frigates under Project 17A

Providing facilities to those guarding borders top priority: Rajnath

"Our top priority is to provide maximum facilities to those who are working day and night for our security, who are the guards of the border of this country," Singh said

Priority is ensuring high standards of operational preparedness: Army chief

Newly-appointed Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Sunday said his "utmost and foremost" priority would be to ensure very high standards of operational preparedness

Defence ministry's procurement via e-market portal recorded at Rs 15,047 cr

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Saturday said its procurement orders using the government e-Market (GeM) portal reached an all-time high of Rs 15,047 crore in 2021-22. It said the amount is a jump of more than 250 per cent compared to last year's procurement through the portal. "Procurement orders by the MoD through Government e-Market (GeM) portal have reached an all-time high of Rs 15,047.98 crore for the financial year 2021-22," the ministry said in a statement. The GeM was started in August 2016 to revamp the old tender process and bring greater probity and transparency in government procurement through digitisation. In a short span since its inception, the defence ministry has embraced the digital drive and embarked on this path with absolute resoluteness, the ministry said. "Despite multiple challenges on the ground, the results have been astounding," the ministry noted. "The MoD is committed to contributing significantly to the Government's vision of promoting digitisatio

6 of 7 defence firms carved out of OFB report profits in first six months

Six out of the seven defence companies, which were carved out of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), have reported provisional profits during the initial six months, according to the defence ministry.

Need to prepare for intense, small duration operations: IAF Chief

Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said that there would be a need for the force to prepare for "short swift wars" and be ready for long drawn standoff akin to what has been seen in eastern Ladakh

Rajnath Singh holds discussion with UK's defence procurement minister

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held talks with British Minister of Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin, focusing on bilateral cooperation in areas such as aviation and shipbuilding. "Had a wonderful meeting with the UK Minister of Defence Procurement, Mr. Jeremy Quin. We discussed the opportunities available in areas pertaining to aviation, ship building and other defence industrial programmes for both the countries," Singh tweeted. The talks between Singh and Quin took place days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson agreed on a new and expanded India-UK defence partnership. During his visit to India last week, Johnson announced that the UK is creating an Open General Export Licence (OGEL) for India to "reduce bureaucracy and slashing delivery times" for defence procurement and that London will help New Delhi in the co-development of military hardware including indigenous production of fighter jets.

Utilised 65.5% of capital budget on indigenous procurement: MoD

The ministry further said that it has been able to utilise 99.50 per cent of the defence services budget in 2021-22

Rajnath Singh seeks out US companies for co-development, co-production

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday (local time) said that he has appealed to the US companies and equipment manufacturers for co-development and co-production in India.

Rajnath Singh says India has critical role to play in Indo-Pacific

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday (local time) said that India has a critical role to play in the Indian Ocean Region and wider Indo-Pacific following Act East and Neighbourhood First policies

First Indian batch primed to fly 'Romeo' chopper

10-month training ended in US on April 1; Sikorsky to supply 24 fully built MH-60R naval helicopters, 99 more to be made in India

Rajnath Singh releases third list of defence items banned for import

These weapons and platforms will be incrementally banned for import, with some items embargoed from December 2022, and additional items added each December until 2027

Need to progress on 10 tonne Indian multirole chopper: Rajnath Singh

The Defence Minister said the indigenously designed and developed Advanced Light Helicopter DHRUV and its variants are examples of the country's strength

Thinking hard on AI

India's consideration of AI-based weapons systems, though right, would need to consider various legal and ethical conundrums

Defence ministry seals Rs 1,109 crore contract with Bharat Electronics

The ministry said the IEWR will be used to test and evaluate airborne electronic warfare (EW) equipment and validate their deployment in an operational scenario

Govt plans to procure Rs 5-trn arms from domestic source in next 5-7 years

Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt put out the projected figure of procurement from domestic sources while replying to a question in Rajya Sabha

Defence Ministry bans import of 107 strategically important sub-systems

DPSUs will offer these identified LRUs/Sub-systems for industry led design and development

Defence Ministry approves military acquisitions worth Rs 8,357 crore

The Defence Ministry on Tuesday approved the procurement of Rs 8,357 crore worth of military platforms and hardware, including air defence fire control radar and GSAT-7B satellite.