New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) India's defence ministry Saturday cleared a project worth Rs.32,000 crore for 12 mine sweeping vessels to be made in the country, along with some other projects including one for buying 38 basic trainer aircrafts.
In a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, the government also cleared acquisition of 38 Pilatus basic trainer aircraft. However, the remaining requirement for the trainer aircrafts after this acquisition will be met by home made planes, sources said.
Sources from the defence ministry said the manufacture of the 12 MCMV (Mine Counter-Measures Vessel) will have Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) as the lead agency.
In November 2014, the ministry had scrapped the Rs.2,700 crore deal for acquiring two minesweeper vehicles from a South Korean firm after it was found that there were violations of tender conditions as agents were in the play.
"The whole process will be started from scratch. The vessels will be made on India," an official said.
He added that there could be foreign partners in the project.
The other major project cleared was for buying 38 Pilatus P-7 aircraft for training pilots.
India has already acquired 75 Pilatus aircraft against a projected requirement of 181 planes and 59 of these have been inducted.
Sources said the rest of the requirement will be met by HTT40 (Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40) aircraft manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
Officials added that number of planes can be increased to make the manufacturing viable.
"Adequate orders will be given to HAL to make this commercially viable project. The number of aircraft can be increased," an official said.
The council also cleared buying one Hercules C-130J aircraft to replace at the cost of Rs.533 crore to replace the one that crashed last year.
The council also discussed buying amphibious US-2i aircraft, but no decision was taken as the it was felt further discussions are needed on the issue.
No decision was taken on the bid by Airbus-TATA consortium to replace the ageing Avro transport aircraft fleet of the Indian Air Force.
Imran Khan can be arrested anytime: A large number of police were deployed outside the former Prime Minister's house, and supporters also came to stop
During the economic crisis in Pakistan, the political uproar is also increasing. There is news from Lahore that former PM of Pakistan and President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan can be
Assassination of former Chief Justice of High Court in Pakistan: Terrorists shoot outside mosque in Balochistan; 42 terrorist attacks in a month
The former Chief Justice of the High Court was shot dead in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The attackers shot Muhammad Noor Maskanzai outside a mosque in Kharan district on Friday.
Don't invent an issue which does not exist: Jaitley to Congress
New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said collecting information about political leaders was "relevant" for security purposes and the Congress party should not
Human trials on the vaccine started in India
Human trials of Indian medicines against Corona have begun and the drug may hit the market soon. On Wednesday, Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila reported that it had begun human trials (first and second
IND vs WI: Karun Nair breaks the silence after failing to make it to the West Indies Test series squad; gives this answer
Experienced Indian batsman Karun Nair has failed to retain his place in the team for next month's two-match Test series against the West Indies. Karun returned to the team after eight years during the
Maharashtra: Political earthquake once again in Maharashtra! Shinde's ministers preparing to give a jolt to Congress
Maharashtra's Agriculture Minister Abdul Sattar held a closed-door meeting with Congress veteran Ashok Chavan in Nanded on Sunday, after which the state's politics heated up. Since then there has been
PM responds to 'Visa' jibe
New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday asked the opposition if it did not have any other issue to criticise him on in response to their jibe that he should be given a visa to
Finance Commission's Record share to states boosts Federalism
New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS) Within days of the government accepting the 14th Finance Commission's recommendations for a 10 percent hike in the states' share of the divisible pool of central taxes
Sushmita Affair: Ex-boyfriend Vikram Bhatt also broke the silence on Sush's new relationship, saying – he is not a gold digger…
Sushmita Sen has been in the headlines for the past few days due to her affair with Lalit Modi. While Bollywood celebs are congratulating him, on the other hand, social media users are constantly
Now you can order Maha Kumbh Prasad from your home, ONDC has started a new initiative; Know the complete process.
Through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), devotees present in any corner of the country can now get the Maha Kumbh Prasad. This is a new kind of initiative in itself.
