A tightrope walk as debt burden weighs
Naidu, who assumed charge as of AP Chief Minister for the fourth time on June 12, 2024, frequently said he started off with a millstone around his neck. He pointed out that the previous government had pushed the state back by 30 years, burdening it with Rs 10 lakh crore in debts and another Rs 1.2 lakh crore in unpaid bills. 'The annual interest alone stands at Rs 40,000 crore,' he remarked when the NDA government assumed office.
Looking back, the Chief Minister said recently: 'Brick by brick, we are rebuilding the devastated state and in just one year, we have shown what good governance looks like by giving priority to both welfare and development.'
Minister for Information and Public Relations K Parthasarathi told Hans India that the one-year period of the NDA government focused on both welfare and development. He said both Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and IT Minister Nara Lokesh aimed at wealth creation and uplift of the poor, simultaneously implementing welfare schemes. He said the coalition government had laid a solid foundation for the benefit of future generations.
To begin with, the NDA government enhanced the old age pension to Rs 4,000 per month. Apart from that, it has been distributing pension amounts of Rs 6,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 to various categories of people including physically challenged. The state government is spending a whopping Rs 33,000 crore a year on pensions to 64 lakh people. No other state government pays such high pension amounts in the country.
In addition, under Deepam 2, the NDA government is giving three free LPG cylinders per year to women.
Besides, the state government revived 73 central schemes, though the previous government had diverted central funds, resulting in AP being blacklisted.
The NDA government is now planning to provide free solar rooftops to 20 lakh SC/ST houses under PM Surya Ghar Yojana. Upon taking office, the NDA govt repealed the Land Titling Act that had removed protection for people's lands and introduced a new Anti-Land Grabbing Act.
With the Centre's support, the state government put the much-awaited Polavaram Project back on track. The project will now be completed by December 2027.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
13 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
DMK allies to boycott governor's Independence Day reception
CHENNAI: The Congress, CPM, CPI, Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) have announced they will boycott the 'At home' reception to be hosted by Governor RN Ravi on the Independence Day. TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai, in a statement, said his party is boycotting the reception, protesting the anti-Tamil attitude of the governor, and condemning him for forwarding the Bill on Kalaignar University to the President. VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan said the party has been boycotting the reception, protesting the successive governors' activities against state autonomy and the two-language policy, besides attempting to saffronise the antiquities of Tamil Nadu. CPM state secretary P Shanmugam said ever since assuming office, Ravi has been acting against federal principles and the interests of Tamils, besides the Constitution. Even after the SC defined the powers of the governors, Ravi has continued with his stance. CPI state secretary R Mutharasan expressed similar views. MMK president MH Jawahirullah said the governor has been clashing with the popular government in TN for unnecessary reasons, and hence, the party has decided to boycott the reception.
Deccan Herald
13 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, husband Raj Kundra booked in fraud case
The couple, and an unknown person, have been accused of cheating Mumbai-based businessman Deepak Kothari of Rs 60.4 crore in a loan-cum-investment deal involving a now-closed company, Best Deal TV Private Limited.
The Wire
13 minutes ago
- The Wire
Indian Army's Close-Quarter Battle Carbine Procurement Saga Poised to End with KSSL and Adani Deals
Rahul Bedi The process has underscored a key reality – for the MoD and the Indian Army, quick reaction weapons arrive at a glacial pace, if at all. Representative image of an Indian Army soldier with a weapon. Photo: PTI. New Delhi: It has been one of the longest procurement sagas in the Indian Army's history – nearly a quarter-century of tenders floated. scrapped, 'fast-track' acquisition contracts announced and abandoned, and intermediate or 'stopgap' fixes standing in for real solutions. And, finally last month it appeared that the Indian Army's close-quarter battle (CQB) carbine requirement of 425,318 units, pending since the late 1990s is likely to be met, to replace its legacy 9mm 1A1/2A1 sub-machine guns (SMGs) – local versions of the L2A3 Sterling machine gun – developed in England in the mid-1940s, and entering British Army service in 1953. For decades, these two SMG variants were licence-built for decades by the erstwhile Small Arms Factory at Kanpur, part of the erstwhile state-run Ordnance Factory Board, but their manufacture had ceased altogether on grounds of obsolescence by the early 2000s. Thereafter, the Indian Army had largely been operating without a CQB carbine, which operationally was critical to providing troops, much like its description suggests, with a compact, lightweight weapon for rapid, accurate fire in confined or urban environments, mountainous terrain and jungle environments. Since then, every attempt to replace the carbine has marched through the Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) familiar parade – tenders announced, trials held, everything voided, before sinking into the familiar swamp of bureaucratic futility with no weapon system. But industry sources now say that this cycle of ineptness had seemingly ended with the recent shortlisting of Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited and Adani Aerospace & Defence to supply 425,213 5.56×45 mm carbines to the Army in a potential Rs 2,800-crore deal that is expected to be imminently signed. According to the putative arrangement, KSSL, which had emerged as L1, or the lowest bidder, following trials, would supply the Army 60% or 255,190 CQB carbines of the overall tender from either its small arms unit at Jejuri or at Khed, near Pune. Additionally, Adani Defence, which was L2 or the second lowest bidder, is likely to be awarded the deal to provide the remaining 170,023 carbines from its facility at Gwalior, which it had acquired in 2020 from Punj Lloyd Raksha. Industry sources said that, in all likelihood, Adani Defence would match KSSL's L1 bid for the carbines in keeping with MoD standing operating procedures in selling them to the Army. The CQB carbine delivery timelines are expected to stretch over the next few years, with initial batches likely to be employed by Indian Army counter-insurgency units in Kashmir and the Northeast, where the absence of such a compact weapon small arms system has been most acutely felt. For soldiers used to presently lugging full-length assault rifles into tight alleyways or boarding helicopters with unwieldy weapons, the arrival of lightweight, rapid-firing CQB carbines will be more than an operational boost; it will finally usher in a vast operational change in counter-insurgency (COIN) operations. Meanwhile, KSSL will series produce the Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC) engineered by the Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) in Pune, as part of a public-private partnership (PPP), under the MoD's atmanirbharta or self-reliance rubric. This carbine will also incorporate over 60% of content sourced indigenously. Weighing around three kg, the gas-operated JVPC features an ergonomic, ambidextrous design with a retractable stock and Picatinny rails for optics and accessories. Capable of firing over 700 rounds per minute to an effective range of 200-300m, it reportedly exhibits low recoil and is believed to demonstrate high reliability across extreme temperatures and in varied environments and incorporates a 120mm bayonet for hand-to-hand combat. Its service life is engineered for a service life of 15 years or 15,000 rounds, whichever comes first. Adani Defence, on the other hand, will produce the Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) Galil ACE CQB carbines-locally named 'Jeet', meaning 'victory'. It features a 368 mm long barrel, a weight of 3.2 kg, and a rate of fire between 650-750 rounds per minute to a 300-500 m range. Jeet incorporates a rotating bolt with a short-stroke gas piston, a full-length Picatinny rail for optics, a folding/telescopic stock, ambidextrous controls for quick handling, and compatibility with standard NATO magazines. The ACE CQB has also been deployed for extended periods by the Israel Defence Forces in its numerous COIN operations and other conflicts against Palestinians and many of its neighbours where firefights often occur in confined spaces. The two carbines were shortlisted after technical evaluations and field trials involving other domestic vendors, partnering with overseas small arms makers. These included Jindal Defence and Aerospace – associating with Brazil's Taurus Armas, BSS Material in New Delhi, linking up with Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited and Bharat Electronics, which had tied up with Italy's Beretta. Over the years, the CQB carbine procurement process has been compelling and concerning, exposing both the Army's and MoD's procurement systems at their most ineffective, bogged down by delays, indecision, and missed opportunities. After acknowledging the operational shortcomings of the aging 9mm Sterling submachine gun in the late 1990s – particularly its limited range, stopping power, and accuracy – the Indian Army adopted a stopgap solution. It employed a shortened variant of the locally developed 5.56x45mm Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) assault rifle as part of its customary jugaad, or innovative fix, which only ended up highlighting its significant limitations and rendering it relatively ineffective for such specialised roles. Senior infantry officers said the INSAS rifle was not optimised for CQB scenarios, as its relatively longer barrel and overall dimensions made manoeuvring in confined spaces cumbersome. The absence of features like a folding stock or compact design further hindered its suitability for rapid movement and handling in close and restrained urban situations. Soldiers found it challenging to quickly reposition and engage enemy targets, simply due to the rifle's size and weight. But despite these obvious limitations, these shortened INSAS alternates remained in widespread use for years and continue even today. However, in 2002-3, the first global tender was floated for 44,618 5.56x45mm CQB carbines, with under-barrel grenade launcher compatibility. Several trials took place, involving major overseas small arms makers like the US's Colt, Italy's Beretta and IWI. But in 2007-2008, after extended trials at the Infantry School at Mhow, in Madhya Pradesh, in the Rajasthan desert, Punjab's plains and high altitude regions in Sikkim and Himachal, the contract was terminated due to the Indian Army's 'overreach' in determining the carbines specifications or Qualitative Requirements (QRs) about their add-ons, like thermal-designated laser sights. A follow-on RfP was issued in December 2010 for an equal number of weapons. Then again, in 2013, after a protracted three-year trial process, the carbine procurement was once again thwarted, not by performance issues, but over a minor safety feature. One of the shortlisted carbines included a small, screw-like safety component designed to render the sights "eye safe" during low-intensity engagements, thereby preventing potential retina damage. Yet, this feature was not specified in the original tender's technical requirements, and a three-member, senior Army committee failed in resolving the 'discrepancy', leading again to the contract's cancellation, despite escalating insurgent activities in Kashmir and increasing Army casualties in COIN encounters. Industry sources noted that this time round, the tender was scrapped solely because the "safety screw" had not been included in the original specifications, irrespective of the protection it offered. Subsequently, in March 2018 the MoD issued yet one more RfP – its third in a decade, for 93,895 CQB carbines this time, in which the United Arab Emirates Caracal International's CAR 816 carbine was shortlisted, seven months later for procurement via the MoD's Fast Track Procedure (FTP), having bested its rival F60 model fielded by Thales of Australia in trials. Under the FTP route, through which the CAR 816s were to be procured, the $110 million tender was to have been completed within the mandated 12-14 months or by August 2019. But 13 months later, in September 2020, the MoD opted to arbitrarily ditch the deal for undeclared reasons. 'Processing the carbine purchase via the FTP indicated the operational urgency of the buy, but that too was bafflingly blocked,' said a senior army officer associated with the deal. The entire endeavour was simply incomprehensible and mystifying, he added, declining to be named, as he was not authorised to speak to the media. Conversely, in the ensuing years, the ARDE developed the JVPC in collaboration with KSSL, and Adani Defence partnered successfully with IWI to produce the 'Jeet', ostensibly clinching the CQB carbine buy as things presently stand. But it also underscored the reality that for the MoD and the Indian Army, quick reaction weapons arrive at a glacial pace, if at all. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Advertisement
