Latest news with #MinistryofDefence
News18
2 hours ago
- Business
- News18
Defence Ministry Announces To Reduce Procurement Timelines A Day After IAF Chief Flagged Delays
Last Updated: The Defence Ministry's statement came a day after Air Force Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh raised concerns over delays in major defence procurement projects. The Defence Ministry on Friday said that it has slashed the defence procurement timelines by 69 weeks and is transitioning from cost-plus to competitive pricing models in a bid to to accelerate modernisation and ensure equitable treatment for both public and private sector participants. 'Major reforms in defence procurement are underway. The Ministry of Defence has slashed timelines by 69 weeks and is shifting from cost-plus models to competitive pricing. These steps are designed to accelerate modernisation and bring public & private sectors on equal footing," the ministry said in a post on X. Major reforms in defence procurement are underway. The Ministry of Defence has slashed timelines by 69 weeks and is shifting from cost-plus models to competitive pricing. These steps are designed to accelerate #modernisation and bring public & private sectors on equal footing.…— Ministry of Defence, Government of India (@SpokespersonMoD) May 30, 2025 The Defence Ministry's statement came a day after Air Force Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh raised concerns over delays in major defence procurement projects. While addressing the CII Annual Business Summit 2025, the Air Marshal emphasised on the need to expedite the defence procurement process and said that the industry should not make promises if it cannot deliver on time. 'So, once a timeline is given, not a single project that I can think of has been completed on time. So this is something we must look at," the Air Force chief said, adding, 'Why should we promise something which cannot be achieved?" he had said. He further added that while signing the contract itself, the forces are sometimes sure that it is not going to come up on time, but still contracts are signed. 'Sometimes we know it's unachievable but sign the contract anyway. We need to be realistic and transparent from the start," he added. The Air Force Chief had further pushed for faster indigenisation and domestic capability under the government's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative. 'We need both capability and capacity. We can't just produce in India – we must design and develop here too. To produce at scale, we need capacity. So, trust and communication between the forces and industry must continue. We need to be open and forthright to ensure the relationship stays strong," he added. Earlier in February, he had expressed dissatisfaction over the delayed delivery of Tejas Mk1A fighter jets by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. 'I was promised that when I come here in February, 11 Tejas Mk1As would be ready. And not a single one is ready. We all have worked there (in HAL). But I find that HAL is just not in mission mode," he had said. First Published:
Online Citizen
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Online Citizen
China to skip sending defence minister Dong Jun to 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore
China will not send Defence Minister Dong Jun to this year's Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Singapore, marking a notable departure from its usual high-level representation at the annual security forum. The announcement was made by China's Ministry of Defence on 29 May 2025, just one day before the forum is scheduled to begin. Instead of Dong, China will be represented by a delegation from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) National Defence University. This decision breaks a recent pattern of ministerial-level representation. Since 2019, China has consistently sent its defence ministers to the SLD, except during the 2020 and 2021 editions, which were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2025 forum will be held from 30 May to 1 June. Without Dong's presence, China will be unable to hold ministerial-level bilateral talks with countries such as the United States. The absence is likely to be felt, as China's participation at the SLD is typically one of the forum's highlights. It is one of the rare venues where foreign defence officials, scholars, and media can engage directly with senior Chinese defence representatives. At the 2024 event, Dong had met his then US counterpart Lloyd Austin, marking their first direct interaction. This year, the US delegation will be led by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, appointed under President Donald Trump's new administration. Observers note that bilateral meetings with the Chinese defence minister have traditionally been a key draw for other countries attending the SLD. China's participation in the dialogue began in 2011, when it sent a defence minister for the first time since the forum's inception in 2002. Between 2012 and 2018, China was typically represented by senior officials from the Academy of Military Science or the Central Military Commission (CMC). It was not until 2019 that China consistently began sending its defence ministers to lead the delegation. Amid strained US-China ties, visa revocations spark diplomatic protest The decision not to send Dong this year comes amid heightened tensions between China and the United States on multiple fronts. On the same day the Defence Ministry's announcement was made, Beijing also criticised Washington's move to revoke visas of Chinese students. Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning described the revocations as 'unreasonable,' stating they were based on ideological and national security grounds. 'China firmly opposes this and has lodged representations with the US,' said Mao. The US action was announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who stated that the country would begin aggressively revoking visas of Chinese students. The revocations would target individuals with alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party or those studying in sensitive fields. Beijing responded by urging Washington to adopt a more constructive stance towards stabilising bilateral relations. Ongoing military purge under Xi casts shadow over Dong's absence Internally, another possible factor behind Dong's absence could be the continued reshuffling within China's military leadership. Dong, who was appointed defence minister in December 2023, was reportedly subject to investigations in late 2024. Despite those reports, he has maintained a public presence, including engagements with foreign delegations. However, his position comes at a time when President Xi Jinping has initiated a sweeping anti-corruption campaign within the PLA. In April 2025, Xi removed General He Weidong, the second-highest-ranking officer in the PLA, following the earlier suspension of Admiral Miao Hua. Both were senior members of the six-person Central Military Commission, which oversees the PLA. The campaign reflects Xi's efforts to consolidate control and root out long-standing corruption within China's military establishment. Against this backdrop, China appears to be recalibrating its foreign defence engagements. By sending a lower-level delegation to the SLD, Beijing may be attempting to balance public diplomacy with its internal leadership adjustments. China is also positioning itself as a more stable partner amid US-led trade and security pressures in the Indo-Pacific. Chinese state media and diplomatic channels have in recent months run narratives portraying China as a bulwark against what it calls US 'bullying'.
News18
3 hours ago
- Business
- News18
HAL Receives First Centre Fuselage For LCA Tejas Mk 1A
Last Updated: This marks the first time a major sub-assembly for the LCA Tejas has been manufactured by a private Indian company, the Ministry of Defence said in a release on Friday. VEM Technologies, a Hyderabad-based firm, handed over the first centre fuselage assembly for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on May 30, marking a significant boost to India's indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities. This marks the first time a major sub-assembly for the LCA Tejas has been manufactured by a private Indian company, the Ministry of Defence said in a release on Friday. The handover took place in the presence of Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar and Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of HAL, Dr DK Sunil. Speaking on the occasion, Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar hailed the partnership between HAL and VEM Technologies for accelerating the production of LCA Mk 1A. He said that defence production and exports are growing significantly, at about 10 per cent annually. This would not have been possible without the support of industries and Public Sector Units like HAL. The country's security and sovereignty are paramount and cannot be achieved without its own manufacturing and supply of spare parts, which could meet the requirements of the Armed Forces. CMD, HAL, acknowledged the rapid growth of Tier 1 and MSME suppliers in the production of the LCA Tejas. The handover marked a significant milestone in establishing a fourth production line for the LCA Mk1A, in addition to the two existing lines in HAL-Bengaluru and one in HAL-Nashik. He assured that with major sub-assemblies underway, HAL will increase the production of the LCA aircraft and ensure timely deliveries to the Indian Air Force. HAL has built a national aerospace ecosystem by closely supporting private partners and providing critical inputs such as jigs, fixtures, tools, and technical know-how. This has enabled companies like L&T, Alpha Tocol, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), VEM Technologies, and Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW) to produce complex sub-assemblies such as centre fuselages, fuel drop tanks, pylons, rear fuselages, wings, fins, rudders, and air intakes. The LCA Tejas Division has already received structural modules of air intake assemblies, rear fuselage assemblies, loom assemblies, and fin and rudder assemblies in the Mk1A configuration. HAL plans to extend this outsourcing model to future projects, reinforcing its in-house capacity with the expertise of the Indian industry. In line with the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, HAL continues to drive indigenisation efforts in the aerospace and defence sector. HAL has partnered with over 6,300 Indian vendors, including 2,448 MSMEs, supporting thousands of skilled jobs and contributing to a robust domestic supply chain. In the last three years, HAL has placed orders worth Rs 13,763 crore with Indian vendors and is actively pursuing the indigenisation of complex aircraft systems and critical components across platforms. First Published:
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Business Standard
4 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Defence ministry weighs licensing reform; DAP 2020 revision by Nov-end
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh calls on private sector to scale up R&D and capital equipment investment while assuring full govt support A more expeditious industrial licensing process in defence is among the suggestions being considered as part of reforms to further enhance competition and private-sector participation in the sector, a government source told Business Standard. This was a day after Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh underscored the importance of disruptive reforms in licensing and ease of doing business to break down entry barriers in defence manufacturing and support grassroots investors. The revision of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 document, aimed at streamlining the defence procurement policy, will be completed within six months — by the end of November — added the source. In line with the decision of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to observe 2025 as the 'Year of Reforms', a committee under the Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition) is driving procedural reforms in DAP 2020. The reforms aim to eliminate redundancies and make the acquisition process more efficient in meeting the needs of the armed forces, while also addressing the pain points of the defence industry, including private firms. Addressing industry leaders at the annual business summit of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi, the defence secretary had described the defence industry as the last vestige of the licence permit Raj — because it continues to have industrial licensing under the Industrial Development and Regulation Act. 'This means all the ills of the licensing Raj in terms of delays — getting a licence, which should take six months, takes one to two years, given the need for clearances from the Department of Defence Production, security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs, and from the state's Home Department.' Noting that policymakers increasingly recognise that reducing entry barriers and expanding the industrial base are crucial in an era of disruptive technological change, where incumbency may not withstand innovation from upstart firms in modern warfare, Singh outlined four reforms — some already underway — that could give the domestic defence industry a significant fillip. 'The concept of deemed licensing beyond a certain timeframe to put accountability on the government departments concerned; shifting entirely from cost-based pricing to competitive bidding; removing legacy aspects like product reservation for public-sector units; and slashing procurement timelines by weeding out rigid and redundant procedures. These can lead to genuine broadening and diversification of our defence industrial base.' 'At this stage, deemed licensing is one of the suggestions. It still has to be negotiated through the system,' added the source quoted earlier. At present, India has one of the largest defence industrial complexes in the developing world: 16 defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) under the administrative control of the MoD, over 430 licensed companies, and about 16,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Highlighting at the CII summit how the MoD would in the past surrender part of the military modernisation budget each year due to protracted procurement procedures, Singh assured change was already underway, but emphasised that more still needed to be done. 'The MoD has already crunched the process timelines for various steps in the procurement cycle. Hopefully, that will save us about 69 weeks overall. It's important, but it's not enough.' Describing DAP 2020, which lays out the country's defence procurement procedures in detail, as a 'voluminous' document, the secretary said: 'It is time for it to be revised wholesale to reflect current realities. It needs shifting from the traditional nomination-based, cost-plus procurement focused mostly on the public sector, to a much more competitive pricing model where both the public and private sectors compete for orders.' Singh also highlighted how for shipbuilding and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (Amca) programme, this approach was already being implemented. 'It's critical because this is increasingly an innovation-led, technology-driven industrial economy that we are witnessing.' Between 2016-17 and 2024-25, India's total defence production nearly doubled — from Rs 74,054 crore to Rs 1.46 trillion (Rs 1,46,000 crore) — while the private sector's contribution rose by over 2.2 times, from Rs 14,104 crore to over Rs 32,000 crore. Yet, its share in overall production remained largely rangebound, fluctuating between 19 per cent and 22 per cent. Assuring private-sector companies that the government was working on improving the ease of doing business, creating a level playing field between them and the DPSUs, and inundating them with a surge of orders, the secretary called for much greater focus from the private sector on research & development (R&D), and on private-sector capital formation through investments in capital equipment, machinery and engineering strength. 'In the longer run, companies which do not have the engineering manpower, or the capital equipment, or the willingness to invest in R&D, should not even think of entering into the defence domain, because your contribution to India's strategic autonomy will be minimal until you make those investments in creating a localised manufacturing ecosystem within the country.' In recent years, the United States and Europe have seen a surge in venture capital-backed military technology unicorns disrupting traditional defence R&D, contracting, and acquisition. Focused on platforms using computer vision, networking, and artificial intelligence, these non-traditional firms have leveraged commercially derived technologies to challenge incumbents like Lockheed Martin. Some have pushed to move beyond cost-plus contracts and are privately funding R&D, developing products without firm orders or specific user requirements, and selling them off the shelf. Their equipment are fast becoming integral to global arsenals, though they still cannot replace the costly manned platforms built by traditional players.
Scroll.in
6 hours ago
- General
- Scroll.in
Shipwreck off Kerala coast likely to endanger marine ecology and life
The Liberian-flagged ship that sank off the Kerala coast has raised concerns about a potential oil spill and hazardous cargo, and the resulting ecological impact. The ship ELSA 3, enroute from Vizhinjam to Kochi, tilted into the sea on May 24, 38 nautical miles off the Kochi coast and sank completely the next morning. According to the Ministry of Defence, the ship had 640 containers, of which 46 were washed ashore in south Kerala on Tuesday, May 27. Also, tiny plastic pellets or nurdles, suspected to be from containers, were found on the coast of Thiruvananthapuram the same day. Nurdles scattered in the sea are hard to clean up and can endanger marine life. As per media reports, large quantities of nurdles, also suspected to be from the containers, washed ashore in the Kanniyakumari district of the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu on May 28 afternoon, a few days after the ship began sinking. Besides, of the containers remaining in the sea, 13 carry hazardous material, but authorities have not disclosed the nature of this material. Another 12 contain calcium carbide, which becomes inflammable when reacting with water. It can also make the water more alkaline, disrupting the marine ecosystem. Under India's National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan, the incident was classified as Tier II (spills requiring regional or national intervention). As per the contingency plan, the Indian Coast Guard has been trying to control the oil spill on site while state agencies are coordinating the response on the shore. Oil spill in patches The ship was loaded with 367 tonnes of furnace oil and 84 tonnes of low-sulphur high-speed diesel (HSD), according to a press release from the Ministry of Defence. 'Low-sulphur HSD is commonly used in ships. We don't know which of the two fuels leaked. Initially, the leak was in a 1 nm X 2 nm [nautical miles] area, and later it spread to 2 nm X 2 nm,' said Commander Atul Pillai, Defence Public Relations Officer, Kochi. He said the Coast Guard has largely contained the spill. 'Three Coast Guard ships have been churning the affected waters while two Dornier aircraft sprayed oil spill dispersants. Earlier, the spill was visible from the aircraft; now, there are only patches. Coast Guard has also now dispatched a pollution response strike team and a pollution response vessel from Mumbai to analyse and handle the contamination,' he said. When asked whether the oil spill could be fully dispersed, Pillai said, 'We can't say if more oil will leak out of the ship. As of now, the operation is going on.' Biju Kumar, marine biologist and head of the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries at Kerala University, says long-term monitoring is needed even if the oil spill is dispersed. There is no immediate concern as no fish mortality has been reported. However, diesel and engine oil contain several hydrocarbons, some of which are persistent organic pollutants and are easily absorbed and remain in the food systems. The oil will ultimately settle down, get converted into paraffin balls, and spread over long distances. That is a threat to the benthic ecosystem (at the bottom of the sea).' More concerning, Kumar said, are the containers that are still missing. 'None of the recovered containers have calcium carbide, which means we need to have a thorough search for the declared materials. Second, many items, like plastic pellets, were not disclosed earlier. So, what is in the containers is a concern.' Until Monday, two days after the ship began sinking, most containers washed ashore were either empty or contained non-hazardous materials like tea. By the next day, plastic pellets washed up. The nurdles, 1 mm to 5 mm in diameter and considered primary microplastics, are used to manufacture plastic products. According to Kumar, this is the first instance of plastic pellet pollution from a shipwreck reported in India. He says the nurdles' size and buoyancy allow them to travel far, and their resemblance to fish eggs causes aquatic animals to ingest them, which could be fatal. Nurdles can also absorb pollutants over time, gradually break down into micro and nano plastics, and enter the food chain. Kumar says nurdles should be removed from the spill sites and beaches as soon as possible. The state government has enlisted volunteers, who would be guided by drone surveys, to remove pellets from the shore. Sreekala S, chairperson of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, says, 'We plan to coordinate with the administrations to remove the containers and materials. The shipping company MSC [Mediterranean Shipping Company] has agreed to remove these, and discussions on this are ongoing.' MSC is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland but ELSA3 was registered in Liberia. The Mercantile Marine Department, Kochi, under the Directorate General of Shipping, has issued a pollution liability warning to the company, and MSC is reported to have hired an agency for cleanup. Kumar says the government should form a consortium of experts to conduct long-term monitoring studies. 'There is an international standard of practice for such monitoring. This includes frequently examining the water, sediment, and biota in the pelagic, mesopelagic (intermediate depths), and bottom layers. Filter feeders, especially mussels and shrimp, have a greater chance of accumulating chemicals. So, examining all these animals will give you a picture of the type and level of contaminants.' He adds that such studies are usually conducted for about three years and should be extended if contaminants are detected. Joint studies Until May 27, ICAR's Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute scientists collected water and sediment samples from 12 shores where containers were washed up. These were in Ernakulam, Alappuzha, and Kollam districts. 'The analysis will take time, but preliminary observations don't indicate oil slicks,' says Ratheesh Kumar R, team member and senior scientist. From May 28, the fisheries institute, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, and the National Institute of Oceanography are conducting a 10-day vessel-based survey. 'We will collect water and sediment samples from different depths of the sea and measure water quality, alkalinity, oil content, biota, etc. We will also collect fish from 8-10 landing centres and look for any chemicals, oil, or hydrocarbons,' Ratheesh Kumar said. The survey locations would be selected based on dynamic maps by the ocean information services centre that project the oil drift based on wind and current directions. The fisheries institute will continue the study for at least six months, though the sampling frequency may be lower, Ratheesh Kumar said.
