Latest news with #VivekMishra
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
For Indian defence firms, a special US deal is on the way
India and the US are working on a landmark deal that would open up each country's defence purchase market to the other, marking a significant step forward in their strategic relationship, two people aware of the development said. The Reciprocal Defence Procurement Agreement (RDPA), if finalized, would give Indian companies direct access to the world's largest defence market worth $850 billion, and enable their American counterparts to tap into India's manufacturing and technology sector. This would also make India the 29th signatory to the US framework, and the only Asian signatory after Japan. An official announcement is likely within a year, but it would also depend on factors including the ongoing trade negotiations with the US, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity. 'In light of the current geopolitical environment, especially after Operation Sindoor, India sped up talks with the US for a full-fledged RDPA. The rationale has been that while there have been many interim agreements opening up the two markets for strategic technologies, most of them still require approvals from the US Department of Defence, as well as other paperwork under foreign affairs, export and import controls, and so on. Both nations recognize the need for an RDPA, and talks are now closing in at the final stage," one of the two people said. Smoother process An RDPA will enable Indian makers of defence components and technologies such as spy satellites to sell directly to the US. Companies can choose to partner closely with US entities, without needing express approvals of the two governments, currently a cumbersome affair. Talks for an RDPA happen in the backdrop of recent American tariffs on Indian goods, and ongoing talks for a bilateral trade agreement. Experts said that with the RDPA in place, India's defence firms, which exported a record ₹23,622 crore of goods in FY25, are likely to see a major fillip. 'For India, even with the Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) signed in August last year, the current agreements and bureaucratic deals have kept multiple roadblocks in place. For the US, India has so far been a Soviet-heavy defence market—getting access to it will be key as in the current geopolitics, India is a crucial ally for the US in the East," said Vivek Mishra, deputy director for strategic studies at global think-tank, Observer Research Foundation. 'Think of this as a deal that would give India a massive defence manufacturing market from the US to cater to, via partnerships signed under the ambit of the RDPA. Doing so is crucial for both countries right now, and has for long been the logical step forward for the ties of the two nations," Mishra added. Queries sent to the holding companies of Kalyani Strategic Systems and Alpha Design Technologies, as well as the Mahindra Group and Indian-American space-tech startup Pixxel remained unanswered. An email sent to the Ministry of Defence also did not receive responses. Explaining how the deal would work, the second official cited above said, 'The current International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) rules are a Department of State affair in the US, which seeks to control access of US technology in foreign nations. The Strategic Trade Authorization, meanwhile, comes under the Department of Commerce—and establishes export control to prevent access of technology outside of the US. RDPA, under the US Department of Defence, will primarily establish the ability for Indian defence entities to view and apply for US defence tenders, and vice-versa." Building on ITAR The deal will build on existing Indo-US agreements in defence and technology, such as the joint initiatives announced by prime minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump, during the former's US visit in February. These include a review of the existing ITAR, which industry experts said is still a bureaucratic and restrictive process. 'The leaders announced plans to sign this year a new ten-year Framework for the US-India major defence partnership in the 21st century… (and) determined that the US would expand defence sales and co-production with India to strengthen interoperability and defence industrial cooperation," a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said on 13 February. Bharat Forge's Kalyani Strategic Systems, the Adani group's Alpha Design Technologies, Centum Electronics and others currently rely on ITAR clearances to supply defence technologies to US entities. Some examples include Kalyani's artillery cannons deal with AM Design, and Mahindra Group's partnership with Anduril for autonomous marine systems, both announced in February this year. "This would be a massive push for the Indian defence market, which is currently worth around $80 billion. The US, meanwhile, has an $850-billion defence market. India's aspiration is to scale up its defence exports to $6 billion by 2030. Even if Indian private firms can capture 1% of the US market, this represents a massive business opportunity for them," the second official added. ORF's Mishra also said that for India, the US is the biggest target market. "We do have a bilateral defence agreement with France, but not with the UK. This means that the US is a one-of-a-kind target for Indian private firms, and an RDPA will majorly boost the domestic market," he added. Streamlining The lack of a streamlined process has pushed startups, such as Bengaluru-born Pixxel and Digantara, to set up independent US entities to pursue defence contracts with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) in the US. The process, however, has meant that defence supply deals remain far and few in nature. 'The RDP Agreement would assist the Indian companies to develop internationally acceptable standards and certifications in order to access the massive US defence market, which will in turn also increase their competitiveness and acceptability in other defence markets," said Shailender Arya, senior advisor, defence and national security at global policy advocacy firm, The Asia Group.
News18
25-07-2025
- News18
Revenue official held in bribery case in UPs Mirzapur
Agency: PTI Last Updated: Mirzapur (UP), Jul 25 (PTI) The team of the Anti-Corruption Organisation (ACO) of Uttar Pradesh Police arrested a revenue official while taking a bribe of Rs 10,000 in Mirzapur district, police said on Friday. According to the police, the lekhpal (revenue official) posted in Saripur village of Sadar tehsil area was arrested from the ground of an intermediate college and he is being questioned. Kotwali Dehat SHO Sadanand Singh said Vivek Mishra had demanded Rs 10,000 bribe from a farmer of Saripur village in the name of getting possession of one biswa land. The farmer had complained about this to the ACO team, the SHO said, adding that on the basis of the complaint, the ACO team caught Mishra red-handed while accepting the bribe from the farmer. PTI COR NAV NB Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Official India jobless data is not accurate, say top independent economists: Reuters poll
By Vivek Mishra BENGALURU (Reuters) -The Indian government's unemployment data is inaccurate and masks the severity of joblessness and underemployment, according to a Reuters poll of independent economists, several of whom said the true jobless rate is around twice the official figure. India is the world's fastest-growing major economy at an annual rate of 7.4% in the January-March quarter, but so far growth has failed to create enough well-paying jobs for the millions of young people entering the workforce each year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is now more than one year into a third term after losing a commanding majority, partly blamed on discontent among youth over their future prospects. Over 70% of independent economists polled over the last month, 37 of 50, said the official unemployment rate, at 5.6% in June, is inaccurate. In a Reuters survey last year most economists flagged chronic joblessness as the government's biggest challenge. Experts say outdated definitions of what constitutes a job in a country of more than 1.4 billion people are distorting the true scale of unemployment and underemployment. "The whole thing to me is really throwing dust in your eyes. You say this is the unemployment rate, the growth rate — quite often, they don't make much sense. We have a massive employment problem and that is not reflected in the data," said Pranab Bardhan, professor emeritus of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. "Most Indian workers are underemployed. If you are able-bodied and you did not work for any time, not even one hour in the last six months, unless you are rich, how did you feed yourself?... So you scrounge around and do something. And then you are employed. Now what does that employment mean?" asked Bardhan. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which estimates India's official employment and unemployment data, counts anyone working even one hour a week as employed. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation defended the credibility of its labour force data and its representation of India's labour market dynamics, saying the PLFS uses Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews to improve data quality and reduce errors, and noted international agencies use its data in their reporting. While it is difficult to provide an alternate estimate of the jobless rate, 17 experts surveyed did, giving a median of 10%, ranging from 7% to as high as 35%. For years, India published official unemployment rates of around 4%, partly because statisticians counted unpaid family labour and subsistence work as employment. Experts argue this diverges from international norms and makes the jobless rate incomparable with other countries. And it is not just academics and career labour market experts who are concerned about data accuracy. "Unemployment is one of our big challenges and I don't believe the government data reflects the true ground situation," said Duvvuri Subbarao, Reserve Bank of India Governor from 2008-2013. Subbarao said the kind of jobs being created also matters. As high-growth sectors like finance and IT tend to be less labour-intensive, he called for a sharper policy focus on manufacturing, which holds greater potential for large-scale employment. About a quarter of experts polled had no problem with the accuracy of official jobless data. "No one in the world has perfect employment data. People assume the U.S. labour force survey is perfect. It's not. Our PLFS is very robust now. People just don't want to believe it," said Surjit Bhalla, former executive director for India at the International Monetary Fund. But several experts said even if methodologically sound, official figures fail to capture deeper challenges. On its current path, India will take at least two decades to match the female labour force participation rates of other G20 countries, the survey found. A lack of strong job creation is also showing up in stagnating wages. "We are home to some of the big dollar billionaires… the wealth of some of the elite has been growing dramatically over the past decade. But real wages are not growing. Half of the workers are getting less than they got even 10 years ago. To me, these are not signs of a healthy economy," said Jayati Ghosh, professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "We should be prioritising good quality employment generation," she said. Asked what the government should prioritise to create more high-quality jobs, several said improving education and skills, promoting private investment and reducing regulatory hurdles. "Stop selling the narrative that farm jobs growth (is) to be read as jobs growth. Adopt an industrial policy, with a manufacturing strategy that is horizontal in nature, not a PLI type picking winners tactic, that is clearly failing," said Santosh Mehrotra, professor at the University of Bath. PLI (Production Linked Incentive) is a subsidy scheme to boost domestic manufacturing. The government scaled back the scheme just four years after its launch. (Additional reporting by Pranoy Krishna and Rahul Trivedi; Polling by Devayani Sathyan, Veronica Khongwir and Susobhan Sarkar; Editing by Ross Finley, Hari Kishan, Alexandra Hudson)
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First Post
21-07-2025
- Business
- First Post
Military clash with Pakistan boosts India's defence business, govt aims to double arms exports by 2029
The four-day military clash between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor gives India's defence industry a push to export its weapon systems to international buyers. Here's how read more The next-generation BrahMos supersonic missile, jointly developed by India and Russia, is also on Brazil's radar.. Representational image: Wikimedia Commons India's defence industry is making a push into the overseas markets, just two months after it engaged in a 4-day military clash with Pakistan following the devastating Pahalgam terror attack. According to a Financial Times report, soon after the military escalation, the Indian government is seeking to boost its manufacturing by exporting home-made industrial products. These products range from mobile phones to missiles, and the endeavour is being undertaken under the ' Make in India' initiative. The push to export military equipment comes from both startups and established state-owned companies like BrahMos, whose missiles rocked Pakistan's military infrastructure during Operation Sindoor. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While speaking to the Financial Times, Vivek Mishra, chief executive of Raphe mPhibr, a drone start-up that raised $100mn in June, said that the push after Operation Sindoor came because 'if Indian forces are using systems in harsh terrains and they are happy with the performance, that becomes a validation for other countries as well.' Drones and weapon systems deployed during Operation Sindoor garner global attention The start-up's drones include swarm-capable, vertical take-off and landing mR10 and mR10-IC models, similar to the type deployed by India inside Pakistan, as New Delhi attacked nine terror camps in Pakistan. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also explained how the global demand for Indian weapons has increased after Operation Sindoor. 'The global demand for our indigenous products has increased even more after the valour we showed and the capability demonstrated by our domestic equipment in Operation Sindoor,' Singh said at an event in New Delhi on July 8. According to the report, India is aiming to more than double its defence exports, reaching a figure of over Rs 500 billion ($5.8 billion) by 2029. In the past financial year, the export figure stood at Rs 236 billion, the Indian Defence Minister said. For years, India has been one of the world's largest arms importers, buying weaponry from the US, France, Israel, Russia, etc. However, the change in New Delhi's approach could also be due to its ambition to bolster its defence industry to rival that of China. 'The world saw a glimpse of 'Make in India' and indigenous weapon systems in Operation Sindoor,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a meeting in May in Kanpur, touted as the hub of the Indian defence industry. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Domestic manufactured arms and BrahMos missiles caused massive destruction deep inside enemy territory,' he added. Back in 2014, it was the PM Modi-then administration that opened up India's defence industry to the private sector. Adani is among the leading conglomerates in the sector, alongside giants such as Tata, Mahindra, and Larsen & Toubro. 'Our drones became the eyes in the skies as well as the swords of attack, and our anti-drone systems helped protect our forces and citizens,' said Gautam Adani, group chair, at the company's annual shareholder meeting last month following the India-Pakistani military clash. What India is exporting A senior government official told the Financial Times that India exported BrahMos anti-ship missiles, which are made by an Indian-Russian joint venture, to the Philippines in 2022 for $375 million. The country is now in discussions to sell the weapon system to Vietnam and Indonesia. Apart from this, New Delhi will also be looking to market its Akash air defence systems, made by state-owned Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), and artillery guns to 'friendly foreign countries', the official told the Financial Times. 'We are not actively going around flogging any particular weapons," he added. Even before Operation Sindoor, India brokered other military deals involving state-owned companies. Some of them included the sale of four BEL-made Swathi weapon-locating radars made to Armenia for about $40mn that were deployed in the country's brief conflict with Azerbaijan that year. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Since then, Armenia has bought Pinaka rockets and Akash air defence systems, bringing its arms purchases from India to nearly $60mn. All these exports are crucial for the Indian military, given its limited buying power. In light of this, defence groups in the country are optimistic about their prospects of venturing out in foreign markets.
India.com
03-07-2025
- Business
- India.com
In Operation Sindoor, these drones defeated Pakistan! now company gets Rs 8350000000…, it is…
Indian defence and aerospace startup Raphe mPhibr, which played a crucial role in Operation Sindoor, has raised $100 million (around Rs 835 crore) in its latest funding round. The round was led by General Catalyst and was the largest-ever private funding in India's aerospace manufacturing sector. Other participants were Think Investments, Amal Parikh, and several prominent family offices. After this, the startup's total funding has reached $145 million, meaning Raphe mPhibr has secured over Rs 1200 crore in total investment to date. What Does Raphe mPhibr Do? It was founded 10 years ago and based in Noida, Raphe mPhibr was established by Vivek Mishra, who is also its CEO. The company develops drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Many of which are already in use by the Indian Armed Forces, while others are in their final testing phase. Major Products Are: mR10 Drone Swarm a system of multiple small drones flying in unison mR20 High Altitude Logistics Drone designed for transporting payloads at high altitudes Bharat- A portable surveillance drone X8 – A compact maritime patrolling system Fully In-House Manufacturing One of Raphe mPhibr's strengths is that it has a vertically integrated aerospace campus, where the company handles everything from design to manufacturing. It has an in-house team of experts in aerodynamics, materials science, and thermodynamics. Neeraj Arora, Managing Director at General Catalyst, said: 'Raphe mPhibr is transforming the defence sector through technology and engineering. Their products are making a real impact on the ground.' Defence Innovation In India This funding is received at a time when the global use of drones in warfare and defence operations is rapidly rising. Recently, both Indian and Pakistani forces have deployed drones along the border. The Indian government is also encouraging private defence startups through initiatives like iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence). Apart from this satellite launch technology has recently been handed over to HAL.
