Defence Current Affairs And Updates 10 August 2020

MoD’s big push to Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative; Import embargo on 101 items beyond given timelines to boost indigenisation of defence production Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his address to...

Hemanth Kasturi
August 10, 2020
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MoD’s big push to Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative; Import embargo on 101 items beyond given timelines to boost indigenisation of defence production

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his address to the Nation on May 12, 2020 had given a clarion call for a self-reliant India based on the five pillars, i.e., Economy, Infrastructure, System, Demography & Demand and announced a special economic package for Self-Reliant India named ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. Taking cue from that evocation, the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), Ministry of Defence (MoD) has prepared a list of 101 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them, as indicated in the attached Annexure.
This is a big step towards self-reliance in defence. It also offers a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to rise to the occasion to manufacture the items in the negative list by using their own design and development capabilities or adopting the technologies designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces in the coming years.
The list is prepared by MoD after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including Army, Air Force, Navy, DRDO, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and private industry to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition/weapons/platforms/equipment within India.
Almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the Tri-Services at an approximate cost of Rs 3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020. With latest embargo on import of 101 items, it is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs four lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next five to seven years. Of these, items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force while items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period.
The list of 101 embargoed items comprises of not just simple parts but also some high technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircrafts, light combat helicopters (LCHs), radars and many other items to fulfil the needs of our Defence Services. The list also includes, wheeled armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which the Army is expected to contract almost 200 at an approximate cost of over Rs 5,000 crore. Similarly, the Navy is likely to place demands for submarines with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which it expects to contract about six at an approximate cost of almost Rs 42,000 crore. For the Air Force, it is decided to enlist the light combat aircraft LCA MK 1A with an indicative embargo date of December 2020. Of these, 123 are anticipated at an approximate cost of over Rs 85,000 crore. Hence, there are highly complex platforms that are included in the list of 101 items, of which details of three examples are given above.
The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024. The aim behind promulgation of the list is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation. The MoD has adopted many progressive measures to encourage and facilitate ‘Ease of Doing Business’ by the defence Production entities. All necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for production of equipment as per the Negative Import List are met, which will include a co-ordinated mechanism for hand holding of the industry by the Defence Services.
More such equipment for import embargo would be identified progressively by the DMA in consultation with all stakeholders.
A due note of this will also be made in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) to ensure that no item in the negative list is processed for import in the future.
In another relevant step, the MoD has bifurcated the capital procurement budget for 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes. A separate budget head has been created with an outlay of nearly Rs 52,000 crore for domestic capital procurement in the current financial year.
Go through the next page for the list of the items under consideration.

IMPORT EMBARGO LIST OF DEFENCE WEAPONS/PLATFORMS:

To make India more self-reliant, Rajnath Singh to launch ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Saptah’

Defence minister Rajnath Singh will launch the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Saptah’ (self-reliant India week) at 3.30 pm on Monday, in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a self-dependent India with increased local manufacturing.
Earlier on Sunday, Singh announced that India will stop the import of 101 weapons and military platforms like transport aircraft, light combat helicopters, conventional submarines, cruise missiles among others on a staggered basis till 2024.
The move is meant to give an impetus to domestic defence production. Singh said the defence ministry is now ready for a “big push” to encourage indigenous defence manufacturing in line with Prime Minister Modi’s clarion call for an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India).
“Big and tough” decisions are being taken to promote self-reliance in domestic defence production, the minister said while speaking at an online event.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also present a new outline for a self-reliant India in his address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, Independence Day.
PM Modi first mentioned about his vision for an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) in his address to the nation on May 12 while announcing a Rs 20 lakh-crore economic stimulus package to boost the economy hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, various ministries and departments have announced a slew of measures to encourage domestic manufacturing in key sectors.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present before the nation some new outlines for a self-reliant India in his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day,” the defence minister said on Sunday. He explained that the country may not be able to protect its sovereignty if it was not adequately self-reliant.
“Our government will not allow any harm to India’s self respect and sovereignty at any cost,” Singh said.
The defence minister said big weapons systems will now be produced in India and the country will look for their export to make it a hub of defence manufacturing.

Pakistan invites former UNSC listed terrorist Gulbadin Hekmatyar to speak on first anniversary of abrogation of Article 370 in J&K

A former United Nations Security Council (UNSC) listed terrorist and a convict were among the people that Pakistani missions had globally lined up to mark the first anniversary of abrogation of special status for the erstwhile state of J&K.
The Pakistani Mission in Afghanistan held a virtual meeting in which Gulbadin Hekmatyar, also known as the butcher of Kabul, and is a former UNSC listed terrorist, was present.
Hekmatyar’s links with Pakistani establishment are well known given the backing to him by Islamabad during the Afghan civil war in the 1990s.
In New York, the permanent mission of Pakistan to the United Nations invited Ghulam Nabi Fai for a virtual event, a person who was earlier arrested by the FBI.
Fai was imprisoned for 2 years by a US court for hiding transfer of $3.5 million fund transfer from Pakistan’s notorious spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for lobbying with the US government on Kashmir.
Pakistani envoy to UN, Munir Akram, and Pakistani envoy to Kabul, Zahid Nasrullah Khan, were also present in the virtual meet.
Pakistani missions organised similar events in other countries as well. In Malaysia, Prof Muhamad Roslan, an economist and Shan Saeed, an economist were invited for the August 5.
Notably, the former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was recently present in an event on so-called “solidarity day on Kashmir”.
Under former PM Mahathir, the New Delhi-Kuala Lumper ties have hit a nadir.
Besides him, President Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisation (MAPIM) Mohd Azmi Abd Hamid was also present.
The MAPIM is an umbrella organisation of Muslim NGOs in Malaysia that had organised a visit of delegation on NGOs to POK in 2019.
Pakistani PM Imran Khan was quick to thank him in a tweet for speaking against India. To mark one year of removal of special status for the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan had done several anti-India things that include – releasing a new anti-India song, changing the name of a major highway in Islamabad to Srinagar highway and coming out with a new political map of Pakistan that shows the Indian territories as part of its own.
India has dismissed the new map of Pakistan calling it “an exercise in political absurdity” and “ridiculous assertions” which neither “legal validity nor international credibility.”

Pakistan gets Chinese drones to monitor Indian ships

While it continues to engage India militarily and diplomatically, China has clandestinely ramped up the supply of critical surveillance equipment to Pakistan, which illustrates how the two countries are collaborating when it comes to tackling India.
In a recent development, China has supplied at least 100 pieces of DJI surveillance drones, which the Pakistan military will be deploying at its naval assets, to monitor enemy (Indian) ship movements.
Dà-Jiang Innovations or DJI is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong, South-East China, and is known for producing high quality surveillance drones.
This development, as per sources who are monitoring the situation, has come even as Indian Navy had recently increased the deployment of its assets that are under the Eastern and Western Naval Commands, in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) to pre-empt any show of might by the Chinese navy.
“The inputs (images) that will be collected by these drones will be more useful to the Chinese navy than the Pakistani navy and we expect that these images will be shared with the Chinese agencies by Pakistan. The supply of such drones has happened in the past too, but that was in a much smaller number. This time, the number of drones that they have been given is significant. This is a great example to understand China’s intent and how China is looking at the present situation vis-a-vis India,” an official said.
In 2015, China had given five systems of Wing Loong-1 armed UAVs to Pakistan. However, the present supply of surveillance drones, that too in such large numbers, at a critical time like this when India and China are witnessing their worst phase of bilateral relationship in decades, has alarmed officials.
As per intelligence sources, at least two serving officials of ISI were stationed in Beijing before the recent India-China tensions and this number has likely been increased in the past few months to augment the efforts of the Chinese military strategists.

IAF night flies Chinook over DBO as PLA ramps up troops in occupied Aksai Chin

The Indian Air Force’s rapid deployment Chinook helicopters have flown in the night over 16,000 feet Daulet Beg Oldi, Indian Army’s last outpost near Karakoram Pass, after the deployment and road building activity of China’s People’s Liberation Army deployment increased in the area across the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
According to authoritative sources, the divisional commander level meeting at Teinweindien (TWD) post in occupied Aksai Chin was to lower the temperatures in the DBO sector with the Indian Army demanding that patrolling in Depsang Plains should be allowed unhindered. The DBO dialogue is separate from the military commanders on-going dialogue on Chushul-Moldo area with the specific task of disengagement and de-escalation of troops on the four friction points.
The decision to fly Chinook over DBO advance landing ground during night time was taken to test the Indian Army’s capability of rapid insertion of special forces and infantry combat vehicles in case the situation deteriorates in the sub-sector north (SSN) area. “ While Apache attack helicopters have been patrolling Chushul area, the US made Chinook flew over DBO to test its night fighting capabilities; we have already deployed T-90 tanks and artillery guns in the area,” said a senior commander. The US built Chinook has a proven record of night flying in Afghan mountainous terrain and is used for rapid military retaliation by the special airborne forces. The twin rotor platform has two heavy calibre machine guns deployed at the front and back of the chopper to suppress ground fire.

Military exercise involving 4,000 troops begins in Germany

A U.S. Army Europe-directed annual exercise involving about 4,000 troops has begun at the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas in Germany.
Participants from the U.S. and ally and partner nations will participate in Saber Junction 20 at the U.S. Army’s Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels training areas August 3-27, 2020.
Saber Junction 20 is a 7th Army Training Command-conducted, U.S. Army Europe-directed annual exercise designed to assess the readiness of the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade to execute unified land operations in a joint, combined environment and to promote interoperability with participating ally and partner nations.
Participating nations are Albania, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Ukraine, and the United States.
Ukraine will be represented by a unit from the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
This year’s exercise will take place primarily at 7ATC’s Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas in Bavaria. U.S. military forces stationed in Europe routinely conduct these types of exercises with allied and partner nations to enhance interoperability and readiness.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

When did Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, in his address to the Nation, had given a clarion call for a self-reliant India?
June 12, 2020
May 12, 2020
June 18, 2020
May 18, 2020

ANSWER: B