Course Completion of Merged Artificer Apprentice Course at INS Shivaji

• 192 trainees of Merged Artificer Apprentice Course (MAAC) XXX, which includes 142 trainees from the Indian Navy, 42 trainees of the Indian Coast Guard and eight International trainees consisting of four trainees from Sri Lanka and one trainee each from Ghana, Fiji, Tanzania  and Maldives have successfully completed 117 weeks of professional ab-initio training at INS Shivaji, the premier Marine Engineering Training Establishment of the Indian Navy.
• The Course Completion Ceremony was held on 28 Aug 2020 and was reviewed by Commodore Ravnish Seth, Commanding Officer, INS Shivaji.
• Ankit Kumar (LME) stood ‘First in overall Order of Merit’ amongst trainees of Indian Navy by securing 89.86% and Sathe Suraj Dinkar (YTK) stood ‘First in overall Order of Merit’ amongst Direct Entry Diploma Holders (DEDH) trainees of Indian Coast Guard by securing 82.13%. Nikhil Katoch (LME) was adjudged ‘Best Sportsman’ of the course and awarded Commodore’s Rolling Trophy.

Defence ministry to host Aero India in its traditional venue of Bengaluru from Feb 3-5

• The defence ministry has taken an in-principle decision to host the next edition of Aero India — considered Asia’s largest aerospace exhibition — in its traditional venue of Bengaluru from February 3-5 next year notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic, official sources said on Friday. The ministry took the decision to hold the biennial event as scheduled following inputs from the domestic defence industry and global aerospace majors, they said.
• The sources said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has already held a number of internal meetings on hosting the mega event.
• “It was decided that the event will be hosted while taking maximum precaution against the coronavirus pandemic,” said a source.
• Since its inception in 1996, Bengaluru has been hosting the event.
• The sources said a significant number of global defence majors and big investors are expected to participate in the event besides official delegations from several countries.
• The defence ministry plans to showcase its initiatives in promoting India’s defence manufacturing at the event.
• The government has unveiled a number of policy initiatives in the last few months with an aim to boost domestic defence production.
• On August 9, the defence minister announced that India will stop import of 101 weapons and military platforms like transport aircraft, light combat helicopters, conventional submarines, cruise missiles and sonar systems by 2024.
• In a related development, the DRDO on Monday identified 108 military systems and subsystems like navigation radars, tank transporters and missile canisters for the domestic industry to design, develop and manufacture.
• The premier organisation said it will also provide support to industries for design, development and testing of these systems on a requirement basis.
• It has set a target of next year in developing the 108 systems and subsystems.
• India is one the largest importers of arms globally. According to estimates, the Indian armed forces are projected to spend around USD 130 billion in capital procurement in the next five years. The government now wants to reduce dependence on imported military platforms and decided to support domestic defence manufacturing.
• The defence ministry has set a goal of a turnover of USD 25 billion (Rs 1.75 lakh crore) in defence manufacturing in the next five years that included an export target of USD 5 billion (Rs 35,000 crore) worth of military hardware.

Lt Cdr Suraj Aiyappa to represent India at naval college in USA

• Lt Cdr Muckatira Suraj Aiyappa has been selected to represent India to undergo the prestigious staff course at the US warfare training college.
• Suraj Aiyappa happens to be the son of Gonikoppal Arvathoklu Retd Lt Col M A Cariappa and Saraswathi Cariappa. He will be one of the representatives from 52 countries who will participate in the staff training course in the USA.
• Aiyappa had attended the Rashtriya Indian Military College at Dehradun. He acquired a cadet captain degree from the Naval Academy. He was chosen as an officer of Indian Navy in the year 2010. He won the Chief of Naval Staff gold medal and best commanding officer of the navy in 2010. He has served as instructor at the Naval Academy.
• At the programme held at Visakhapatnam in 2016, he had received the guard of honour presented by the President. His wife, Dr Yamuna, is a dental surgeon by profession.

Govt hikes funds for border road development projects

• The Union government has increased funding for border road development projects and raised the allocation for maintenance of border roads — a development that follows a military standoff with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the Eastern Ladakh sector — as it attempts to boost infrastructure in frontier areas.
• Funding for road development projects in border areas has been raised from Rs 340 crore to Rs 440 core in the current financial year. The budget for maintenance of border roads has gone up from Rs 120 crore to Rs 220 crore. This is the second revision of funding for border roads in the fiscal year; in June, the ministry of road transport and highways raised the allocation for border road maintenance by four times to Rs 120 crore.
• The government has been trying to reinforce infrastructure in border areas. The Chinese and Indian armies have been embroiled in a tense standoff along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh sector, where a brutal brawl in the Galwan Valley on June 15 led to the deaths of 20 Indian and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers.
• According to documents, the additional allocation of Rs 100 crore for “general works” to the Border Roads Organization (BRO) is for projects under the Chardham Pariyojana, aimed at improving connectivity o the four pilgrimage centres of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri in Uttrakhand.
• Works for the Chardham Pariyojna are being implemented by three executing agencies of the transport ministry — the Uttarakhand State Public Works Department, BRO, and the National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).
• BRO functions under the defence ministry and is tasked with construction and maintenance of roads in the border areas, classified as General Staff (GS) roads in line with defence requirements. GS roads are developed and maintained through funds provided by the Border Roads Development Board through the ministry of road transport and highways.
• Strategic affairs analyst Brahma Chellaney said, “This raises two issues—one, given that the construction of any border road takes several years because of the treacherous terrain, why are authorities waking up to the need for increased funding in the midst of China’s aggression? And second, even with the increased allocations, the budget seems inadequate to build the kind of border infrastructure India needs to defend itself.”
• In June, the transport ministry had allocated Rs 1,691 crore for highway development by BRO in Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand for 2020-21. Of this, Rs 1,351 crore was sanctioned for road works in J&K and Rs 340 crore for Uttarakhand. The transport ministry also allocated an additional Rs 71 crore for highway works in Ladakh, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu.
• This time around, the ministry has also increased the allocation for roads in the Northeast under its road development programme from Rs 290 crore to Rs 390 crore.
• The allocation to the regional offices of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh has increased from Rs 140 crore and Rs 150 crore, respectively to Rs 190 crore and Rs 200 crore, taking the total funding for incurring expenditure on the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North East (SARDP-NE) in the financial year 2020-21 to Rs 390 crore.

#KnowYourNavy – INS Eksila

Historical Background

• The idea of creating indigenous marine gas turbine overhaul facility was conceived in the early eighties. It was decided to create a composite, self-contained gas turbine overhauling facility to be manned by service personnel which would not only cater for M3 gas turbines but for future acquisitions as well. The government sanction for the same was accorded in Sep 1984. The foundation stone was laid by Vice Admiral SC Chopra PVSM, AVSM, NM the then Flag Officer Commanding – in – Chief, Eastern Naval Command on 25 Aug 1988. The establishment was inaugurated as Marine Gas Turbine Overhaul Centre by Admiral L Ramdas PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, ADC , the then Chief of Naval Staff, on 22 Oct 1991. The inauguration of the establishment was a milestone in Indian Navy’s efforts towards self – reliance.
• The establishment was commissioned as full-fledged Indian Naval Ship by Her Excellency Justice Ms. M. Fatima Beevi, Governor of Tamil Nadu, on 26 Aug 2000.
• The name “EKSILA” is derived from “EKASILA NAGARAMU” (present day WARANGAL) which was the capital of Andhra region during Kakatiya Dynasty. The city was built during the reign of King Rudra Deva who ruled during 1158 – 1198 AD. The name symbolises a single rock hillock called “Ekasila” around which the Warangal fort was built by King Ganapathy Deva of the legendary Kakatiya Dynasty.

Functions / Role

• The establishment has traversed a long and illustrious journey through the past twenty years since its inception. The primary role and function of INS Eksila is to undertake major overhaul of Marine Gas Turbines (GTs) and Gas Turbine Generators (GTGs) installed onboard Indian Naval Ships, including future acquisitions. The first overhauled Gas Turbine (M3E) rolled out of the portals of this unique facility in Aug 1995 and was installed on board INS Ranvir. The first indigenously overhauled GTG (gas turbine generator) prime mover underwent successful test bed trials in Dec 1996. The establishment now has the cumulative experience of overhauling more than 66 Gas Turbines (34 M3E GTs, 26 1250 E GTGs, 03 1250 2E GTG, 01 M15 CGT, 01 M15 CRG).
• INS Eksila is also tasked with the following responsibilities :-
• Conduct of GT Symposium
• Conduct of Gas Turbine Symposium
• Conduct of Gas Turbine Generators Symposium
• Annual Marine Gas Turbine Maintenance Symposium, “Emerging Trends / Innovations in Marine Gas Turbine Maintenance Technology” was conducted on 19 Apr 12. The symposium was the first ever being conducted on GT maintenance and by INS Eksila focusing on emerging trends in GT maintenance including in-situ maintenance. The symposium received overwhelming response from Navy, private industries, research establishments etc and was well appreciated by all. The OEMs of marine Gas Turbines, M/s Rolls-Royce, UK, M/s GE, USA and M/s Zorya Mashproekt, Ukraine participated & presented their papers during the symposium.

GTMC 2012 and DMC 2012

• The overall co-ordination of the GTMC 12 was undertaken by INS Eksila in Mar 2012 under the aegis of HQENC. The meeting was attended by delegates from all the commands and IHQ MoD (N). The co-ordination and the arrangements were appreciated by all delegates and the Chief Guest.

Management of Naval Officers Institute (V)

• Naval Officers Institute, Visakhapatnam provides various recreational facilities to the Officers and their dependants. The institute is managed by INS Eksila and functioning includes conduct of various events like Navy Ball

Major Achievements

• M 15 Cruise Gas Turbine: First ever successful overhaul of M15 cruise gas turbines without OEM assistance in the history of Indian Navy. The permission for overhaul was accorded in 1989. Till 2008 no major progress was made on overhauling front due to certain constraints like non availability of tools, special test stands etc. In 2008 Eksila took the bold decision to overhaul the gas turbines without OEM assistance and all the constraints were overcome by in- house efforts.
• M 15 Cruise Gas Turbine
• Maiden Overhaul of GTG 1250 2EM 15 Cruise Gas Turbine
• Maiden Overhaul of GTG 1250 2E
• INS Eksila has crossed a significant milestone by completing the maiden overhaul of GTG 1250 2E TC. The successful maiden major overhaul / repairs of GTG 1250 2E TC followed by successful test bed trials was completed in a record time of 2 ½ months. The overhaul was a well-executed project considering the stringent timeline of 2 ½ months for delivery to Western Naval Command and the technical challenges faced during the maiden attempt of overhaul of this critical machine.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Commanding Officer of INS Shivaji.
2. Commodore Ravnish Seth
3. Captain Krishna Swaminathan
4. Commodore KC Sekhar
5. Commodore Rituraj Sahu

ANSWER: A

• INS Eksila was commissioned as full-fledged Indian Naval Ship by Her Excellency Justice Ms. M. Fatima Beevi who was then the Governor of
• Andhra Pradesh
• Kerala
• Tamil Nadu
• Karnataka

ANSWER: C

• INS Eksila was commissioned on
• 26 August 2000
• 27 August 2000
• 28 August 2000
• 29 August 2000

ANSWER: A

• INS Eksila has derived its name from the ancient name of which city?
• Adilabad
• Warangal
• Visakhapatnam
• Kadapa

ANSWER: B