Detailed review on security scenario soon with Modi, Jaitley
IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Monday and briefed him about operational preparedness of the IAF to deal with any threat. Raha also reportedly updated the Prime Minister about requirements of the force.
Army and Navy chiefs have already met the Prime Minister last week. The three Service Chiefs are expected to give a detailed presentation to him in the coming days, officials said here. The three Chiefs have already updated Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and a thorough review of overall security scenario will take place in the coming days when the Armed Forces along with Defence Secretary R K Mathur will brief Modi and Jaitley in a joint meeting.
At present, the Defence Secretary is giving presentations to Jaitley about the Ministry and issues like pending procurements besides other operational matters, they said. The exercise to project amount of funds required to sustain modernisation in the forthcoming is also scheduled to start shortly as the Budget Session of Parliament will begin in July.
The three Services are facing shortage of critical weapon systems like fighter jets, long-range artillery guns, rifles, submarines and light helicopters. The Army desperately needs 197 light helicopters to replace the ageing Cheetah helicopters. These helicopters are the lifeline of troops deployed on Siachen besides remote areas of Arunachal Pradesh and ladakh.
Contract negotiations for procuring 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) worth over Rs 45,000 crore are in the final stage and the new Government is likely to take a call on this mega deal in the next few weeks. French jet Rafale, manufactured by Dassault, was selected as its bid was the lowest. The IAF needs MMRCA to replace its fleet of MIG-21s and any delay in procurement of MMRCA will upset the force’s modernisation plans and operational preparedness.
Meanwhile, newly-appointed Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral Sunil lanba said here on Monday the Defence forces and the Ministry are developing procedures to deal with procurement cases which are put on hold on the basis of complaint filed by the losing vendors.
“The new Defence Minister has already issued a statement on this issue. This issue would be tackled and dealt with. Procedures are being worked out on this issue,” he told reporters here soon after assuming charge.
A number of naval procurements, such as the acquisition of 16 multi-role helicopters and torpedoes for the under-construction Scorpene submarines, are stuck due to corruption allegations.
Recently, the new Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh had stated that a number of procurement cases get stuck after the losing vendors file anonymous complaints and deals are put on hold. He had also stated that the Government will take steps to deal with such issues to avoid delays in providing equipment to the forces.