Mumbai: An internal report of the Defence Ministry has dismissed the findings of the judicial commission's interim report into the Adarsh Housing Society scam in Maharashtra. Mumbai's infamous tower of deceit, the Adarsh Housing Society, has now turned into a flashpoint pitting the Defence Ministry against the Maharashtra government. A state government-appointed judicial commission concluded that the land on which the building stands belongs to the state. The Army said...
10:19 AM, May 11, 2012
New Delhi: The UPA government and the Opposition were involved in a slugfest in the Rajya Sabha over the shortages of arms and ammunition faced by the defence forces. Raising the issue BJP MP and Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley said that the Indian defence forces were moving on imported trucks, which was not a good sign. "The country which aspires to become a superpower has to import trucks for...
03:58 PM, May 08, 2012
New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday defended the Tatra deal in Parliament saying that the trucks were bought mainly due to operational needs of the Army and that not a single Tatra truck had been purchased post 2008. Seeking to turn the tables on the Opposition, Antony said the present government had not purchased a single new Tatra truck and the current deliveries were being made as per...
12:04 PM, May 07, 2012
New Delhi: Government is reviewing the Defence Procurement Policy to address issues raised by the industry players and other stakeholders, a senior Defence Ministry official said in New Delhi on Wednesday. Addressing a conference on 'Streamlining the Indian Defence Procurement System', Financial Advisor to the Defence Ministry Amit Cowshish said the new revised DPP might address the issues of industry players as well. "I hope some of the issues the...
04:03 AM, May 03, 2012
New Delhi: The CBI on Wednesday questioned retired Lt Gen Tejinder Singh in connection with the bribery allegations raised by Army Chief General VK Singh. Sources say that an FIR is likely to be registered on Wednesday in the case. Army Chief has shared official records from September 2010 with the CBI which notes the meeting between him and Lt Gen Tejinder Singh, sources say. Singh arrived at the CBI...
05:27 PM, May 02, 2012
Mumbai: Army Chief General VK Singh on Monday described as "tragic" the leakage of his letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh highlighting major "shortcomings" in the defence preparedness of the country and said the communication was part of an ongoing process. "It is tragic to hear about the leakage of the letter (written to Prime Minister)..there was communication with others also but luckily that had not been leaked," General Singh...
02:11 AM, May 01, 2012
New Delhi: Aiming to enhance the combat potential of its fighter aircraft, the IAF has signed contracts with various companies to upgrade its fleet of combat planes involving MiG-29, MiG-27, Mirage-2000 and Jaguars. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today, Defence Minister AK Antony said, "IAF has undertaken upgrades of MiG-21 and MiG-29 aircraft. Contracts have also been signed to upgrade MiG-29, Mirage-2000 and Jaguar aircraft."...
03:17 PM, Apr 30, 2012
New Delhi: After BEML and Tatra Sipox officials, the CBI is now planning to quiz Defence Ministry officials in connection with alleged irregularities in the Tatra all-terrain vehicle deal. CBI sources said names of at least six Defence Ministry officials have been finalised who could be quizzed next week in connection with the alleged violation of Defence Procurement Rules in the Tatra truck deal between Tatra Sipox UK and public...
08:55 PM, Apr 26, 2012
New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony on Wednesday called for a fresh report from the Indian embassy in Rome on alleged malpractice in the Indian procurement of 12 helicopters for VVIP transport worth Rs 3,546 crore ($788 million). "The defence minister today (Wednesday) directed his ministry officials to get a fresh report from the Indian embassy in Rome following a media report alleging malpractices in the procurement of 12 helicopters...
03:22 AM, Apr 26, 2012
New Delhi: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence on Friday decided to seek regular feedback from the Defence Ministry on India's preparedness in the event of war. Sources said that the three service chiefs, who were not invited to attend the meet on Friday, "will be called either at the next meeting or later, but will be called for sure". In a previous meeting, several members had asked the Chairman...
01:42 PM, Apr 20, 2012
New Delhi: The CBI on Wednesday carried out searches in Delhi and NCR in connection with the Tatra truck deal case. According to the reports, the raids were conducted at residences of two ex-army officials and a Vectra employee. Sources said that these army officers were named by Vectra Chairman Ravi Rishi's employees during questioning. Teams of CBI officials carried out searches across the national capital and Noida at the...
09:57 AM, Apr 18, 2012
Mumbai: The judicial commission probing the Adarsh Housing Society scam tabled its report in the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday and, in a breather to the politicians facing the heat over the alleged scam, said there was no evidence to support the claim that the apartment was built on defence land or that it was reserved for Kargil War widows. The Defence Ministry has said it will challenge the report in...
05:44 PM, Apr 17, 2012
Mumbai: Post-retirement will President Pratibha Patil, the constitutional head of the military forces, live on land that virtually homeless jawans asked to be accommodated on? Activists argue that this controversial piece of land in Khadki, Pune where the President's post-retirement bungalow is being built, could have gone to jawans, who now live in slum like conditions. The President is the last resort for justice in this country. But with the...
09:20 PM, Apr 13, 2012
President Pratibha Patil's son, Rajendra Shekhawat said on Friday that the land will not remain in the President's possession forever. ...
01:55 PM, Apr 13, 2012
New Delhi: Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju has said that "someone" in the government "may have read too much" into the movement of two key army units towards Delhi in January. Speaking to Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate, he said that there are protocols that exist where somebody has to be informed or somebody has to be kept in the loop. Here is the full transcript of...
08:30 PM, Apr 09, 2012
New Delhi: Noting that China has upgraded its military force projection against India through rapid modernisation, the Defence Ministry on Monday said the country was "conscious and watchful" of Beijing's rising military profile in the immediate and extended neighbourhood. In its annual report for 2011-12 released on Monday, the Defence Ministry said Pakistan continued to be a "cause of concern" due to undiminished activities of terror organisations there. "Chinese footprints...
06:58 PM, Apr 09, 2012
New Delhi: The CBI is looking into the payments made by defence PSU BEML to Tatra Sipox UK for the supply of all terrain trucks and plans to send judicial request to the United Kingdom seeking details of its financial transactions and ownerships. The agency suspects that payments from BEML were actually going to a tax haven, CBI sources said, adding that they are probing into it but added that...
07:40 PM, Apr 08, 2012
New Delhi: There seems to be another setback to the government's denial of gaps in India's security structure. Weeks after Army Chief General VK Singh's revelations, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has highlighted critical gaps in India's defence, only much more starkly. What is interesting is that the report was filed in December, 2011 but it failed to rouse any reaction from Parliament's Public Accounts Committee. The CAG...
10:40 AM, Apr 06, 2012
New Delhi: The CNN-IBN report on Indian Army's critical ammunition has shocked the Parliamentary defence panel. The members of the panel now want to summon Army Chief General VK Singh next week to explain. General Singh had listed some of the critical deficiencies in ammunition and equipment in a letter to the Prime Minister that was later leaked. A CNN-IBN investigation shows that the problem could be much worse than...
07:57 AM, Apr 06, 2012
A former Naval Chief and former Chief Election Commissioner have moved a petition in the SC challenging the appointment of Lt. Gen. Bikram Singh as the next Army Chief. ...
10:03 PM, Apr 05, 2012
