New Delhi: Seeking to avoid allegations of favouritism and scams in acquisitions, the Defence Ministry is planning to put an end to single-vendor tenders and is expected to issue directions to the Services headquarters soon in this regard.
The Ministry is considering formulation of a policy in this regard and it is expected to be reflected in the forthcoming new version of the Defence Procurement Procedure, which will be given out shortly, sources said in New Delhi.
The Services headquarters are expected to be intimated by the Defence Ministry about its policy soon, they said. The Ministry had recently asked the Army in a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council to avoid a single-vendor tender for procuring third generation anti-tank missiles from Israel and look for other sources also who could offer the weapon system for the force.
The new policy is part of efforts to enhance transparency in weapon procurement through the import route and is now not inclined much towards the single-vendor tenders, wanting fair competition between arms suppliers for any acquisition, they said....
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09:21 PM, Apr 14, 2013
London: Britain has stressed that it would not be intervening in any investigations into the AgustaWestland helicopter bribery case. "Prime Minister David Cameron had stated during his India visit (February 2013) that we will offer our help if asked to do so and there have been no further requests. The matter is within the Italian legal framework and we as a government will not be intervening in their investigations," a...
05:14 PM, Apr 08, 2013
A CBI report states that Former Air Chief Marshal (retd) SP Tyagi received cash in return for favouring Anglo-Italian helicopter company AgustaWestland in the controversial Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal. The report, however, fails to mention the amount that was paid to the retired Air Chief Marshal and the mode of payment. The report also adds that Tyagi's cousins received nearly 3,26,000 euros during the course of the deal. ...
11:46 PM, Apr 01, 2013
A joint team of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Defence Ministry and the External Affairs Ministry will meet the officials of AgustaWestland and its parent company Finmeccanica in Italy on Wednesday. ...
08:56 AM, Feb 20, 2013
A Central Bureau of Investigation team has reached Milan in Italy to probe the allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland chopper deal. The joint team of CBI, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs officials will first meet officials at the Indian embassy before they try and meet the prosecutor to understand the case. ...
03:16 PM, Feb 19, 2013
After External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, Defence Minister AK Antony also denied any differences within the government over the AgustaWestland chopper deal. "There is no question of lack of co-ordination with the MEA," Antony said. ...
12:55 PM, Feb 19, 2013
Defence Minister AK Antony was not part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's delegation holding talks with UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday. Government sources say his presence was not required and his absence was not linked to the AgustaWestland chopper controversy. ...
12:37 PM, Feb 19, 2013
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has denied any differences within the government on the question of scrapping the AgustaWestland deal. "I have not expressed any reservation at all. I only said whatever decision taken has to be a collective decision," Khurshid said. ...
11:35 AM, Feb 19, 2013
A Central Bureau of Investigation team has left for Italy to probe the allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland chopper deal. The team is expected to meet Italian prosecutors to ascertain details of the case. ...
09:09 AM, Feb 19, 2013
As the Central Bureau of Investigation team leaves for Italy to probe the AgustaWestland chopper deal, CNN-IBN has accessed details of phone conversations between between the two Italian middlemen Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. The tapped phone conversations also reveal how Haschke claims he has destroyed all evidence of wrongdoing. ...
07:56 AM, Feb 19, 2013
CNN-IBN's senior editor Jyoti Kamal joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the AgustaWestland chopper deal bribery scandal. ...
05:47 PM, Feb 18, 2013
The government is divided on whether to cancel the AgustaWestland chopper deal or not. Sources say the Prime Minister's Office is unhappy with the proposal to cancel the chopper deal. This comes amidst reports that the Defence Minister was inclined to cancel the deal in view of the bribery allegations against former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi. ...
11:11 AM, Feb 18, 2013
From Guido Haschke to Carlos Gerosa, key middlemen in the AgustaWestland chopper deal seem to have gone underground. CNN-IBN has been trying to get in touch with the key middlemen, but they have been untraceable. Haschke's neighbours told CNN-IBN that he has moved from his current address or is taken from there. They did not have a forward contact address. ...
07:44 AM, Feb 18, 2013
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday said that all procedures were 'strictly followed' by the UPA government in the controversial VVIP chopper deal. ...
03:52 PM, Feb 16, 2013
The investigations into the AgustaWestland chopper deal may bring in more defence personnel under scrutiny. Apart from the Tyagi brothers, the Italian probe report mentions a military man who also received kickbacks. ...
01:18 PM, Feb 16, 2013
Finnmeccanica has been served a notice by the Indian government to showcause why the helicopter deal with India should not be scrapped in the light of strong allegations of corruption. ...
09:18 AM, Feb 16, 2013
The Ministry of Defence on Friday initiated the process to scrap the deal with AgustaWestland for 12 VVIP helicopters. ...
10:33 PM, Feb 15, 2013
Congress leader Sandeep Diskhit has slammed the BJP for politicising the VVIP chopper issue and said that there is no evidence of President Pranab Mukherjee's involvement. Pranab was the Defence Minister between 2004 to 2006. ...
02:22 PM, Feb 15, 2013
Even as the UPA government's factsheet on the AgustaWestland helicopter deal can bring embarrassment for the Congress, three key decision makers who were involved in finalising the deal including President Pranab Mukherjee enjoy Constitutional immunity. The Defence Ministry's factsheet categorically states that the tender was finalised in 2005 - a time when President Pranab was the defence minister, SP Tyagi was Air Force Chief, Bharat Vir Wanchoo was SPG Chief...
12:30 PM, Feb 15, 2013
The UPA government's factsheet could prove to be more embarrassing for itself and President Pranab Mukherjee during whose stint as the defence minister the AgustaWestland deal was cleared. The Defence Ministry's factsheet categorically states that the tender was finalised in 2005 during Pranab Mukherjee's stint as the Defence Minister. ...
08:20 AM, Feb 15, 2013
