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Post-Bofors, nod for purchase of first artillery guns
Pak media finds fault with terror alert
SC orders CBI probe into Yeddy’s role
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2G: CBI opposes Raja’s bail plea
India to supply copters to Kabul
Kingfisher pilots call off strike
Aarushi case trial deferred till May 14
ISRO turns 40
NATURAL RESOURCES
Maoist veteran held in Delhi
2 hurt as quake jolts North-East
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Post-Bofors, nod for purchase of first artillery guns
New Delhi, May 11 The Ministry of Defence today cleared the purchase of 145 specialised 155 MM artillery guns, the first artillery gun purchase since the Bofors deal was inked during the Rajiv Gandhi government in the 1980s. The decision will finally be ratified by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). The clearance of the MoD’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) comes just two days after Defence Minister AK Antony, speaking in Parliament, expressed fears of a growing Pakistan-China proximity. The 155 MM guns are of 39 calibre and named the M777 ultra light Howitzer (ULH). These weigh just 3,200 kg each and can be slung under a helicopter to be dropped in mountain areas which are inaccessible by road. Sources confirmed these guns would be stationed in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh - both facing China. Road connectivity in these areas is poor. The gun can be split into two pieces and can be carried by a Mi17-V5 helicopter which the IAF has in its fleet. To carry the gun in one piece, a heavy lift helicopter — Mi 26 of Russia or Chinook of the Boeing — is needed. India has couple of Mi 26 which are in a precarious condition. Sources confirmed that the IAF will opt to use the Mi 17-V5. The gun can also be carried in a transport plane. These guns will be purchased under a $700 million deal through the foreign military sales (FMS) route between the US and India. BaE systems produces the guns. These are being used in Afghanistan which has terrain and altitude like Ladakh. These guns have almost the same specifications as the Bofors (155 MM 39 calibre), but are lighter in weight due to advancement in technology and metallurgy. Actually, the M777 owes it parentage to Bofors. BaE purchased the company and has upgraded the technology. The ULH has a normal firing range of 30 km and with specialised ammunition, it can hit targets 40 km away. However, officials said that it can not be considered a replacement for traditional field guns like the Bofors. The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) recently tested a 155 MM 45 calibre weapon and this will form the bulwark of the Indian Army’s artillery pieces. The Army has a requirement of some 1,590 such guns.
What china has
n Norinco, a Chinese government company, has unveiled the AH4, a light-weight Howitzer n
It is also a 155 mm/39-calibre artillery gun and is very similar in appearance to the guns India wants to buy n
It weighs 3,500 kg and can fire at targets 25 km away n
It can also be transported using a Mi17 copter
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Pak media finds fault with terror alert
New Delhi, May 11 Mumbai-based newspapers released pictures of the five suspects on Wednesday saying the Mumbai Police had been tipped off by the Central agencies that the five men are among the plotters of a future attack and that they had arrived in India. The media in Pakistan yesterday traced three to Hafeez Centre in Lahore, a shopping area and said they were very much in Pakistan and not in India. The Pakistan reports are silent on the other two mentioned in the advisory. Two of them were businessmen while the third was a security guard, reports said. According to Pakistani media reports, the two businessmen have been identified as Atif and Mehtab Butt and the third, identified as Baber, is a guard. Indian Home Secretary RK Singh said, “We had sent out the advisory based on credible inputs. We stand by it.”
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SC orders CBI probe into Yeddy’s role
The CBI should conduct the probe without getting deterred by the “stature of the persons and the political or corporate clout” of those involved in the plundering of natural resources, the three-member SC Forest Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapdia ruled in a 46-page order. The other members of the Bench are Justices Aftab Alam and Swatanter Kumar. The Bench clarified that the CBI investigation would be based on points 1(a) and 1(b) of the April 20, 2012 report of the SC-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) which read: The alleged serious illegalities/irregularities and undue favour in respect of (a) the land purchased by the close relatives of the then CM, Karnataka, for Rs 0.4 crore in 2006 and subsequently sold to M/s South West Mining Limited in 2010 for Rs 20 crore and (b) donation of Rs 20 crore received by Prerana Education Society from M/s South West Mining Ltd.” The Bench stayed all the other investigations and judicial proceedings with respect to these two issues.
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2G: CBI opposes Raja’s bail plea
CBI prosecutor AK Singh said there was a new allegation that he has received Rs 200 crore as bribe and this was being probed. The court reserved its order on Raja's bail plea for May 15. — PTI
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India to supply copters to Kabul
New Delhi, May 11 The decision is understood to have been taken at a meeting between External Affairs SM Krishna and Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul here earlier this month. The Afghan minister had sought India’s assistance for not only training its forces, but also equipping them so that they could defend their country after the pullout of allied forces by the end of 2014. Indications are that India will give ‘Dhruv’ Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) to the Afghan forces. New Delhi has also taken a decision to increase the number of Afghan personnel coming to India for training at police academies here. The training being given to Afghan army officers in premier Indian defence establishments will also be stepped up. The armies of the two countries will discuss the matter further. Kabul’s request for refurbishing its old defence equipment is also being considered by India. New Delhi believes that the Afghan national forces had demonstrated in no uncertain terms their capability to defeat terrorist forces when they repulsed orchestrated attacks by the Taliban on foreign missions in Afghanistan on April 15. However, the intelligence sharing between the Afghan forces and the allied forces did fail on that occasion. Meanwhile, India proposes to host a regional investors’ conference on Afghanistan here in June-end or early July. This will be some days before the Donors’ Conference on Afghanistan to be hosted by Japan on July 8.
For a friendly neighbourhood
n More Afghan personnel to be trained at Indian police academies n
Training being given to Afghan army officers in premier Indian defence establishments to be stepped up
n India considering Kabul’s request for refurbishing its old defence equipment
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Kingfisher pilots call off strike
Mumbai, May 11 In an e-mail sent to all employees, Mallya said salaries for the month of January would be paid by May 15. He added that salaries were being credited to bank accounts of airline employees in stages. Warning striking employees Mallya said he would “act firmly and decisively" against them. He said a "small group of misguided employees (were) derail(ing) .... operations". Kingfisher Airlines, which is operating a truncated schedule, cancelled 12 flights on Friday after pilots reported sick. Meanwhile, reports say pending salaries of some employees, including co-pilots, have been released.
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Aarushi case trial deferred till May 14
Ghaziabad, May 11 Dr Nupur Talwar was brought to court from Dasna jail today to the Ghaziabad Sessions Court. Her husband Dr Rajesh Talwar, also an accused, reached the court. As the court proceedings started, Talwar’s advocate demanded the case diary from CBI. It was objected to by CBI lawyers. A CBI lawyer stated that the case diary contained important references to various aspects of the case and could not be given to the accused at this stage as it could be used to weaken the case further.
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ISRO turns 40
Bangalore, May 11 Speaking at a function organised at the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) here today on the occasion of 40th anniversary of the centre, Radhakrishnan said the “acceptance test” (flight acceptance hot test) of the engine would be carried out tomorrow at ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. He said if the result of the test was found satisfactory, a GSLV rocket powered by the indigenous cryogenic stage would be launched by ISRO this year. ISRO’s earlier attempt in 2010 to fly a GSLV rocket with indigenous cryogenic engine had ended in failure as the rocket carrying a communication satellite plunged into the sea minutes after it took off from Sriharikota near Chennai. Radhakrishnan today said they had “learnt a lot” from the previous unsuccessful attempt and rectified the errors responsible for the problems faced in 2010.
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SC notice to states on Presidential reference
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, May 11 In the February 2, 2012 judgment, a two-member Bench had cancelled all the 122 telecom licences issued in 2008 by the then Telecom Minister A Raja at 2001 prices on first-come, first-serve basis and had directed the government to auction the licences to realise their market value. The President had made the reference to the Supreme Court on the Union Cabinet’s recommendations finalised in the light of the apex court verdict. The SC Bench, which included Justices DK Jain, JS Khehar, Dipak Misra and Ranjan Gogoi, had sought the states’ response to the reference within five weeks. The Bench will hold hearings on the reference, which has raised 12 questions, from July 10.
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Maoist veteran held in Delhi
The 42-year-old has been identified as Pradeep Kumar Singh. He belongs to a village named Nindi located in Latehaar district of Jharkhand. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Railways) Sanjay Kumar Jain said Pradeep is an ideologue of the PWG. “He had joined the Naxalite organisation in 1990. He motivated youths to join the cause of the Maoists. Pradeep is a good orator and used his skill to propagate the ideology of PWG,” he added. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Branch was tipped off about the whereabouts of Pradeep. Yesterday afternoon, they were informed that he would come to Sector-24, Rohini, located in outer Delhi. He was apprehended there, wherein he was planning to meet a contact. Police seized from him a pistol with two live cartridges. The Crime Branch has registered a case under the Arms Act. In October 2000, Pradeep was part of a team headed by a Maoist named Guddu Oraon. They had ambushed and killed the Superintendent of Police of Lohardaga in Jharkhand, Dr Ajay Kumar Singh, who was leading a police party.
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2 hurt as quake jolts North-East
Guwahati, May 11 Official sources said two labourers sustained serious injuries in the wall collapse while they were on working at Raha in Nagaon. They were admitted to Nagaon civil hospital and reported to be out of danger. A mosque near the Sadar police station in Nagaon and several buildings were damaged in the impact of the tremor that lasted nearly five seconds. A concrete wall collapsed in the Jyotinagar while cracks occurred in a multi-storeyed building in the Beltola area of the city. — PTI
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New Delhi, May 11
New Delhi, May 11
New Delhi, May 11