New Delhi Apr 26 PTI The Defence Ministry on Tuesday said the Indian Air Force has carried out extensive resurfacing work on the runway of Bagdogra airfield enabling civil aircraft to resume operations It said the first civil aircraft landed at the Bagdogra airfield at around 8 am on Tuesday The IAF has carried out extensive resurfacing work on the runway of Bagdogra airfield enabling civil aircraft to resume operations from the morning of April 26 the ministry said in a statement The runway was closed for two weeks for laying three flexible layers and reconstruction of non-load bearing surfaces The work also involved reconstruction of the concrete portion at each end of the runway and widening of the taxi tracks links as per International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO Standards the ministry said Bagdogra is the second busiest airport of West Bengal and is a joint user international airport with a civil terminal attached to the IAF airfield The IAFs timely completion of the work will enable approximately 8000 air travellers to fly to and from Bagdogra to various parts of the country every day the ministry said The Bagdogra airfield is not only important from a strategic point of view but is also a major international hub for promoting tourism and economy it said PTI MPB CK

New Delhi Apr 20 PTI The Defence Ministry on Wednesday said it had set aside 64 per cent of the capital acquisition budget for domestic industry in the financial year 2021-22 and has been able to over achieve the targetThe ministry said ithas utilised 6550 per cent of the capital acquisition budget on making procurements from domestic sourcesThe Ministry of Defence MoD had earmarked 64 per cent of capital acquisition budget for domestic industry in financial year 2021-22 it said in a statementAt the end of 2021-22 the MoD has been able to over achieve this target and has utilised 6550 per cent of capital acquisition budget on indigenous procurements through Indian industry to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat it saidThe ministry further said that it has been able to utilise9950 per cent of the defence services budget in 2021-22As per preliminary expenditure report of March 2022 MoD has been able to utilise 9950 per cent of the defence services budget in FY 2021-22 it saidIn the last few years the government has taken a series of measures to boost domestic defence manufacturingIn May 2020 the government announced increasing the FDI limit from 49 per cent to 74 per cent under the automatic route in the defence sectorIndia is one of 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 yearsThe government now wants to reduce dependence on imported military platforms and has decided to support domestic defence manufacturingPTI MPB DV DV

New Delhi Mar 24 PTI The Defence Ministry on Thursday announced a fresh list of 107 sub-systems and components that will not be allowed to import under a staggered timeline of six years beginning December with a primary aim to promote indigenisationThe list comprises components required in the production of helicopters submarines warships tanks missiles radars and communication systems many of which are currently procured from RussiaLast December the defence ministry released a list of 2851 sub-systems and components which will come under import embargo under a specific timelineSome of the components and sub-systems identified for import embargo in the fresh list are used for construction of indigenously developed Advanced Light Helicopter ALH Light Combat Helicopter LCH Light Utility Helicopter LUH electronic warfare system Astra missile T-90 tanks and infantry combat vehiclesThe list released by the Defence Ministry comprised 22 items that will be taken up for indigenisation by the state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd HAL while Bharat Electronics Ltd will indigenise 21 sub-systemsThe Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders will take up indigenisation of six components and subsystems used for construction of ships and submarines Bharat Dynamics Ltd has been entrusted with indigenisation of four items for Astra missiles while BEML Ltd got 12Other defence public sector undertakings DPSU being involved in the process are Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Goa Shipyard Ltd Hindustan Shipyard Ltd Armoured Vehicles Nigam Ltd and Munitions India Limited MILIn continuous pursuit of self-reliance in defence manufacturing and to minimise imports by DPSUs under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Ministry of Defence has approved another list of 107 strategically important Line replacement Units LRUssub-systems with a timeline beyond which there will be an embargo on their import the ministry saidIt said the identified items will be indigenised and will only be procured from Indian industry after the timelines indicated against each of them in the listThe ministry said the indigenisation of these items will be taken up by the DPSUs under the Make categoryThe Make category aims to achieve self-reliance by involving greater participation of the Indian industryThe DPSUs will offer these identified LRUsSub-systems for industry-led design and developmentThis will be a great opportunity for the Indian industry to get integrated in the supply chains of manufacturing major defence platforms the defence ministry said in a statementIt said the indigenous development of these LRUsSub-systems projects will bolster the economy and reduce the import dependence of DPSUs In addition it will help harness the design capabilities of the domestic defence industry and position India as a design leader in these technologies the ministry saidThis list is in continuation to the positive indigenisation list of 2851 sub-systemsassembliessub-assembliescomponents which had been earlier notified by Department of Defence Production Ministry of Defence on December 27 2021 it said PTI MPB ZMN

New Delhi Nov 23 PTI The Defence Ministry on Tuesday approved a proposal to procure GSAT-7C satellite and related equipment for the Indian Air Force IAF at a cost of Rs 2236 croreThe procurement is being made to enhance the communication network of the IAF officials saidThe decision to clear the procurement was taken at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council DAC chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath SinghThe DAC accorded Acceptance of Necessity AoN for one capital acquisition proposal of the IAF for its modernisation and operational needs amounting to Rs 2236 crore under the category of Make in India the defence ministry saidThe procurement proposal of the Air Force was for GSAT-7C satellite and ground hubs for real-time connectivity of software-defined radios SDRs it said in a statementIt said the project envisages complete design development and launching of satellite in IndiaInduction of GSAT-7C satellite and ground hubs for software-defined radios SDRs will enhance the ability of our armed forces to communicate beyond Line of Sight among one another in all circumstances in a secure mode it added PTI MPB NSD

New Delhi Sep 24 PTI The Defence Ministry on Friday inked a nearly Rs 20000 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space of Spain to procure 56 C-295 medium transport aircraft which will replace the ageing Avro-748 planes of the Indian Air ForceIt is the first project of its kind under which military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company officials saidUnder the deal 16 aircraft will be delivered in a flyaway condition by the Airbus Defence and Space of Spain within 48 months of signing the contractThe remaining 40 planes will be manufactured in India by a consortium of the Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited TASL within 10 years of signing the contract officials saidThe Chairman of Tata Trusts Ratan Tata congratulated the Airbus Defence Tata Advanced Systems Limited and the Defence Ministry on the inking of the contractIn a signed statement posted on Twitter he said the clearance of the joint project between Airbus Defence and Tata Advanced Systems to build the aircraft is a great step forward in the opening up of the aviation and avionics projects in IndiaIt will create a domestic supply chain capability to international standards which has never been undertaken before The Tata Group congratulates Airbus and the Indian Defence Ministry for this bold step in fully building this state-of-the-art multi-role aircraft in India in support of the Make-in-India thrust to bolster the countrys equity framework Tata saidThe contract was signed two weeks after it was cleared by the prime minister-led Cabinet Committee on SecurityContract signed between MinistryOfDefence and AirbusDefence Space Spain for procurement of 56 C-295 transport aircraft for the IAF Defence Ministry Spokesperson A Bharat Bhushan Babu tweetedThe C-295 MW aircraft is a transport plane of 5-10 tonne capacityAll 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous electronic warfare suite the ministry had said on September 8 after the procurement was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on SecurityThe in-principle approval for the Avro replacement programme was accorded around nine years backA large number of detail parts sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aerostructure are scheduled to be manufactured in IndiaThe ministry had said that before completion of the deliveries a servicing facility for C-295 MW aircraft is scheduled to be set up in India PTI MPB DV DV

New Delhi Sep 24 PTI The Defence Ministry on Friday inked a nearly Rs 20000 crore contract with Airbus Defence and Space of Spain to procure 56 C-295 medium transport aircraft which will replace Avro-748 planes of the Indian Air ForceThe long-pending procurement was cleared by theCabinet Committee on Security two weeks backContract signed between MinistryOfDefence and AirbusDefence Space Spain for procurement of 56 C-295 transport aircraft for the IAF Defence Ministry Spokesperson A Bharat Bhushan Babu tweetedUnder the deal 16 aircraft will be delivered in a flyaway condition by the Airbus Defence and Space within 48 months of signing the contractThe remaining 40 planes will be manufactured in India by a consortium of the Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited TASL within 10 years of signing the contract officials saidThe C-295 MW aircraft is a transport plane of 5-10 tonne capacityThis is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private companyAll 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous electronic warfare suite the ministry had said on September 8 after the procurement was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on SecurityThe in-principle approval for the Avro replacement programme was accorded around nine years backA large number of detail parts sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aerostructure are scheduled to be manufactured in IndiaThe ministry had said that before completion of the deliveries a servicing facility for C-295 MW aircraft is scheduled to be set up in IndiaPTI MPB DV DV