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With Priyanka Gandhi’s wild card entry into active politics, Congress is all-in

Nirwa Mehta
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With Priyanka Gandhi’s wild card entry into active politics, Congress is all-in

Congress today announced Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into active politics. She is made the All India Congress Committee General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh East. Priyanka Gandhi is the sister of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, daughter of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, granddaughter of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and great-granddaughter of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Clearly, she is well qualified to become a politician, considering not only the family she is related to by blood is riddled in scams, but even the family she is married into has had its share of run-ins with the law.

Also read: Rajasthan High Court summons Robert Vadra and his mother to appear before ED

Just like Rahul Gandhi turns a new leaf and shows exemplary maturity every few years, Priyanka Gandhi has made it to news a few times as the only hope for Congress. Congress workers and supporters have demanded Priyanka Gandhi forays into active politics and take over the reins for a few years now.

By announcing Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into active politics, Congress seems to have laid down all the cards it had in the upcoming 2019 general elections, which is widely pegged as ‘make or break’ election for Congress President Rahul Gandhi who has been eyeing the post of the PM. The usual suspects are extremely elated and have declared the game over for the BJP. After all, how can Modi win against Priyanka Gandhi, whose only claim to fame is being born in the family she is born in? Many have called it a masterstroke.


Nostradamus Swati Chaturvedi had also predicted this way back in November.


I have a theory that Swati tweets/writes multiple possible outcomes on different dates, and when any of them actually happen, she springs into action on how she was the first to break the story, while in reality, she is probably waking up, picking 3 chits and writing a faff piece on it.

Moving on, Congress’ ‘masterstroke’ comes after series of such ‘masterstrokes’. It started with Rafale. After realising that people are not really buying the ‘Rafale is a scam’ theory, Rahul Gandhi shifted to EVMs are hacked drama. A very bizarre press conference was held in London earlier this week where Congress’ Kapil Sibal was monitoring the ridiculous accusations being levelled against the EVMs and Election Commission. So absurd were the allegations that even Aam Aadmi Party supporters called it out. Imagine, people who still believe in Arvind Kejriwal didn’t believe in allegations thrown around in this presser.

The ‘intolerance is rising’ card has also been played. It is easy when you have a friendly media and ‘data-journalists’ paid by you who have no qualms in fudging data and portraying factually incorrect data to suit your agenda. Did you know Congress’ data analytics department head Praveen Chakravarty is the founding trustee of IndiaSpend, the ‘data-journalists’ who regularly misrepresent facts and peddle agenda? It is a lesson in ecosystem everyone should learn, though. As Paulo Coelho said, ‘And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it’. When Congress wants something, the entire ecosystem conspires in helping to achieve it.

Also read: Congress ecosystem divides the Country with every breath, but still represents ‘idea of India’

Congress has done its bit with help of friends in the system to spread lies about Piyush Goyal, Arun Jaitley, Amit Shah, Ajit Doval and failed miserably. Articles, opinion pieces are written regularly targeting the BJP ministers and every other day someone from film industry will declare that there is rising intolerance in the country and Muslims are not safe. Someone will claim that the independent institutes and agencies are all compromised. Democracy is under threat – all in last four and a half years.

Also read: In a democracy like India, Rahul Gandhi bats for dynasty

So much has been Modi’s influence that even Arvind Kejriwal went from calling Sharad Pawar a black money hoarder to joining hands with him as a show of strength against Modi. Rahul Gandhi and Congress, during other state elections, have tried other tricks, temple run to promising the Ram temple at Ayodhya. All done and dusted.

Elections hinge heavily on what happens int he last 2 months leading up to the elections. Congress has been furthering the same old rhetoric for the last 4 years. The scam allegations were based on empty rhetoric. The corruption allegations were struck down by the court. They have played the Muslim appeasement card. They have played the pseudo-Hindutva card. They have instigated riots. Supported the tukde tukde gang. Support the urban Naxals and called them activists. They have stalled the parliament and refused to let it work. They have supported Triple Talaq. They have opposed Ram Mandir. They have lied and obfuscated. Tried to cast aspersions on the Judiciary and use the Judiciary for their political ends. They have tried every trick in the book.

The only card they have left was Priyanka Gandhi and her resemblance to Indira Gandhi. With that card being played already, Congress seems to be all-in. With Priyanka Gandhi getting active in politics, (the announcement came when she was actually abroad, and she will take charge once she is back in India in February), Congress has put all the cards on the table. There does not seem to be anything new Congress has to offer to Indian voters except for the rhetorics.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi has not even gone into campaign mode yet. As we enter the thick of election season, the next few days are just going to get interesting.

78 criminals gunned down, over 3000 encounters in the first 16 months of Yogi Adityanath government: Report

OpIndia Staff
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78 criminals gunned down, over 3000 encounters in the first 16 months of Yogi Adityanath government: Report

The Uttar Pradesh police have carried out over 3000 encounters in the first 16 months of the Yogi Adityanath government. As per a report in the Indian Express, a total of 78 criminals have been gunned down and over 838 criminals have sustained injuries.

The report says that the data on the police encounters and arrests of criminals is to be made into a list and shared with the public on the occasion of the Republic Day. UP state chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey has reportedly sent the communication to all district magistrates ahead of the Republic day.

More than 7043 criminals have been arrested in the period of 16 months since Yogi Adityanath took charge. The UP government data shows the figures available from 17 March 2017 to July 2018. The figures reportedly show that in the first 9 months, the average criminal death in an encounter was 1.8 per month, while in the later seven months, from January 2018 to July 2018, 61 criminals have been gunned down, 8.71 per month.

The government data also states that in the same period, almost 11,981 criminals have cancelled their bails and surrendered in courts.

Yogi Adityanath’s tough stand on criminals and repeat offenders was even criticised by the left-liberal biased media and opposition parties. Even the National Human Rights Commission had pulled up the Yogi government over the encounters going on in the state. But the Mahant of Gorakhpeeth had made it abundantly clear that those who threaten the safety and peace of the society will not be spared by his government.


Fearing the encounters, thousands of dreaded criminals had reportedly got their bails cancelled and preferred to remain in jails in UP.

In one of the most intriguing cases, the UP police had tracked down a gang headed by former Etah councillor Sabir Ali. Sabir Ali’s gang had hatched an elaborate plan to hunt down and kill Hindu Sadhus living in temples in remote rural areas. In a spree of murders, several Sadhus were tortured and killed. UP police had arrested the mastermind Sabil Ali with 3 of his accomplices and had killed another two murderers in an encounter which media persons recorded live.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg2oguY0boE]

Sabir Ali later confessed that his gang had murdered over six persons to frame four key witnesses who had testified against him in another murder trial.

The NHRC had taken objection to Yogi Adityanath’s remark that criminals in UP will either be killed or jailed. However, in a statement, the commission had admitted that they have no solid ground to assume that there has been a violation of human rights by the government.

Under the Yogi government, the UP police have also earned accolades for its quick response, efficiency and active utilisation of technology and social media to resolve cases and help the public.

Four policeman dressed in plain clothes accompanied two women to Sabarimala on Jan 2: Police to Court

OpIndia Staff
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Four policeman dressed in plain clothes accompanied two women to Sabarimala on Jan 2: Police to Court

On Thursday, a senior officer of the Kerala police made a disturbing revelation to the Kerala High Court stating that four policemen disguised as civilians protected and aided two middle-aged left-wing women to enter the Sabarimala shrine on January 2nd.

According to the reports, Pathanamthitta Superintendent of Police (SP) T Narayanan while informing the Kerala High Court claimed that the two Communist party workers- Bindu and Kanaka Durga were allowed to enter the Sabarimala shrine through the gate meant for the staff of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) accompanied by the Kerala policemen. He further said that in view of security reasons, the policemen had to accompany two women to “Sannidhanam”

The Kerala police have submitted an affidavit in the Kerala High Court after the court-appointed high-powered committee on Sabarimala had asked for a report regarding the shocking incidents that took place on January 2. The High Court-appointed monitoring committee had slammed Kerala Police for taking unauthorised steps to facilitate the entry of the two CPIM female activists Bindu and Kanakadurga causing huge embarrassment for the Pinarayi Vijayan led Kerala government.

The affidavit further added that the Kerala police aided two women through the special gates as they wanted to avoid any commotion at the holy eighteen steps, leading to the shrine and to avoid any protest by devotees and activists.

“In the said circumstances, it was obligatory on the part of the police to protect the life and liberty of these two women in their attempt to trek Sabarimala on January 2, which right was conferred on them by the judgment of the honourable Supreme Court,” the affidavit added

The Kerala police have further submitted that they had exercised their operational freedom on December 24 last year, when they had prevented those two women from entering the shrine as they were severe protests against allowing them to enter Sannidhanam. On January 2, the police assessed the security situation at Sabarimala, decided that it was “conducive” for the women to enter the shrine and accorded protection to the two, the affidavit said.

“The police also decided to provide them cover in a civil dress so as to avoid the attention of the protesters, if any, at Sabarimala. The entry of these two women to the Sabarimala temple was legal and proper and the same was in accordance with the dictum laid down by the honourable apex court,” the affidavit stated.

SP Narayanan has added that the police were constitutionally obligated and statutorily bound to accord protection to the lives and liberties of the two women and they had acted accordingly. He said on January 2, a total of 93,120 devotees had come to Sabarimala.

The two women, accompanied by the policemen entered the Sabarimala shrine and reached the Sannidhanam at 3.52 am on that day. The police claimed that they had a peaceful “darshan” and no devotees were present at Sabarimala shrine at that point and there were no protests at the shrine.

The Kerala police failing to protect Hindu devotees, however, has blamed right-wing outfits for the severe protests at the Sabarimala. The Kerala police have said that attempts were made by certain right-wing outfits and a prominent political party to breach the peaceful atmosphere that had prevailed in Sabarimala and in the state under the guise of protesting the entry of the two women into the temple.

On January 2, the Kerala government aided by its state police force had deliberately allowed two women belonging to Communist party to enter the shrine and violate the age-old customs practised at the Sabarimala shrine. The desperate act of Kerala government to defame Hindus was met with massive anger and protest across the country.

The left-wing goons aided by the Kerala government have begun to inflict serious violence on Hindu devotees and the BJP cadre. A country-made bomb was hurled on Saturday at BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP V Muraleedharan’s ancestral house at Vadiyil Peedikia near Thalassery and an RSS office in Kannur was set ablaze by unknown assailants. Chandran Unnithaan, an Ayappa devotee and member of Sabarimala Karma Samithi had died after stone pelting by CPIM workers.

The Kerala government led by Pinarayi Vijayan has been facing massive protests after it deliberately allowed politically motivated ‘activists’ to enter the shrine and violate age-old customs. Earlier, lakhs of devotees, especially women, lit lamps and stood on roads and highways in a peaceful protest, covering a distance of 795 km on 26 December to show their solidarity with Hindu devotees who are fighting for the preservation of age-old Hindu customs.

The Print indulges in scaremongering, spreads fake news about shortage of polio vaccine in the country

OpIndia Staff
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The Print indulges in scaremongering, spreads fake news about shortage of polio vaccine in the country

On January 24, 2019, The Print published a rather alarming report saying that India doesn’t have polio vaccine for the next round of immunization. The report said that the country is facing acute shortage of polio vaccines, and due to that reason, the Modi government has indefinitely postponed the next polio immunization on February 3. According to The Print, there shortage of both types of vaccines, OPV and IPV ( Oral Poliovirus Vaccine and Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine, which is given by injection).

The fake report by The Print

The report quotes a letter purportedly written by The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to the states. The report by The Print claims that the letter said, “Due to unavoidable circumstances, it has been decided to postpone the programme for the time being.”

The report said that Indian government is facing shortage of polio vaccine due to shortage of funds, along with lower domestic production and longer testing requirements. It says that there is shortage OPV because government cancelled license of one of the manufacturers as their vaccines were found to be contaminated with type 2 poliovirus, and therefore there is one less manufacturer of the vaccine in the country. For shortage of IPV, the reason given by The Print is that government’s budget fell short by around ₹280 crore due to almost 100% rise in prices. It further added that India has approached Gavi, an international organization involved in vaccination across the world, for funding.

The Print report was soon used by the opposition camp to attack the government.

Congress leader Ahmed Patel tweeted that this is a huge setback to India’s vaccination programme, and government’s failure to allocate substantial funds is the reason behind it.


Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani compared the costs of Statue of Unity and Kumbh Mela with the reported shortage in polio vaccine budget.


Reacting to the report, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released a clarification at the evening on January 24, saying that the reports of shortage of polio vaccine in India are incorrect. The government clarified that there is no shortage of OPV and IPV in the country.

The press release adds that the required quantity of bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (bOPV) has already been secured for the polio national immunization days. “Government has not postponed the NID indefinitely, as wrongly reported in the media”, said the release.

The ministry also said that there is neither any shortage of IPV nor any shortage of funds for its procurement, as claimed by The Print. The statement notes that India has already eliminated polio, and the IPV was introduced to maintain the polio-free status per global guidelines, as Polio has not been eliminated from few countries in the world.

The statement by Health ministry

The government also clarified involvement of Gavi, saying that all Gavi eligible countries are extended support for vaccines by the organisation. The government has approached Gavi for partial support in future procurements of IPV after its price rise, as India is eligible for support from the organisation, the ministry informed.

Therefore, the report published by The Print was fake, as the government has clarified that there is no shortage of polio vaccine in the country, and the immunisation programme has not been postponed indefinitely. They have updated their article with the clarification from the ministry, but the fake claims that they have made in the report are still there.

July 31 deadline for finalising the NRC in Assam not to be extended: Supreme Court

OpIndia Staff
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July 31 deadline for finalising the NRC in Assam not to be extended: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has made it clear that the deadline for preparing the final report of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the State of Assam shall be completed by the given deadline of July 31, 2019. The Apex court has asked the authorities to chalk out a plan so that the exercise of the NRC is not affected due to the upcoming general elections.

To make sure that everything is taken care of and there is no shortage of officials, the Chief Secretary of Assam government, Election Commission and the NRC coordinator have been asked by the Supreme Court to hold a meeting to decide how the officials will be accommodated for the two exercises.

The Court has directed the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is appearing for the State of Assam, to ensure that the meeting is held within seven days. The bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R F Nariman has asked to be informed of the outcome of the said meeting on the next hearing of the case which is scheduled for February 5.

The NRC is being updated under the direct monitoring of the Supreme Court. The first draft of the NRC was published on during the intervening night of December 31, 2017, containing 1.9 crore names. The second draft was released on July 30, 2018, which had 2.9 crore names.

The Apex court had last year extended the deadline for filing claims and objections from December 15, 2018, to December 31, 2018, on the request of Assam government.

The objective of updating the NRC in the state is to identify people living in the state illegally. In this process, the NRC of 1951 is being updated. According to special provision for Assam under the Citizenship Act, 1955, any person who came to the state before 25 March 1971 will be granted citizenship. Accordingly, only those people’s names are to be included in the final NRC who can prove that they or their earlier generations were residents of the state prior to that date.

OpIndia Evening Dispatch: Thursday, 24th January 2019

OpIndia Staff
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OpIndia Evening Dispatch: Thursday, 24th January 2019

In the hustle and bustle of the day, it is only natural to miss some of the biggest developments that impact the nation. The OpIndia Evening Dispatch will catch you up on the day’s event even if you have been busy thus far.

Here is what made it to news today

1. India Today journalist caught ‘directing’ Congress workers to appear excited about Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Mausami Singh, a journalist with India Today was seen ‘directing’ and prompting the crowd to create a narrative of excitement after Priyanka Gandhi’s formal entry into politics. The most bizarre part of the event was that the India Today reporter was caught red-handed on the tape while instructing and signalling the Congress workers to chant slogans while in the middle of a live reportage.

2. MUDRA Yojana: The elixir for the MSME sector which is fuelling job growth

Government’s flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana was launched in 2015 and is being perceived as an elixir for the MSME sector, accounting for 90% of total number of enterprises and also 90% of non-agriculture employment whose growth had been hindered due to constraints in access to finance. While it is RBI’s role to caution any emerging trend but a knee-jerk policy reaction is not called for without a valid cost-benefit analysis and a broader perspective.

3. 4th BJP/RSS worker found murdered in Madhya Pradesh in a span of 10 days

In a shocking incident, an RSS worker from Ratlam was found brutally murdered near his field. This is the fourth murder of members belonging to the BJP/RSS in Madhya Pradesh within a span of ten days. There has been an increase in crimes against the BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh within a month of Congress coming to power.

4. Terrorist turned decorated soldier Lance Naik Nazir Wani to receive Ashoka Chakra

Lance Naik Nazir Wani, who made supreme sacrifice for the country fighting the terrorists in Shopian last year, will be conferred with India’s highest peacetime gallantry award-Ashoka Chakra, posthumously. Lance Naik Nazir Wani was once a militant himself, but he soon realised the futility of the insurgency and joined the Indian counter-insurgency forces in 2004 to fight terrorism in Kashmir.

5. The tragic death of Homi Bhabha and the trend of top Indian scientists dying under mysterious circumstances

On the 24th of January, 53 years ago, Homi Bhabha met a tragic end when Air India Flight 101 crashed near Mont Blanc while he was travelling to Vienna for a conference. Many believe that the crash wasn’t an accident but premeditated assassination carried out by American intelligence agencies to thwart India’s nuclear programme.

Rose Valley scam: Producer and Mamata Banerjee’s close aide Shrikant Mohta arrested by CBI

OpIndia Staff
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Rose Valley scam: Producer and Mamata Banerjee’s close aide Shrikant Mohta arrested by CBI

Chief of Shree Venkatesh Films, Shrikant Mohta, has been arrested by the CBI in connection with the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam and will be produced before the Court tomorrow, ANI has reported. He is likely to be taken to Bhubaneshwar after he was arrested in Kolkata.


The Bengali Film Producer and Distributor was interrogated by the CBI at his offices earlier in the day. He was served a notice by the agency regarding “acceptance of money from Rose Valley”. According to reports, the private security guards of Mohta tried to stop the CBI team from arresting him. CBI was able to arrest Mohta with the help of local police later on.

Shrikant Mohta is close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Several top leaders of the Trinamool Congress are named in the chit fund scam and facing investigation.

It is alleged that Mohta’s production house was paid Rs 25 crore by Rose Valley for producing 17 films.

Earlier Mohra was in the news for encroaching land of Calcutta Port Trust and building a studio on the land. The Calcutta High Court had ordered his firm to vacate the land after a petition by the port trust.

The investigation into chit fund scams has seen plenty of developments involving high-profile individuals recently. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is also investigating the matter, had interrogated Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal for nine hours on Monday, in relation to the case. ED had asked Pal and his wife to come for questioning. Pal was the director of the film division of the Rose Valley Group.

The CBI has also recently filed a chargesheet against Nalini Chidambaram, wife of former union minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram, in the Saradha chit fund scam.

The Rose Valley Chit Fund was actually a Ponzi scheme in which the entities affiliated to the group collected large sums of money from gullible investors promising them astronomical returns. The Company also allegedly made cross investments in its various sister firms to escape its liability towards its investors. An FIR was registered by the ED against its Chairman and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2014. He was later arrested in 2015.

JNU sedition case: Delhi govt issues show cause notice to the bureaucrat who cleared JNU sedition case file

OpIndia Staff
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JNU sedition case: Delhi govt issues show cause notice to the bureaucrat who cleared JNU sedition case file

The Delhi government Principal Secretary AK Mendiratta has landed in trouble after he cleared the file relating to the JNU sedition case. He has been served a show-cause notice by Delhi Law Minister Kailash Gahlot for clearing the file relating to the 2016 JNU sedition case without the approval of the Law Ministry reports Republic TV. The ministry has also written to the Delhi High Court in this respect.

The notice refers to Rule 13 of the transaction of business rules which states that no decision or views can be communicated by any principal secretary without the approval of the minister in charge. The Delhi government had received the charge sheet on January 14 but no action was taken on it.

The 1200 page charge sheet prepared by the Delhi police with painful efforts over 3 years was rejected by the Patiala House Court on January 19 when it was presented before it. The court had asked the Delhi police to get the charge sheet sanctioned by the Delhi government. The Delhi police had revealed before the court that the AAP-led Delhi government did not respond to the charge sheet after it was received by the government.

The charge sheet contains the names of former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Umar Gul, Basharat Ali, Raes Rasool and Khalid Bhat along with Shehla Rashid and the CPI national secretary D Raja’s daughter Aparajita Raja for allegedly shouting anti-national slogans at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi in 2016.

The first request seeking the permission to commence prosecution in the JNU sedition case was submitted by the Delhi police in 2016. And the second request was submitted on Monday (January 21). The unexplained delay by the Delhi government in giving the sanction to the charge sheet is casting a shadow on the intention of the government.

Indian Navy commissions its third air base INS Kohassa in the Andaman and Nicobar islands

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Navy commissions its third air base INS Kohassa in the Andaman and Nicobar islands

In a big boost to enhance maritime security and defend India’s security interest in the region, the Indian Navy is set to open its the third naval air base in the strategic Andaman and Nicobar islands.

According to reports, on Thursday, the Indian Navy has commissioned Naval Air Station (NAS) Shibpur as INS Kohassa making it the third Navy air facility in the Andaman and Nicobar islands to keep eyes on the important sea lanes of communication and strategic points. The Indian Navy will now deploy the INS Kohassa air base for surveillance of Chinese ships and submarines entering the Indian Ocean through the nearby Malacca Straits.


The commissioning of INS Kohassa, situated about 300 km (180 miles) north of the archipelago’s capital Port Blair, will have huge strategic implications for the country as Indian Navy can operate independently in its own air facility which opens up for more surveillance over Indian Ocean region from the Bay of Bengal to Malacca Straits. More than 1,20,000 ships pass through the Indian Ocean each year and nearly 70,000 of them pass through the Malacca Strait alone.

INS Kohassa draws its name from a large white-bellied sea eagle, a bird of prey endemic to the Andamans.

The NAS Shibpur was set up as a Forward Operating Air Base (FOAB) for surveillance in North Andaman and will be renamed as INS Kohassa. Located in the northernmost part of the islands, the airfield holds strategic importance not only for the security of the islands but also for its overall development.

“The facility, the third in the islands, will have a 1,000-metre runway for helicopters and Dornier surveillance aircraft. But eventually, the plan is for the runway to be extended to 3,000 metres to support fighter aircraft and longer-range reconnaissance aircraft,” said navy spokesman Captain D.K. Sharma.

INS Kohassa will become the third Naval Air Base in the region after INS Utkrosh at Port Blair at Veer Savarkar International Airport and INS Baaz at Campbell Bay, while Indian Airforce has an independent air base at Car Nicobar known as Car Nicobar AFS. The Naval air station will also function as a base for joint operation of both military and civil aircraft to implement UDAN scheme of the government.

Strengthening Naval power in the Indian Ocean Region has been a key focus of India after the Modi government came to power.

Production delays by HAL impacting country’s air combat capabilities, IAF informs Govt

OpIndia Staff
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Production delays by HAL impacting country’s air combat capabilities, IAF informs Govt

The Indian Air Force has told the Central government that production delays on the part of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have seriously impacted the country’s air combat strength, Economics Times has reported. The IAF is particularly concerned with the upgrades to the Mirage 2000 and Jaguar fighter fleets.

The IAF asserted that HAL has not been able to meet delivery schedules pointing to the two to six year delays. It said that it expects the upgraded aircraft to be available only by 2024 now. It was mentioned that as per schedule, 21 upgraded Mirage 2000 jets should have delivered but HAL had managed to deliver only 6 after three production delays.

Related Reading: PAC report slams HAL for delay in projects

The Indian Express has reported that in the next two years, the IAF will be left with only 26 fighter squadrons against the authorization of 42 even if all the scheduled supplies, including the Rafale, are delivered on time. China, in contrast, has 42 and Pakistan has 25.

The number is projected to rise to 30 by 2027 with four more squadrons of LCA Tejas. The contract for these, however, has not been signed yet between the IAF and HAL. However, at current projections, the number of squadrons is expected to fall to 21 by 2037 and 19 by 2042.

Related Reading: HAL falling short in production of Sukhois despite production concessions by Air Force

Moreover, as per Business Standard, HAL is set to outsource production of the indigenously-manufactured Advance Light Helicopter(ALH). Chandrakar Bharti, Joint Secretary, Department of Defence Production is reported to have said that a proposal to select an Indian private company for complete transfer of technology will be made soon.

Recently, a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament led by senior Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge had heavily criticised HAL for the production delays. The PAC report had noted that due to delay in induction of new aircraft, IAF was forced to upgrade its existing fighter planes, the total cost for which is more than ₹20,000 crore. Now it is really a matter of concern those upgrades are also getting delayed.

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