YEAR-END REVIEW, 2008
HIGHLIGHTS
The unprecedented terror attacks in Mumbai on November 26 and the counter
measures by the armed forces in regaining control of the seized buildings
and rescuing hostages marked a turning point in the activities of the Ministry
of Defence towards yearend. A slew of high-level meetings to review and beef
up security followed. As a follow-up the government approved immediate steps
to augment coastal security, intelligence coordination and fast track acquisition
of cutting edge equipment and interceptor boats for the Coast Guard.
The three Services also rendered yeoman’s assistance during the Bihar floods in
August, providing rescue and relief in areas devastated by an overflowing
Kosi river. About 25,000 people were evacuated every day as army rushed 37
columns, the navy deployed boats and divers while the Indian Air Force airdropped
medicines and food to the marooned people. Earlier in May, the IAF and the
Navy extended humanitarian assistance beyond the borders, reaching out relief
to earthquake hit China and cyclone-devastated
Myanmar. While the
Indian Navy ships INS Rana and Kirpan were the first to reach out to Myanmar, devastated
by severe cyclone Nargis, the IAF engaged in the largest airlift across the
border, providing 277 tons relief supplies to the neighbouring countries.
NEW WEAPONRY
The test-firing of 3,000 kilometers range Intermediate Range Ballistic
Missile (IRBM) Agni-3, 600-kms range canister-launched Surface-to-Surface
Missile (SSM) Shaurya, supersonic cruise missile Brahmos’ naval version, 350-kms
range Surface-to-Surface Ballistic Missile (SSBM) Prithvi-2 and 3rd
Genertaion Fire and Forget anti-tank missile Nag, pre-confirmatory test-flight
of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Nishant, induction of Hawk-132 Advance Jet
Trainer (AJT) and Rohini 3-Dimensional Radar into the IAF, upgraded Pinaka
multi-barrel rockets into the army and the 5th Advanced Offshore
Patrol Vessel (AOPV) ICGS Sankalp into the Coast Guard, hot and cold weather
trials of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas promised punch to our armed forces.
While Ordnance Factory, Trichy handed over ten Anti-Material Rifles to BSF
in February, all 40 Ordnance Factories under the Ministry of Defence earned
ISO-9002 international quality certification. An Integrated Space Cell was
instituted in the Integrated Defence Staff in June, marking a path-breaking
initiative to secure and consolidate the country’s space assets.
MAKING A MARK ABROAD
The Indian Navy ventured beyond the South Asia region in an active
role for the first time, patrolling the Gulf of Aden since October 23rd
and achieving notable success in preventing piracy on the high seas. INS Tabar
foiled a piracy attempt on merchant Vessel MV Jag Arnav on Oct.11th
and aborted another attempt on a Saudi vessel. Next month, the Tabar sank
a Thai boat commandeered by pirates. On Dec. 13th INS Mysore captured
23 in the pirate-infested waters, including many pirates, and recovered a
cache of arms and ammunition.
JOINT EXERCISES
For the first
time again, a contingent of the Chinese Army touched down on Indian soil in
December for joint counter-terror exercise ‘Hand-in-Hand’ at Belgaum. Earlier
a Mechanized Infantry contingent of the Indian Army conducted the first joint
exercise abroad at Salisbury Plains with the UK army in
August-September. The IAF too earned kudos in the US participating
in the Red Flag exercise at Nevada in August,
as eight Sukhoi-30 MKIs, two IL-78 midair refuellers and an IL-76 transporter
matched their paces with the likes of the USAF, French and South Korean air
forces. In May, India participated
in the Berlin air show
as a partner country for the first time as the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony
graced the occasion. The IAF helicopter aerobatics team Sarang earning a feather
in the cap after being adjudged the Best Looking Close Formation. And later
in July the Sarang team, flying the indigenous ALH Dhruv, also performed at
the Farnborough air show in UK.
POLICY MATTERS, WELFARE INITIATIVES
The much-awaited revised Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP-2008) was
released on Sep.1st, paving the way for transparent and faster
acquisition of hardware and promoting indigenous industry. The constitution
of the Armed Forces Tribunal was also set in motion with the approval by the
union cabinet in July of 31 posts of members and later the appointment of
retired Supreme Court judge Justice AK Mathur as its Chairperson. Other major
policy and administrative decisions include the granting of permanent commission
to women officers in select branches, approval of phase-2 of AV Singh Committee
report granting upgradation of 1,896 posts in the three Services, restructuring
of 117 posts in the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) and issue of guidelines
and massive hike in revision of rentals for land and property hired by the
armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir. Other welfare measures include the approval
of Married Accommodation Project (MAP-II), doubling of monetary grants to
gallantry awardees, setting up of Army College of Medical Sciences in New
Delhi and Sainik School at Rewari, Haryana and implementation of the Sixth
Pay Commission.
OTHER FOREIGN DEALS, JOINT EXERCISES, SEMINARS,
VISITS
Premier defence undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) broke
new ground in exports, bagging an order of seven Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter
(ALH) worth $56.7 million from the Latin American nation Ecuador. In July
the DRDO signed an agreement with Brazil’s Embraer
to jointly develop an Early Warning System (EWS) for the IAF. During the visit
of Russian Defence Minister Mr. Anatoly Serdyukov to New Delhi on September 29th, a major decision
followed extending the term of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission
on Military and Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) by ten years beyond 2010
when its present term expires. Later in December the India-Russia High-Level
Monitoring Committee reviewed progress on development of 5th Generation
Fighter Aircraft, AWACS and Multi-Role Transport Aircraft and acquisition
of T-90 tanks, SU-30 upgrades and aircraft carrier Gorshkov, rechristened
INS Vikramaditya.
The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony’s visits to Malaysia in January
and the US in September
underlined India’s growing
Defence Cooperation with the respective countries and coordination among their
Armed Forces. In a rare gesture the Indian Army’s Remount Veterinary Corps
gifted four horse pedigrees – two stallions and four mares, to Bangladesh army in
February.
The Indian Navy hosted the first conclave of heads of navies of Indian Ocean littoral states, Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)
in New Delhi on 14-15th
February. A few days later, more than 270 companies from over 30 countries
were represented in the 5th DefExpo, the land and naval systems
exposition. DefCom in May and International Maritime Search and Rescue Conference
(IMSARCON) in March were the other major conclaves hosted or organized in
partnership with the armed forces. In March General Mehmet Ilker Basbug arrived
in New Delhi, the first
visit by a Turkish army chief to India. The US
Defence Secretary Dr. Robert Gates, US army chief General George William Casey
Junior, Chinese Deputy Chief of General Staff, People’s Liberation Army, Lt.
General Ma Xiaotian, Polish Defence Minister Mr. Bogdan Klich and Brigadier
General Tay Lim Heng, Chairman of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating
Piracy and Armed Robbery against ships in Asia (ReCAAP) were other major dignitaries
to visit India this year.
The
Indian Navy conducted periodic joint exercises – Milan 2008 with Asia-Pacific
Maritime Navies at Port Blair in January, Malabar’08 with the US in
October, Varuna with French Navy in May, Singapore-India Maritime Battle
Exercise (SIMBEX)
And finally,
DEATH OF A TITAN
In
June, the country lost one of its finest and most decorated soldiers, the first
Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw. The nation paid fitting tribute by according him
a state funeral as thousands poured out to bid him farewell. A commemorative
postage stamp and First Day Cover were released in memory of Field Marshal
Manekshaw on Dec 16th, the Vijay Diwas marking Victory in the 1971
Indo-Pak War.
Sitanshu Kar/PK/RAJ
(Release ID :46243)