MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Costal Chain of Static Sensors Positioned along the Coast of Andhra Pradesh

A coastal chain of static sensors positioned along the coast of Andhra Pradesh was inaugurated by Ministry of Defence in a ceremony held at Coast Guard District Headquarters in Visakhapatnam on 23 November 2012. The event signified the operationalisation of the network on the East coast.

A complete surveillance mechanism along the coast was needed post 26/11 incident. A chain of static sensors were planned to monitor the high sensitive traffic density areas along the coast of India. The coastal surveillance network will provide an integrated picture of all the vessels traversing along the coast. As part of this project, a chain of radar stations along the coast line of Andhra Pradesh were installed by the Ministry of Defence. The Chain of Static Sensors project being steered by the Indian Coast Guard, envisages fitment of high end surveillance gadgets on lighthouses and masts at various locations.

Defence Minister: India fully prepared in event of war
Dismissing the reports about shortage of ammunition in the army as mere rumours, The Defence Minister
A K Antony assured the nation that India is fully prepared in the event of a war. He asserted that armed
forces are prepared for any challenge to the integrity of the country. Mr Antony even conveyed happiness that things
are much better now as equated to the past.











Defence Ministry alleges that ‘No U.S. special forces are present
in India’
report stated that U.S. Special Forces teams are positioned in five South
Asian countries: Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and India as part of the counter-terrorism cooperation, particularly in the maritime domain.
The Defence Ministry held that the reports are faulty to that extent as the mention to India is related since the U.S.Special Forces Teams have neither been posted in India in the past, nor they are positioned in the present.








India’s armed forces modernization plans approved
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), at a meeting chaired by Defence Minister AK Antony approved a
significant 15-year Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) that will end in 2027 and the five-year
plan that will end in 2017 to modernize Indian armed forces beginning from 2012. The plan was approved after almost
a year long delay.
Usually, the LTIPP and five-year plans are approved a year ahead of their beginning. But, this time, the approval came a
day after the plan period had begun April 2, 2012.









Indian Defence budget shoots up 17%
India’s Military spending has gone up by 17% or Rs 28,992 crore, to Rs 1,93,407 Crore (nearly $40 billion) in the Union
Budget 2012-13. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee held that the increased allocation was based on the needs
projected by the defence ministry. For 2011-12, the spend was pegged at Rs 1,64,415 Crore.
However the three services together returned around Rs 3,000 crore of unspent money. The
difference between the Budget Estimate for 2011-12 and the Revised Estimate for the same year
was around Rs 3,000 crore.
Indian v/s Chinese Defence Budget
China in March 2012 announced that it will increase defence spending by 11.2% in 2012, for the first time taking its
annual military expenditure beyond $100 billion to nearly $106.41 billion as it puts in place plans to modernise its
Army against the backdrop of an uncertain regional environment. China’s spending in 2012 will exceed what India 2011
year spent by 3 times — India’s defence expenditure was reported at $36 billion in the 2011-12 budget. This year
India’s Military spending has gone up by 17% to nearly $40 billion in the Union Budget 2012-13.





Jan 16, 2012 troop movement was purely training drill: Govt
Discounting a media report on "non-notified" troop movement by army, the government informed Rajya Sabha that
the exercise was undertaken for training purpose directed at refining mobilization drills and
preparedness of the force. Defence Minister A K Antony held that the movement was purely for
training purpose aimed at refining the mobilization drills and ascertaining operational preparedness
of the Army in spite of untoward weather conditions.
As per a report by the Indian Express newspaper, the central intelligence agencies reported that on the night of
January 16, there was an unanticipated and non-notified movement by key military unit around Delhi in the direction
of the capital.
Nevertheless, Antony did accept in his reply that the 2 units did move from their bases. The para commando unit
moved from Agra to the location of another unit in Gurgaon and the armoured division unit moved from its location
(reportedly in Hisar) to Bahadurgarh on the night of January 16/17, 2012.












Priti Mohanty: Newly appointed as CGDA
Priti Mohanty, a 1977 batch Indian Defence Accounts Service Officer, took over as new Controller General
of Defence Accounts (CGDA)on 01 April 2012.



20 % penalty for foreign military vendors not meeting
offset obligations
The Ministry of Defence announced a penalty of 20 % to be imposed on foreign military vendors who are ubable to
fulfill offsets obligation within the prescribed time frame as part of the Defence Procurement Procedure.
· No cap on penalty for inability to implement offset obligations during the period exceeding the main procurement
contract, which can extend to a maximum period of two years.
· Vendors signing deals over Rs 300 crore have to re-invest at least 30 % of the worth of the contract back into Indian
defense, civil aerospace and homeland security sector.