Augusta Westland: Another Scam; Another Timepass

India has been witnessing innumerable scams everyday. Most of these scams are true; some are political accusations. But the cost of these scams and fake accusations are enormous on the development of the nation. In the interests of the true national growth, all three pillars of the country - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary must do a quick post mortem of these scams and bring out the truth immediately. The latest scam in the Indian circuit is Augusta Westland the chopper purchase for VVIPS from Italy.

Times  of India writes on 28 April 2016

The latest faceoff between government and Congress over the Agusta Westland chopper deal portends another round of fireworks in Parliament. The air is thick with accusations and insinuations. This time, however, it is necessary to transcend the customary trading of charges between political adversaries to let a free and fair investigation take precedence.

As political parties revert to their default tu tu main main instincts, there are several inconsistencies on both sides of the argument. Congress argues in its defence that it blacklisted the company, but is being accused of going slow on the probe to shield the guilty. The NDA government claims it is pursuing the case with gusto, yet it rehabilitated the Anglo-Italian firm to become a part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. This made Agusta Westland eligible to participate in defence deals worth Rs 25,000 crore.

The Rs 3,600 crore AW101 helicopter deal for VVIP choppers was cancelled by UPA in 2014 and the guarantee money confiscated after allegations of payoffs running into hundreds of crores. UPA claimed the Italian company had breached an integrity pact, as commissions were paid to modify altitude specifications for the lucrative contract in which 12 VVIP transport helicopters were to be supplied to India. The tragedy is that if Courts of Appeal in Milan had not taken up the matter, it could easily have been swept under the carpet. The Italian court has sentenced Giuseppe Orsi, chief of Agusta Westland’s parent company Finmeccanica, to a four-and-a-half year jail term. In stark contrast, the NDA government claims that investigations are now at an advanced stage, but it doesn’t appear close to finding the guilty even after two years in office.

The country’s security apparatus needs urgent upgrades but dark clouds of corruption have always loomed over defence acquisitions. The legacy of Bofors means that even the slightest hint of impropriety is enough to jeopardise deals. But holdups in defence acquisitions also lead to high cost escalations. French Rafale fighter planes, for example, were selected in 2012, but the deal is yet to see the light of day. The veil of secrecy on defence deals must be lifted and we must evolve norms for the highest standards of transparency and probity, incorporating best practices from advanced western democracies.

Welcome Defence Step

Atlast the government of india has broken its stalemate over giving defence equipment manufacturing to the private companies. This will increase competition and bring out low highly effective arms.

The Times of India writes on 30 th October 2009


Indian defence companies will gain access to a potential $100 billion market over the next 10 years, following a new policy that allows
domestic firms to bid for large defence contracts, officials said on Friday.

India, one of the world's biggest arms importers, wants to increase the role of its private sector, which holds around 20 percent of the defence industry market but has the potential to grow significantly.

Under the new policy, the government will allow domestic companies to bid for key projects on their own.

Indian companies until the policy change were not invited by the government to bid for big government defence projects and were left to supplying locally made non-combative equipment for the defence forces.

With foreign countries reluctant to share advanced technology with India, the government wants to encourage private defence companies to enter the arms market, officials say.

"The field is now open for them to come and bid for any project along with the world's best. The government is giving them an opportunity to expand their capabilities," Sitanshu Kar, the defence ministry spokesman said.

Local companies are free to bid for projects involving tanks, artillery and aircrafts, Kar said.

"This move can also save costs and help us turn India into a major production hub in the near future," Kar said.

The new policy will provide more opportunities to Indian companies such as Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Ashok Leyland and Larsen and Toubro, defence experts and officials said.

"The current review is primarily focused on two essential areas of promoting and facilitating wide participation of defence industry and enabling transparency and integrity in all acquisitions," defence minister AK Antony said at a conference.

"Over the next five to six years, the total budgetary provision for capital acquisition is likely to reach $50 billion," Antony said. Defence and company officials say it will touch the $100 billion mark in 10 years.

India wants to upgrade its largely Soviet-era arsenal to counter potential threats from Pakistan and China. The government plans to spend more than $30 billion over the next five years to upgrade its defences.

Foreign defence companies have welcomed the government move.

"The government is very forward leaning and the steps we view as a sign of the government's confidence in the maturity of the Indian industry," Vivek Lall, India country head for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems said on Friday.