Here comes the 'mother of all Indian defence deals'

     Inspired by the success of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile project, India & Russia are now in the process of designing a world-class Fifth generation stealth fighter aircaft named Sukhoi PAK FA which is considered to be superior to USA's F-22 Raptors on many aspects. India will contribute as much as 50% of the funds required for the development though its share in R&D will remain at only 15-25%. It has been officially disclosed that the Indian Air Force will be buying 214 single-seat versions of the aircraft at an whopping budget of USD 35 billion. This means that the FGFA deal will dislodge the  MMRCA deal (that costs USD 16 billion) to become the 'mother of all Indian defence deals'. Here I've shared some cool & awesome pics of these futuristic aircrafts.

Su PAK FA performing a cool take-off

The weapon configuration of FGFA

 

FGFA being escorted by Mig-20 aircraft

 FGFA in rare desert cameo

President Putin visiting FGFA base

President Putin boards FGFA

Su- PAK FA prototype alongside its predecessor Su-30

The master's strike - India makes the most out of Putin's visit

     When Indian govt sensed that 'something' is terribly wrong with Russia moving closer with its arch-rival Pakistan, the Modi govt in Delhi immediately invited President Putin to finalise as many as 20 pacts. The figures of USD 100 bn & 125 bn may look a bit inflated, but the fact is that Russia is all set to invest upto USD 35 billion in building 12 new nuke reactors (each 1000 & 1200 MW) all across India over the next 20 years. Yet another major defence deal in the offing is regarding Su-50 FGFA fighters which would cost another USD 35 billion. All these counter-measures by Indian govt (defying the western nations) is aimed at convincing Putin that he has a reliable & humble partner at his doorstep. Putin, to his part, pulled a surprise by inviting India to drill oilwells in the Arctic region where considerable amount of oil deposits (that is comparable to the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia) was discovered recently. He also promised that his nation will supply India with 100 million tonnes of oil for the next 10 years (at the rate of 10 MTPA). In a massive boost to India's defence industry, Russia also agreed to allow Indian companies to manufacture its Ka-226 light-utility helicopters. Initially 384 Ka-226 copters will be built at a cost of  USD 3 billion by the state-owned HAL in partnership with a private firm. There is also a provision to scale up the order to 600 helicopters in the future. In the future India will also manufacture spare parts for major Russian defence equipments. The roaring success of Putin's India visit has also further boosted the image of Indian PM Modi whose govt is already riding high on series of victories in recent state assembly elections.

 The Kamov-226 helicopters that are to be built by Indian defence companies

The Su-50 PAK FA 5th gen stealth fighters that India will procure at a cost of USD 35 bn

Animated image showing Su-50 FGFA alongside India's indigenous fighter aircraft HAL Tejas

Region where hyper-massive oil reserves were discovered recently

 

India's classy indigenous attack helicopters in action

     The Indian Air Force is all set to induct 22 state-of-the-art AH-64 Apache attack helicopters under a USD 1.4 billion deal with Boeing. But these choppers cannot be deployed for high altitude operations (like Siachen) . This is where India's home-grown combat helicopter comes in. The Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) project of the state-owned HAL has emerged as a roaring success. Given that Army & Air Force have already placed orders for 179 such choppers, this project has given a much needed boost to India's indigenous defence industry. Another combat helicopter being developed by HAL is the HAL Dhruv mk-4 (named 'Rudra'). This lethal warbird is equipped with MBDA air-to-air missiles, & ATGMs like Helina & Nag. Impressed with Rudra's performance, Indian Army has placed orders for 76 choppers. HAL has a reason to feel proud of itself. Let us have a glimpse of these desi attack helicopters in action.

 

LCH Prototype-1 taking off

LCH Duo during exhaustive flight trials

India's lethal warbird- The LCH

State-of-the-art Cockpit of  LCH

HAL Rudra firing rockets

HAL Rudra in AeroIndia

Russia finds a reliable friend in Delhi

     When Russian President landed in New Delhi on his brief one-day visit to India, he wouldn't have asked for more. The Indian PM heaped praises on Russia & went to the extent of calling Russia "a pillar of strength". President Putin's visit to India sends an important signal to western nations which have imposed tough sanctions on Moscow that 'Moscow has a humble & reliable partner at its doorstep'. India is one among very few nations that refrained from condemning Russia over Ukraine issue. Even as India seeks to reduce its dependence on Russia for defense supplies, Russia continues & will continue to be India's go-to nation when it comes to strategic weapons like nuclear submarines (INS Chakra) & nuclear capable cruise missiles (BrahMos). Yet another example of defense cooperation among these giants is the ambitious FGFA project which would prove to be a complete turnaround story. India is gearing up to spend anywhere between USD 30-35 billion to induct as many as 214 single seat FGFAs during 2017-25.  Besides the traditional thrust area of defense industry, this time both sides have diversified areas of cooperation. The two sides signed as many as 20 pacts worth several billion dollars, the most important of all is regarding the implementation of Unit-3 & 4 of Kudankulam Nuclear power plant (KNPP). KNPP has an investment potential of about USD 20 billion of which USD 2.8 billion has already been spent on Units-1 & 2. As per today's agreement between Modi & Putin, Russia will build 10 nuclear reactors in India most of them to come up in Kudankulam. If everything goes well, KNPP would become Asia's largest nuclear power plant by 2030, capable of producing 9200 MW from 8 reactors (2X1000 MW + 6X1200 MW) . Considering all these, one can say that Russia will continue to be the most important partner for India for the foreseeable future. 

TRIBUTE TO FALLEN HERO

The tragic & untimely death of young Australian cricket star Philip Hughes, united all cricketing nations in grief. From a little boy in Marina beach to Prime Ministers of Australia, India & UK. All voiced their deep heartfelt condolences to Hughes & his family. Aussie skipper Clarke mourned the death of "his little lovely brother". He went on to say that "We always loved him & will". Now, he & his team stands to lose the childish charm & cheeky wits of Hughes forever. 

Hughes' death helped to me learn one important lesson about human life. "Life is so fragile. Let us live every single moment of it" 

Hereafter When I look at a clear night sky, I will look at the brightest star out there & say to it “Hi Hughes. How do you do? Are you safe there? Do not feel lonely. We all will join you someday. Wait until then. After all we too are humans ”

Rest in Peace Hughes.

                                  

India's changing face - 2

 

.

 

 

 

India's changing face

     A recent study of Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) says that if India manages to grow at 9% p.a., for the next few years, then the size of India's economy could reach an astounding USD 10 trillion by 2034 (exactly 20 years from now) making it a dominant economic force in the Asia-Pacific region. Now let us have a glimpse of some choicest images of swanky new  skylines of Indian cities. These may be nascent when compared with dazzling skylines of Hong Kong or Tokyo but promises us of a very bright future. Hello world.. India is coming!!!!

 

India's Q2 GDP grows at 5.3% - beats estimates

      

     India has once again registered a 5%+ growth rate as its GDP grew at 5.3% during the quarterly through September of this year. The GDP data was slightly better than predictions made by various analysts. Most of the estimates were around 5%-5.1%. Though this growth rate is slower than the Q1 (April-June quarter) figure of 5.7%, it fares better when compared with Q2 growth rate of the previous fiscal which was only at 4.8%. This dip is largely due to sluggish manufacturing sector which grew at an dismal 0.1%. The agriculture sector picked up pace which grew at an satisfactory 3.2% on the backdrop of good monsoon. The actual size of GDP (at factor cost) in the July-September quarter stands at INR 14.41 trillion. The half-yearly growth rate (during April-September period) stands at 5.5% significantly higher than the previous year figure of 4.6%.

LR-SAM Barak-8 test launch hits bull's eye!!!!!!!!

     The defence establishment has a reason to rejoice. The Indo-Israeli Barak-8 LR-SAM missile test-firing (on 10th of November) was a roaring success. This interceptor missile was flight-tested against a moving target (possibly, a Israeli Jericho series missile) & successfully neutralized it. The test was carried out in the presence of Indian officials including DRDO chief Dr.Avinash Chander. According to 'Jerusalem Post' this is the first ever 'operational test firing' of the missile. Its shorter-ranged predecessor variant Barak-1 missiles are in active service with the Indian Navy & have been incorporated in at least 14 Navy ships including flagship INS Viraat, all Shivalik-class frigates & Delhi-class destroyers (shown in image below).

Barak-1 air defence battery on-board INS Mysore

Travelling back in time, the Rs.2606 crore deal to co-develop (50:50) a long-range interceptor missile was signed way back in 2007 between governments of India & Israel after a breath-taking 17 months of tough negotiations. In 2009 the then Indian Army chief Gen.Deepak Kapoor signed a USD 1.1 billion deal to supply Barak-8 air defence systems to India by 2017. These missiles will be incorporated in INS Vikramaditya, INS Vikrant (IAC-1), Kolkata-class destroyers. According to SIPRI reports, Israel has already delivered 75 Barak-8 missiles to Azerbaijan. Eventhough the Barak-1 deal was mired in controversies regarding kickbacks, the Defence Acquisition Council headed by AK Antony cleared second order of 262 Barak-1 missiles at a cost of Rs.880 crores in December 2013.

Is India's SEZ 'Miracle' losing sheen????

     The Special Economic Zones Act which was passed by the Government of India in May 2005 enabled India's exports to reach new heights as a result of which India is now enjoying increased share in International trade (accounting for about 2.4% of global trade). The 192 operational SEZs have cumulatively exported goods & services worth INR 4.94 trillion in the 2013-14 fiscal. It is to be noted that the Indian government has approved as many as 564 new SEZs of which 388 have been officially notified. Cumulative investments in these zones stands at a hefty INR 3,01,655 crores employing around 12.77 lakh persons. What is worrying is the dwindling rate of growth of exports from these zones. This growth rate has declined sharply to a meager 3.8% in 2013-14 fiscal. Compare this with the   previous year figure of 31%. SEZs account for more than one-fourth of India's overall merchandise exports. This means that there is a urgent need for the Modi government to take corrective measures to arrest this decline.

Year-wise performance of Indian SEZs

Years	Exports		Growth over previous year
	Value in Rs. Crores	Billion USD
2005-2006	22,840	5.08	-
2006-2007	34,615	7.69	52%
2007-2008	66,638	14.81	93%
2008-2009	99,689	22.15	50%
2009-2010	2,20,711	49.05	121%
2010-2011	3,15,868	70.19	43.11%
2011-2012	3,64,478	81.00	15.39%
2012-2013	4,76,159	88.18	31%
2013-2014	4,94,077	82.35	4%