Armed Forces reach out to common man facing nature’s wrath - Year End Review 2005
TRANSPARENCY BROUGHT INTO DEFENCE DEALS
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS DEVELOPED WITH MAJOR INTERNATIONAL POWERS
It was a momentous year for Ministry
of Defence. The unprecedented rescue and relief operations carried out by the
Armed Forces during Tsunami and later during the earthquake in J&K,
International Aerospace Exhibition, ‘Aero India- 2005’ at Bangalore, release of
Defence Procurement Manual, signing of contract for construction of Scorpene
submarines with France, and successful visit of Russia, Chile and USA by the
Defence Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee were some of the major achievements of
the Ministry of Defence during the year 2005. Successful scaling of Mount
Everest by Indian Army women Expedition Team and the Indian Air Force Team and
Joint Exercises with the various Armed Forces of the World were some of the
other significant events of the year.
DISASTER RELIEF OPERATIONS
It
was altogether a different challenge for the country’s Armed Forces when they
had to fight the wrath of nature instead of enemy in the year 2005. From
Tsunami to earthquake of J&K and floods in different parts of the country,
the Armed Forces did a splendid job in providing succor to the affected people.
Tsunami
A massive rescue and relief
operations of unprecedented scale was carried out by the Armed Forces in
response to Tsunami which hit the southern parts of the country during the last
week of 2004. Several ships, helicopters, aircraft and thousands of Armed
Forces personnel were mobilized in the rescue and relief operations which were
carried out in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra
Pradesh and Kerala. The Indian Air Force, planes and helicopters airlifted
large amount of rescue and relief supplies, besides evacuating people to safe
places. The rescue and relief operations by the Armed Forces were not only
restricted to our country but for the first time it was extended to
neighbouring countries of Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand and Indonesia.
J&K Earthquake
Similarly,
the Army and the Air Force carried out massive rescue and relief operations in
the quake affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir during October this year. Roads
and bridges were rebuilt in record time. The Army and Air Force have also
adopted some villages in J&K for reconstruction.
Flood Relief Operations
The Army and Air Force also carried
out flood relief activities in the states of Maharastra, Gujarat, Himachal
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kanataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh during the
year. Many sorties were flown by Indian Air Force aircraft and helicopters and
tonnes of relief material were airlifted.
Snowfall
Relief Operation
Unprecedented snowfall in J&K left many stranded or
trapped under deep snow. The Army and Air Force again came to the rescue and
saved many lives.
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION
The Vth International Aerospace
Exposition of India titled ‘Aero India – 2005’ was inaugurated in Bangalore
with much fanfare. The presence of a significant number of foreign companies in
the exhibition was testimony to the opportunities that India offers for Joint
Ventures, Technology Transfer and co production for the global market. Major
Defence manufactures from Italy, France, Malaysia, Russia, Israel, UK, USA,
Ukraine, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, the Netherlands, Sweden, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Romania, Switzerland, Uzbekistan, Czech Republic, Poland, Mauritius
besides India participated in the exhibition.
DEFENCE PROCUREMENT MANUAL
Keeping in view Govt’s commitment to
make Defence Procurement more transparent, two sets of Defence Procurement
Manual were released. One was for Capital Procurement and the other for Revenue
acquisitions. Clear time frame for each stage and process of
procurement has been prescribed so as to cut down on delays and bring in
accountability.
SUBMARINE CONSTRUCTION
To give more teeth to nation’s
underwater capability, contracts were signed with France
for the construction of six Scorpene class submarines costing around three and
a half billion dollars. India will build these submarines at the state owned
Mazagon Docks in Mumbai, under transfer of technology. The first submarine will
be ready for induction into the service within seven years of signing the
contract.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
It was a year when India successfully went ahead in
strengthening its defence relations with USA while continuing to strengthen its
existing defence relations with Russia. Defence Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee
made a successful visit to Russia, USA and Chile during the year. In Russia, he
held wide ranging discussions with his Russian counterpart and also called on
Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Defence Minsiters of both the countries
signed a formal protocol after the fifth meeting of India-Russia
Intergovernmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation. Some of the
major programmes considered for progressing between the two countries were the
development and production of the 5th generation aircraft, joint
development of multi-role Transport Aircraft and procurement of three more
frigates from Russia. During his visit to USA, the Defence Minister signed a
new framework for the US-India defence relationship that builds on past
successes, builds on new opportunities and charts a course for US-India defence
relationship for the next ten years.
During his visit to Chile, the Defence Minister had fruitful discussions
with his Chilean counterpart and also visited Antarctica.
ADVENTURE & SPORTS ACTIVITIES
It was a year when two expeditions of Armed Forces
successfully scaled World’s highest peak Mount Everest. Wg Cdr RC Tripathi, Sqn
Ldr Chaitanya and Sgt NR Choudhary of the IAF Mountaineering Expedition
successfully climbed the Mount Everest on May 30th, 2005. Indian
Army’s first ever Women’s Mountaineering Expedition to Mt Everest successfully
scaled the peak. Capt Shipra Mazumbdar, Capt Ashwini Pawar, Cadet Tshering
Ladol and Trainee Dechin Lhamo scaled the peak on June 02, 2005. The expedition
created history by being the first ever women Army Team in the world to summit
Everest. Many sportspersons of the Armed Forces came out successfully in
various national and international events. The Army XI Football Team lifted the
prestigious Durand Cup beating Sporting Club, Goa. It was after a gap of thirty
five years when a team from Army won this prestigious football tournament of
the country.
JOINT EXERCISES
It was a year when our Armed Forces went ahead with Joint
Exercises with the Armed Forces of various countries in India and abroad. The
Joint Exercise between Indian and Russian Armies held near Bikaner was
witnessed by Russian Defence Minsiter Mr Sergei Ivanov and the Defence Minsiter
Shri Pranab Mukherjee. India and Russia held Joint Naval Exercise off the Coast
of Vishakapatnam. An Indo-French Joint Air Force Exercise was conducted at
Istres Air Base in France from 15 to 30 Jun 205 in which six SU-30K aircraft
and one IL-78 Flight Refueling Aircraft participated in the exercise. Another
important Joint Air Exercise was held at Kalaikonda in West Bengal with US Air
Force. Several Indian Naval ships also participated in Joint Exercises with
important navies of the world.
OTHER IMPORTANT EVENTS
The commissioning of the Karwar
Naval Base as INS Kadamba which will be Indian Navy’s third major base after
Mumbai and Vishakapatnam, induction of Embraer 135 BJ ((legacy jets) into IAF,
submission of the reports by the Kelkar Committee which was set up to
examine and recommend changes in the acquisition procedures and enabling a
greater participation of private sector and various successful test flights of
Akash Trishul and Nag Missiles were some other significant achievements of the
Ministry of Defence during the year under review. .
SK/SKS/RAJ
(Release ID :14657)