India is all set to clear a formal proposal for joint development and acquisition of about 300 Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) with Russia. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is understood to have discussed the FGFA project at a meeting on Wednesday, along with aspects such as the design, time-frame for development, price and contract draft of the project which had been recently submitted by Russia to the Indian MoD, government sources said.
The Indian investment in the project could be about $10 billion. An agreement on the project is likely to be inked during the visit of Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev to Delhi later this month.
The FGFA will be equipped with advanced stealth features and will equip the Indian Air Force with the capabilities needed to dominate the skies. India and Russia had recently discussed issues relating to the design costs relating to the FGFA project. Defence minister A.K. Antony had stated in October that “all issues (regarding the FGFA project) were discussed and resolved” and that the agreement is in the final stages of approval.
***
Neera arrest sets precedent for others
LALIT SHASTRI
BHOPAL
Dec. 8: Those in bureaucratic circles here are feeling the heat and the piercing impact of the four-year sentence of rigorous imprisonment against Neera Yadav, former UP chief secretary and chairperson Noida Authority, by a CBI special court for fraudulently allotting land in Noida.
Many senior IAS officers were busy discussing the broader impact of Ms Yadav’s conviction in close-door conversations in mantralayala (state secretariat) here on Wednesday. A senior officer told this correspondent in strict confidence that the verdict against a civil servant who held the top post in Uttar Pradesh should come as a message for those who have been working overtime to parcel out precious revenue land at throwaway prices for “other considerations” in MP.
While emphasising this point, a senior bureaucrat drew attention towards a large number of MoUs that have been signed between the state government and prospective investors in the recent past for the purpose of pushing the state on the fast track of development.