We need to equip the Indian Armed Forces, not 'commercial' as Trump wants, but 'operationally' looking at growing Chinese military capabilities, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The Indian Army has set up two armoured vehicle maintenance and repair facilities near the China border in Nyoma and the DBO Sector in that region at altitudes of over 14,500 feet in the area, which is the world's highest battlefield for tanks and infantry combat vehicles along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.
MHCV sales' grew by 9% to 5,033 units over September 2020 and 3% over October 2019, the first month registering growth over the previous year.
The Indian Army started bringing the T-90 Bhishma and T-72 Ajay tanks along with the BMP series Infantry Combat Vehicles from the deserts and plains in a big way to these high altitude locations from last year with the beginning of the Operation Snow Leopard to counter the Chinese aggression in eastern Ladakh last summer.
India's plan to buy futuristic tanks and infantry combat vehicles -- estimated to be worth Rs 80,000 crore to Rs 100,000 crore each -- will certainly intimidate Pakistan which already feels threatened by our vast tank strength.
The army is planning to procure 100 self-propelled artillery howitzers and three Indian vendors, including two private companies, have been selected for trial of their equipment, Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The government on Friday announced several relief measures including deferring one-time registration fee, lifting the ban on purchase of petrol/diesel vehicles by its departments and allowing higher depreciation, but it remained non-committal on the demand for a reduction in GST rates.
Average overall sales which used to be around 8,000 units a year ago has dropped to 7,000-7,500 units in a month. A lot of government projects have been announced but these are yet to translate to boost CV sales.
A steady climb in volumes has helped the company double its market share in the segment to 5 per cent in the first six months of the financial year from the year-ago period and it has now set its sights on a 10 per cent share in the next two years.
India showcased its military might and cultural diversity with a splendid display.
The country's largest stainless steel maker Jindal Steel (Hisar) on Wednesday marked its foray into the defence sector by forging a pact with DRDO for transfer of technology relating to high-nitrogen steel for armour applications.
'It is ironic that General Rawat, an infantry officer who the government chose because of his expertise in counter-insurgency, has made his first bold statement in the realm of warfighting and mechanised operations,' points out Colonel Ajai Shukla (retd).
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