RE: [HumJanenge] Antony takes on Defence Corruption

Dear All

It will be much better if members start digging fresh facts rather only quoting newspapers. TOI report is fine but can we get to know from someone inside as to what it means. This group should try to collate information apart from reproducing newspaper report.

Thanks

--
Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

radhakrishin tahiliani <admiralrht@hotmail.com> wrote:

Great news. God bless. Ram
 

> Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:23:44 +0530
> Subject: Fwd: [HumJanenge] Antony takes on Defence Corruption
> From: tiindia.newdelhi@gmail.com
> To: humjanenge@googlegroups.com
> CC: haridgoyal@hotmail.com; krdharma@yahoo.co.in; krdharma@hotmail.com
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> Further to our previous e-mail, we wish to invite your kind attention
> to a today's TOI following Report (copy attached also) titled
> "Blacklisted Israeli arms firm gives up 224cr guarantee" by Rajat
> Pandit TNN in Times of India April 17, 2012. As mentioned in the very
> first line, it Invoking penal provisions of the "integrity pact'' in
> arms deals for the first time, penal provisions of the "integrity
> pact'' in arms deals have been invoked for the first time, while the
> integrity pact's bank guarantee is inked with any vendor who bags a
> defence deal over Rs 100 crore.
> -----------------------------------------
> "New Delhi: Invoking penal provisions of the "integrity pact'' in arms
> deals for the first time, India on Monday has cashed the Rs 224 crore
> bank guarantee given by Israeli Military Industries (IMI), one of the
> armament companies blacklisted by the defence ministry.
> This is meant to serve as a stern warning to Israel, which is
> India's second largest supplier of military hardware and software
> after Russia, notching up as it does annual sales worth $1 billion, to
> ensure probity in defence deals. IMI, fully-owned by the Israeli
> government, was cornering a major chunk of the business before it was
> banned after its name surfaced in connection with the corruption
> scandal against former Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) chairman Sudipto
> Ghosh.
> Two other major Israeli firms, Israeli Aerospace Industries and
> Rafael, named in the kickbacks case in the Rs 1,160 crore Barak-I
> anti-missile defence system deal signed in 2000, have not been
> blacklisted on the ground that it would be "counter-productive" due to
> several crucial defence projects underway with them. The IMI case is
> linked to the contract inked with OFB in 2009, worth Rs 1,200 crore,
> to set up an ordnance complex of five plants at Nalanda in Bihar. The
> plants, which were to come up in three years, were to manufacture
> 155mm Bi-Modular Charge Systems and other propellant charges for
> heavy-calibre artillery ammunition for Army's Bofors howitzers and
> other guns.
> But everything was put on hold after the OFB scandal, which
> eventually led the defence ministry to blacklist IMI, Singapore
> Technologies Kinetics, Rheinmetall Air Defence (Zurich) and
> Corporation Defence of Russia, along with two Indian companies earlier
> this year. The integrity pact's bank guarantee is inked with any
> vendor who bags a defence deal over Rs 100 crore."
> ---------------------------
> Hence we are sure if IP was implemented in letters & spirit earlier by
> the Defence authorities earlier, such a situation would have not
> arisen.
>
> Thanks & regards,
> S K Agarwal
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> We wish to inform that for the last many years, the attached Defence
> Procurement Procedures for 2009 & 2011 have a provision for a
> pre-contract 'Integrity Pact' to be signed between government
> department and the bidders for all procurement schemes over Rs 100
> Crores as a binding agreement in which the government promises that it
> will not accept bribes during the procurement process and bidders
> promise that they will not offer bribes. This Pact is monitored by the
> Independent External Monitors of undoubted integrity. However, we are
> not aware about its implementation. Our Hon'ble Defence Minister has
> also inaugrated a workshop on the Implementation of the Integrity Pact
> on Jan 23, 2010. The proceedings pf the Workshop mentioning his
> address are also attached.
>
> Realising its role to curb corruption in public procurement and
> contracting, the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission (approved by
> the Union Ministry of Finance vide its Office Memo No.
> 14(12)/2008-E-II(A) dt. July 20, 2011 and the Ministry of Heavy
> Industries & Public Enterprises vide OM No. DPE/13(12)/11-Fin dt.
> September 9, 2011), Central Vigilance Commission by issuing 'Standard
> Operating Procedure' vide circular No. 008/CRD/013 dt. 18.5.2009 and
> the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions vide circular
> No. 372/12/2009-AVD-III dt. 16 June 2009 addressed to all the Chief
> Secretaries of State Governments. So far, it has been adopted by 44
> PSUs and Ministry of Defence, among others. Among the 44 PSUs, there
> are two PSUs of Himachal Pradesh and Odisha. Its adoption has
> resulted in savings in procurement and contracts. Accordingly, the
> Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his address to CBI and State
> Anti-Corruption Bureaux on 26th August 2009 at Vigyan Bhawan commented
> "…….the Central Vigilance Commission has taken many initiatives in
> improving transparency in the procurement process in government and
> public sector undertakings, including introduction of an Integrity
> Pact for high value transactions."
>
> Hence we are sure if IP was implemented in letters & spirit, such a
> situation would have not arisen.
>
> Thanks & regards,
> Dr S K Agarwal
>
> On 4/10/12, Hari Goyal <haridgoyal@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Antony says he would cover the shortages in defence preparedness by next
> > year. This statement came after Gen. Singh
> > wrote to the P.M. on this issue. God save this country. At least after
> > fighting even up to the Supreme Court about his date
> > of birth near his retirement; he could think of the country's preparedness
> > and security.
> >
> >> Date: Sun, 8 Apr 2012 22:26:07 +0530
> >> Subject: [HumJanenge] Antony takes on Defence Corruption
> >> From: rplahiri@gmail.com
> >> To: humjanenge@googlegroups.com
> >>
> >> Against Corruption - Antony takes on arms lobby. Posted by: "G. C.
> >> Mathur" gcmbinty@yahoo.com gcmbinty Sat Apr 7, 2012 9:22 am (PDT)
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> In TOI today (07.4.2012) the news titled "Antony in crossairs for
> >> taking on arms lobby?" is inspiring.Last month only, it is reported,
> >> Antony banned 6 top armament companies, including 4 foreign firms
> >> i.e., Israeli Military Industries, Singapore Technologies Kinetics,
> >> Rheinmetall Air Defence(Zurich) and Corporation Defence (Russia), for
> >> 10 years and has persistently been saying that defence purchases must
> >> be taint free with warnings that he would not hesitate to cancel the
> >> deals.This is despite warning to Antony for backlash.He is not naive
> >> in the politics, nor he, the known honest, was not appointed initially
> >> for face saving by the leadership as he has only been waiting for the
> >> right time. He was appointed in the background of volumes of
> >> complaints of corruption in the defence establishment.
> >>
> >> Nation does look at Team Anna for support to Antony, if not his
> >> leaders, for his fight against the established lobby, middlemen,
> >> foreign governments and firms.
> >>
> >> I dare say that no law can checkmate the these in the defence supply
> >> bazaar. The Opposition has to prove its intentions of fighting
> >> corruption by supporting A. K. Antony and his ilks in the Congress
> >> Party. Otherwise, citizens of India will take it that the entire
> >> creation of the situation including false reports on the movement of
> >> mechanized infantry from Hisar and a section of the Agra-based 50 Para
> >> Brigade towards Delhi on the 15th January 2012 is to mislead them.
> >>
> >> G. C. Mathur
> >
>
>
>
> --
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