CAG Report: Can the Generals deliver if they are indicted?

Root out corruption to improve standard of administration: CAG
Shillong, Nov 6, 2012 (PTI)
India will not be able to raise the standards of efficiency in administration unless corruption in high places is not destroyed and nepotism and black marketing is rooted out, Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Vinod Rai said today.
The CAG also noted that citizen groups have become very discerning and more demanding.
"Unless we destroy corruption in high places, root out every trace of nepotism, love of power, profiteering and black marketing which have spoilt the good name of this country in recent times, we will not be able to raise the standards of efficiency in administration as well as in the production and distribution of the necessary goods of life," he said quoting the speech of first Vice President S Radhakrishnan on the eve of India's Independence, towards midnight on August 14, 1947.
The CAG was addressing the 20th convocation of the North Eastern Hills University here which conferred degrees to 8,035 students including 94 who received doctorate degrees in various disciplines.
Reminding the students that there are great opportunities ahead in their career, Rai warned that "when power outstrips ability, we will fall on evil days." He said, today the issues of ethics, accountability, probity and transparency have come at centre stage.
"Citizen groups have become very discerning and more demanding. What was earlier the silent and hence probably the suffering majority has begun to speak up," the CAG said, adding, "Time has come when we will all be held responsible for our actions, the way the foundation of an ideal society are laid."
Maintaining that ethical management and leadership is the corner stone for any business enterprise, Vinod Rai said, one "cannot compromise" with integrity whether in public administration or in corporate administration.
Stating that while the world is emerging from a severe economic stress and resetting itself to face newer economic realities, Rai said "India is becoming a major economic power."
The CAG urged the graduates to ingrain integrity and honesty in their subconscious and not to compromise under any circumstances despite the testing times and temptations.
"History tells us that many countries have been destroyed not by external aggression but by internal malfeasance," he said.
Expressing concern that the country’s performance in events such as the Olympics, Nobel Prize and registration of patents globally is low, Rai said, "the performance appears even more discerning in the context of our population, number of universities and contribution to global economy."
He said, "This poses a question of quality of education and a mindset of being content with mediocrity rather than being wrong."
Acknowledging that knowledge is power, Rai said the fact that we were conditioned to the hero worshipping of success and frowning upon failure makes us "risk averse".
"We need to strive for excellence, walk the extra mile with clear vision and mission taking every member of the team along," he said.
Root out corruption to improve standard of administration: CAG Comment: The Military needs to improve its image when resorting to local purchases including all types of grants. The commission/ bribe regime should end from top to bottom.

First rate people of India victim of third rate Governance

We have to completely overthrow this system: Kejriwal
by Danish Raza Nov 3, 2012
Continuing his attack on the government over corruption and inflation, India Against Corruption (IAC) activist Arvind Kejriwal has asked Delhiites to switch off appliances at their homes for an hour (7 pm to 8 pm) today as a show of protest against electricity tariff hike.
In his tweets this morning, he reiterated that the Sheila Dikshit government increased the tariff to benefit power distribution companies.
Commenting on the Uttar Pradesh government dropping money laundering cases against Amar Singh, Kejriwal tweeted that it was shameful. “Is this criminal justice system? We have to completely overthrow this system. Next Mulayam Singh will withdraw cases against Salman Khurshid. Wait n watch. And in return, congress wud withdraw cases against mulayam,” he tweeted from the handle @ArvindKejriwal7.
In one of the tweets, he said the current crop of politicians gave no hope to India and these leaders and the system ought to be overthrown.
Since he started exposing corruption in political establishment, people have been providing him with information, reading which, he was shocked, he said.
“I am shocked to read all this, the extent of corruption. It is so crystal clear that there is just one reason for rising prices — corruption. Prices wud increase much more in coming years if something urgent were not done. It wud become impossible for people to live. There is just one hope — the people of India. Indians are first rate people who are victims of third rate system and third rate politicians,” Kejriwal said in his successive tweets today.
We have to completely overthrow this system: Kejriwal
Related Reading
The Karti Chidamabaram guide to misusing the IT Act
Will Corrupt Politicians be Jailed in India?
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sentenced to a year in jail for tax fraud by MICHAEL DAY MILAN FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER 2012

India tweaks tender to procure 12 VVIP Helicopters

‘India changed tech requirements to help Italian firm’
Manu Pubby : New Delhi, Thu Nov 01 2012, 02:22 hrs
India allegedly tweaked the technical requirements in the tender to procure 12 VVIP helicopters for the Air Force to help Italian manufacturer AgustaWestland enter the race, an associate of the suspected middleman in the deal has alleged in his confession to Italian prosecutors.
In his testimony, the associate of Guido Haschke said the AW 101 chopper did not qualify initially as the requirements were being drawn by India in 2006. They were allegedly tweaked after Haschke struck a deal with the Italian company.
Investigations have also found that the Indian businessman named by Italian prosecutors — Sanjeev Kumar (Julie) Tyagi — is closely related to former air chief marshal S P Tyagi, who was heading the force when the tender was floated in December 2006.
S P Tyagi is a first cousin of Julie, a Delhi-based businessman. He is one of three Indians being probed for suspected corruption in the Rs 3,546 crore deal.
The retired officer confirmed he was related to Julie but said they had no business links. Julie could not be reached for comment. Reached for its comment, the IAF did not respond until going to press.
In his May 14 confession, business consultant Carmelo Messina says he put Haschke and his partner Carlos Gerosa in touch with AgustaWestland in 2006 to facilitate the Indian contract. He says Haschke was keen to get in touch with AgustaWestland as he “claimed he had deep knowledge of the Indian market”.
“Haschke said he had good relations with a person from Indian defence. I think he met him during his studies in America,” the statement says. Messina said Haschke boasted about his connections and claimed to have insider information that could help the Italian firm.
Messina says AgustaWestland figured out its choppers would not qualify for the contract after it contacted Haschke. He says Haschke managed to get the requirements changed to accommodate AgustaWestland.
“He told me he managed to convince the Indians, or actually the defence ministry, to reconsider the features of the helicopters so that Italian helicopters too could take part in the tender,” Messina says. “After some evaluation, it was found Haschke was right and the... ministry had really modified the technical features of the helicopters it needed.”
Messina says he received “50,000-60,000 euros in cash” from Haschke as a “thank you sign” in 2009.
India changed tech requirements to help Italian firm
Who is Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi?

Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi (born 14 March 1945), more commonly known as S P Tyagi, is the former Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force. Prior to becoming chief of Indian Air Force, he was commanding the Western Air Command of the Air Force. He was commissioned in the fighter stream of the IAF on December 31, 1963. He is said to have "actively participated" in the 1965 and 1971 wars.
Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi took over as the 20th Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force from 31 December 2004. Popularly known as "Bundle", Tyagi was born at Indore on March 14, 1945 . He is an alumnus of St Xavier School in Jaipur. He was commissioned in the IAF on 31 December 1963 in the fighter stream.
The initial years of his career in the air force, Tyagi flew Gnats with No.23 Squadron and later served with Hunters of No.27 Squadron. A veteran of both the 1965 and the 1971 Wars, he was one of the pioneer batch of eight pilots selected for conversion on the Jaguar Interdiction aircraft when it was inducted in 1980s. Whilst training at Lossiemouth, he was one of the two Indian pilots chosen for a Photo Recce Course at Coltishall with No.41 Squadron RAF.
Tyagi commanded No.14 Squadron "Bulls" later after coming back to India. A Graduate of the TACDE with a Fighter Combat Leader and Pilot Attack Instructor qualifications, he had also attended the Junior Commanders Course, the National Defence College and finally the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington. He received the Vayu Sena Medal (VM) for distinguished service in 1985.
In his mid career, Tyagi had several other appointments under his belt. He was an instructor at TACDE. As an Air Commodore, Tyagi commanded 33 Wing at Jamnagar. Later he was also posted as the Defence Attache at the Indian Consulate in Saudi Arabia. Air Commodore Tyagi was awarded the Ati Vishist Seva Medal (AVSM) in 1994.
He also held the appointments of Director Operations (Air Defence), ACAS (Intelligence), ACAS (Ops). He has had a stint as a senior fellow at the IDSA and was also a senior Instructor and Directing Staff at the DSSC Wellington.
In the rank of Air Marshal, Tyagi was appointed as the SASO of Central Air Command for some time. He took over as the AOC-in-C of Central Air Command not soon after. he is one of the few officers to have the distinction of commanding three Air Commands, Central, South Western and Western Air Command.
Air Marshal Tyagi was awarded the Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM) in 2003, and was appointed as one of the honorary ADCs of the President of India. He has the distinction of being the one and only Air Chief Marshal to have done skydiving after being appointed to a high post as Chief of the Air Staff of Indian Air Force.
He is married to Mrs. Vandana Tyagi and they have a son and a daughter.

Propriety & Impropriety: A nation on the decline

- The Last Word - CNN IBN - 30 Oct 2012
An interesting debate last evening on CNN IBN, a distinguished panel to include an ex-Army Chief, an ex-Naval Chief and also an ex-Cabinet Secretary....of course, with the most popular anchor, Karan Thapar, hosting the show
The topic was " Ex-Army Chief Gen VK Singh demanding that Parliament be dissolved". Earlier it was reported in the newspapers that Anna Hazare and the ex-Army Chief had asked for Lok Sabha to be dissolved since the UPA government had crossed all limits of corruption. VK Singh had also said, "A new set of parliamentarians is needed. Let elections be held so that people can decide if they are satisfied".
While no one was asked on the credibility of the content and the intent of the statement, the issue basically revolved around the 'Propriety' of this demand by an ex-Army Chief, a man in uniform and on the Chief's chair till about a few months back. How could he question the very government he was serving and also enjoys the perk of retaining a government accommodation for a period of six months post-retirement. I shall not delve on the issue of this perk as the government has done no favour as he is entitled to such a perk like his predeccessors/successors and the government is only a custodian of such property and by no chance can claim ownership of such public property.
My comments shall be restricted to 'Propriety'....some definitions are 'The quality of being proper; appropriateness, Conformity to prevailing customs and usages, The usages and customs of polite society'. It is evident, therefore, that no one is questioning the legality or the technicality of such a statement...and the fingers are being pointed at an ex-Army man, a soldier in uniform!!
We need a level playing field...the Army cannot be judged on a template different from others....we are a part of the same society. Let us start from the top in the government, restricting my observations to 'propriety' only.
1. Why should the President of India not be questioned for impropriety for offering his consultancy services to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on the cabinet reshuffle? Also, was it proper for him to stand for President when his role as Finance Minister is under cloud for going slow on economic offences relating to hawala/money laundering/Swiss-foreign bank accounts
2. Does not propriety demand that the Vice President had no business to arbitrarily close the debate on Lokpal Bill at 12.00 midnight at the behest of Pawan Bansal, when the rules and advisory note by his Secretary General clarified that the session could continue
3. Propriety demands that the Prime Minister should have resigned long time ago, initially on the CVC judgement, which the PM took as 'error of judgement', his involvement in 2G scam, particularly so after the statement of ex-Cabinet Secretary Chandrashekhar, as Coal Minister in the Coalgate scam and other omissions/ discretions... the biggest damage the PM has done is that he has nullified the basic foundation of governance by his misinterpretation of 'responsibility and accountability' giving a leverage to every minister/ bureaucrat in politico-executive and executive to shun these and play safe with no compulsion to govern
4. In case propriety has to be made applicable to the Judiciary, should not ex-CJI Balakrishnan resign as Chairman Human Rights Commission for disproportionate assets accumulated by his kith & kin and offer himself for a thorough investigation
5. Propriety demands that all Governors to include Narayanan and Gen JJ Singh, appointed immediately after retiring from government appointments be asked to quit...all bureaucrats on post-retirement appointments be sent home and hereafter the government must function on its authorised establishment with total moratorium committees/commissions/advisors/consultants
6. Propriety demands that Sonia Gandhi should clarify on her state of health and source of funds/expense on her medical treatment and other visits abroad 7. Propriety also demands that all privileges of Robert Vadra and Priyanka Gandhi be withdrawn immediately as they are private persons and have no business to be allotted government accommodation, SPG cover and exempted from security checks/toll taxes ...all cases against Robert Vadra be investigated by SIT on fast track basis
8. Nitin Gadkari should resign as President BJP as Propriety does not allow him to continue in this post
9. Propriety demands that Laloo Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati and Sharad Pawar resign from the party posts and offer themselves for investigation into several disproprtionate assets cases
10. After witnessing the conduct of the Parliamentarians during the last session, does not propriety demand that the Lok sabha should have been dissolved immediately and their privileges withdrawn....all perks need to be reviewed
11. Propriety demands that the concept of VVIP/VIPs be done away with, NSG and other security cover withdrawn and those in governance start living normal lives in conformity with the dictates of a polite and cultured society
Let us not attack the messengers of change...concentrate on the issue being raised...there is no governance...the justice system has failed....the 'unelected' and the 'unelectable' are only crying that order be restored in society and the future of the nation be safeguarded... it does not matter whether the voice is raised by Anna Hazare or Arvind Kejriwal or ex-CJI JS Verma or ex-Army Chief Gen VK Singh....what matters is the "ISSUE", the issue of good governance and effective measures to arrest corruption....an aam aadmi needs such people to project their grievances and sentiments...the media does not listen to ordinary people as that does not earn them TRPs
No nation can survive by neglecting its Army....the government has not only shown scant respect for the Defence Services, it has gone out of its way to deny its entitlements and humiliated its own Army on several occasions...In the 'Rank Pay' case, it repeatedly lodged review petitions in the Supreme Court to deny the rights....What can one say of a government which cheats its own Army
Propriety demands dis-solution of the Lok Sabha, fresh elections and responsible voting by the aam aadmi, the actual custodian of this great country called India
with best regards
ajb

IAF VVIP helicopter deal: Army Brigadier under scanner

Did Indian Brigadier solicit Italian arms kickbacks for chopper deal
Headlines Today has an exclusive information that a brigadier and two businessmen have been named in an Italian chargesheet.
Italian prosecutors, who have been investigating a series of corruption charges against Finmeccanica, tapped the phone of alleged middleman Guido Haschke as part of the probe into the deal. The prosecutors informed the court that they found strong clues that a part of the commission paid was routed through Mauritius and Tunisia.
Defence Minister clueless about backdoor dealings in MOD
“AgustaWestland is believed to have paid the mediators a commission of 41 million euros which later became 51 million,” the report says, adding that Lorenzo Borgogni, a former senior employee of the company claimed that two agents were hired to push the India deal. “In particular, Borgogni talked about international commercial operations and especially about the supply of 12 helicopters from AgustaWestland International Ltd. to the Indian government thanks to the mediation of Guido Ralph Haschke and Christian Michel. Indian law does not allow any compensation for mediators,” the report says. Incidentally, when the helicopter deal probe was first reported in March this year, Defence Minister A K Antony had informed Parliament that “no specific probe is being conducted about India-related transactions” by Rome.
Three Indians named in VVIP chopper bribery scam
Comment: Nothing will come out of the Investigations in India. Like all scams this too will be suitably buried, whereas the Italians like the USA will put the culprits behind bars.

Rajat Gupta lands two-year jail for insider trading

Former Goldman Sachs chief Rajat Gupta lands two-year jail for insider trading
Published: Thursday, Oct 25, 2012, 2:37 IST
Place: Manhattan | Agency: PTI
Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta was today sentenced to two years in prison and fined $5 million by a US judge, months after the Indian-American Wall Street titan was found guilty of leaking boardroom secrets to a hedge fund manager in the largest insider trading case in the country's history.
Gupta, 63, was handed down a two-year prison term by US district court judge Jed Rakoff, who also ordered him to pay a $5 million fine. Gupta, reading from a statement, said: "The last 18 months have been the most challenging period of my life since I lost my parents as a teenager."
"I regret terribly the impact of this matter on my family, my friends and the institutions that are dear to me. I've lost my reputation I built for a lifetime. The verdict was devastating," he said.
"His conduct has forever tarnished a once-sterling reputation that took years to cultivate," Manhattan's top federal attorney India-born Preet Bharara said.
Gupta was found guilty by a federal court in Manhattan on four counts, out of six on June 15 after a three-week trial for passing boardroom secrets to the now imprisoned billionaire hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam at the height of the global financial crisis. The prosecution had sought a prison term of 8-10 years for Gupta who was convicted in a closely followed trial on three counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy.
The sentencing of India Inc's Wall Street poster boy by US district judge Jed Rakoff comes exactly a year after Bharara filed insider trading charges against the former McKinsey head.
Gupta, the most high profile Wall Street executive to be convicted in the government's crackdown on insider trading, had sought leniency from the judge, citing his otherwise unblemished career and philanthropic works. In a memorandum filed in federal court last week, Gupta's lawyer Gary Naftalis had sought probation for his Harvard educated client, saying Gupta is willing to live in Rwanda and work with the local government on health care and agricultural initiatives.
The second offer of community service made by Naftalis was that Gupta could work with Covenant House's New York site, which provides emergency shelter and other services for homeless, runaway and at risk youth. Bharara had sought a prison term of 8-10 years for Gupta, arguing that his "shocking" crimes were not an "isolated occurrence or a momentary lapse in judgement and a "significant term of imprisonment is necessary to reflect the seriousness of Gupta's crimes and to deter other corporate insiders in similar positions of trust from stealing corporate secrets and engaging in a crime that has become far too common".
The Diwali of 2011 saw Gupta surrender himself before the FBI after charges of insider trading were filed against him. The rise and fall of Gupta, who went from being one of the most successful India-born businessmen in the US to being called "deceptive and dishonest" after his conviction, has been the stuff of legends.
Gupta's rise through the ranks of Corporate America was stellar with enviable posts like board seats at Goldman Sachs and Procter and Gamble, co-founder of the prestigious Indian School of Business, adviser to the executive leadership of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as also the United Nations dotting his resume.
Gupta was also a director of the AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines. The Rockefeller Foundation appointed him a trustee; he was named special adviser on management reform to then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and additionally served on the UN Commission on the Private Sector and Development and was co-chairman of the United Nations Association of America.
Gupta had also been getting support from family members, prominent business leaders and global philanthropic figures including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who are among the 400 people who have written letters to Rakoff detailing Gupta's charitable work.
Gupta had pleaded not guilty to the charges and argued during his trial that he personally did not trade nor made any profits from the insider information he was accused of passing on to Rajaratnam, who is currently serving an 11 year prison term after being convicted last year.
After the guilty verdict was announced in June against Gupta, Bharara had said Gupta achieved remarkable success and stature, but he threw it all away. "Rajat Gupta once stood at the apex of the international business community. He stands convicted of securities fraud. Having fallen from respected insider to convicted inside trader, Gupta has now exchanged the lofty board room for the prospect of a lowly jail cell," Bharara had said.
Rajat Gupta lands two-year jail for insider trading
Lessons for India: Justice should be swift for high profile scamsters in India. Hundreds of cases in the courts languishing for decades. Trials delayed by Political Criminals.

100 crore scam exposed in Indian Army?

100 crore scam exposed in Indian Army?
23 Oct 2012, 5:06PM IST| Duration: 08:02

Comment: Local Purchase Powers are misused by Generals who are assured of 20% commission by the spurious dealers and vendors. The purchases are mired in paper work conducive for syphoning off funds. Some of these generals get employed by these dubious firms. This is a route to money and re- employment too.

Adarsh Housing scam: Will the truth ever come out?

Tuesday 23 October 2012
News updated at 3:51 PM IST by Prabhat Sharan
A thick jungle of intertwined vines with only blinking fire-flies casting light on facts is what now makes up the Adarsh Housing Society scandal -- which made sensational headlines last year for the alleged involvement of Army top brass, politicians and bureaucrats, but quietly faded into the background since. While other high-profile scams like 2G spectrum, cash-for-vote and illegal mining continue to be in the news with several ‘dignitaries’ scurrying between jail and bail, the Adarsh scam has almost been banished from public memory, as investigators struggle to wade through the thick foliage of information and arrive at appropriate conclusions.
It is through this forest where vines of corruption and chicanery are indistinguishably twined into a Gordian knot, the two-member judicial commission is trying to hack its way slowly picking up clues, which later turn up as red herrings.
Unlike other commissions set up elsewhere in country as well as in Maharashtra earlier, Justice (retd) J A Patil and former state chief secretary P Subramanian, the two-member commission set up last year to look into the Adarsh Housing scam, has no simple task before it; the commission has to sift out truth and elusive facts from various agencies, bodies and groups of interests to come to a conclusion.
The involvement of multifarious agencies all inextricably linked with each other coupled with political personalities from ruling party juggling with facts has made any kind of breakthrough into establishing even the primary ownership of the contentious land ‘deed,’ a Herculean task.
Last week Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan was forced to admit that the progress into the Adarsh Housing scam “is extremely slow and there are no two opinions about it.”
And the result of the slow progress is that the commission which has already received two extensions since it’s inception has been forced to postpone the submission of its interim report. The interim report was expected this month but it came as no surprise when the news trickled out that it would be delayed.
The depth of involvement and the reach of the politician-builder-bureaucratic trinity in the scam which has innumerable questions buried in its past has managed to widen the chasm between the truth and justice. There are hardly any doubts regarding the veracity of the belief that violations had taken place through deceit; but the establishing of these facts, pointing to the manipulation of various governmental institutions by the powers be, is a different matter altogether. For this, the commission is wading through 379 files containing 1.50 lakh documents. There are over 100 affidavits filed by different persons, besides there is also the problem of ‘disappearance’ of several relevant and important documents.
No guiding light
Till date with varied and contradictory statements gleaned from officials and people summoned, the commission is yet to decide as to the identity of the ownership of the plot even though it is not supposed to outside its scope. But since CBI is also expected now to report to the quasi-judicial body, the investigation results have so far not provided any guiding light to the committee.
The Army, soon after the scam broke proclaimed that the land belonged to the defence, but later could only come up with maps dating back to 1950s and were unable to furnish any latest proofs to their claim. The state government on its part came up with another set of documents showing that it had taken the Colaba plot on which Adarsh building was erected from the Army by giving the latter a plot located in Malad-Kandivli belt in far-flung north-western suburbs.
To compound the matter worse, the initial allegation that ignited the scam of the land being reserved for Kargil war martyrs widow continues to be in limbo and so do other allegations flying around: reservation of flats; allotment of extra floor space index (FSI); widening of Prakash Pethe Road; reservation of the BEST (civic) plot; violation of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms and the role of bureaucrats in the manipulation of records and allotment of flats in the controversial 31-storey Adarsh building.
The presence of in-fighting and political rivalry continues to throw up sensational facts with an alarming regularity; but the headlines grabbing facts except adding to the confused state of affairs till date has contributed nothing to the investigations that could lead to the booking of the guilty parties.
The ruling Congress-led Democratic Front alliance government after instituting a CBI inquiry into the matter conveniently allowed the setting up of a judicial commission with quasi-judicial powers. Higher-ups in bureaucratic echelons while accepting that in the final lap the commission may manage to come out with the truth of the matter; but it would be a long, long run.
Till then the ruling DF, political personages, bureaucrats, relatives of people in power and retired high-ranking defence officials can take respite in the fact that the truth buried in the murky inception of the Adarsh Housing Society will continue to erupt as questions and nothing more.
History of all commissions be it the Lentin Commission, Srikrishna Commission, Liberhan Commission or any other quasi-judicial commission is that they take ample time to ascertain and establish the guilt of the parties concerned. And Adarsh Housing Commission will also have to trudge the same long winding path. Till the commission reaches to a conclusion, neither the Opposition political parties nor any civil rights groups can point a finger at the ruling political alliance for not taking action.
Adarsh Housing scam: Will the truth ever come out?

MES officers held in bribe case

Four naval MES officers held in bribe case date: 22/10/2012
The CBI on Thursday evening arrested four officers of the Military Engineering Services (MES), Navy, Lonavla for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a contractor for passing his bills.
The arrested officers are garrison engineer Joy Thomas, assistant garrison engineers A K Khan and K Saravanan, and junior engineer (civil) Ravi Paul.
According to the CBI, contractor Kuldeep Jain from Market Yard was awarded two contracts, totally worth Rs 2 crore, for construction work at the navy’s training institute INS Shivaji in Lonavla.
Jain received running bills of Rs 72 lakh for one contract on October 10, and Rs 13 lakh for the other contract on October 12. However, the officers had allegedly demanded a bribe to pass the other bills, for the work was still going on.
Jain lodged a complaint with the CBI’s anti-corruption bureau on Wednesday. The CBI laid a trap in the office of Joy Thomas on Thursday and caught the suspects red-handed. The investigation agency seized Rs 1.5 lakh from Thomas and Rs 1 lakh from his cupboard, Rs 1 lakh from Khan, Rs 50,000 from Saravanan and Rs 1 lakh, which was meant for Paul, from the car of Saravanan.
On Friday, inspector D K Bali produced the suspects before special court judge D R Mahajan. Seeking five days’ CBI custody for the suspects, special public prosecutors Vivek Saxena and Ayub Pathan told the court that custodial interrogation of the suspects was essential to investigate their individual roles in the case. They also said that the CBI needed time to investigate the role of the suspects in connection with dealing of files and passing bills at various levels.
The court sent the suspects to CBI custody till October 22, 2012
-via The Times of India.
MES officers held in bribe case

Tatra scam: Will the former Chief's be linked?

CBI books Tejinder Singh for bribe offer to ex-Army chief
Neeraj Chauhan, TNN | Oct 21, 2012, 03.23AM ISTNEW DELHI: After six months of elaborate investigation, the CBI on Saturday filed a case against Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh for allegedly offering a bribe of Rs 14 crore to former Army chief General VK Singh to clear the purchase of 1,676 high-mobility Tatra trucks for the Indian Army.
The agency carried raids at seven places in Delhi, Mumbai and Noida on the premises of Vectra Group chairman Ravi Rishi and Tejinder Singh's residence at Safdarjung Enclave here, and recovered Rs 98 lakh in cash and also questioned the retired Lt Gen.
Sources say that Tejinder Singh even had links with alleged arms-dealer Abhishek Verma, which is being probed.
Although there was a two-year lag between when the ex-Army chief reported the alleged bribe offer to defence minister AK Antony and CBI registering a Preliminary Enquiry (PE), the agency has decided to launch a formal investigation since the evidence seemed to corroborate Gen VK Singh's version of what transpired between the two.
CBI is conducting a parallel inquiry into the complaint regarding the monopoly Tatra has enjoyed for two decades in supplying all-terrain trucks to defence forces. Sources said the charge sheet in the case is in final stages, and could be filed in a Delhi court shortly. The agency is expected to charge officials of Tatra and the public sector, Bharat Earth Movers Limited.
Sources in the CBI said that preliminary investigation has established retired Tejinder Singh's meeting with the then Army chief as well as that the latter was unhappy with what had transpired. During its probe, CBI has established that cause of action of Tejinder Singh's visit to General VK Singh on September 22, 2010, was because "the file related to procurement of Tatra trucks was lying on the table of army chief that day" and that "Tejinder Singh offered bribe on behalf of Ravi Rishi as he is closely associated with the latter".
Antony's confirmation of General VK Singh's "oral complaint" was found to be strong corroborative evidence.
But strengthened the case for a formal investigation was evidence of Tejinder Singh's alleged dealings with lobbyists for arms manufacturers, including a Korean company. Tejinder Singh has been booked under section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act. Under Section 12 of the PC Act, a person who abets the offence of making a public servant accept illegal gratification, whether or not that offence is committed in consequence of that abetment, can be punished with the minimum punishment of six months which may extend to five years.
"We have evidence of his links with a shadowy set of former defence officers who were on the payroll of arms manufacturers and suppliers", said a senior CBI source.
CBI books Tejinder Singh for bribe offer to ex-Army chief

Tatra Scam: Will Tejinder Singh sing?

Tatra scam: CBI carries out raids, registers case against Tejinder Singh Oct 20, 2012
New Delhi: CBI today carried out raids at five places here after registering a case against Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh on Ex-Army chief VK Singh’s complaint that he was offered bribe to clear a tranche of “substandard” vehicles.
CBI sources said the agency has registered a case against Tejinder Singh and unknown persons after it gathered prima-facie evidence to register a formal case on the complaint of Gen Singh.
Soon after registering the FIR under relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, the agency carried out searches at five locations here including the premises of Tejinder Singh, they said.
After getting a formal complaint from Gen Singh, the agency had initiated a preliminary enquiry in April this year.
The then Army chief had alleged that Tejinder Singh offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore, a matter he had reported to Defence Minister AK Antony, to clear purchase of nearly 600 all-terrain Tatra BEML trucks in September 2010.
Tejinder Singh has refuted the allegations and also slapped a defamation case against Gen Singh.
As part of the Preliminary Enquiry, CBI has looked into the alleged relationship Tejinder Singh enjoyed with the Vectra group which purportedly prompted him to make the offer to the then Army Chief, the sources said.
During the course of the preliminary enquiry, the agency has questioned Tejinder Singh with regards to allegations levelled by Gen Singh and his alleged relations with arms dealers including Vectra Chairman Ravinder Rishi.
Tatra scam: CBI carries out raids, registers case against Tejinder Singh

How Ministers children rule India?

Politician to son: Don’t come back to India
by Anant Rangaswami Oct 15, 2012
My dear son,
When you went abroad to study, it was with a clear understanding that, once you finish your education you would return to India. We took a family decision when your education ended; that it made sense for you to stay in the US for a few years more, enjoy your youth, money and then return and stand for elections as Member of Parliament from the constituency our family has represented for so many decades.
It has been five years since you left, and, last week, when we spoke on Skype, you told me that you believed that it was time to return. At first, I was delighted. Then, after the call was over, the import of what you planned to do sank in. My impulse was to call you back immediately, but I thought I’d put my thoughts down in an email so that you have a better understanding of what I want to say and why I say it.
In a nutshell, I do not want you to return to India. The India of today is not the India that you left. Much has changed – and much of the change negatively affects families like ours.
“The India of today is not the India that you left. Much has changed – and much of the change negatively affects families like ours”. AP There is a change in the balance of power in society. People do not understand what people like me, member of parliament, do – and no longer acknowledge that all of us, thanks to the great sacrifices we make for our constituency, do not live like normal people.
Just the other day, a fellow Member of Parliament was almost shamed in the context of what media is calling a Rs 71 lakh ‘scam’. The media, who no longer seem to have respect for people like us, are harassing him the whole day, treating him like a common cheat. Even worse is the case of Robert Vadra, Priyankaji’s husband. It seems DLF lent Robertji Rs 65 crore without any security – and the media and social activists are making that out to be a crime. What crime? Many friends in business have lent me hundreds of crores without any security over the decades – and they haven’t even asked for me to return it. Why would they? After all, as a friend, I’ve helped them on so many instances that they’ve earned fortunes from our friendship. Now, media is making it sound like it’s a crime for MPs and ministers to help friends. What a terrible state of affairs.
Sharad Pawar’s nephew has been forced to resign because of some allegations on a developmental work that he was involved in. Media says that he helped contractors make extra money by approving of rises in estimates after the contracts were awarded. What is wrong with that? Your grandfather used to do the same with his friends, as did I.
Ministers like Raja, Kanimozhi and Kalmadi have been jailed because of trying to help their friends. This is where our country is going to. No one has any respect for our class any more, and the media and social activists are being helped by the courts – they’re ganging up against us.
Things are bad in India, son. It is becoming difficult for people like us to carry on in the way we are used to. We are treated like commoners, we are called cheats and thugs. We’re reaching a stage when toll booth attendants expect us to pay – an FIR was filed against an MP who, obviously got upset at the request and threatened the attendant with a gun for his cheek.
It is getting very petty. The other day, Air-India staff at Guwahati charged three MPs for carrying excess baggage. MPs not being allowed excess baggage on the national airline, and lowly employees of Air-India not respecting them? This is the new India, the India you want to come back to!
That’s why I write this note to you. Do not come back to India, and forget about plans on a career in politics. Come to Geneva next week; I will meet you there. I will transfer money to your account so that you can invest in a house in New York. As far as business is concerned, maybe you could buy a university nearby. After all, your uncle has six universities in India and they are quite profitable. I will ask him to guide you when you begin your venture.
Will discuss in detail when we meet next week.
With love from your father.
Politician to son: Don’t come back to India

1962 war: Governance of the Mughal style caused the defeat

‘Few lessons learnt from 1962 war’
by F wire Oct 13, 2012
New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS) India was engaged in a bruising war with China in 1962 because the apparatus of the state was at fault but no lessons seem to have been learnt from this, diplomatic, military and media veterans of the “humiliation” that the country suffered 50 years ago lamented.
“The 1962 conflict occurred because the apparatus of the state was at fault but we still don’t take structured decisions,” former top diplomat K.Shankar Bajpai said at the second round table discussion on “50 Years After 1962: India-China Relations” organised by the India International Centre, the Subbu Forum and the Society for Policy Studies (SPS) Friday evening.
“The 1962 conflict was a total example of what a government should not do. It was governance of the Mughal style,” Bajpai, a former ambassador to China, US and Pakistan who was also the convenor of the National Security Advisory Board contended and then posed a question: “Have we learnt from it?”
He left the answer hanging but the implication was quite clear: that 50 years down the line, no lessons had been drawn from the conflict.
Another security expert, Brig (retd) Arun Sehgal, echoed Bajpai.
“Their is talk of jointmanship but there is no thinking on integrated joint operations. Because of this, there is no common operating picture,” he said.
Sehgal also rued that the Indian establishment continues to think that China will follow “the attritional policy of 1962″, while in reality it was “enhancing its capabilities for asymmetrical attacks”.
Lamenting the “casual decisions taken in Delhi”, Mohan Guruswamy. a China expert of the Observer Research Foundation, said: “In 1962, there was no coordination, there was casual decision-making. Are we condemned to repeat it?”
Inder Malhotra, veteran journalist who covered the war, said it was a result of a “total misreading of the situation” by prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru who never thought the Chinese would make an all-out assault but only resort to “small skirmishes” to settle their territorial claims.
“Indian forces at the time were hopelessly unprepared, Malhotra said. He said if the Indian Air Force was used to give air cover to the Indian Army – a flawed decision that has been rued by military experts since then – the results of the war would have been totally different.
However, Arvinder Singh Lamba, former vice-chief of army who retired recently, dismissed such fears saying “there was no scope for any surprises (from China) in future.
“We have come a long way,” he said, in terms of enhancing border surveillance and intelligence and fortifying border infrastructure.
C Uday Bhaskar, former director of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), added that the much expected ‘Asian Century’ of the 21st century would be determined by the texture of the Sino-Indian relationship over the next two decades. Enhancing comprehensive national power is imperative , he added, but bemoaned the fact that the Indian political establishment has little time or comprehension of complex national security issues.
‘Few lessons learnt from 1962 war’
Related Posts

IAF sorties a flop during war: Daily

China Was The Aggrieved; India, Aggressor In ‘62

OROP: ESM waits for Justice while Government squanders money on subsidies

Extending the 'one rank one pension' rule to ex-servicemen was long overdue
ET Bureau Oct 8, 2012, 06.42AM IST
The government has done well to accede to the long standing demand of ex-servicemen for 'one rank, one pension (Orop)'. But the manner of putting this principle to practice has invited criticism from ex servicemen.
This defeats any political gain the ruling coalition expected from the decision. It is still possible to discuss this with ex-servicemen and remove the niggles that remain. This corrects a long-standing injustice to the armed forces vis-a-vis their civilian counterparts.
The government had conceded the Orop demand for civilians close to a decade ago on the grounds of equity. It is iniquitous to differentiate between pension entitlement of retirees of the same rank and years of service merely on the basis of when they retire.
Having accepted the merit of this in one case, there was no justification to deny it to ex-servicemen. Many would argue the nation owes more to those who guard its borders than to civilian pensioners. Governments resisted the Orop demand because of the additional stress it would impose on the exchequer.
Unlike civilians who retire at 60 and, given the average life span of 70-80 years, can be expected to draw pension for an average of 10-20 years, military personnel retire earlier. As a result, they can be expected to draw pensions for much longer. The reality, moreover, is that the rules of the game are drawn up by civilians and that meant ex-servicemen had to wait for justice to be done.
As a paper that has long argued for fiscal rectitude and expenditure control, it might seem at odds for us to defend a package that is expected to cost about Rs 2,300 crore annually in its present form, a little more when the package is properly fleshed out and is likely to increase in future.
Except that we have never stood for a blanket clamping down on expenditure as much as for rationalisation and wise prioritisation of public expenditure. Between subsidies on diesel and cooking gas of over Rs 1.5 lakh crore and other subsidies, the Rs 2,300-crore bill on account of higher pension to ex-servicemen, there is no doubt which is more deserving. In terms of hard numbers, the amount is almost insignificant. But as a long-overdue * gesture, its significance cannot be underestimated.
Extending the 'one rank one pension' rule to ex-servicemen was long overdue

Can P Chidambaram keep GDP at pace with Inflation?

October 9, 2012, 2:35 PM IST
IMF Cuts India Growth Forecast to 4.9%
In a speech last month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India’s economic growth could “collapse” to about 5% per year if the country can’t break free of a “policy logjam” and make advances in everything from manufacturing output to infrastructure development to agricultural growth.
Well, by that definition, the International Monetary Fund has just said India is in the process of collapsing. The IMF’s “World Economic Outlook,” released Tuesday, forecast 4.9% gross domestic product expansion in India in 2012, a downward revision of 1.3 percentage points from the July forecast — the worst mid-year recast by the IMF for any major economy.
The report said: “India’s activity suffered from waning business confidence amid slow approvals for new projects, sluggish structural reforms, policy rate hikes designed to rein in inflation, and flagging external demand.”
The government’s outlook, not surprisingly, is more bullish. Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told reporters Monday that he expected growth to rebound from the April-June level of 5.5% in coming quarters. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Chidambaram said he expects that India’s moves to allow greater foreign participation in a range of sectors from retail to aviation to insurance will buoy the economy, along with coming fiscal belt-tightening measures.
Indeed, the IMF does see the recent round of reforms having some impact – but it will take some time. “Improvements in external conditions and confidence––helped by a variety of reforms announced very recently––are projected to raise real GDP growth to about 6 percent in 2013,” the IMF report said.
India’s hard times aren’t out of step with the world. The IMF’s growth forecast for advanced economies including the U.S., Germany and U.K. is 1.3% for 2012; Brazil’s forecast of 1.5% represents a one percentage point downward revision.
But sub-5% growth in India has some very perilous implications for the country. Indeed, anything below 6% growth can lead to rising unemployment in a nation where millions of young people are joining the workforce each year. The Kelkar Committee, an expert panel that recently submitted recommendations to the finance ministry on fiscal policy, said growth of 6% could translate into 2.4% employment growth, too slow to keep up with 2.5% labor force growth.
Mr. Singh in his recent remarks to a Planning Commission meeting made it clear how high the stakes are. In making a case that policymakers need to break out of their state of gridlock, he said: “If this continues for any length of time, vicious cycles begin to set in and growth could easily collapse to about 5 percent per annum, with very poor outcomes on inclusion. I urge everyone interested in the country’s future to understand fully the implications of this scenario. They will quickly come to an agreement that the people of India deserve better than this.”
Amol Sharma is an India Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.
IMF Cuts India Growth Forecast to 4.9%
About P Chidambaram
His grand uncles and grand father were the Co-founders of Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, United India Insurance and Annamalai University. He is married to Nalini Chidambaram, daughter of Justice (Retd.) Kailasam, Supreme Court, and Mrs. Soundra Kailasam, a renowned Tamil Poet and author, who is a Senior Advocate and a tax lawyer practicing in the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court, primarily in litigation related to the Central Excise department of the Government of India. He has a son, Karti P. Chidambaram, who graduated with a BBA degree from the University of Texas, and a Bachelors in Law from Cambridge University. His son is also a politician in the Congress party and consultant and CEO of many companies. Chidambaram is an atheist. Click here for more...
Tail piece: Chidambaram as FM only sees $$ in FDI's... He is Master of Mathematics, Money and Magic!

Media Cover for Ghosts and Corrupt Bureaucrats in MOD

Ref: Army HQ nod to foreign firm under scanner
India: Emergency Defense Purchase
Tue, 2012-10-09 00:38 — editor
News Comments By S.G.Vombatkere**
The front page news report of a reputed national daily on October 8, 2012, is headlined “Army HQ nod to foreign firm under scanner”. A picture of retired Gen V.K.Singh with the caption “Ex-Army chief initiated 'emergency purchase'” and the subtitle “$100 mn Tender – MoD finds Bulgarian firm not an original manufacturer; Russia complains”, clearly targets Army HQ.
The news item concerns emergency procurement of anti-aircraft gun ammunition allegedly through an irregular selection procedure.
This needs to be viewed in the context of the then Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen V.K.Singh's April 2012 letter to the Prime Minister, in which he reported that there were military hardware obsolescence’s and deficiencies of ammunition and equipment seriously affecting the battle readiness of the army.
This letter got leaked to the media. Even though Gen V.K.Singh demanded that the source of the leak be punished because it is treasonable, and the Raksha Mantri (RM) said it is a “breach of national security”, bureaucrats in MoD/PMO are soft-pedaling investigation because the ghost that caused the leak is right there amongst them.
Among the questions that need to be asked are: “Why did Army HQ initiate emergency purchase of anti-aircraft (AA) ammunition?”; “Could not Army HQ have foreseen the requirement and projected it to MoD in the normal course?”; and, “Did glitches in procurement procedures result in inordinate delay and consequent shortage of AA ammunition, creating an emergency that would have serious operational repercussions?”.
Also, if there is a military engagement with another country, can any COAS simply pack up the AA guns and tell the PM or RM, 'You have not provided the ammunition'? It is well known that defense procurement procedures are bureaucrat-controlled and corruption is indulged in by those who are in control. This is not to absolve Army HQ or COAS of responsibility but to point out that the dominant role in all defense procurement is that of the MoD bureaucracy, specifically, the Defense Secretary.
It is only the COAS who would initiate emergency purchase precisely because that is the level of responsibility for national security. But the reporter apparently has not stopped to enquire why there was an emergency. Targeting Army HQ by oblique accusation of corruption has inadvertently provided cover to corrupt officials. In any case it would have been more appropriate to paste the Defense Secretary's picture with the news report.
Gen V.K.Singh's courageous, path-breaking and openly-declared condemnation of corruption among the nexus of corrupt bureaucrats and certain retired army officers, together with the unassailable honesty of RM A.K.Antony, have discomfited the MoD bureaucracy. Hence it is necessary for them to target Army HQ and Gen V.K.Singh to divert media glare away from them.
It is unfortunate that the media has been misled by information provided by MoD bureaucrats, without asking questions on the lines mentioned above. One sincerely hopes that there is no bureaucrat-media nexus in this case.
**S.G.Vombatkere served 35 years in the Indian army and retired with the rank of major general from the post of Additional DG in charge of Discipline and Vigilance in Army HQ, New Delhi. He is presently engaged in voluntary work and is a member of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). Asian Tribune
India: Emergency Defense Purchase
Related reading
Lt Gen Bhatia to probe MI unit set up by ex-chief Gen V K Singh

Tatra Scam: Will Tejinder Singh influence the Law Ministry?

CBI to file chargesheet against Rishi
Neeraj Chauhan, TNN Oct 5, 2012, 03.40AM IST
NEW DELHI: The CBI will file a chargesheet against Ravi Rishi and others in the Tatra scam and finalize the enquiry into the alleged bribe offer to former Army chief General V K Singh within few weeks.
According to sources, investigation into the Tatra scam is over and the agency is awaiting the reply of the legal department on a recent presentation given by former BEML chief V R S Natarajan, who had claimed that it was a licence agreement and not transfer of technology.
About the alleged bribery offer to V K Singh by Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, CBI sources said they were taking legal opinion on the evidence collected to establish a link between Tejinder and Ravi Rishi. "We will decide whether to convert the preliminary enquiry into a regular case or not very soon," said an official. Officials said they would file a charge sheet without replies from Czech Republic and Slovakia.
CBI to file chargesheet against Rishi
Comment: Will the 3 scamsters and Conmen- Rishi, Tejinder and Natarajan be ever convicted? This is likely to take the Bofors route of intrigue- the no conviction route!

OROP: Crying like babies will not help

1. I heartily congratulate Shailesh Ranade on the Action he suggested to Get our Right Dues than crying like babies.
2. The present UPA - II Government only understands Vote Bank and desperately needs to culitivate it. We the veterans form big vote bank. If Sri Aravind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan can form a political party why can not we follow suit. Our voice can only be heard if we can go to Parliament as MPs and not kneel before these corrupt politicians pleading for toffees. When we have such large veteran population in State like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Uttarkhand, Rajasthan and UP what prevents us from sweeping the polls. The Aam Admi is fed up with corruption in every walk of life. He wants clean people to govern him. Who is cleaner than the Fauji? When Rs 60,000 crores was doled out to help out farmers in 2011-12 (did not prevent large number of farmers to commit suicide inspite of loan waiver), the babus in IAS must have taken their calculators to know how much of it can be looted.
3. Look at the gross diversion of funds from all Government schemes which are meant to help out the poor. How much does a poor man get from this? Most of it goes into pockets of these politicians and civil servants at all levels.
4. There is an urgent need for the veteran community to get out of their cozy homes and do something which Anna Hazare and others are doing to mobilise the voters. We, the veteran community can do a better job.
5. Thanks Shailesh for waking me up from my deep slumber.
Brig (Retd) CS Vidyasagar
Bombay Sappers

On Sunday, July 15, 2012 6:50:30 PM UTC+5:30, Sailesh Ranade wrote:
Dear Veterans,
1. I have been closely following the situation with regard to OROP. I feel disgusted that veterans are crying like spoilt children for some fancy toy. This Tamasha has been going on for a few years now with no end in sight. In fact, we have brought this upon ourselves.
2. Now let us come to the main point. Veterans are not children. So stop behaving like children. If you think that the government (politicians and bureaucrats) is going to listen to you, forget it. Have you noticed that the government will notice you only if you do dharnas, hunger strikes, rallies and resort to things like rasta/ rail roko. See how every other department is holding the government to ransom.
3. So what needs to be done? Get your butts off the ground and pull your finger out. Following points come to my mind readily.

Bring in a Tall and Clean Leader. Only one relevant present day ICON comes to my mind. Gen VK Singh. He has no financial historical baggage.

If you cannot muster VKS, bring in Anna Hazare.

Join Forces. Today we have all sorts of Brigadiers, Major Gen, Lt Gen and even a Major who run different types of organisation. Come together, but keep the tainted out. I used to see a lot of Generals on TV in the last 6 months. Dump them. Also dump all the military Governors and High Commissioners. They were all corrupt.

Form a Political Party. Call it the “Patriotic Front“. I guarantee, at least 100 seats in Parliament if there are clean candidates. The number of ex-servicemen and servicemen is easily close to 4 million. There is no bigger homogeneous force in the world. If you include the paramilitary, it will easily touch 10 million. When in Parliament, make your own laws. Pass any bill in favour of the veterans.

The statement that “we will play by the rules” needs to be discarded. When your future is being decided by corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and judiciary, there is simply no future. Hold rallies, strikes, rasta roko etc. I am sure Delhi and surrounding areas can easily muster more people than what Anna Hazare and Ramdev could organise. And these two gentlemen brought the government on its knees.

As military veterans, we should consider all means. All is fair in love and war. The result will be quick and the lesson will sink in once and for all.
We don’t need cry babies on TV. Act now. The mood is against the government. India desperately needs a revolution. A minor storm by military veterans will be enough.
Please pass this to all.
Regards,
S Ranade

Tatra Scam: Will Corrupt Babus and Generals still get their kickbacks?

HT New Delhi, September 17, 2012
The defence ministry is planning to cancel the BEML order, worth over Rs. 50 lakh, given to UK-based Tatra Sipox for supplying one truck, in the wake of the CBI probe into the allegations of irregularities in the supply of these vehicles. The order for the truck was placed by BEML in May for the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
The Ministry is planing to cancel the order worth over Rs. 50 lakh placed by BEML with the UK-based Tatra Sipox, sources told PTI here.
When asked about the development, defence ministry's Department of Defence Production refused to comment on it.
BEML had written a letter to Tatra Sipox in May this year seeking urgent delivery of a Tatra truck for around Euro 88,000 (over Rs. 50 lakh).
The tie-up between BEML and UK-based Tatra Sipox for supplying Tatra trucks to the Indian forces has been under the scanner after former Army Chief Gen VK Singh alleged that he was offered a bribe of Rs. 14 crore for clearing a file for procuring over 600 such vehicles.
After the allegations came to light on March 27, defence minister AK Antony ordered a CBI inquiry into the allegations.
BEML's chairman and managing director VRS Natarajan has also been removed out of his office by the Ministry for ensuring a free and fair probe into the charges.
BEML and Tatra have supplied more than 6,000 such heavy-duty trucks to the armed forces and the DRDO for carrying missiles and other heavy systems.
Defence ministry to cancel DRDO's Tatra truck order PTI

Tatra Scam: MOD and AHQ taken for a tata ride

BEML allegedly surrendered Tatra truck manufacturing rights partially
DEVESH K. PANDEY: The Hiondu NEW DELHI, September 25, 2012
The Central Bureau of Investigation has strong reasons to suspect that Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), through a memorandum of understanding with the Ravi Rishi-owned British company Tatra Sipox U.K., during the tenure of the suspended BEML chief V. R. S. Natarajan, allegedly partially surrendered the manufacturing rights of all-terrain Tatra trucks in 2003. The agency might now seek the opinion of the authorities concerned to verify the suspicion.
Investigations into the alleged irregularities in the supply of the trucks through BEML to the Indian Army have so far revealed that based on the 1986 and 1997 agreements with the manufacturers, BEML had gained exclusive rights to manufacture the trucks in India. However, through an MoU with Tatra Sipox U.K. in February 2003, it is alleged that the manufacturing rights were partially surrendered by excluding the axle part of the truck.
The CBI probe has revealed that the public sector unit had in 1986 entered into an agreement with Tatra of the erstwhile Czechoslovakia for supply of Tatra T815 trucks. Simultaneously, under the agreement, documents on technological know-how pertaining to the manufacturing of the trucks were also bought for Rs. three crore. It was agreed that BEML would progressively indigenise the trucks and the target was fixed at 85 per cent indigenisation by 1991.
However, when Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, the manufacturing company also split into two. While the one manufacturing 70 per cent of the product was renamed as Tatra AS, the other was called Vab Sipox. According to agency sources, investigations revealed that Vab Sipox was gradually privatised and 80 per cent of the company was taken over by Josef Majsky, who allegedly had prior business links with Ravi Rishi.
During the turbulent phase, the supply of trucks was hit, and subsequently Ravi Rishi’s Venus Projects bagged one order of 100 trucks from BEML. It is alleged that Venus was awarded the contract despite the fact that it was neither a manufacturer nor its subsidiary, but a marketing company. In 1994, CBI probe revealed that Venus and Tatra Sipox allegedly came together to set up Tatra Sipox U.K. through a 50-50 partnership. Later, the company was allegedly taken over by Mr. Rishi.
The Slovak-based company, which earlier manufactured the truck axle and backbone tube part, during the correspondences with BEML, allegedly started exerting that BEML could not manufacture the axle as it was a patented product and thus had to be imported.
The agency has found that the agreement for supply of the truck components that was renewed in 1997 reinforced the exclusive manufacturing rights of BEML in India. Also, it allegedly mentioned that the technological know-how documents had been transferred to BEML.
However, soon after Mr. Natarajan took over as BEML chief, the PSU entered into an MoU with Tatra Sipox U.K. allegedly excluding the rights to manufacture the truck axle, thus partially surrendering the manufacturing rights. “The BEML was supposed to import only the components and manufacture the trucks on its own,” said a CBI source.
Investigations have also revealed that BEML had also developed a prototype of the Tatra truck axle, but it was not allowed to further develop it and was allegedly forced to import the axle, causing huge losses to the exchequer. Interestingly, agency sources said the then Secretary Defence Production had then raised objections asking cancellation of the 2003 MoU. However, the objections were ignored.
On the issue of the alleged surrendering of manufacturing rights, BEML Chief of Public Relations B. S. Sridhar said over the phone that he did not know anything about it. Several attempts to contact Mr. Natarajan also did not elicit any response.
BEML allegedly surrendered Tatra truck manufacturing rights partially
Hindu Readers Comments

How could a scam of this magnitude remain hidden from scrutiny for so long? What were the Vigilance Officers at BEML and the CVC doing? To me it seems almost impossible that a scam of this magnitude could have remained unknown for so long without the knowledge politicians at the highest levels. Will any of these politicians be brought to justice at any time? from: krishna Posted on: Sep 25, 2012 at 02:06 IST

Such negligence is very common in technology driven PSUs of defence ministry.Removing the cover of OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT can bring the can of worms in the open.It is really a criminal wastage of public money and scarce resources of our poor nation without the knowledge of tax paying public. from: Atis Posted on: Sep 25, 2012 at 09:52 IST

In a criminal case it is in the chargesheet that must do the talking. All these reports are nothing better than idle talk. A waste of time and space. from: Hilary Pais Posted on: Sep 25, 2012 at 10:05 IST