Saab, Adani join hands for defence manufacturing

Agencies
September 1, 2017

New Delhi, Sep 1: Swedish defence giant Saab and Indian conglomerate Adani group today announced a collaboration in defence manufacturing entailing billions of dollars of investment, mainly eyeing a contract for single- engine fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.

Announcing the deal, the two companies said the project would encompass design, development and production of Gripen jets for India in line with the Make in India initiative.

The government is set to procure a fleet of single-engine fighters for the IAF and US defence firm Lockheed Martin will be a major competitor for Saab for the deal.

The CEO and President of Saab, Hakan Buskhe, said the partnership is aimed at producing single engine fighter jets and other defence products for India under the country's recently unveiled "strategic partnership" model.

"Our plans in India are to create a new defence eco- system that would involve many partners, vendors and suppliers. To achieve this, we need a strong Indian partner who can help create the framework for the infrastructure and eco-system to come into place," Buskhe said at a press conference.

Chairman of Adani Group Gautam Adani said his company's tie-up with Saab is in sync with its plan to get into high- tech defence manufacturing.

"In continuation of our vision of nation building, we are keen to play an instrumental role in helping transform India into a destination for world class high-tech defence manufacturing," he said.

He said the partnership is aimed at producing Gripen jets and many other products.

"Our various collaborations in aerospace and defence sectors will help establish new production lines in India, generate employment and build sustainable skills," he said.

Asked why Saab chose to partner with Adani group, which does not have much experience in the aerospace sector, Buskhe said it is one of the top-most firms in India and has performed impressively in several key sectors.

The companies said the collaboration would include projects, programmes and sharing of technologies of national importance with India.

"The parties plan to develop the relationship into a structure of joint ventures in India for execution of the programmes, including the single engine fighter programme," they said.

Saab said it is also looking at supplying the Indian Navy a version of Gripen with advanced features to take off from aircraft carriers.

Saab had offered Gripen for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft deal which was eventually awarded to French Dassaults Rafale.

Asked whether technology transfer would be difficult as Gripen jet engine has components developed by US defence majors, particularly under Donald Trump's presidency, Bushke said there should not be any problem over it.

The two companies said the collaboration will combine the technical and product excellence of Saab, along with the industrial engineering, system integration and mega project execution capabilities of Adani with the intention to manufacture defence systems locally in India.

"Saab and Adani will explore how to cooperate to develop a wider aerospace and defence ecosystem in India," they said.

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News Network
January 30,2020

New Delhi, Jan 30: Tension spiralled in Jamia Nagar on Thursday after a man fired a pistol at a group of anti-CAA protesters, injuring a Jamia Millia Islamia student before walking away while waving the firearm above his head and shouting "Yeh lo aazadi" amid heavy police presence in the area.

Massive protests erupted in the area after the incident with hundreds of agitated people gathering near the university, breaking barricades and clashing with police personnel.

The man, who identified himself as "Rambhakt Gopal", was subsequently overpowered by police and detained. He was taken into custody and was being interrogated, police said.

The entire drama, which triggered panic in the area, was captured by television cameras that showed the man in light coloured pants and a dark jacket, walking away on an empty road barricaded by police, turning around and shouting at the protesters in Hindi, "Here, take this freedom."

The gunman went live on Facebook before the brandishing the gun. Police said they were verifying whether it is his real name.

Before the attack, the man also put out messages on Facebook stating "Shaheen Bhag Khel Khatam" (Run Shaheen, the game is over). Another message stated, "Please wrap me in saffron in my last journey with slogans of Jai Shri Ram". His Facebook profile was deleted after screenshots of his posts were circulated widely on social media platforms.

Several students recapped how their peaceful march on Gandhi's death anniversary became violent.

"We were moving towards the Holy Family Hospital where the police had raised barricades. Suddenly, a gun-wielding man came out and opened fire. One bullet hit my friend's hand," Aamna Asif, a student of economics at the university, told PTI.

She said her friend, Shadab Farooq, a mass communication student, was trying to calm the attacker but he shot at him injuring his left hand.

Farooq, who belongs to Kashmir, was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.

Ragibh Naushad, an LLB student at the university, said, "The Jamia Coordination Committee organised a march to pay homage to Gandhi ji on his death anniversary. It started at 12 noon from Gate number 7, but police denied the permission and stopped the march near the Holy Family hospital.

"A man named Gopal, came there and started brandishing a weapon and later shot a round. He was also chanting pro-CAA slogans."

The incident led to panic in the area.

Khalid Hassan, a JMI alumnus, said initially many were not sure whether it was a gunshot or a tyre burst.

There was heavy police and media presence when the incident took place.

The students were heading from Jamia to Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat. The march was stopped at the Holy Family Hospital near the university.

Chinmoy Biswal, DCP (southeast), said the students wanted to take out a march from Jamia to Rajghat but were denied permission.

"They were being repeatedly told that the protest should be carried out peacefully. We had barricaded the road just before the Holy Family hospital. Meanwhile, a person was seen in the crowd who waved something which appeared to be a weapon."

"We have detained him and are interrogating him. One person has also been injured," Biswal said.

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News Network
May 26,2020

Kasaragod, May 26: Amid relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown norms, Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) and vocational higher secondary education (VHSE) examinations resumed in Kerala on Tuesday.

Schools in the state maintained social distancing norms and other precautionary measures amid the examination. Hand sanitisers were also provided at the centres while wearing face masks was made mandatory for all students.

Students at VHSS Manacaud High School in Thiruvananthapuram were encouraged to follow social distancing norms while they also underwent thermal screening before entering the examination centre.

In Kerala, VHSE and SSLC exams began today. While VHSE is scheduled in the morning, the SSLC exam is held in the afternoon session.

Senior secondary exams are scheduled to begin in the state from May 27.

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News Network
March 13,2020

Bhopal, Mar 13: The Madhya Pradesh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Thursday decided to verify facts afresh in a complaint against former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and his family, in which they are accused of falsifying a property document while selling land.

The development came after Mr Scindia quit the Congress and joined the BJP on Wednesday. 22 MLAs who belong to his camp also resigned, threatening the survival of the Kamal Nath government in the state.

"Yes, an order has been given for re-verification of facts in the complaint filed by Surendra Shrivastava," an Economic Offences Wing official told PTI.

An EOW release said Mr Shrivastava on Thursday filed a new complaint against Mr Scindia and his family, alleging that by falsifying a registry document, they sold him a piece of land at Mahalgaon which was smaller by 6,000 sq feet than the original agreement in 2009.

He had lodged the complaint first on March 26, 2014. But it was investigated and closed in 2018, the EOW official said. "As he again petitioned us today, we will re-verify the facts," the officer said.

Jyotiraditya Scindia's close aide Pankaj Chaturvedi alleged that it was political vendetta.

"The case had been closed for want of evidence. Now for vengeance, it is being reopened. We have full faith in the Constitution and law. We will get justice and Kamal Nath government a befitting reply," Mr Chaturvedi said.

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