AK Antony orders inquiry into Defence Offset Facilitation Agency’s callousness, upgrade of IAF may be delayed.
Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) modernisation plans may go for a toss as a secret file detailing the offset clause in a Rs42,000-crore deal, touted as the country’s largest ever, for procuring 126 fighter aircraft was lost and found by roadside in Delhi.
The defence ministry has ordered an inquiry into the gaffe which may delay the deal.
The probe may look into several aspects, including whether the information has been leaked to the vendors or not resulting in re-tendering of the deal or re-bidding for the offset clause.
The loss of the file also highlights the lackadaisical functioning of Defence Offset Facilitation Agency (DOFA), which time and again has drawn flak for its alleged inefficiency, at the expense of the country’s security.
Defence minister AK Antony ordered on Monday an inquiry into the gaffe. The inquiry will be carried out jointly by the ministry of defence (MoD) and the Indian Air Force.
Antony said the disappearance of the file was being viewed “very seriously”.
The offset file, which is part of a larger evaluation report for six of the 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) worth Rs42,000 crore for IAF, was found in Khel Gaon area on December 31.
It was only when the file was recovered that its disappearance came to light.
DOFA is a single-window agency under the department of defence production that facilitates implementation of MoD’s offset policy. It assists potential vendors identify potential offset products/projects as well as provide requisite data and information for the purpose.
The offset clause was introduced in the defence procurement procedure in 2006, making it applicable to defence deals worth over Rs300 crore, where 30% of the deal amount would be ploughed back in terms of investment or technology transfer into the country.
The MMRCA deal is the first and the only by far to have 50% offset. Accordingly, 50% of the deal, i.e. Rs21,000 crore, has to be invested by the vendor who wins the contract back into the Indian industry.
Satyajeet Rajan, joint secretary in MoD, heads DOFA. The MMRCA offset file was being dealt by a director-level officer in MoD. Satyajeet Rajan and defence production secretary RK Singh are both out of Delhi.
Earlier, chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal PV Naik, who is also chairman of the chiefs of staff committee, had asked Antony in July to intervene and set right the functioning of DOFA, which he said was delaying big-ticket deals. This was first reported by DNA in August last.
Some of the programmes affected due to non-finalisation of offset include procurement of Survey Target and Towing aircraft, additional Aerostat radars, MICA missiles, additional executive jets for VVIP, and the upgrade of Mirage-2000 aircraft contract.
Meanwhile, sources indicated to DNA that the MoD
was deliberating to set up a separate and more powerful body, Defence Offset Management Wing, in view of the Air Chief’s complaint, to ensure timely implementation of offsets.
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