INDIA’S Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, which is already 25 years behind schedule and has already become obsolete, before its induction is headed for critical initial operational clearance next month, Indian Air Force (IAF) officials say the aircraft will fail to meet performance requirements laid down by the service for the limited-profile Mk.1 platform. The Daily Mail has found that according to an IAF source associated with the long-delayed indigenous fighter program, when the Tejas passes this milestone in December, it still will not be the fighter IAF had agreed to accept for limited squadron service. Performance specifications that the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has not been able to attain, include sustained turn rate, speed at low altitude, angle of attack and certain weapon delivery profiles. Exactly how far off the performance is from the specification remains classified.
The Tejas program has enlisted EADS to help expand the flight envelope to meet service requirements. These shortfalls come on top of a thrust deficiency that necessitated the selection of a more powerful engine, General Electric’s F414-INS6, this year for a proposed Mk.2 version. IAF may be forced to take a shortcut and induct the aircraft without resolving the performance parameter. Former IAF chief Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy, who first pushed the idea of a limited induction of the homegrown fighter even if it did not fully meet service requirements, argues that the aircraft needs to be delivered without any further delay. “Once it is delivered, all outstanding issues can be ironed out and our pilots can get a chance to see what it is capable of. It is important to get it into service. That is the key.”The Daily Mail has learnt that such fatal shortcuts are deliberate because a number of palms have been greased. LCA is the cow, various Indians have milked. In India, where sleaze, graft and corruption are the order of the day, it is not at all surprising.
Take the recent case of the auction to provide cell phone services in India’s booming market, which was rigged to favour a few companies. The comptroller and auditor general of India say in a 96-page report that the agency in charge of cellular licenses, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, arbitrarily moved up deadlines in a 2008 auction of new bandwidth for phone operators. The Communications Ministry also rejected calls from the prime minister and the Ministry of Law for greater scrutiny and awarded licenses to operators in a way that “lacked transparency and fairness,” the report says. The questionable practices cost the Indian government 1.76 trillion rupees ($39 billion) in revenue, auditors say. Transparency International and the Freedom Foundation ignore the blatant and egregious theft of money from official coffers of the Government of India. Swiss Banking Association report, details bank deposits in the territory of Switzerland by nationals of following countries, which top the list: India—$1,456 billion (Public loot since 1947); Russia—$470 billion; UK—$390 billion; Ukraine–$100 billion; China —–$ 96 billion.
According to Global Financial Integrity Indian politicians, IAS, IRS, IPS and people from entertainment and sports industry have deposited $ 325 billion in last five years in Swiss accounts. This may be the picture of deposits in Swiss banks only. What about other international destinations? There are presumably more than 70 Tax havens in the world. Indian wealth could be more in Switzerland and various British /US islands. At least forty countries market themselves aggressively as tax havens. It is common knowledge that trillions of dollars of Indian money is in various tax heavens like Antigua, Switzerland, Bahamas, Liechtenstein, Isle of Man, and St Kitts, etc. A few corrupt Indians have 1.5 trillion dollars of black money on other hand daily 3000-4000 children die from malnutrition in India and 1000 pregnant women die every day in India (say Jay Hind). More than 70% of population is anaemic. A more dangerous aspect is that this some of this dirty money is being exploited for the financing of terrorism. These secretive and non-transparent tax heavens can be a serious threat to India as well as the region since the sources and uses of funds are not clear. Indian lust and greed is already gnawing at the roots of its own society but can affect the whole world and must be taken cognizance of – Dailymailnews
