The Air Force fighters carry out night-time exercises to get trained for night-time combat. Various air defence and ground attack exercises are carried out using fighters, helicopters and transport aircraft. These exercises are carried out far from towns and cities. Certain fleets have been fitted with night vision goggles (NVGs).

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta in a written reply to Mr K Rahman Khan and Mr Santosh Bagrodia in Rajya Sabha.

The major projects/programmes to be taken up during 10th Five Year Plan by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) are as follows :

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta in a written reply to Mr SDNR Wadiyar in Lok Sabha.

The light weight torpedo —Advanced Experimental Torpedo (AET) — has been successfully launched recently. It was designed and developed indigenously by Naval Science and Technology Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam, a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation. It is being produced by M/s Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Hyderabad. The estimated cost of production of design and engineering model of one torpedo is Rs 210 lakh.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta in a written reply to Dr Ashok Patel in Lok Sabha.

HJT-36, an Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), is being developed for training of pilots. IJT will replace the ageing Kiran trainers. HJT-36 is an indigenous product developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Bangalore. It is a sub-sonic aircraft with a fuel-efficient engine, advanced avionics systems and increased weapon load. This will help to improve the pilots' training effectiveness and lead to easier transition to the advanced training for modern fighter aircraft.

Initial operational clearance of IJT is expected by 2005-06 and deliveries to Indian Air Force are expected to start from the same year onwards.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta in a written reply to Mr Dalpat Singh Parste in Lok Sabha.

There has been a delay in the development stage of the engine of Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA) due to irregular and unreliable supplies of investment castings which were imported from foreign vendors. These castings were, therefore, taken up for indigenisation by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) with the help of Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratories (DMRL).

For a series production of PTA, price negotiations with customers have been completed by HAL. The deliveries of PTA will commence within 14 months after placement of orders by the customers.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta in a written reply to Mr Haribhau Shankar Mahale in Lok Sabha.

Prithvi, a surface-to-surface missile system, was flight-tested during March, this year successfully. It has a range exceeding 150 kms. The missile has already been inducted into the Indian Army.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta in a written reply to Mr Dalpat Singh Parste and Mr Manikrao Hodlya Gavit in Lok Sabha.

The government does not have any plan to reduce the period of pension for personnel below the officer rank (PBOR) in Army from 33 years, as a soldier is not allowed to remain in service for more than 17 years.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta in a written reply to Mr Rajendran in Lok Sabha.

Two agreements were signed with M/s FXC International of USA for supply of pilot parachutes and brake parachutes in 1996. The first one was signed for the procurement of 48 pilot parachutes, PSU-36. The value of the contract was US$2,01,600. In February 1996, the second contract was signed for the procurement of 200 brake parachutes, PTK-29, costing US$ 4,70,000. The firm encashed the Letter of Credit in August, 1996 on the basis of a target document. The State Bank of India released the payment without checking the authenticity of document produced by the supplier. A civil suit is being filed in the competent court to recover the money.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta in a written reply to Mr Murli Deora in Rajya Sabha.

The parents of soldiers and officers are entitled to medical/dental treatment from service institutions on the basis of entitlement certificates. In addition, they are also entitled for all canteen facilities except liquor on production of dependent identity card issued by the competent authority. Provision of more facilities to the parents of service personnel is an on-going exercise and reviewed from time to time.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta in a written reply to Mrs Gurcharan Kaur in Rajya Sabha.

Ten new Coast Guard stations are proposed to be set up. Five stations are planned during 2002-2007 in Phase-I and the balance five in the next Coast Guard Development Plan 2007-2012. The estimated cost of setting up one Coast Guard station is Rs 40 crore.

No funds have been allocated at this stage. However, estimated requirement of funds has been projected in the Coast Guard Development Plan 2002-2007.

This information was given by Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes in a written reply to Mr Parmeshwar Kumar Agarwalla in Rajya Sabha.

The Army has various avenues for career enchancement in the form of professional courses to encourage middle level officers to progress in service. In addition, upto the rank of Majors, officers get acting and substantive time based promotions.

Operation Vijay was a war like engagement where a large part of the Indian Army was mobilised. The role played by the officers so deployed has been widely acclaimed by one and all. The families of the martyrs have been provided with sizeable compensations in keeping with the national sentiments. A report focused on the restructuring of the officers’ cadre of the Army is currently under consideration in this connection.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta in a written reply to Mrs Gurcharan Kaur in Rajya Sabha.

An agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of India on cooperation in the field of defence was signed on February 17, 2003. The agreement broadly envisages co-operation in the field of defence technology, research and development, training, peace support and combating terrorism.

This information was given by Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes in a written reply to Mr Chinmayanand Swami and Mr Radha Mohan Singh in Lok Sabha.

There is no gender bias in the case of extending the tenure of young lady or men officers of Armed Forces after completion of 10 years of commissioned service. Terms and conditions for recruitment/commission is identical for both the sexes in Armed Forces Medical Services.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta in a written reply to Mr Vijay J Darda in Rajya Sabha.