427 At last, at least there is one matter of pride for us, NOT FROM CRICKET

photo courtesy old.hal-india.com.


Here is a link to the trigger for this blog post.
It is a Press Release by Ministry of Defence, GOI.

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=115199



According to the Press Release:

HAL Bags Rs. 1090 Crore Contract for Supplying 14 Do-228 Aircraft to IAF

HAL has bagged a major Defence contract for supplying 14 Do-228 aircraft produced by HAL to the Indian Air Force. “Apart from these aircraft, the contract valued at around Rs. 1090 crores includes six reserve engines, one flight simulator and associated equipment”, says Mr. T. Suvarna Raju, Chairman, HAL. “This also reflects the trust of the Defence customers on HAL and we remain committed to supporting Indian Defence Services for all their needs”, he adds. 

The versatility of HAL-DO-228s are due to several in-built features such as highest fuel carrying capacity in its class (2850 litres) due to integral fuel tanks in wings, low structural weight ensured through use of advanced composite materials, high wing design for unobstructed view and radar coverage, wide wheel base for better stability, short take-off and landing capability- the aircraft can take off from around 700 m and land within 575 m- essentially required for operations from short and semi-prepared airfields, sturdy landing gears, rectangular cabin offering more head space for passengers and mounting space for equipment in case of special mission configuration as opposed to circular cabin, low floor level and wide door for easy loading/unloading of cargo, flight openable roller door, four wing hard points for mounting of external loads up to 1030 kg, optimum performance at normal cruising altitude for short haul applications enabled by the revolutionary design of wing aerofoil.

ybrao a donkey's observations

Had we been in Congress rule, probably this order would have gone to some foreign supplier from Europe or U.S.A., with unknown kickbacks changing hands.  Even that kickback secret would have had to be leaked out by foreign agency with leakages among competitors.

For giving this big Rs. 2,290 crore order to an Indian manufacturer, prima facie, we should give credit to our BJP Government at Center. 

प्रथम दृष्टी मे, केंद्र में उपस्थित बिजॆपी सरकार को हम धन्यवाद देना चाहिए, क्योंकि, भारत में बनाया हवाई जहाजों को हम खरीदने से हमारे युव जनों को कुछ रोजगार मिलेगा।  इन डीवो २२८ हवाई जहाज हॆच ऎ ऎत, कान्पूर, उत्तर प्रदेश में बनना यह भी आनंद दायक होगा।


ప్రాధమికంగా చూస్తే, బిజెపీ ప్రభుత్వానికి మనం ధన్యవాదాలు, అభినందనలు చెప్పాల్సిందే.  ఎందుకంటే,  భారత్ లో తయారు చేసిన విమానాలను మనం కొంటే, భారతీయ యువజనులకు ఉపాధి లభిస్తుంది.   ఈ విమానాలు హెచ్ ఎ ఎల్ కాన్పూర్ లో తయారు అవుతాయిట.   తలసరి ఆదాయంలో బాగా వెనుకబడి ఉన్న ఉత్తర్ ప్రదేశ్ లో ఈ విమానాల పరిశ్రమ వృధ్ధి పొందితే రాష్ట్రాల మధ్య వ్యత్యాసాలు కొంతైనా తగ్గుతాయి.   దీని అర్ధం ఉత్తర ప్రదేశ్ తన జనాభాను ఇష్టం వచ్చినట్లు పెంచుకుంటూ పోవచ్చని కాదు. 

However, there is a minor hitch.  The Press release is silent about whether there is any foreign supplier pushing the deal from behind HAL.


The dornier aircraft originally had German technology.  With their technoogical assistance, HAL has been manufacturing them since some years.  HAL has even world distribution rights.

THIS donkey has a hunch feeling that a Swiss-German Aviation Company named RUAG might have done some market promotion work for India's HAL, during Davos, WEO Sessions.   But anyway this Rs.1090 crore is a very very small order, when compared to the orders placed by  UPA/Congress Governments of past notoriety.


Let us hope that everything will forge ahead SCAMLESSLY.