Defence Employee News

Friday, December 22, 2023

SAINIK SCHOOLS

New Sainik Schools: Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh approved the setting up of 23 New Sainik Schools in partnership mode, taking the tally of such schools functioning under Sainik School Society to 42. This number is apart from the existing 33 Sainik Schools already functioning under the erstwhile pattern. The objectives behind Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of setting up of 100 new Sainik Schools is to provide quality education to the students in tune with National Education Policy and give them better career opportunities, including joining the Armed Forces. It also gives an opportunity to the private sector to work hand-in-hand with the Government towards nation building by refining today’s youth to become responsible citizens of tomorrow.

NATIONAL CADET CORPS

NCC Integrated Software: In a major step towards promoting digitisation and in sync with Digital India mission, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh launched an NCC Integrated Software in July. The software, developed in partnership with Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo Informatics, is a single window interactive software for Cadets, designed on the ‘Entry to Exit Model’. It is based on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Once a Cadet always a cadet’, and will digitalise the entire process from the stage of enrolment as a cadet in NCC till exit registration as alumni. This will enable seamless issue of certificates, creation of an all India database of NCC cadets at the time of their employment. The NCC and State Bank of India (SBI) also signed an MoU in the presence of Raksha Mantri to open zero balance accounts of all NCC Cadets with debit card, chequebook & passbook facility under SBI’s ‘Pahli Udaan’ scheme. About five lakh cadets will be benefitted by this MoU every year.

DEFENCE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION

Akash-NG: Flight trial of new generation Surface-to-Air Missile Akash-NG was conducted against a Banshee target from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Odisha. It is meant for use by Indian Air Force with an aim of intercepting high manoeuvring low RCS aerial threats. The system has been developed with better deployability compared to other similar systems with canisterised launcher and much smaller ground system footprint.

INDIAN COAST GUARD

Digital Coast Guard: In alignment with the Government’s strategic vision for Digital Armed Forces, a contract was signed between Ministry of Defence and Telecommunications Consultants India Limited, worth at a total cost of Rs 588.68 crore, for the acquisition of Digital Coast Guard (DCG) project, under the Buy (Indian) category. The DCG Project will unfold a comprehensive narrative of technological progression, encompassing the construction of an advanced Data Centre, the establishment of a robust Disaster Recovery Data Centre, amplification of connectivity across ICG sites, and the development of the ERP system. The project also leverages secured MPLS/VSAT connectivity, propelling itself to the forefront of cutting-edge defence technology. The project is estimated to generate about one and a half lakh man-days over a span of five years, fostering active participation from diverse sectors of Indian industries, thus significantly contributing to the Government’s efforts to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence.

INDIAN AIR FORCE

‘Aatmanirbharta’

The following measures have been instituted to support indigenisation of spares and systems:

Positive Indigenisation List: In pursuance of India’s endeavor for self-reliance, Ministry of Defence is promulgating ‘Positive Indigenisation Lists’ at periodic intervals. The fifth PIL was released in October with 98 items, out of which 13 pertain to IAF.

INDIAN NAVY

Indian Navy (IN) has constantly strived towards achieving ‘Self-Reliance through Indigenisation’ and synchronised the efforts in tandem with various flagship schemes of the Government viz., ‘Make’, ‘Technology Development Fund’ and ‘Innovation for Defence Excellence’, in addition to procurements under the ‘Revenue’ route. IN has been the torch bearer amongst the three Services to leverage the distinct advantages of Govt schemes and has engaged actively with industry partners including MSMEs and Start-ups, to encourage their active participation in our Indigenisation Programmes.