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India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (<keyword id="6356851" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="cag">CAG</keyword>), <keyword id="1928895" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajiv-Mehrishi">Rajiv Mehrishi</keyword>, today gave Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> his biggest win in the ongoing controversy over the government’s deal to by 36 <keyword id="6381048" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="rafale">Rafale</keyword> jets from the French company Dassault. Modi government’s deal was 2.86% cheaper than that planned by the earlier Congress regime, the report said. However, Modi’s rivals have questioned the credibility of Mehrishi while escalating their attack on the government alleging corruption in a crucial defence deal. The Congress has alleged that Mehrishi was privy to the internal negotiations in the Rafale deal and therefore he cannot be an independent auditor. Over the course of his career, Mehrishi has essayed a number of prominent roles both at the state and national level, cementing his credentials as an insider in the Modi administration. Mehrishi entered civil services in 1978 from the Rajasthan cadre. November 2009 - April 2012: Mehrishi was an additional secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture. He was specifically tasked with spearheading research and education initiatives. October 2012- November 2013: He was a secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs under the previous Congress government. December 2013: He was moved to Rajasthan as the chief secretary in the BJP government led by Vasundhara <keyword id="51253" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RAJE">Raje</keyword>. This was the last role he held as an IAS Officer prior to his retirement after a 30-year career. As chief secretary, he played a big role in Raje’s labour and land reforms. This involved an easing of hiring norms, especially for apprenticeships, and the expansion of an industrial belt from Gurgaon to Jaipur. The same reforms were championed by Finance Minister <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/rajasthan-pioneer-state-in-implementing-labour-reforms-arun-jaitley/articleshow/49848504.cms">Arun Jaitley</a>, who made them a big part of the BJP government’s Ease of Doing Business Agenda a few years ago. However, it has been speculated that some of these policies eventually <a href="https://thewire.in/politics/vasundhara-raje-rajasthan-elections"></a><a href="https://thewire.in/politics/vasundhara-raje-rajasthan-elections" data-type="tilCustomLink">cost Raje the state elections</a>t Raje the state elections in December last year. However, within three months after Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014, Mehrishi was called on to serve in the central bureaucracy. October 2014- August 2015: Mehrishi was the secretary of the finance ministry, charged with economic affairs. His work as a government auditor now has also drawn criticism because of his tenure at the finance ministry. The question raised by the opposition is that whether someone who has been an integral part of spending decisions in the past should be allowed to audit the same decisions. However, the Modi government has dismissed the allegations saying that his responsibilities had<a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=188381"> nothing to do with government expenditure decisions</a>. September 2015: Mehrishi was accused of <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/probe-against-the-union-home-secretary-did-he-wrongly-avoided-tax-as-finance-secretary-263226-2015-09-16">evading taxes </a>on a land deal. Mehrishi reportedly saved ₹10 million of capital gains tax by claiming that a piece of land sold in a commercial transaction was actually an agricultural plot, which qualifies for different tax treatment. The plot had been as agricultural land in 2006 but sold as commercial land (without <a href="https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/01/24/did-cag-rajiv-mehrishi-evade-tax-or-not">the requisite payment of fees</a> for the change in title) to benefit from a higher selling price. The allegations, which analysed by <a href="https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/01/24/did-cag-rajiv-mehrishi-evade-tax-or-not">Newslaundry </a>earlier this year, did not lead to any action against Mehrishi. August 2015- August 2017: Mehrishi served as the secretary of the Home Ministry for the current government. As home secretary, he notably called out Pakistan as a safe haven for terrorists and criminals on the run like <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/dawood-ibrahim-being-sheltered-by-pakistan-says-home-secretary-rajiv-mehrishi/833316/">Dawood Ibrahim.</a> This was also the time when the <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/3GJ0xAYec7sn0hjjRFNrPO/A-year-after-Burhan-Wanis-death-big-change-in-antiterror.html">political crisis </a>in Kashmir escalated. The central government was blamed for using excessive force against rebel groups, and often civilians too found themselves in the firing line. Despite the Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s attempt to salvage BJP’s position in Jammu and Kashmir, its local ally the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) snapped ties <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bjp-ends-alliance-with-pdp-in-jammu-and-kashmir-presidents-rule-likely-in-the-state/articleshow/64646710.cms">in June 2018</a> as the crisis unraveled. The first allegation against the current government in the controversial deal to buy Rafale jets emerged in November 2016. Mehrishi was appointed as the CAG in September 2017, while the audit of the deal began a few months later in 2018.

The man who audited the Rafale deal is now the subject of the controversy

The newly minted 170 <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Indian+Administrative+Service+%28IAS%29+" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">Indian Administrative Service (IAS)</a> officers of 2013 batch are literally being kept on their toes as they have been asked to come up with new and innovative ideas to simplify government processes before they meet <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=PM+Narendra+Modi" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">PM Narendra Modi</a>. 
 These officers, who are on deputation to the Centre before they head for their first state postings as part of an idea mooted by the <keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">prime minister</keyword>, have time till November 30 to come up with ideas on simplifying at least two processes of the government. 
 
They are scheduled to face Modi at a feedback session at the end of a rigorous three-month stint at the Centre. 
 
Before their session with Modi, each of the officers have to prepare a 'Paper on Innovation' or 'Process re-engineering to improve functioning of the government', along with identifying at least two processes for simplification and compiling the guidelines or norms pertaining to their desk. 
 
A typical day, which begins with yoga for two hours from 6:30 am, is chock-a-block with meetings with senior officers and involves grappling with files related to the Centre's flagship programmes. 
The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Department+of+Personnel+and+Training+%28DoPT%29+" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT)</a> has issued at least 99 orders over the past one month on how they should go about their work, including a detailed 13-week work calendar to follow. But they can fall back on three senior secretaries who have been appointed as chief mentors. 
 
The time spent with the central government will help the officers "acquire a national perspective and a deeper appreciation of harmonization of diversities in national policies", according to a concept paper on the exercise being undertaken for the first time. 
 The chief mentors include home secretary <keyword id="1928895" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Rajiv-Mehrishi">Rajiv Mehrishi</keyword>, <keyword id="193102" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="defence-secretary">defence secretary</keyword> Mohan Kumar and <keyword id="2665691" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Niti-Aayog">NITI Aayog</keyword> chief executive Sindhushree Khullar. 
 
The 52 ministries and departments where the young IAS officers have been posted as assistant secretaries have been divided into four clusters — social, economic, infrastructure and regulatory. 
 
Further, these clusters have been assigned to Jugal Mohapatra (secretary, rural development), AC Duggal (secretary, finance services), Amitabh Kant (secretary, DoPT) and Sanjay Kothari (secretary, DoPT) respectively, who have been tasked with meeting every 15 days to take stock of the performance of the assistant secretaries. 
 
On August 26, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=cabinet+secretary+" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">cabinet secretary</a> PK Sinha held a special meeting and assigned the job to these senior secretaries. Sinha also directed the ministries to allot desks pertaining to the <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword>'s flagship programmes to the new officers or programmes which have a bearing on states in terms of implementation. This will give the officers an opportunity to look at the projects from the point of view of both Centre and the ground level, Sinha said at the meeting. 
 The DoPT is keeping a close watch on the number of files initiated and disposed of at the desk of each <keyword id="222361" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="assistant-secretary">assistant secretary</keyword>, who has to attend meetings within and outside the ministry with other officers as well. The trainees have been asked to meet every officer in their ministry. 
 
As per the 13-week work calendar, the assistant secretaries have to meet officers and secretaries across the board in the first two weeks, identify a specific project in the third week on which they will do extensive and intensive work, and work on action on frontlines for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on October 2. 
 
Between the fourth and the eight weeks, they will have to come to grips with the intricacies of implementation of schemes and projects, and "wear the thinking caps — question and challenge existing processes and policies" in the ninth and tenth weeks. 
 The 11th and 12th weeks will be time to "bring it all together" with a presentation to the secretary on two processes that can be simplified or modified and bring files handed by the officer to the logical end. The assistant secretaries have already had meetings with principal secretary to the PM, Cabinet secretary, foreign secretary, home secretary, <keyword id="51689" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Railway-Board">Railway Board</keyword> chairman, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Comptroller+and+Auditor+General" target="_BLANK￿￿￿￿">Comptroller and Auditor General</a>, central information commissioner, central vigilance commissioner, chief election commissioner and NITI Aayog V-C. 
 
They have attended two recent conferences held by the PM this month and submitted weekly notes on their activities since their stint began on September 1. Besides, the Institute of Secretariat Training and Management has sent 23 case studies on noting and drafting which have been distributed among the assistant secretaries. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Modi to ‘Fresher’ babus: On your toes, get set go!

State-owned banks in India might receive an investment of $3 billion this fiscal as the government plans to help re-capitalise the sector and allow it to meet Basel III rules. 
 <keyword id="46929" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-secretary">Finance Secretary</keyword> <keyword id="1928895" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajiv-Mehrishi">Rajiv Mehrishi</keyword>, who is accompanying <keyword id="6355261" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-minister">Finance Minister</keyword> <keyword id="42575" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arun-Jaitley">Arun Jaitley</keyword> on a US visit seeking more <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword> informed about the developement. Mehrishi also said that India might potentially inject an amount of $6 billion next year. 
 "What we are aiming at is an infusion of about $3 billion in the current year and perhaps twice as much in the next year,” said the <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="finance">Finance</keyword> secretary. 
 
A report published in Economic Times says that the intended injection into state banks is significantly higher than the estimate of 79.4 billion rupees ($1.25 billion) given in the government's budget for this fiscal year. 
 
The Finance secretary also informed that India could also finance the increased injection amount through supplemental funding that is available to the government outside the budget.

India to facilitate state-owned banks with $3 billion this fiscal

<ul><li>New deal saved 2.86% for the Indian exchequer, says India's federal auditor.</li><li>Latest report tabled in the Parliament will help Modi in fighting corruption charges from the opposition.</li><li>Opposition had hoped to corner the Modi government over the controversial defence deal.</li></ul> The Narendra Modi government struck a better deal than the Congress, that's the verdict from the <keyword id="6379775" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Comptroller-and-Auditor-General-of-India">Comptroller and Auditor General of India</keyword> (CAG), the country's federal auditor, which tabled its report on the controversial 2015 deal to buy 36 Rafale jets from French company Dassault, according to news reports. "Compared to the 126 aircraft deal, India managed to save 17.08% money for the India-specific enhancements in the 36 Rafale contract," news agency ANI said, adding that,"the delivery schedule of the first 18 Rafale aircraft is better than the one proposed in the 126 aircraft deal, by five months." However, the full price of the jets have been redacted in the report based on the insistence of the Defence Ministry citing the Indo-French agreement of 2008 and the provisions of inter-government agreement, another news agency IANS reported. In April 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that India will buy 36 French-manufactured Rafale fighter jets off-the-shelf. This was a departure from the original plan, under the previous regime, under which India would buy 18 off-the-shelf jets and another 108 would be assembled by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited or HAL in Bengaluru. Modi , however, intervened and decided to buy 36 "ready-to-fly" fighters instead of trying to acquire technology from Dassault and make it in India. "A Defence Ministry team in March 2015 recommended the scrapping of the 126 Rafale deal saying that Dassault Aviation was not the lowest bidder and EADS (European Aeronautic Defence &amp; Space Company) was not fully compliant with the tender requirements," the CAG report said according to ANI. The opposition parties had cornered the incumbent Modi government alleging that the ₹590 billion deal was more expensive and it included kickbacks. It was also said that the deal was made to help Anil Ambani, whose Reliance Naval and Engineering was reportedly brought in to support Dassault. Both entities have denied this. Modi also faced a direct <a href="https://twitter.com/INCIndia/status/1093733762104524800/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1093733762104524800&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hindustantimes.com%2Findia-news%2Fdefence-ministry-note-proves-pm-bypassed-negotiations-with-france-on-rafale-deal-rahul%2Fstory-EUd4UAbFWTQ9lX6XODsLkM.html" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">charge</a> after news reports revealed that the Prime Minister's Office had intervened in the deal negotiations and in fact, dismissed the apprehensions of its own Defence Ministry. The latest report from CAG will be a big blessing for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be seeking re-election in the upcoming summer. However, the opposition was already prepared. Prior to the release of the report, the Congress party had pre-emptively dismissed the findings of the report, explaining that Rajiv Mehrishi, the current Comptroller and Auditor General of India, took part in the deal’s negotiations.

CAG report on Rafale deal is a blessing for Modi government

<ul><li>The quarry exploitation took place at the sand quarries in Karur and Cuddalore districts and was expanded to its neighbouring states. </li><li>When the <keyword id="6356851" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="cag">CAG</keyword> saw the coordinates of the approved area on <keyword id="97416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google-maps">Google Maps</keyword>, they realised that the mining was actually being done in a different area. </li><li>The estimated penalty for the act is about ₹5.053 billion. </li></ul>Google Maps has come to the aid of law enforcement in <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>. The Android maker’s mapping application was used by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Rajiv Mehrishi, to expose irregularities in river <keyword id="6361591" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sand-mining">sand mining</keyword> in the southern state of Chennai. The <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/google-maps-help-cag-find-quarry-exploitation/articleshow/64923954.cms">illegal mining</a> took place at the sand quarries in Karur and Cuddalore districts. A quarry at Neyvasal, Cuddalore was expanded to the neighbouring district Ariyalur district. According to CAG report submitted on Monday (9 July), the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) had given environmental clearance for about 19 hectares for a quarry at Neyvasal. However, when the CAG saw the latitude and longitudinal coordinates of the approved area on Google Maps, it realised that the mining was actually done in a different area. Only about 4.23 hectares of the actually used land was under the river bed. The rest of the area was private lands. Furthermore, the total volume of sand dug at Neyvasal and Ariyalur district was 1.334 million cubic meter, however, the permitted quantity was 1.9 lakh cubic meter. The estimated penalty for the act amounts to ₹5.053 billion. In the records, the total value of sand seized by the enforcement authorities during 2014-15 to 2016-17 was merely 311,000 hectares and the penalty collected was ₹17.5 million. The sand quarry operations wing of the Public Works Department (PWD), which monitors river sand mining in <keyword id="20154" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</keyword>, had found this kind of exploitation at the Neyvasal quarry earlier as well. A joint inspection with the Geology and Mining and revenue departments back in August 2017 had revealed that the depth and areas mined were more than the approved limit.

Indian authorities used Google Maps to expose illegal sand mining activities

To check counterfeiting, the government plans to change security features of higher denomination banknotes of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 every 3-4 years in accordance with global standards, as per a news report by the PTI. 
 
The move comes in the wake of recovery of a large amount of fake Indian currency notes in last four months after demonetisation. 
 
The issue was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting on Thursday attended by senior officials of the ministries of Finance and Home, including Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi. 
 
Advocating the move, Home Ministry officials said most of the developed countries change security features of their currency notes every 3-4 years and therefore, it is absolutely necessary for India to follow this policy. 
 
The change in design of Indian currency notes of higher denominations was long due. Till its demonetisation, there had been no major change in the Rs 1,000 note since its introduction in 2000. Changes in the old Rs 500 note, which was launched in 1987, were carried out more than a decade ago. 
 
The newly introduced notes had no additional security features and were similar to those in the old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes, officials said. 
 
A close look by the investigators on some of the recently seized fake notes found that at least 11 of the 17 security features in the new Rs 2,000 notes had been replicated. 
 
These included the transparent area, watermark, Ashoka Pillar emblem, the letters 'Rs 2000' on the left, the guarantee clause with the Reserve Bank of India Governor's signature and the denomination number in Devanagari on the front, officials said. 
 
Besides, the motif of 'Chandrayaan', the 'Swachh Bharat' logo and the year of printing had been copied on the reverse side. Although the print and paper quality of the seized counterfeits was poor, they resembled genuine notes. 
 
The officials said the change of security features of currency notes in every 3-4 years will lead to curbing of counterfeiting to a great extent. 
 
Those who were arrested recently along with fake notes with face value of Rs 2,000 have told investigators that the notes were printed in Pakistan with the help of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and had been smuggled into the country through Bangladesh, the officials claimed. 
 
A study conducted by the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, in 2016 pegged the value of fake Indian currency notes in circulation at Rs 400 crore.

Government has come up with a
grand plan to check counterfeit notes. Here’s how

The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=RBI+governor+">RBI governor</a> might not enjoy veto power anymore on the <keyword id="6375120" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="monetary-policy-committee">Monetary Policy Committee</keyword> but could cast a vote, as per the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Finance+Ministry+">Finance Ministry</a> proposal which could soon be presented to the Cabinet. 
 The proposal is based on an understanding that the ministry has reached with the <keyword id="6354335" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> on the contours of the committee, reported the Economic Times. 
 
The government would move legislation in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Parliament">Parliament</a>, to amend the RBI Act after the Cabinet’s nod, paving the ground for the creation of the committee, setting in motion a key reform that was in <keyword id="6355261" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Finance-minister">Finance Minister</keyword> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Arun+Jaitley">Arun </a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Arun+Jaitley">Jaitley</a>'s February Budget. 
 
The panel is expected to have balanced representation from the central bank and the government, but RBI will also have a say in the appointment of any external nominees, officials said. 
 "There will be inter-ministerial consultations on the MPC proposal and then it would be taken to the <keyword id="6355512" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Union-Cabinet">Union Cabinet</keyword>," said a finance ministry source. 
 
"Understanding has been reached on MPC to the comfort of RBI," said another finance ministry official. The structure is at variance with that proposed in the draft <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Indian+Financial+Code+">Indian Financial Code</a> (IFC) recently posted on the Finance Ministry website that had proposed a seven-member MPC with four members appointed by the government and no mention of a veto for the governor. 
 That had led to a controversy, with critics accusing the government of seeking to clip <keyword id="64190" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="RBI-Governor">RBI governor</keyword>'s wings, forcing the ministry to backpedal and say the draft merely encapsulated the views of the "people". 
 <keyword id="46929" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Finance-secretary">Finance Secretary</keyword> Rajiv Mehrishi was at pains to point out on Monday that agreement with the central bank had been reached on MPC and the storm further abated the next day after RBI Governor <keyword id="6358908" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Raghuram-Rajan">Raghuram Rajan</keyword> said a veto was not necessarily a good thing. A committee would be far more effective, he said. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

Is this officially the end of RBI's autonomy? Arun Jaitley's to seek nod for 'no veto power' for RBI governor!

India’s federal auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), gave the Modi government a comfortable headline — the final cost of Rafale jets as negotiated by the incumbent government was cheaper than the deal struck by the previous Congress government. While the report deftly evaded the questions of alleged corruption, it has certainly exposed a set of serious problems in the way India buys its arms and ammunition, no matter which political party is in power. The issues highlighted by Rajiv Mehrishi, the CAG, not only indicate the room for and possibilities of corruption and kickbacks, it may also compel people to question if the country’s unsuspecting forces are wielding substandard equipment. Here are some of the shocking truths: 1. Requirements are changed to include or exclude specific vendors The rules mandate that the Indian Air Force must clearly state its needs in verifiable and measurable terms before inviting bids from suppliers. People do that even before buying phones-- have a clear picture of what features they need and a price range-- before going to a shop or a website to buy a phone. Here, we are speaking about defence equipment. But, the CAG report noted, the requirements of the Air Force are changed several times. The Air Force diluted its needs in the purchase of Attack Helicopter and the <keyword id="134615" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Doppler-Weather-Radar">Doppler Weather Radar</keyword> as no vendor could meet its requirement. What is worse? The audit noted that in case of acquisition of Apache Attack Helicopters and Chinook Heavy Lift Helicopters, “the Air Staff Qualitiative Requirements (ASQR) were aligned to products of a particular vendor.” 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="Chinook Heavy Lift" msid="67982017" hostid="261"></div>













 India approved the purchase of Chinook Heavy Lift Helicopters and Apache Attack Helicopters from Boeing in 2015 for $2.5 billion under the Modi government. Boeing’s Chinook was up against Russian MI-26, which offered nearly double the capacity to transport weapons, supplies and soldiers. Suppose, forces have to be transported to a conflict zone, Chinook would take twice as many trips as the MI-26 would have. But the Air Force reduced its requirement which allowed for Boeing's bid to be accepted. Essentially, the needs of the Air Force were tweaked to match Boeing’s offering. 2. The decision to pick a certain aircraft, weapon or a vendor over another is often ad hoc In an ideal situation, the government would have a benchmark price set for a particular purchase, and the bids can be evaluated in relation to the benchmark. However, in many cases, the government changed the benchmark prices after opening the bids and ended up favouring one vendor over the others. In some cases like the procurement of Doppler Weather Radars and Apache Attack Helicopters, technical bids were rejected when the vendors failed to meet the parameters. But in other cases that included MMRCA, Heavy Lift Helicopters and C130 J30 aircraft, bids were technically qualified even when they did not meet critical ASQRs based on the assurance given by the respective vendors. 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="Apache Attack Helicopter" msid="67982126" hostid="261"></div>













 3. A vendor is allowed to make changes even after placing a bid In the case of the Basic Trainer Aircraft supplied by Pilatus, the Swiss company was allowed to change its offer after the bids were received from all potential vendors. The two other vendors had offered a better price by including certain hardware within their bid that Pilatus hadn’t. 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="Basic Trainer Pilatus" msid="67982127" hostid="261"></div>













 However, instead of accepting one of the other bids, the government decided to seek a clarification from Pilatus and allowed it to make its bid competitive again. The contract was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security, under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by the Congress, in May 2012. 4. Vendors can get away giving assurances What’s more unfair than allowing vendors to change bids after submission? At times when the vendor does not meet the requirements still, the government has taken the supplier’s word for future improvements, while either undermining the needs of the forces, or putting lives at risk. Both MI-26 and Chinook were cleared based on the presentation/assurance of the vendor to rectify the ASQR non-compliance before delivery. 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="MI26" msid="67982128" hostid="261"></div>













 The government does not even maintain proper records of the field trials of the equipments that were considered, making future reviews of such decisions difficult. 5. India could have bought weapons for cheaper prices but... Indians buying cars, or even two wheelers, are notorious for being penny wise. They not only consider the mileage but also the cost of maintenance before making their choice. Similarly, for defence equipment, mid-life upgrades for sustainment of the capabilities, if not for enhancement, should ideally be considered. However, the Indian government is a lot more lax, or selective in enforcing prudence. Out of eight cases, the government did not consider the costs that may be incurred during the life of the product purchased. For example, in 2017, the government decided that it <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/training-sim/2017/07/20/swiss-firm-not-extending-maintenance-deal-for-indias-pc-7-trainers/">cannot</a> continue using Pilatus’ trainer aircraft because the maintenance cost was raised too high. If this had been considered at the time of purchase, some other vendor may beat the Swiss manufacturer. 6. Endless delays The delay in decisions, signing of the contracts,and eventual procurement by the Indian government can be termed ‘proverbial’. “Against three years envisaged in Defence Procurement Process, four cases took more than three years and seven cases took more than five years to reach the contract conclusion stage. Delays in acquisition was essentially due to a complex and multi-level approval process, where objections could be raised at any stage,” the CAG report said. And delays cost money. 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="Doppler Weather Radar" msid="67982119" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The contract for Doppler Weather Radar was signed in 2012 and the actual delivery was in 2016.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>













 7. Unforced errors leading to higher cost India’s bureaucracy has also acted lazy at times. For instance, for all procurements from Russia or CIS countries, India allows for a 5% annual increase in cost, and for European suppliers the cost is allowed to increase by 3.5% every year of delay. The actual increase, going by market rates, would have been less than half. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cag-rajiv-mehrishi-who-tabled-rafale-deal-audit-report-in-parliament/articleshow/67975553.cms">The man who audited the Rafale deal is now the subject of the controversy</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cag-report-on-rafale-deal-tabled-in-parliament-says-jets-cheaper-under-modi-government-than-upa/articleshow/67970948.cms">CAG report on Rafale deal is a blessing for Modi government</a>

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The man who audited the Rafale deal is now the subject of the controversy

Dilsher Dhillon

Modi to ‘Fresher’ babus: On your toes, get set go!

BI India Bureau

India to facilitate state-owned banks with $3 billion this fiscal

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