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This episode of India First focusses on the mega defence deal to acquire 114 Rafale jets for the Indian Air Force and Pakistan’s Supreme Court order for an urgent medical evaluation of former Prime Minister Imran Khan after a report said he has lost 85% of vision in his right eye.
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00:00Good evening, you're watching India First. I'm Gaurav Savant. It's a day of fast-paced
00:07developments. The Defence Acquisition Council has cleared the procurement of 114 Rafale fighter jets
00:13in what is being described as the biggest defence acquisition worth about 3.25 lakh crore rupees.
00:20And we shall talk in greater detail about this, but that big story that's coming in from across
00:25the border in Pakistan. Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's family have made an urgent
00:32appeal for medical intervention. Imran Khan apparently, through his lawyers, has told the
00:39court that he only has 15%, one 5% vision in his right eye. Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered
00:48the formation of a medical team to examine Imran Khan. Now, Imran Khan is reported to have
00:55undergone a medical procedure at Pakistan's Institute of Medical Science of PIMS in Islamabad.
01:02And this happened two days before the Republic gave India. So, on the night of January 24,
01:08why is it that he had to be hospitalised and a procedure carried out at night in Pakistan,
01:14in PIMS Islamabad? His family claims that Pakistan Institute of Medical Science of PIMS Islamabad does
01:21not have the facilities required for the examination and procedures to be conducted. They've made an
01:28appeal in Pakistan's Supreme Court that a panel of experts, a panel of doctors should be formed to
01:35examine him. And his sisters want that their family doctor, the family doctor should be a part of this
01:42panel that examines Imran Khan. So, a division bench headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan,
01:49Yaya Afridi, and also as Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, that panel, or, you know, the division bench has
01:56directed the government to facilitate not just the formation of a panel to examine Imran Khan, but also,
02:02on the request of Imran Khan, facilitate a phone call so that Imran Khan can speak to his sons. His sons have been
02:11wanting to speak to him, but the Shahbaz Sharif government or Field Marshal Asim Munir's establishment,
02:17they're not permitting it, apparently, according to family and his party leaders. Imran Khan,
02:23incidentally, has been in jail since the 5th of August in 2023. Currently, he's in the high security
02:30Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. Imran Khan is now 74 years old. He's former Pakistan Prime Minister. He's former
02:39Pakistan World Cup winning captain. Apparently, he's been kept in isolation, if not in solitary
02:45confinement. And he's not being permitted to meet his family members, not being permitted to interact
02:50with his sons. The government, of course, has denied these charges. But on the formation of a panel of
02:56experts to examine him, let's listen in to voices that are coming in from Pakistan, including
03:02that of his lawyers and family. Listen in.
03:26So, joining me now for more on this developing story from Pakistan is Pakistani journalist Arzu
03:48Kazmi. Arzu, what can you tell us about Imran Khan's condition and limited vision in one eye?
03:59Unki sehet ke baare mein is sami kya pata chalpa raha hai? Kaaye jarae kyao eek aank se lag-bhag
04:05dhikha naa zak-dhekha bhand-dhekha hai? Kaayki te bond ho gaya hai, aah star apare- Simple
04:21India iriman, Islamibad Pimps Мыss hospital mee ki family ko inform nahi kiya gya. Unki ti party co
04:27Okay, but is he not getting proper medical treatment in Pakistan?
04:57He is claimed by his family or party leaders. He is not being permitted apparently to meet his family.
05:03Courts have had to intervene to get him to speak to his sons.
05:06Paribasar has not been given to him. He has to say that he is going to talk to his wife on the phone.
05:12Paribasar has not been given to him.
05:42Okay, apparently there are still many cases that are pending against Imran Khan.
05:47He has got bail in some conditions but in some cases there are allegations that there is a conspiracy to keep him in jail
05:55so that Field Marshal Aasir Munir has a free run in Pakistan.
06:00He is not being given to him from jail. He is being held in one case after one case.
06:05So could it be worse for him now?
06:12Look, Imran Khan cases are very few cases.
06:15In Pakistan you can imagine that you can imagine that anything can be possible in Pakistan.
06:21So it can be possible that Imran Khan would be able to get out of this case.
06:23But it can be possible that Imran Khan would be able to get out of this case.
06:25Because now it is also possible that if they are not going to be able to get out of this case,
06:29but it is said two swords cannot stay in one's cabinet
06:59it is being said that both imran khan and asib munir they cannot coexist in pakistan
07:09operating free leave either one has to be in jail leave the country
07:13or as some say at least one of the two will have to go six feet under
07:18can imran khan and asib munir remain in pakistan
07:21okay you know before i let you go and since you mentioned the military establishment
07:48in the past 24 hours there have been some reports though restricted to social media
07:53about the condition of general kamar javed bajwa former pakistan army chief
07:58there are all sorts of rumors doing the rounds that he fell down in his house
08:02he's in coma he's been he's in hospital and apparently he doesn't have the best of ties
08:08with general asib munir اس کے بارے میں آپ ہم کیا بتا سکتی ہے جنرل
08:12bajwa کی condition کے بارے میں
08:13جی بلکل کل یہی reports آئیں تھی کہ وہ اپنے گھر کے washroom میں گرے ہیں
08:20اور ان کو head injuries آئیں ہیں تین جگہ پر head injuries ہوئی ہیں اور
08:24internal bleeding ہوئی ہے اس کے بعد ان کو icu میں رکھا گیا ہے تو
08:28سب پوچھ یہ رہے ہیں کہ اگر head injury ہوئی ہے تو تین head injuries
08:33کیسے ہو گئی ہیں اور اس کے بعد یہ بھی کہا جا رہا ہے کہ ان کو وہ
08:38کسی کو پہلے پہچان نہیں رہے تھے icu میں ان کو رکھا گیا ہے
08:42قومہ میں تھے پھر اس کے بعد تھوڑی سی طبیعت ان کی سملی ہے وہ اپنے
08:46بیٹوں وغیرہ کو انہوں نے پہچانا ہے لیکن اس وقت بھی حالت جو ہے وہ
08:50critical بتائی جا رہی ہے تو کئی لوگ یہ بات بھی کر رہے ہیں کہ شاید کئی
08:55ایسے points تھے کئی ایسے secrets تھے جو جنرل باجوا کے پاس ہیں اور ایسا
09:00تو نہیں کہ یہ گردے کا جو ہوا ہے اس میں کوئی اور angle بھی نکل
09:05سکتا ہے لوگ ایسا بھی کہہ رہے ہیں کیونکہ آپ یہ دیکھئے کہ
09:09اگر کوئی گر جاتا ہے واش روم میں for example تو head injuries
09:12تین head injuries کیسے ہو سکتی ہیں اور وہ بھی اتنی سیویر قسم کی
09:17تو اس لیے بھی یہاں پر لوگ ہر طرح کا سوال کر رہے ہیں لیکن ابھی
09:21فیلال جو ہے آئی ایس پی آر کی طرف سے جو میڈیا کو بتایا گیا
09:25یا جو ٹی وی چینلز پہ بتایا جا رہا ہے وہ یہی ہے کہ وہ
09:28bathroom میں اس لیے پوکر گر گئے ہیں اور اب ان کا
09:30treatment چل رہا ہے
09:31okay so the situation in pakistan does remain
09:36extremely especially about if we were to talk about imran khan
09:41will he get the kind of medical attention that the family wants him to get
09:44we'll track that story
09:46arzu for the moment many thanks for joining me
09:48in november last year i had spoken to imran khan's sister
09:53noreen niyazi about field marshal asim munir and the tussle between asim munir and imran khan
10:02listen in to what she told me then
10:04purani khaوت ہے کہ ایک میان میں دو تلوارے نہیں رہ سکتی پاکستان میں اس
10:11سمیں دو سب سے طاقتور شخص ہیں ایک imran khan اور دوسرا جنرل
10:17asim munir اور دونوں ایک دوسرے کے ایک طرح سے دشمن بتائے جاتے ہیں تو ایسے
10:21میں اگر asim munir کے پاس آج power ہے تو وہ کیوں imran khan کو بچنے دیں گے
10:26لیکن پھر دیکھیں آپ کہ ان کے asim munir کو یہ نہیں پتا کہ imran khan
10:31نہ قاتل ہے نہ ظالم ہے imran khan asim munir کے ساتھ وہ نہیں کرے گا
10:35جو یہ کر رہے ہیں کیونکہ imran khan نے کبھی کسی پر ظلم نہیں کیا
10:39کہ یہ سوچیں بھی نہ imran khan کو کچھ کرنے کا کیونکہ یہ اگر
10:43سمجھتے ہیں کہ imran khan کو قتل کر کے یہ بچ جائیں گے یہ بچیں گے نہیں
10:47یہ سارے کے سارے ایک نہیں یہ سارے باجماعت اور ان کے خاندان بھی نہیں
10:52بچیں گے کیونکہ لوگ پھر نہیں چھوڑیں گے دیکھیں یہ کبھی ان کو سارے
10:56اور یہ آپ فیل مارشل آسف munir کو بھی کہہ رہی ہیں فیل مارشل آسف munir ہو
10:59یا کوئی ہو یہ آپ دو کو کہہ رہی ہیں جو بھی جو بھی اس میں شامل ہوگی
11:03جو بھی شامل ہوگا ہے imran khan کے اس میں پھر وہ اس کی زندگی پھر
11:07نہ دنیا میں نہیں رہے گی وہ نہیں بچیں گے اور پھر جو ان کے
11:10بچے دنیا میں جہاں بھی جائیں گے لوگ ان کو بھی نہیں چھوڑیں گے
11:14okay let me now get you our top story here in india the ministry of defense has cleared the
11:21procurement of an additional 114 Rafale fighter jets for the indian air force the defense
11:26acquisition council headed by defense minister rajnath singh approved the procurement of this
11:324.5 generation Rafale fighter jet the deal is said to be the largest defense deal worth close to
11:37about 3.25 lakh crore or between 35 to 40 billion dollars we are told about 88 of these would be
11:47single seater 26 would be twin seater fighter jets 18 are to be brought to india in flyaway condition
11:54and the remaining are to be made in india assembled in india perhaps with some degree of technology
12:02transfer initially about 30 percent may go up to 60 percent india today's shivani sharma brings you this report
12:10from operation sindhu to the future of india's air dominance
12:31the hero of the skies is back in focus
12:34more rafales are incoming as india signs the mother of all defense dees
12:41after operation sindhu where the rafale was projected as a backbone of india's air power
12:51the vice chief of the air staff air marshal nagesh kapoor called the aircraft the hero of the operation
12:57signaling the air force's clear intent to induct more multi-role fighters india now has cleared one
13:04of its biggest ever military acquisitions a staggering 3.6 lakh crore rupees agreement with
13:09france to procure 114 rafale fighter jets for the indian air force rafale definitely was a hero
13:17uh amongst other heroes uh during uh op sindhu indian air force is definitely looking forward to induct a
13:25lot more of these newer generation aircraft into our inventory and the sooner the better
13:31the proposal has been cleared by the defense acquisition council just ahead of french president's
13:38visit to delhi sending a strong strategic signal if approved by the cabinet committee on security
13:45this deal will dramatically expand india's air combat strength and deepen defense ties with paris
13:51under this deal 18 rafales will be delivered directly from france
13:5696 jets will be manufactured and assembled in india a major boost to domestic aerospace capability
14:03so why does this deal matter it underlines india's strategic trust in france
14:10sets the tone for macros india visit and deepens defense cooperation between new delhi and paris
14:17it will also boost the air force's bin link's quarter and strength and will reshape india's air
14:22power for the next three decades not just that it also gives french defense firms a long-term
14:29industrial footprint in india while most are healing the deal some are not convinced critics argue the
14:36total cost which could exceed 40 billion dollars after factoring in weapons packages maintenance
14:43spares and upgrades this may strain defense budgets and impact indigenous programs so the question is is
14:51india strengthening its skies or stretching its purse the final call now rests with the cabinet
14:56committee on security chaired by prime minister nirendra modi the defense ministry sources have indicated that
15:05this will be on a condition of 40 to 50 percent indigenous content and full authorization of integration of
15:13weapons according to indian needs so now the way is paved for 114 rafale jets and in addition to
15:21the two squadrons one in ambala in hashimara indian air force will have new squadrons of the rafales
15:28as india weighs security imperatives against fiscal realities one thing is clear the rafale is no
15:35longer just a fighter jet it is a statement of strategy and power vishivani sharma bureau report india today
15:44so rafale is definitely the buzzword words of air marshall nagesh kapoor vice chief of air staff in fact air
15:54marshall kapoor described rafale as one of the heroes of operation sindur the iaf squadron strength incidentally
16:01depleting from the sanctioned 37 and a half squadrons from the desired 42 squadrons now down to just about 29 30 31
16:09squadrons uh that's that's the figure that air force sources tell india today what does the rafale
16:16acquisition plan actually mean for the indian air force for the atma nirbhar bharat in defense project
16:23and of course for the fifth generation fighter jet program the amca program uh i want to bring in our
16:28guests on this show air marshall sanjeev kapoor former director general flight safety and inspections
16:33colonel ajay shukla a well-respected defense analyst sandeep unethan senior journalist but before i come to
16:38our guests i quickly want to cut across and bring in our defense uh editor shivani sharma joining us
16:43for more on this shivani you've been speaking to your sources in the indian air force and we heard
16:48air marshall nagesh kapoor saying rafale's one of the heroes the sooner the better what does what does
16:55the rafale acquisition mean for them right now when are they hoping that the first jets in flyaway
17:01will be will be in india part of the way things are moving it seems that the mod is also very quick
17:10it is very quick in procurement of these rafales since we know that the 114 mrfa program has been
17:16in the pipeline for some time now but indian air force desperately needs new fighter jets we've seen
17:22how the operational situation is emerging especially after operation sindhu so a lot of aggressive
17:27procurement is going on and when it comes to 114 rafales we have already seen that on 15th of
17:34january the defense procurement board had given a nod now uh the defense acquisition council has
17:40already approved and given the approval for the aon and we through the sources we know that since
17:46uh emmanuel macron would would be in india between 17th and 19th the things are moving quite fast so
17:51uh the things are now uh may be made quite cooks quick so that the indian air force gets the 114 rafale in
18:01fact the first squadron should fly in uh in next two to three years that that is the aim so uh we assume
18:11and we expect that very soon the indian air force will get the first squadron of this particular deal
18:17that is to be cracked shivani for the moment many thanks for joining me air marshall kapoor 18 in
18:23flyaway condition the rest to be assembled uh in india then made in india explain what this means for
18:29the iaf with squadron strength now down to about 30 squadrons sir good evening to you and the fellow
18:38panelists the inductions of lca mark one also is not complete they were to join the indian air force
18:46by 2016 two are still pending the others lca mark one alphas were to come into service by 2018 and were
18:56to be operationalized by 2021 as per the original program they have still we are in 2026 they have
19:02still not joined the service so there could be many factors you know engines sensor integration
19:08certification issues you can you know endlessly go on so though the five are ready but it still lacks
19:15the key components of which the air force has said that we first fulfill and then now as you covered
19:20there is a massive shortfall that is going on in this constant and both adversaries north and west
19:28and also uh the the threats which are looming around in the neighborhood entails indian air force to be
19:35absolutely ready now the mrfa evaluation that were done in 2007 to 11 and we did g2g in 2016
19:45the india of 2026 is much different than india of 2016 so if you see what has happened in the last
19:53few months we have got the m88 safran mro here in india the tartars and the adjacent you know setup is
20:03making the fuse large for rafael there are large number of companies which are msmes and the other
20:11startups which are integrating their components into rafael rafael order book has crossed more than 600
20:17and they are looking to shift out of bordeaux because they need a final assembly line somewhere
20:22so the most convenient place in all this is i'm coming to indian though nothing has been said as
20:30yet but it is one of the options for the company to set it up here on the other hand the india the
20:36negotiations which will go plus interoperability with the navy the training the simulators
20:42fair enough tactics so it it falls into place to meet the shortfall and now if it falls into place
20:51sandeep how is this agreement different from the one that was scrapped earlier there are critics who
20:56say there's been loss of time there's been loss of money is the new deal materially different from
21:03the one that was either scrapped or not taken through to its logical conclusion well absolutely
21:08this new deal seems to be different from the previous one and i'll just explain very quickly why
21:13one is of course the three big takeaways from this deal is that one is that india signaling that france
21:18is its strategic partner of choice it's not just for the fighter jets but also for the engine as air marshal
21:24kapoor mentioned the second big takeaway is of course the dipping squadron strength you're looking at an air force
21:30which is the one of the smallest indian air forces possibly since the 1962 war less than 30 squadrons as you
21:36mentioned and the third big takeaway gaurav is that this possibly represents india setting up a second
21:42fighter production line outside of hal now hal has done the sue 30s it's building the lca mark one and
21:50the mark one alpha and then go on to the mark two hal has plenty of orders the government seems to be
21:56indicating that it wants to create a second production line which possibly will be set up in the dral at
22:02nagpur the dasal reliance is line in nagpur that is possibly where these rafales the 90 odd rafales that
22:10we are talking of will be assembled there the first deal the original mmrca deal spoke about assembling
22:17these aircraft in hal and there was an issue over the certification of the final aircraft das all said
22:25that they would not certify those aircraft built by hal and that's why one of the reasons why that deal
22:29fell through but here you're looking at that's all taking over with a private sector player that
22:35could possibly be that uh tata group which has experience in uh you know building wings and
22:40fuselage parts so this is very different from the previous uh deal in terms of the previous deal yes but
22:47has there been uh you know colonel shukla loss of time uh how do you view this in terms of you know
22:54finally inking it now uh ahead of the french president's uh visit uh to india should this
23:01process i mean we've been talking about this from 2010 11 then 16 17 and now finally 2026 should it
23:08have been done earlier or those that deal was very different from the one that's being inked now
23:13um a very good evening to all of you uh i think you're absolutely on the button on this uh gaurav
23:21uh there are many many as questions to be asked over how the deal is being concluded and whether it
23:29should have been done earlier uh the fact of the matter is that we already operate seven types of
23:35fighter aircraft uh if you count continue to count the mig mig 21 which is now on its last way out
23:43uh you have all those different types of aircraft with numerous uh logistical problems that
23:51arise from the just from the sheer numbers that we're talking about uh i think that uh what is
23:59really needed is for the air force and the mod to take a step back take a larger longer term view of
24:09uh what what what is worth keeping what is worth getting rid of uh aircraft like the jaguar aircraft
24:17like the mirage 2000 mirage 2000 is still got some service in it but uh you know there there really is
24:25a need to evaluate some of the aircraft that we have on and at the same time and lastly uh i think that
24:34uh the tejas and the tejas mark one alpha then going on to tejas mark two uh this is for force the aircraft
24:43of the future uh there are can they continue to be i am the first to admit it uh problems in the way
24:51that it's being handled by hand but uh i think that uh there is a future in that and there's a future in
24:59looking inwards at uh what we can build within our own resources so i think these are some of the
25:06things that need to be done a marshal kapoor report say china has more fifth generation j20 fighter jets
25:13deployed in their western thira command against india than the entire fighter strength of the indian air
25:18force uh here our procurement of this 4.5 generation aircraft uh it'll take time to come from the inking of
25:26the deal to the time that the first squadron finally comes in to the time that you have all the
25:30aircraft in does that keep us vulnerable in the air not just perhaps you know pakistan we can deal
25:37with but vis-a-vis china absolutely the i have spoken on large forums and many places the pace at which
25:47the infrastructure is coming up in western china and the tibet area the the number of airfields
25:55the helipads their storage dumps their hardened shelters their missile sites that all these are
26:03coming up at such a rapid pace including laying out of railway lines east to west highways and
26:10integrating it to all the nerve centers now this is a case of worry for us and i also read this report
26:18wherein it says the the western sector has more aeroplanes and the elephant march picture that was
26:24moving around on social media since yesterday highlights this thing but uh let's take it with
26:31a pinch of salt the the the chinese way of doing things is more for pomp and shock the military parades
26:39their ceremonial parades uh is more for the global audience uh their uh you know tactics and the
26:45movements around uh south china sea or taiwan or these areas are for global audience and these pictures
26:53are also selectively released at a time when they know that india is watching and the strength is
26:58depleting uh yes their numbers are their uh equipments are much superior than what we have
27:05their indigenization and other capabilities are far far ahead of us but i always say in the end it is
27:14you know the man behind the machine uh in my opinion that counts more than the machine itself
27:19and we have seen it in all the wars be it 62 65 71 cargil the the capability of indian people to
27:28operate these uh machines which have already been phased out globally is something which i'm very
27:35confident of our training our adaptability our integration are taking away taking the the components
27:43of 70s and 80s and integrating it with the uh platforms as new as rafael's is in fact even in
27:50operation sindoor we saw uh how you know the the second world war zoo 23 guns and l70s were integrated
27:58with the latest uh integrated air defense system and how india did much better than than pakistan but
28:04if i may and stay on the subject of rafael for a moment uh sandeep going in for this 4.5 generation
28:11aircraft and this you know 3.25 lakh crore rupee deal um will this adversely impact our quest for a
28:19fifth generation aircraft is this the best way forward uh the made in india amca and does this
28:25mean that we are no longer looking at maybe two squadrons of um of su-57s or any other aircraft
28:31well uh gaurav very clearly we are looking for the fifth generation fighter aircraft from uh russia
28:37probably two or three squadrons that's still on the table but there are issues with whether russians
28:42can supply it uh in in time but you know the rafael deal has to be seen in terms of the aircraft that
28:49it will replace it's not just about replacing the aircraft that you've already retired it's about
28:53the aircraft that you will replace over the next decade as colonel shukla mentioned that you have the
28:58jaguars you have the mirages which are over four decades old the rafael is being pushed by the indian
29:03air force as a replacement for those platforms the mirages the jaguars simply because it is a
29:08multi-role aircraft it's it is it can be used for deep penetration strike it can be used for air
29:14dominance nuclear deterrence uh a long-range maritime strike it has a phenomenal uh capabilities it's got
29:22a you know a range of a radius of about 1800 kilometers it can carry 10 tons of uh you know uh weapons
29:30on 14 hard points 10 tons to give you an idea gaurav is two mig-21s it can carry two mig-21s under its
29:37wings that's the capability of this aircraft now coming to the point about taking away from indigenous
29:42uh you know fighter aircraft program there is no way forward but for us to invest in the amca in the
29:48lca tejas mark ii all of these are our building blocks for our own atmanirbar fighter ecosystem but
29:55clearly the air force has said look we need these aircraft for the short term uh because as the air
30:00chief uh uh ap singh mentioned recently that the indian air force needs something like 35 to 40
30:07fighter jets every year china is adding on 150 odd aircraft a year the indian air force bear you know
30:15the bare minimum we need is about 40 aircraft that's a little over two squadrons and uh the idea is that
30:21you get some aircraft from hal and you get the rest from this production line that you're going
30:25to set up this second production lines for fighter jets okay uh colonel shukla would a deal which is
30:32one being called the mother of all defense deals a 3.25 lakh crore um going in for these aircraft
30:39which may have perhaps initially limited transfer of technology limited indigenization would that
30:45adversely impact india's indigenization program the fifth generation aircraft or this is the need of
30:51the hour uh there is no way there's no other way as of now to go about it uh gaurab there has to be a
31:00certain amount of uh cooperation between aircraft that are being bought uh from overseas uh aircraft that
31:09are being built at the at the initial stages aircraft for whom we are only looking at the technology so
31:17far uh like the amca and so on uh and all of these have a valid and legitimate place in uh in the
31:26arming of an air force so i think i would just answer your question very briefly by saying
31:32we have to deal with all of them we have to have a sort of a more cooperative arrangement between
31:39the indian air force and hl both of them have uh sort of some things to learn from some things that
31:46they still need to uh get off the ground on uh but uh this is uh it's i think very encouraging
31:54that we have got a series of aircraft now for the present aircraft like the rafael and at the same
32:03time we are continuing to make headway on the futuristic programs like amca and so on so i'm
32:09i mean i think that's the way to go i'm sure uh the air marshal would would sort of have something to
32:14say on this uh and uh let's keep our fingers crossed on that in fact air marshal kapoor that's the
32:21question i was coming to that last time there was an issue with certification of um hal the the proposed
32:27hal manufactured rafael and the timelines on that so given that reports say 18 aircraft will come in a
32:34flyaway condition the rest through license production in india how confident are you sir
32:38that the domestic assembly line uh one will be able to keep pace to not dilute what is extremely
32:44critical is quality control and safety standards where sadly in the past there have been instances
32:49that hal has been found wanting that there is accountability and when required the ability to ramp
32:56up hcl has a wonderful layout over the decades they have one of the finest layouts to manufacture an
33:05aeroplane anywhere in this part of the world now the problems are two in my opinion one is the project
33:12management uh and third second is the accountability uh the timelines like i just covered have been
33:19slipping from the day one uh there is some reason or the other so there is an inherent flaw in the system
33:25wherein everybody starting from the manufacturer to designer to provider to the user comes under one
33:32ministry so uh i there is a need i feel uh to put some parts away and under different verticals this is
33:41one suggestion second the turning point which has come a few days ago is selection of prototype
33:49manufacturing uh the shortlisted of three private companies that is uh the tatas bharat fuj and lnt
33:56now this conveys a singular message that hcl has enough on its plate and of all the listed things with
34:07which the selection was to be done i was reading that the ratio set was one is to three means
34:13whatsoever is the annual revenue you should have you know uh the demands not more than thrice but
34:19hcl has one is to eight yes hcl has one is to eight it means all what they produce in one year they have
34:27an order book of eight times more than that pending that includes upgrades of 200 230s that includes you know
34:34production of lca mark 1 alpha mark 2 helicopters hdt name endless upgrades of dorniers jaguars so the the
34:45plate is already full so now the government has done is that the prototypes but mind you neither of these
34:52three which have been shortlisted have any experience to manufacture a sophisticated aircraft
34:59parts and equipment like a fifth generation so this i will feel the design of ada which it is supposed
35:06to cooperate we will have to invest heavily either the government does or the company does it's a joint
35:13holding jv i'm not sure what comes out but the the manufacturing and the assembly has to come a very
35:21big way into this thing so at this time lines have to be maintained and respected quality control has to
35:27be insured yes part yes part you know sandeep once the contracts are put in place and executed
35:35india would be operating close to 176 rafales in all india will have the largest rafale fleet globally
35:42now does this scale sandeep create one strategic leverage with france or is there a fear it'll increase
35:51dependence on france a single original equipment manufacturer or going by past track record and
35:57especially given the relationship between india and france given the track record that even after
36:02the pokharan test they did not stop supplies france remains a reliable partner absolutely you know as
36:07you mentioned after pokharan after india became a nuclear weapons state there have been only two countries
36:12that we have imported fighter jets from russia and france and this relationship is only going to
36:18continue with the rafale and as air marshal kapoor mentioned that they would set up an mro here and
36:24there is a very large client base in and around asia it's quite possible that dasau will service their
36:31aircraft here in india rather than fly them back to france because the rafale is one of the biggest success
36:36stories of french aviation in recent years it's one of the most successful fighter jet programs uh in the recent
36:43decades it's beaten out several western american aircraft particularly in head-on competitions and
36:49it's a aircraft that particularly now with the way geopolitics is shaping up people who want to move
36:54away from american aircraft fighter jets uh you know reduce their dependence on american aircraft the rafale
37:02is the aircraft of choice okay in fact shukla that's that's a very interesting point uh you know given that
37:09vice chief of air staff also said rafale is definitely the buzzword do you see this dsc clearance
37:16effectively shut the door to any serious consideration maybe on future consideration for an f-35 or a newer
37:24generation of euro fighter or the grippin uh or is the window still open for a fifth generation aircraft
37:30cooperation with others also well i think uh one of the biggest uh sort of uh pluses of the rafale is
37:40that it is here it's here and now it's something that the aircraft has uh uh sort of in its fleet uh can
37:48put pilots into and fly missions uh as deemed necessary by the government so that is uh it's something that we
37:56have not had for quite some years uh a sort of state of the art aircraft that is ready for operations
38:04right now and to that extent the rafale is a wonderful story uh but at the same time uh there
38:11are uh there's on the sliding scale of uh efficiency we have aircraft that are already ready for uh for
38:20being uh retired into obsolescence uh the jaguar is one that comes straight to mind uh so i think
38:27that uh all in all we've got a sort of a range of aircraft now uh the air force when it's asked to fly
38:35a mission they will no longer be sort of looking at each other and saying what's the aircraft i'm going
38:40to fly this mission with uh so i think that uh to that extent there's a sort of positive buzz about
38:47the air force now uh and they just need to make sure that they translate it into buzz from the hl
38:54and lnt as you said yes and and the other private manufacturers uh that that will be coming in because
39:01air marshall kapoor uh we saw during operation sindoor whether it was the su-30 mki's with the brahma
39:06supersonic cruise missiles or the rafales um in your appreciation is the air force now absolutely on the
39:14right track or are there apprehensions that we are now getting caught in this big debate security now
39:20versus long-term self-reliance because because of this falling squadron strength the self-reliance
39:26story may perhaps take a back seat or that is not the case there's a there's an entire aviation
39:32ecosystem that's gradually coming along if you see last three years what all is happening we have
39:40started uh manufacturing c295 in india yes have you have you seen uh the flyaway only 16 aircrafts
39:48come and 40 the first one is expected to fly by september this year uh made in from 30 indigenous
39:55component for c295 it has gone up to 70 percent it will go in in a couple of years the the ecosystem
40:04coming around uh the aviation uh manufacturing uh companies is out of this world i interact i speak
40:12to large number of people more and more young boys and girls today are joining the startups which are
40:20and i'm personally aware of large number of people who are migrating back from the west that is us and
40:28europe back to india because they want to contribute uh amongst other factors so there is a time now
40:36that the government should formulate a policy of reverse brain drain get the and this what china did
40:45uh i was speaking to general raj shukla the other day when the chinese decided to change the gear
40:49they adapted the same policy they got the people of their origin back with healthy sops let our government
40:56take the lead the professionals in each aviation vertical and the other niche technologies with
41:01artificial intelligence machine learning space cyber get them back you know and around them you know
41:09take the private industry as well as the the brains the iit the indian institute of science the national
41:16technical institutions and create an r and d setup which the projects are now integrated with the armed
41:24forces these young boys and girls should be forming a part of the scott or any operational unit to
41:30understand after due clearances and then they go back on the drawing board and this healthy interaction
41:37has to continue if we have to become a global power as far as the defense aircraft manufacturing and to
41:43an extent sandeep we are already seeing this happen we're seeing this happen with drones we're seeing
41:48this happen in the artificial intelligence there's so much of it that's also happening so it's it's unfair
41:54right now to look at this self-reliance and defense versus security um offsets local assemblies all of
42:01it is happening simultaneously is it sandeep absolutely and you know what a marshall kapoor
42:06mentioned the fact that the services must drive innovation and indigenization you have the
42:12the spectacular example of the nuclear submarine project where from 1998 to 2026 uh you have four
42:19nuclear submarines ballistic missile submarines the most complex piece of nuclear uh military technology
42:25you have them in the water that is a a project that is driven by the indian navy it's got the
42:30department of atomic energy in it and the dr duo so the the service the user service has been driving
42:36this project similarly the air force must drive these projects as well gaurav and all of this that
42:41ecosystem that you're going to create is going to have to come from an all of nation approach and not by
42:46working in silos where you have ada blaming hal and hal blaming the air force and all three you know
42:51pointing fingers at each other we need to contribute together all everyone the whole of the nation
42:57approach i want to thank all my guests for joining me on this very interesting debate yes there are
43:02naysayers but then there are also those who say this is the right way to move about it on pricing we'll
43:10talk about that uh uh in in days and weeks to come you've seen the rafal power now witness the bramos
43:18power you saw it during operations now the adversary had nothing absolutely nothing to counter india's
43:26bramos supersonic cruise missile i want to show you an image of the bramos the bramos supersonic cruise
43:33missile uttar pradesh chief minister yogi adityanath watched that image he sent out a clear
43:40message of hard power vision showcasing the bramos supersonic cruise missile and you'd wonder why
43:47the uttar pradesh chief minister well he's updated his social media cover he signals a naya bharat
43:54and a naya uttar pradesh why naya uttar pradesh because lucknow is emerging as a global hub for
44:01defense production and bramos supersonic cruise missiles are being manufactured in india in luck now
44:08these homegrown missiles they strengthen india's strike precision deterrence and as you well know
44:16pakistan is going to even better their precision strike during operation sindhu we're slipping into a
44:22quick break back with lots more
44:30and this is being seen as part of that gunboat diplomacy exerting maximum
44:38patience is now preparing to send a second aircraft carrier
44:53in the gulf region and this is being seen as part of that gunboat diplomacy exerting maximum
45:00pressure on iran to come to the talks table and find a solution so there's cautious diplomacy there is
45:07risk of escalation u.s president donald trump he's met israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu now
45:12there isn't a definitive breakthrough but the positive sign is washington dc has signaled that it remains
45:18engaged with tehran there are indirect negotiations the ones in oman were described as somewhat
45:24constructive there are there is hope of a possible agreement now india today is the only channel to
45:30be reporting from ground zero in tehran swit chowdhury gets us more in this report
45:36will the us and iran reach a deal anytime soon or is an attack on iran imminent
45:49as west asia remains on edge u.s president donald trump hosted israeli prime minister
45:56benjamin netanyahu at the white house
45:58while trump said nothing definitive was reached during their exchange he added that u.s talks with
46:07iran would continue as the pushes for tehran to concede to a list of demands
46:14while arab leaders have largely advocated for de-escalation netanyahu has repeatedly called for
46:20further military action against iran india today is on ground in tehran as the only indian channel
46:28witnessing history unfold
46:37netanyahu's latest meeting with trump comes just after official from america and iran held indirect
46:44talks in oman aimed at diverting a military confrontation a senior security official from iran
46:52said the negotiations were good to some extent and expressed his view that the u.s appears willing
46:58to reach an agreement trump is following a maximum pressure strategy as he continues to put sanctions
47:05on iran iran's biggest research and technology center is among the multiple organizations battling
47:11american sanctions
47:14biggest technology hub of iran and india today group is one of the first channel of which is bringing all
47:22these pictures to you let me show you with what kind of center this is this is one of the most prominent
47:29centers technology hubs of iran and why we are here we are here just to show you what exactly
47:35because when the sanctions have been put on you for a very long period how will you survive so that
47:40is the biggest challenge with the iranian government and that's why the iranian government have been working
47:44continuously on the research part of this uh on a very prominent way doing different uh national
47:52and international projects that we have we host different activists in the field of innovation and
47:58technology so we are the producers of technology in iran we own as the government we only facilitate
48:06all the affairs for our member companies so for all those barriers and all those difficulties that
48:15we may face uh regarding the sanctions you know we facilitate the different things for our member
48:21companies so our member companies they have found their own solutions to enter to both national and
48:28international market all eyes are now on what iran's next move will be iran is not known to be
48:35one to cede to threats can the u.s and ally israel corner tehran into accepting a deal on their terms
48:44with sumit chaudhary in tehran bureau report india today
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