Offset Absorption Roadmap for the Indian Air Force Offsets in some form or the other have been practiced in many countries over a long period of time. Even in India, licensed production contracts and technology transfer contracts with the erstwhile USSR were a type of offsets. However, Defence Procurement Procedure-2006 (DPP-2006) had streamlined the process to a great extent. DPP-2008 has refined the policy further. Sudhir V. Bal January 2009 Journal of Defence Studies
Offset Investment Inflow Priorities for Ordnance Factories Offset agreements are formal arrangements of trade where some sort of leverage is exploited by a buyer to obtain compensatory benefits in the case of high value off-shore purchases by forcing the seller to undertake well-designated activities for enhancing competitiveness, up-gradation of technology for domestic industries, additions to exports, up-gradation in the infrastructure in appropriate domestic sectors, etc. Though these are business deals with built-in reciprocity clauses, it is not a matter of establishing desired equivalence of inflow and outflow resources. S. Gopalaswamy January 2009 Journal of Defence Studies
Technology Inflows: Issues, Challenges and Methodology The defence offset policy mandates the foreign suppliers to plough back a minimum of 30 per cent of the contractual value of projects worth Rs. 300 crores or above to the domestic defence industry. The offset route is intended to strengthen the domestic defence industrial base through a combination of technology transfer, investment in R&D and in production facilities, besides export business generation. From the national view point, the offset aims self-reliance and indigenous capability enhancement in the vital defence sector involving advanced technology. S. P. Ravindran January 2009 Journal of Defence Studies
National Investigation Agency: A Good Start but not a Panacea On January 1, 2009 the National Investigative Agency Bill became a law. It provides for setting up a special agency at the national level “to investigate and prosecute offences affecting the sovereignty, security and integrity of India, security of State, friendly relations with foreign States and offences under Acts enacted to implement international treaties, agreements, conventions and resolutions of the United Nations, its agencies and other international organisations and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”. Pushpita Das January 12, 2009 IDSA Comments
Changing Face of Bodo Insurgency Intense internal rivalry among Bodo insurgents has proved to be the biggest hurdle to peace in Bodo-dominated areas of Assam. Internal differences within the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), the only surviving Bodo insurgent group, have further widened, following the expulsion of its founder-president, Ranjan Daimary, alias D.R. Nabla. Prospects for yet another round of fratricidal clashes are imminent, thus posing a significant threat to the peace process. M. Amarjeet Singh January 12, 2009 IDSA Comments
Will The Fall Of Killinochchi End Ethnic Crisis In Sri Lanka? After nearly four months of intense conflict, the Sri Lankan military has finally taken control of Killinochchi, a key northern Sri Lankan town and the de facto capital of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In fact, in the ongoing fourth Eelam War, Killinochchi is an important milepost, and thus constitutes an outstanding victory for the advancing troops and a big blow to the Tigers. In particular, the capture of the administrative capital of the rebels represents a symbolic victory for the Sri Lankan government, which has been fighting the rebels for over two decades. M. Mayilvaganan January 12, 2009 IDSA Comments
Offset Policy framework I shall basically discuss the road map which we have offsets in the country. We in fact have a very good phrase called quasi direct offsets for our system. It is not as direct as is understood internationally and a foreign OEM can in fact buy ships from India if they were to supply multi-role combat aircrafts. While this is true of all the offset proposals in the Ministry of Defence, I would like to mention that barring two or three cases, all cases are in fact ‘direct’ as is internationally known. Satyajeet Rajan January 2009 Journal of Defence Studies
Towards Better India-Bangladesh relations The landslide victory of the Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina in the December 29, 2008 parliamentary elections ended the two-year old political uncertainty in Bangladesh and marks the return of a democratic government. With 262 seats out of 299 for the Awami League-led Grand Alliance, Sheikh Hasina is entrusted with the onus of opening a new era in the history of Bangladesh. The mandate clearly shows that people voted to power the party that won the country’s independence from Pakistan, and rejected the BNP-led four-party combine which got only 32 seats. M. Shamsur Rabb Khan January 09, 2009 IDSA Comments
Oil Price Volatility and India’s Energy Security: Policies and Options The recent downslide in crude oil prices from a peak of US $147 a barrel to below $40 and speculated to fall further to $25 has evidently provided relief to oil importing countries, which have been triply inflicted by huge oil pool deficits, growing food prices and global economic downturn. But based on current oil market fundamentals and past experience, there is no reason not to believe that the current fall in oil prices is likely to be temporary. Sooner or later prices will rise and may even be higher than the recent peak because of two particular reasons. Zakir Hussain January 09, 2009 IDSA Comments
Bird Flu: A Lethal Threat In early January 2009, bird flu resurfaced with the death of a Chinese woman who was infected with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in the eastern Shandong province in… Continue reading Bird Flu: A Lethal Threat Reshmi Kazi January-March 2009 CBW Magazine
