Within 10 days of the CBI closing its seven-year-old Barak kickbacks case, Defence Ministry quickly moved to clear the purchase of 262 Barak-I air defence missile for Rs 880 crore, paving the way for integrating them on board several Indian Navy warships. However, since the cost of the Barak-I purchase exceeds Rs 500 crore, it would have to get a final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security, the Prime Minister-headed highest decision making body of the government on matters of defence and security. This approval is expected in about a month’s time. “The Barak missile purchase has been cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Mr A K Antony,” a Defence Ministry source said here. The DAC also has Mr Antony’s deputy Mr Jitendra Singh, the three services chiefs and the secretaries of the ministry as members. The panel also approved a Rs 300-crore order to be placed with the HAL for the purchase of 41 indigenous ‘Dhruv’ Advanced Light Helicopters, of which 40 would go to the Army and one to the Navy. Two other key naval projects were okayed by the DAC and these are the Acceptance of Necessity of Rs 13,440 crore for building 16 Anti-submarine Warfare Shallow-water Craft and the AoN of Rs 1,500 crore for the building of two Deep Sea Rescue Vessels for submarines.
Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/
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