13 killed in Air Force crash; overhaul of AN-32 aircraft languishes

Current Affairs
In a harsh reminder of the unforgiving terrain the Indian Air Force (IAF) AN-32 transport aircraft operate in, one of these IAF workhorses crashed in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday. There were 13 military personnel on board.
The aircraft was flying from Jorhat, over high, densely forested mountains, to the advanced landing ground (ALG) at Mechuka, close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. AN-32s carry supplies that sustain army troops on the LAC.
“No wreckage has been sighted so far. IAF is coordinating with Indian Army as well as various government and civil agencies to locate the missing aircraft,” stated the IAF.
The crash was an eerie echo of another one almost exactly a decade ago, when 13 personnel were killed in June 2009, when an AN-32 crashed soon after taking off from Mechuka.
In another incident that remains a mystery, an AN-32 with 29 personnel on board disappeared from radar screens on July 22, 2016, when flying from Chennai to Port Blair in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. No wreckage or bodies have ever been located.
Soon after the 2009 crash, the IAF signed a $400 million contract with Antonov, the Ukrainian firm that built the AN-32, for modernizing the 103 aircraft-strong fleet with improved avionics for flying in difficult conditions. The modernization was also intended to add ten years to the AN-32’s service life.

 By 2014, 45 AN-32s were modernized in Ukraine, and then 10 more in the IAF base repair depot in Kanpur. But the programme then stalled when Russia annexed Ukrai­ne’s Crimean Peninsula.

Modi govt's Rafale fighter jet deal 2.86% cheaper than UPA's: CAG report

Economy & Policy:

The Narendra Modi government’s agreement with France to buy 36 Dassault Rafale combat aircraft was 2.86 per cent cheaper than the price negotiated by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in its aborted attempt to buy 126 of these planes, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s report tabled in Parliament .
Beyond that headline number, the report gave enough talking points to both the government and opposition parties to validate their respective positions.

While the report on capital acquisitions of the Indian Air Force came down heavily on the original 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal, it also raised concern that Dassault or France did not offer any company or a sovereign guarantee for the latest government-to-government deal. And, that this will lead to savings for the French company and limit India’s legal remedies in a breach of contract.

The report drew sharp political responses. “It cannot be that the Supreme Court is wrong, the CAG is wrong and only the dynast is right... Satyameva Jayate – the truth shall prevail. The CAG report on Rafale reaffirms the dictum,” Union minister Arun Jaitley tweeted. “The lies of Mahajhootbandhan stand exposed by the CAG report. How does democracy punish those who consistently lied to the nation?”


Congress President Rahul Gandhi said the CAG report did not mention the dissent note by negotiators, and that the government's argument on price and faster delivery of the Rafale had been demolished. The report states the Rafale jets would be delivered only one month faster than they would have if the original deal went through. “You say there was no scam, then why are you afraid of ordering a JPC?” he said, reiterating his demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into the deal.