PM Narendra Modi dedicates largest warship INS Vikramaditya to the nation, pitches for self-reliance

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dedicated India’s largest warship INS Vikramaditya to the nation and pitched for making the country self-reliant in manufacturing defence equipment, shedding dependence on imports.

In his first outing after taking charge as Prime Minister, he addressed the naval personnel onboard the ship off the Goa coast, calling the addition of the warship to the force as a “historic” step. “It is an important day for our nation. It is a golden day in Indian Navy’s history. For me, it is a matter of pride and happiness that INS Vikramaditya is joining the Navy. It is a historic step,” he said. Stressing on the need for self-reliance in defence equipment manufacturing, he said, “We need to give immense importance 
to latest technology. This will help the nation. Why should we import defence equipment? We must be self sufficient. Why can’t we  The Prime Minister also promised to set up a War Memorial for those who sacrificed their lives for the country. send our defence equipment to other nations.”  He said this government has come with a determination and was committed to implement the “One Rank, One pension” scheme for defence personnel. “Our government has the potential to match anyone in the world and the reason for this is the capability of our soldiers who give us the strength to do so,” he said in his address, adding that the country intends to move forward in the same manner, without lowering its eyes. He also called

for setting up a Naval NCC network across the country that could prepare a dedicated force of soldiers which could help the Navy emerge as a big force in the coming times. Arriving on board the warship in a Sea King chopper, the Prime Minister was given the ceremonial guard of honour by the Navy and was briefed about the warship. He also sat in a MIG 29 aircraft and had a feel of the combat fighter on the ship. The Prime Minister spent a few hours on board the 44,500-tonne warship, his first visit to any defence facility. The prime minister was accompanied by Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Defence Secretary R K Mathur and Naval Chief Admiral Robin Dhowan. During his stay on the ship, acquired from Russia for over Rs 15,000 crore, Modi witnessed ‘air power demonstration’ by various naval aircraft, including MiG 29K, Sea Harriers, P 8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Anti-Submarine Warfare aircraft, TU 142M and IL-38SD maritime surveillance planes along with Kamov and
Sea King helicopters. He also witnessed high-speed manoeuvres by the Navy’s Western Fleet ships including aircraft carrier INS Viraat, Delhi-class destroyers and Talwar-class frigates. The air demonstrations were, however, hampered by heavy rain. Modi interacted with the senior officers and the crew. The deal for the aircraft carrier was signed during the previous NDA regime in 2004 and the ship will be dedicated to the nation after a gap of ten years. The vessel had joined the Indian Navy on November 16, 2013. The ship was earlier commissioned by the then defence minister A K Antony in Russia. Vikramaditya, a floating airfield, has an overall length of about 284 metres and a maximum beam of about 60 metres, stretching as much as three football fields put together. Standing about 20 storeys tall from the keel to the highest point, the ship has a total of 22 decks and carries 1,600 personnel. With her complete stock of provisions, she is capable of sustaining herself at sea for about 45 days. It is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier which was purchased by India from Russia for the Indian Navy in 2013. The ship has been renamed in honour of Vikramaditya, a legendary 1st century BC emperor. Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet (until the dissolution of the Soviet Union) and Russian Navies before being decommissioned in 1996 as it was too expensive to operate. Source: The Indian Express

Read More........ → June 14, 2014

Russia can switch to payments with India, China in national currencies crushing dollar amid sanctions - experts

Experts believe that the wish of the West to restrict Moscow’s cooperation with Brussels and Washington will play into the hands of the Russian economy. Wisdom and presence of mind are two components that will guarantee success for a new spiral of Russia’s cooperation with eastern countries. Also, this will allow us to counter-balance the risks that the European market is exposed to.

The European economy, experts point out, still remains in the grip of a crisis, while China, for example, is prosperous. The West, including the US, has begun to curtail the profitable relations with Russia on the background of Ukrainian problems, which has nothing to do with the East. And business always develops in the environment of stability and mutual interest. It is reasonable that at present the Russian economy – that is investments, exports, imports and technology – is speeding up its advance in the eastern direction, President of the Centre of Strategic Communications Dmitry Abzalov says. Instead of America and Europe, our target is South-East Asia now. Russia has decided to develop cooperation with Asian countries. India, for example is our partner in issues of the military-industrial complex, in the high-tech segment. Cooperation with China is based on the raw materials sector, engineering, military technology. Recall that the Russian president’s visit is due in May. Most likely, agreements on natural gas will be signed. Actually, bearing in mind that China will become the world’s largest economy in the near future, the development of the eastern vector will guarantee that a considerable part of extra profits and the growth of the home market will be generated in the South-East Asia. Analysts believe that western sanctions could provide stronger positions to the developing countries, one of which is Russia itself. This is especially true of the high-tech sector, both in the regional and global market. In particular, Russia is practicing phase-out of imports. The national industry is expected to develop faster due to external factors. Discussing the reasons for the imposed sanctions, experts say that at present the western elites are seizing the opportunity to dictate their terms to the Russian economy. Actually, this happened on the past as well but the situation became especially strained when Russia started talking about the Customs Union, head of the Centre of Economic Research at the Institute of Globalization and Social Movements Vasily Koltashov says. European elites are rather short-sighted and oriented at controlling the markets, including the Russian economy, especially the raw materials sector. They never lost interest in that sector. For this reason, they will always be in conflict with Russia, especially after Russia announced the establishment of the Customs Union. Still, it is wrong to say that Russia is in conflict with the EU. On the contrary, Russians are extremely tired of the permanent economic crisis in the EU, the aggravation of that crisis and the austerity policy. Speaking about the priorities of the eastern vector for Russia, experts point out that the establishment of new stock exchanges in South-East Asia is not far off and they can become serious competition for London or New York. And for Russia as a resource-dependent country this is one of the determining factors. The more so, because the Chinese economy grows fast, constantly increasing its consumption of oil and gas. Thus, in 1980 China consumed only 3% of the global oil production. Now it consumes 10%, leaving Japan behind. Only the US is still ahead. If this trend persists, China will inevitably start thinking about the establishment of an alternative oil and gas market. Also, chances are that Russia, as one of the largest suppliers of oil and gas, will soon switch to mutual payments with India and China in the national currencies – roubles, yuans and rupees. In this case the dollar and the euro will gradually retire into the background. Source: Voice Of Russia

Read More........ → May 22, 2014

Europe risks losses of $215 billion by stopping Russian gas imports

Europe will have to spend up to $215 billion through investments if it decides to stop buying Russian natural gas, US-based financial research company Sanford C. Bernstein & Co said Wednesday. "Europe needs natural gas demand to go down by 15 billion cubic meters to be able to stop purchasing Russian gas. It will also have to spend around $40 billion dollars on more expensive alternatives energy sources," the company said in a statement.

Stopping supplies of Russia gas will lead to a situation whereby "every European will have to take a cold shower once a month, CO2 emissions will increase by 300 million tons per year, tax incentives for Norwegian gas production will amount to $12 billion dollars, the power of nuclear energy in Europe will increase 5 percent, and most of the businesses that consume significant amounts of gas will be closed," the company said. "We considered various scenarios of Europe refusing Russian gas supplies but none of them seem attractive," the company said. "Our conclusion is that 'the cure is worse than the illness's and that Europeans discontent with its dependency on Russian gas will not last long," Bernstein experts think. It will take five years to implement measures to make up for such a gas shortfall, Bernstein estimated, and more than 10,000 jobs would be eliminated in the process. Source: Voice Of Russia

Read More........ → April 02, 2014