No hurried decision on buying fighter aircraft: Antony

He said instead of fully depending on foreign countries,India would try to indigenously develop defence equipment. “We would go abroad only for the equipment which could not be developed by institutes. Towards that,a new policy on procuring and developing defence equipment would be announced soon,” said Antony.

Pointing to the recent presence of Somalian pirates in the sea close to Lakshadweep,the minister said certain other forces were suspected to behind the pirates. That was what he had learnt during his visits to foreign countries. The Navy and Coast Guard had intensified their patrolling along the entire coastal areas since the security of the country would be affected by the presence of pirates or terrorists. The notion that the coastal belt was secure had become history,he said,adding that all state governments would be requested to improve the infrastructure at the coastal police stations.

NIRDESH: First of its kind institute

NIRDESH,an autonomous institute under the Defence Ministry,would focus on research and development of warships,submarines and other related platforms to strengthen indigenous production of defence demands of the Navy and Coast Guard. Coming up at Beypore near Kozhikode in 43 acres of land,NIRDESH would see an investment of Rs 600 crore. The first phase is expected to be completed within two years. First of its kind in India,the institute would focus on areas of warship construction such as detail designing and system integration among other activities and would provide technology support and promote ancillary industry participation in the defence shipbuilding sector. This is the fifth defence establishment in Kerala after A K Antony became the minister.