India-Pakistan: April 27, 2001

Archives

Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes abruptly resigned after charges that his ministry was guilty of widespread corruption in arms purchases. The $1.6 billion contract for 66 British Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers, controversial at the time as other jet trainers were cheaper, is now under review and on hold. The Indian Air Force has been waiting for new trainers for over a decade, and will now have to wait years more while corruption charges are investigated. Fernandes denied the charges and said he was the innocent victim of a plot to stop any arms imports in order to strengthen India's domestic arms production industry. Government officials said that other arms purchases, including the $700 million purchase of the carrier Gorshkov and the $1.5 billion contract for its air wing of forty MiG-29Ks would be suspended pending the investigation of corruption charges. Numerous other contracts under negotiation, for artillery, ammunition, and other items, will be delayed while new review processes are developed to prevent corruption and bribery. The scandal broke when journalists photographed generals and defense ministry officials accepting bribes to buy non-existent thermal imaging systems from a company that did not exist.--Stephen V Cole

 

Article Archive

India-Pakistan: Current 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 


X

ad
0
20

Help Keep Us Soaring

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month.

Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage. A contribution is not a donation that you can deduct at tax time, but a form of crowdfunding. We store none of your information when you contribute..
Subscribe   Contribute   Close