India to seal price negotiation for Gorshkov in three months

New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) After a year-long war of words,
India has decided to re-negotiate with Russia its USD 1.5
billion deal for Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier that is to
be inducted into the Navy as INS Vikramaditya.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) that met on
Tuesday gave its seal of approval to the Defence Ministry to
strike a deal for the additional cost for the refit and repair
of the 44,500-tonne warship scheduled to join the Indian Navy
fleet by 2012.

The negotiations to arrive at a consensus with the
Russians over their demand for additional USD 2 billion would
be completed within three months, the CCS decided at the
meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his
residence.

The decision comes ahead of Russian President Dmitriy
Medvedev's state visit to New Delhi Thursday. Both India and
Russia had decided during the latter's Defence Minister
Anatoly Serdyukov's visit in September that they would
finalise the renegotiation before Medvedev's visit.

New Delhi has already paid the USD 1.5 billion for the
repair and refit work that is currently in progress at the
Sevmash Shipyard in northern Russia. The deal, signed in March
2004, also comprised of MiG-29K fighters and Kamov
anti-submarine helicopters, the air element of the carrier.

While India had wanted to induct the warship, to be the
largest in its inventory, in 2009, the delay in the works on
the aircraft carrier had forced it rescheduled its induction
by 2012.

Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta had told reporters that
India had reconciled to the delay in Gorshkov's delivery, but
said there was some progress in the works on the warship in
the recent times.

The ship had been floated at the Russian shipyard already
and the work at the ship's hull had been completed. Work
relating to its cables and exteriors were pending, which would
be completed before 2010, when the ship would be ready for
trials, he said.

With the dispute over the pricing of Gorshkov likely to
be over soon, India can hope to deploy an aircraft carrier
each on both the eastern and western seaboards, as the
existing INS Viraat would be available in service till 2015
after a midlife upgrade.

New Delhi would also be fortunate enough to have its
indigenous aircraft carrier, currently under construction in
Kochi, ready for induction by 2015 when INS Viraat would be
decommissioned from service.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), at the meeting
attended among others by Defence Minister A K Antony and Home
Minister P Chidambaram, also gave nod to Indian Air Force
(IAF) plans to purchase 80 Mi-17-IV helicopters.

The IAF uses the Mi-17s for transporting troops and for
delivery of supplies and equipment to soldiers posted in high
altitude areas in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly at Siachen
glacier and Ladakh areas.

As recently as November 29, the IAF has successfully used
these helicopters for air-dropping commandos over the Nariman
House in Mumbai for eliminating terrorists holding several
innocent civilians hostage. PTI NCB
SAK
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