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The Ministry of Defence has launched several initiatives in the year 2021.
Initiatives by MoD in 2021
Missiles: Brahmos, Tejas, Astra, Arjun Main Battle Tank, Shakti, Indigenous Aircraft Carrier(IAC) ‘Vikrant’, INS Visakhapatnam, INS Vela, Supersonic Missile Assisted Torpedo(SMART), Agni-P, Vertically Launched Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM), Akash Prime, Pinaka-ER, Abhyas
Swarnim Vijay Varsh: India celebrated the year-long Swarnim Vijay Varsh, marking Nation’s victory over Pakistan in December 1971 War, which led to creation of Bangladesh.
Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs):Government has set up defence industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. These defence corridors will facilitate a well-planned and efficient industrial base that will lead to increased defence production in the country.
Project Himank
Department of Military Affairs(DMA)
SCG PS Zoroaster: It is a Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE). India has gifted this to Seychelles Coast Guard.
UN peacekeeping operations: The Indian Army currently has approximately 5,300 personnel deployed in eight United Nations (UN) Missions and is currently the third-largest troop contributor to the UN.
Defence India Startup Challenge
Army Battle Casualties Welfare Fund (ABCWF)
Permanent Commission for Women
NAVDEX 21: Indian Navy participated in the NAVDEX 21 (Naval Defence Exhibition).It is organised by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense and the General Command of the UAE Armed Forces.
Exercise LAPEROUSE: The Indian Navy participated in the multilateral Ex-Laperouse in Bay of Bengal with French, Australian, Japan and US Navies. The first edition of La Pérouse joint exercise, initiated by France in 2019, included ships from Australia, Japan and the US.
Operation Sankalp Operation Samudra Setu-II
Cutlass Express, Konkan SIMBEX Malabar Konkan Shakti
Scientific Expedition to Antarctica
Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR): It has been developed and flight tested by DRDO. Success of SFDR propulsion technology is a significant milestone which paves the way for development of long-range air-to-air missiles in the country.
ATGMs Helina (Army Version) and Dhruvastra (Air Force Version): Helina and Dhruvastra are third generation, Lock On Before Launch (LOBL) fire and forget Anti-Tank Guided Missiles that can engage targets both in direct hit mode as well as top attack mode. The system has all-weather day and night capability and can defeat battle tanks with conventional armour as well as with explosive reactive armour.
Air-independent propulsion (AIP)
Source: This post is based on the article ‘Year End Review – 2021 of Ministry of Defence’ published in PIB on 21st January 2022.
