Outdated spy equipment case: Defence Ministry orders probe
Defence Ministry today ordered an inquiry into reports of procurement of outdated spying equipment by Army's Military Intelligence branch from an Indian company.
Citing defence documents, The Hindu newspaper in a report published today suggested that the equipment and software procured by the Army for collection of photogrammetry and geographical information system data are outdated as the Indian firm did not possess the license to upgrade and update these.
"An inquiry has been ordered to probe the matter," a Defence Ministry spokesperson said here today while refusing to elaborate when his comments were sought on the news report.
The report alleged that the Army paid more than Rs 500 crore for purchasing the equipment from 1998 to 2008 and it paid a little over Rs 40 crore per annum for its annual maintenance contract.
It said the contract under which these equipments were procured, overlooked some of the clauses due to which the guarantee and warranty for these products were not obtained by the Army.
Some of the documents cited by the report said the Indian firm which supplied the equipment never procured the licenses from the original manufacturer of these softwares and equipments.
It also said the original equipment manufacturer had informed the Defence Ministry early this year that it had never authorized any Indian firm to customize its products.
