THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- September 26, 2016- Topic 2
The signing of the
Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and France for 36 Rafale multirole
fighter jets brings to an end 17 months of hard bargaining, following Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to dump the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft
(MMRCA) tender and the announcement during his visit to Paris last year of
direct purchases. The first such major acquisition in almost two decades, it
comes as a breather for the Indian Air Force, which has been facing depleting
fighter strength. As Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar pointed out, given its
technological superiority the Rafale will augment the IAF’s capability. The
weapons package, which includes the Meteor radar-guided Beyond Visual Range
air-to-air missile, considered best-in-class with a range of over 150 km, and
the Scalp long-range air-to-ground missiles with a range of 300 km, will help
maintain the IAF’s air superiority as they have no equivalents in the region.
Given the technological sophistication and the long range, the Rafales are
expected to play a lead role as nuclear delivery platforms in India’s
second-strike capability, replacing the Mirage 2000 fighters.
The acquisition will cost
the exchequer €7.87 billion, or about Rs.59,000 crore, which is a high price
compared to $10.5 billion approved for 126 fighter jets under the original
MMRCA deal in 2007. The basic aircraft costs about €91 million, which is high
in comparison to other contemporary four-plus generation aircraft. The Centre
has claimed savings of several million in the hard bargain, but the Defence
Ministry would do well to share more information in Parliament. It is unclear
why the government decided to buy just 36 fighters, which creates logistical
and operational complications and pushes up the overall cost for reasons of
economies of scale. In fact, India’s is now one of the most diverse air forces,
with Western and Russian- origin aircraft with Indian and other systems
incorporated in them. The IAF has been attempting to narrow the diversity to
optimise utilisation and bring down the cost of operations. The current
trajectory of procurement indicates that those plans may be on hold. The
government is scouting for another fighter to be inducted in large numbers and
produced in India under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. In the years to come,
the indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas and the Fifth Generation
Fighter Aircraft from Russia will join the force, adding to the diversity.
While the Rafale deal is a welcome step, it is high time India made
procurements based on a long-term integrated plan.
Vocabulary
Tender: an offer to carry out work, supply goods, or buy land, shares, or another
asset at a stated fixed price.
Example: The tenders were evaluated on price, experience of the tenderer,
methodology, quality and technical merit.
Synonyms: bid, offer, quotation, quote, estimate, price, proposal, submission
Breather: a brief pause for rest.
Example: The director is taking a breather from his furious schedule
Synonyms: break, rest, respite, breathing space, pause, interval, recess
Depleting: use up the supply or resources of.
Example: Fish stocks are severely depleted
Synonyms: exhaust, use up, consume, expend, drain, empty, milk, reduce
Augment: make (something) greater by adding to it; increase.
Example: He augmented his summer income by painting houses
Synonyms: increase, supplement, build up, enlarge, expand, extend, raise
Scalp: the skin covering the head, excluding the face.
Example: Sometimes, this fungus can cause our scalps to shed skin cells too quickly
Sophistication: the quality of being sophisticated.
Example: Her air of sophistication and confidence
Synonyms: worldliness, experience, urbanity, culture, civilization, polish
Mirage: an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions
Example: The heat rippled watery mirages on the road, teasing my hot hand with
illusory coolness.
Synonyms: hallucination, phantasmagoria, apparition, fantasy, chimera,
Incorporated: take in or contain (something) as part of a whole; include.
Example: He has incorporated in his proposals a large number of measures
Synonyms: absorb, include, subsume, assimilate, integrate, take
in
Trajectory: the path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under the
action of given forces.
Example: The missile's trajectory was preset
Synonyms: course, path, route, track, line, orbit
Scouting: make a search for someone or something in various places.
Example: I was sent to scout around for a place to park the camper
Synonyms: search, look, hunt, ferret about/around