INDIA-RUSSIA JOINT VENTURE CHALLENGES MOD IN COURT

The joint venture of Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited was established in 2019 between Indian and Russian defence entities.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

A Rs 12,000 crore contract by the Ministry of Defence for the purchase of close-quarter carbine guns for the Indian Army has run into rough weather after one company was not allowed to participate in the field trials on "financial grounds". This company has pointed out ambiguities in the tender document, which are attributed to mistakes made by officials in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) during the preparation and execution of the tender. The company claims that these issues have affected the fairness of the selection process This has led to the said company, "Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL)", a joint venture established in 2019 between Indian and Russian defence entities filing a case in the Delhi High Court, which has now issued notices to the defence ministry and listed the matter for 21 October. It has applied for the bid through its authorized Indian vendor, BSS Material Private Limited.

The company has also filed representation with the Prime Minister's Office and the Chief Vigilance Commission highlighting the "untenable" and "ambiguous" grounds on which they were not allowed to participate in the trials despite offering, what they claim, is the "best gun" at the "lowest price" among all its competitors. However, their guns could not be evaluated on these two parameters because they were not allowed to participate in the trial.