Indian Government News, Though India and Russia are yet to break the deadlock over fixing a new price for aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, the government has voiced confidence that the key defence deal will be on track.
“The two countries are locked in intense negotiations over the price details,” Defence Secretary Vijay Singh told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday.
He said the work on the carrier was in progress in a Russian dockyard. “Technical assessment of the work needed on the carrier is still on,” Singh said, adding final price proposal would soon be taken to the Union Cabinet for a fresh approval.
India has already agreed to a new price revision for the carrier at Russia's insistence.
The 45,000-tonne warship was to be delivered by August last year as per a USD 1.5 billion contract signed in 2004 but Moscow stunned India in November last year by demanding an additional USD 1.2 billion for refitting and other works.
The new conditions by Russia meant a delay of up to four years.
“It is difficult yet to put a firm figure on the price escalation,” Singh said.
The Defence Secretary had recently led a high-level team to Moscow to inspect the aircraft carrier in a fresh bid to break the deadlock over its purchase.
“The original contract was sketchy,” a Defence Ministry official said recently, indicating that India was ready to revise the contract upwards in view of Russian insistence.
The Russian demand was earlier opposed by Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who had publicly said there should be no revision in the contract.
Russia had conveyed that “extensive” refit work would be necessary on the warship which would now have to undergo sea trials for a year in Russian waters under their experts, a Defence Ministry official said.
Sea trials would cost crores of rupees which would be borne by India, the Defence Ministry official said, making it clear that it would take three to four years for the carrier to be delivered after a nod is given for new refits.
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