New Delhi, November 29, 2007 (DefenceIndia News Service)

Admitting the snail pace making of the main battle tank, the government has noted that there has been some delay in Arjun Tank due to recurrent design amendments and the time required to obtain some major assemblies.

In a written reply, Defence Minister A K Antony said necessary steps have been taken to ensure timely availability of all critical aggregates.

Elaborating on the current working mechanism adopted, the Defence Minister said that the production of the MBT Arjun tank is being regularly monitored through Working Group Meeting held under the chairmanship of Director General Mechanised Forces and Steering Committee held under the Co-Chairmanship of Secretary (Defence Production) and Scientific Advisor to 'Raksha Mantri' (Defence Minister).

Besides giving the details about the navy projects, the Defence Minister in another said that the two Indian Navy projects namely the stealth frigate project (P-17) and destroyer (P-15A) are under execution at Mazagaon Docks Limited (MDL), Mumbai to meet the delivery dates of 2008-2009 and 2010-2012 respectively as per schedule.

The construction of six Scorpene submarines at MDL slated for delivery between 2012-2017 is expected to be completed as per schedule, Defence Minister said.