Rajnath Singh inaugurates 7-storey R&D facility built by DRDO in record 45 days
Bengaluru, Mar 17: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday inaugurated a multi-storey facility for flight control system at Aeronautical Development Establishment here built by India's premier defence research institute DRDO in a record 45 days using in-house technology.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was among those present on the occasion.
The seven-storey building, with a plinth area of 1.3 lakh square feet, will house research and development facilities for the development of a fifth-generation medium weight deep penetration fighter jet for the Indian Air Force.
"The DRDO has completed the construction of a multi-storey infrastructure for flight control system at ADE Bengaluru with hybrid technology consisting of conventional, pre-engineered and precast methodology in record 45 days," said one of the DRDO officials.
He said the complex will have facilities for developing avionics for fighter aircraft and flight control system (FCS) for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project.
India has been working on the ambitious AMCA project to develop a fifth-generation medium fighter jet with advanced stealth features to significantly bolster its air power capability.
The initial development cost of the project, being undertaken by the ADE, has been estimated at around Rs 15,000 crore.
The Defence ministry on Monday said it has initiated the process of obtaining the approval for the design and prototype development of the AMCA from the prime minister-led Cabinet Committee on Security.
Officials said the building has been constructed using composite construction technology in the "shortest time frame" of just 45 days to provide the necessary infrastructure for the AMCA project and related activities.
The foundation stone for the project was laid on Nov 22, 2021, and actual construction began on February 1.
"It is a unique record of completing a permanent seven-storey building with hybrid construction technology, that too in ready-to-move condition for the first time in the country, the official involved in the project claimed.
In hybrid construction technology, the column and beam elements of the structural frame are built with steel plates, the columns are of hollow steel tubular section.
The building features air-conditioning, electrical and fire protection systems as per the standard national building code and the design check and technical support was provided by teams from IIT Madras and IIT Roorkee, the officials said.
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‘Self-styled Vishwaguru stands exposed’: Cong's dig at PM over Pak role in US-Iran ceasefire
New Delhi (PTI): Taking a swipe at the government, the Congress on Wednesday said the role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire between the US and Iran is a “severe setback” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “highly personalised diplomacy” and “the self-styled Vishwaguru stands thoroughly exposed”.
The opposition party also said Prime Minister Modi's “cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel’s belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House”.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the entire world will cautiously welcome the two-week ceasefire in the West Asia conflict between the US and Israel on the one side and Iran on the other.
“The conflict had begun on February 28th with the targeted assassinations of the topmost echelons of the regime in Iran. These had started just two days after Prime Minister Modi had completed his much-trumpeted visit to Israel, a visit that diminished India’s global stature and standing,” Ramesh claimed.
PM Modi had said nothing about Israel’s "genocide" in Gaza and its aggressively expansionist policies in the occupied West Bank, Ramesh said.
“The role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire is a severe setback to both the substance and style of Mr Modi’s highly personalised diplomacy,” he said.
The policy to isolate Pakistan for its continuing support to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and to convince the world that it is a failed state has clearly not succeeded – unlike what Manmohan Singh had accomplished after the Mumbai terror attacks, Ramesh claimed.
That a bankrupt economy dependent entirely on the largesse of external donors and a broken country in so many ways was able to play such a role calls into question Modi’s strategy of engagement and narrative management, he said.
“He (Modi) or his team has also never explained why Op Sindoor was suddenly and abruptly halted on May 10th 2025 - the first announcement of which came from the US Secretary of State and for which the US President has claimed credit almost a hundred times since then,” the Congress leader said.
“There is a palpable sigh of relief everywhere. The External Affairs Minister (S Jaishankar) dismissed Pakistan as a dalal. But now the self-styled Vishwaguru stands thoroughly exposed, his self-declared 56-inch chest shrunk and shrivelled,” Ramesh said.
“His cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel’s belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House,” the Congress leader added.
US President Donald Trump pulled back on his threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran late Tuesday, as the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump swerved to de-escalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate to a deal or face attacks on its bridges and power plants meant to destroy the Iranian civilisation.
Trump made the dramatic announcement on Truth Social on Tuesday evening (US time) even as Democrats called for his removal over unhinged threats to wipe out the Iranian civilisation.
"Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz," the US President said in a social media post.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Pakistan beginning Friday. Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.
Israel backed the US ceasefire with Iran but the deal doesn't cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Wednesday.
