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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SC invalidates appointment of 25,753 teachers, other staff in West Bengal schools
New Delhi (PTI): In a major jolt to the West Bengal government, the Supreme Court on Thursday invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in state-run and state-aided schools, and termed the entire selection process "vitiated and tainted".
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a Calcutta High Court verdict dated April 22, 2024, annulling the appointments and ordered the Trinamool Congress-led state government to initiate a fresh selection process to be concluded within three months.
"In our opinion, this is the case where the entire selection process is vitiated and tainted beyond resolution. Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with attempts to cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair.
"The credibility and legitimacy of selection are diluted, and accordingly, we have to keep it (order of the high court) with some modifications," the CJI said while pronouncing the verdict on as many as 127 petitions pertaining to the Calcutta High Court verdict.
The CJI also said the employees whose appointments have been annulled are not needed to return their salaries and other emoluments earned so far.
It, however, made relaxation for certain disabled employees on humanitarian grounds, saying they would remain in the job.
The bench fixed pleas, including the one filed by the West Bengal government challenging the high court direction for a CBI probe, for hearing on April 4.
The detailed judgement is awaited.
On February 10, the top court reserved its judgement on a batch of petitions in the matter and said that those who got jobs wrongly may be knocked out.
The top court commenced the final hearing on December 19 last year and heard the parties on January 15, 27 and February 10 before reserving its verdict on the politically-sensitive case.
Citing irregularities such as OMR sheet tampering and rank-jumping, the high court had invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in state-run and state-aided schools in West Bengal.
On May 7 last year, the apex court stayed the high court's order over the appointments made by the state's School Service Commission (SSC).
The top court, however, permitted the CBI to continue with its probe into the matter.
The case stemmed from the alleged irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process conducted by the West Bengal SSC in which 23 lakh candidates appeared for 24,640 posts and a total of 25,753 appointment letters were issued.
The apex court had termed it a "systemic fraud".
The high court instructed those appointed outside the officially available 24,640 vacancies, those recruited after the expiry of the official date, and those who submitted blank OMR sheets but obtained appointments to return all the remunerations and benefits received by them with 12 per cent per interest.
Former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and Trinamool Congress MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha are among the accused being probed in the recruitment scam.
