NEW DELHI: India will get its first Rafale-Marine jet in mid-2028 and all 26 by 2030 under the mega Rs 63,887 crore (almost Euro 7 billion) deal inked with France on Monday for the omni-role fighters that will primarily operate from indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant’s deck.
The delivery of nine Rafale-M jets with their decidedly deadly weapons package in 2028, 12 in 2029 and 5 in 2030 will bolster Indian aircraft carrier operations in the Indian Ocean and beyond at a time when China ’s ever-expanding naval forays and hunt for logistical bases in the region have become a clear and present threat, officials told TOI.
“The Rafale-M is a carrier-borne combat-ready aircraft with proven operational capabilities. It will be a potent force multiplier, substantially boosting India’s air power at sea,” an official said.
These omni-role 4.5-generation maritime strike and reconnaissance jets will add to the 36 Rafales, which are also capable of delivering nuclear weapons, already inducted by the IAF under the Rs 59,000 crore contract inked in Sept 2016. They are deployed at the Ambala and Hasimara airbases to cater for the Pakistan and China fronts.

The two major Rafale deals make the French fighter the frontrunner in the long-pending project to manufacture 114 multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA) with foreign collaboration in India, which was initially estimated to cost Rs 1.25 lakh crore and is now being fast-tracked, as reported by TOI earlier.
Apart from the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) on the Rafale-M jets, inked remotely by defence minister Rajnath Singh and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu, the aircraft supply protocol with fighter-manufacturer Dassault Aviation and weapons protocol with missile-maker MBDA were also signed here.
The exchange of documents took place in the presence of defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Navy vice chief Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and French ambassador Thierry Mathou, among others.
The direct acquisition of 22 single-seater Rafale-M jets and four twin-seater trainers includes training for Indian pilots and technicians, a simulator, associated equipment, weapons and five-year performance-based logistics. It also includes additional equipment for the existing 36 Rafales of the IAF.
The Rafale-M jets will be armed with long-range precision strike weapons like the IAF fighters. In addition to the 70-km range Exocet AM39 anti-ship missiles, they will have the over 300-km range `Scalp’ air-to-ground cruise missiles and the top-notch Meteor air-to-air missiles, which have a strike range of 120 to 150-km to take on enemy jets.
While there is no overall transfer of technology in the deal, the IGA includes the integration of indigenous weapons like the Astra air-to-air missiles and the naval short and medium-range anti-ship missiles (NASMs) being developed by DRDO with the Rafale-M fighters in the future.
It also includes setting up of a production facility for aircraft fuselage as well as MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facilities for engines, sensors and weapons in India. “The Rafale-M’s procurement will substantially enhance joint operational capability, besides optimizing training and logistics for both Navy and IAF,” the official said.
The Navy currently has only 40 of the 45 MiG-29K jets, inducted from Russia at a cost of $2 billion from 2009 onwards, to operate from the decks of its two over 40,000-tonne aircraft carriers, the older Russian-origin INS Vikramaditya and the new indigenous INS Vikrant. Moreover, the MiG-29Ks have also been dogged by poor serviceability and other problems over the years.
China, incidentally, already has three aircraft carriers, the 60,000-tonne Liaoning, the 66,000-tonne Shandong and the over 80,000-tonne Fujian, and is fast building more such warships with nuclear-propulsion.

Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka of Telangana High Court on Monday imposed costs of ₹20,000 on 17 persons who filed a writ petition seeking re-evaluation of their answer scripts of Group-I services mains examination.

The judge directed the Registrar (Judicial) of the HC to initiate prosecution against the petitioners for falsely deposing on oath about marks obtained by one candidate in the mains examination. The costs should be paid to the Court Masters and Personal Secretaries to the Honourable Judges Association, the judge said in his order.

The petitioners contended that the evaluation of answer sheets of the Group-I mains examination was biased, opaque and procedurally flawed. Claiming that such evaluation was violative of Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution, the petitioners requested to the Bench to instruct the Telangana State Public Service Commission to re-evaluate the mains papers.

To substantiate their claims, they had mentioned in the writ petition that one candidate with hall ticket no 240920176 originally got 329.5 marks but the same got reduced to 192.5 marks after re-evaluation/recounting. TGPSC standing counsel Rajashekhar informed the Bench that the candidate with the said hall ticket number was not among the petitioners.

The candidate with the said hall ticket number did not approach the HC complaining about reduction in marks. He did not complain with the TGPSC either. It was improbable that such an irregularity would go unchallenged by the candidate, Mr. Rajashekhar argued.

The judge observed that the petitioners presented a fabricated document and falsely averred based on such document. The truth behind the fabrication would eventually found out after due inquiry, the judge said in the order.

The surgery was carried out in Sakra World Hospital in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: File photo

A preterm newborn (three-day-old baby) suffering from respiratory distress, secondary to the compression effect caused by a large liver tumour, which was occupying 70% of the abdomen, has successfully undergone a rare liver resection procedure in a private hospital in Bengaluru.

The male baby, born at 33 weeks on February 5 in a private hospital, started facing breathing difficulty. He was immediately referred to Sakra World Hospital for further diagnosis. The baby weighed 2.18 kg at birth.

Breathing difficulty

Doctors diagnosed that the breathing difficulty was due to a huge swelling inside the abdomen, which was pressing on the lungs. The baby was put on ventilator support. An evaluation revealed an intra-abdominal tumour whose origin was not clear. 

A team of doctors at the hospital led by Anil Kumar Pura Lingegowda, Senior Consultant (Paediatric Surgery), who evaluated the baby, decided to perform a surgery to remove the swelling because of its pressure effect on vital organs. The surgery was done on February 8. The baby was discharged on March 7, and is doing well on follow-up.

“The swelling was arising from the left lobe of the liver and occupying 70% of the abdominal cavity, which means the size of the tumour was 10x8x7 cm. But the challenge was to perform re-section of the tumour, which was very risky for a three-day-old preterm baby because of bleeding and low weight of the baby,” said Dr. Lingegowda.

Challenges faced

“The intraoperative phase posed a significant challenge, particularly due to the need for massive blood transfusion, which was managed by our anaesthesia and OT management team led by its director Shishir Chandrashekhar. Additionally, the tumour re-section from the liver was successfully performed with the expertise of liver transplant surgeon Shruti Reddy,” he said.

Shivakumar Sambargi, Senior Consultant (Pediatrics and Neonatology), said the post-operative period was equally challenging, requiring careful management to maintain homeostasis. 

“The tumour was identified as a mesenchymal hamartoma, a rare occurrence in neonates, with complete excision being the definitive cure. Usually discovered in infancy, mesenchymal hamartoma of the liver (MHL) is a rare, benign developing tumour in infants that has a mixture of solid and cystic areas. After infantile haemangioma, it is the second most frequent benign liver tumour in children,” Dr Sambargi explained.

“Managing anesthesia and blood transfusion in such a tiny newborn was extremely challenging, but our team ensured the baby remained stable throughout the procedure,” said Dr. Chandrashekar.

The doctors claimed that there are no reported cases worldwide of liver tumor re-section in a three-day-old preterm baby weighing just 2 kg.

“Liver surgeries are no longer formidable like they were a few decades ago. Tumour re-sections, or transplants, during extremes of age like this newborn, or an elderly person, are much safer now with the recent advances in surgical technology and techniques. Caregivers should keep an open mind if such surgeries are offered by an expert. The trust afforded in us by the parents of this baby enabled us to save the baby’s life,” said Dr. Shruti Reddy, the transplant surgeon.