Coast Guard scraps AgustaWestland from its chopper tender

After the Defence Ministry scrapped its Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper contract, the Coast Guard has now removed Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland from a Rs 1,000 crore tender to procure 14 medium-lift helicopters.
AgustaWestland was one of the three companies, which have responded to a Coast Guard tender to procure 14 medium-lift twin-engine choppers.
The Anglo-Italian firm's bid in the tender has been rejected after some issues were detected in the details furnished by it for participating in the process, Government sources told PTI here.
AgustaWestland along with European Eurocopter and American Sikorsky had offered its helicopters for meeting Coast Guard requirements.

Eurocopter is learnt to have offered its EC-725 chopper while Sikorsky is offering its S-92 chopper, which is partly manufactured in India.
Though AgustaWestland's tender has been cancelled, it has not yet been blacklisted by the Government. However, the Government has put on hold the procurement proposals where AgustaWestland or its sister companies are participating.

This includes a Navy tender to procure 98 heavy-weight torpedos for the under construction Scorpene submarines in Mumbai soon after the cancellation of the chopper deal.
Government has also barred AgustaWestland's parent company Finmecannica and its other group companies from participating in its military exhibition DEFEXPO-2014 starting February 6.

The Finmecannica group along with its group companies Oto Malera, WASS and Alenia Aermacchi was ousted from the show after they had deposited the requisite fees to take part in it.
27 companies - 12 blacklisted ones and 15 facing CBI probe - have been kept out of the show displaying the tough stance taken by the Ministry against corruption, officials said.