someone had walked into Navy HQ for other business few yrs back
and saw a sign "ATV proj leader" outside vice Adm Ganesh's room. This
was reported in the media. He was ex cmdr of INS Chakra. the navy is
300% involved.
http://www.hindu.com/2000/09/29/stories/0229000f.htm
http://www.stratmag.com/issueFeb-1/page04.htm
even BR mentions it - actually sengupta looks to have lifted info from
here too.
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/ATV.html
http://www.geocities.com/siafdu/brass97.html
and here's the clincher milord. vishal thapar no less.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.as ... 2002_pg4_1
Nuclear sub project is Navy’s worst kept secret
Indian establishment is so keen on keeping the project under wraps that one reason cited for the removal of former naval chief was that he talked
to press about it
By Vishal Thapar
New Delhi: It’s India’s worst kept secret but one that has been close to the heart of Indian officialdom. Successive Defence Ministers have denied the existence of the Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV) Project. For those not in the loop about defence matters, the ATV is India’s nuclear submarine in the making.
The defence establishment is so keen on keeping the project under wraps that one of the reasons cited for the removal of former naval chief Vishnu Bhagwat was that he talked to the press about India’s future nuclear sub.
But a casual stroll around Kashmir House — the seat of the Integrated Defence Staff set-up in the Capital — is a revelation of Indian officialdom’s nonchalant approach towards keeping secrets.
An inelegant, twisted signboard marks the office of the Director-General, ATV Project. Friendly personnel hanging around the office volunteer to tell you that the Director-General is Vice-Admiral R.N. Ganesh.
While, the signboard seems to have existed for years, a Ministry of Defence spokesman still insists that “the ATV Project does not exist”.
When told that a signboard at Kashmir House suggests otherwise, he says: “It could be something on a conceptual plane but there’s nothing on the ground.”
The project has facilities in Vizag, Hyderabad and Kalpakkam. A Mumbai-based private-sector engineering giant is also reportedly associated with the project. The secrecy is inexplicable. Defence analyst Rear Admiral (retd) Raja Menon had said in an earlier interview: “I don’t know why India has to be so embarrassed and secretive about its legitimate aspirations. In building a nuclear submarine, India is not violating any convention or law.”
Reports suggest that India may build five nuclear-powered submarines that are capable of firing ballistic missiles. Government officials also deny the programme to develop sea-launched ballistic missile, codenamed Sagarika.
Vice-Admiral Ganesh was one of the commanding officers of the INS Chakra nuclear-propelled submarine (SSN) leased from Russia from 1988 to 1991.
Naval sources say the INS Chakra was both a training facility and a “design laboratory for indigenous nuclear submarine technology”.
Vice-Admiral Ganesh has been in charge of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Project since October 2000. —HT