TAIYUAN HEAVY CO LTD

Indian security agencies have intercepted a Pakistan-bound ship from China at Mumbai's Nhava Sheva port, suspected to be carrying a 'dual-use consignment' for Islamabad's nuclear and ballistic missile programme. The consignment included a CNC machine by an Italian company, inspected by customs officials and DRDO. This highlights concerns of Pakistan using China as a conduit for restricted items. Previous instances include China supplying an autoclave under the cover of an "industrial dryer" to Pakistan in 2020.

The customs officials, based on an intelligence input, halted a Malta-flagged merchant ship -- CMA CGM Attila -- at the port en route to Karachi on January 23 and inspected the consignment, which included a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine, originally manufactured by an Italian company.

Officials said though the contract was terminated in 2020, trouble had been brewing since 2019. They said the termination letter was issued after a 14-day notice to the company. The officials said that apart from performance issues, the Chinese company had also shown reluctance in furnishing technical documents, as per the contract agreement, such as logic design of electronic interlocking.

“India does not have enough capacity to make wheels. Axle manufacturing, on the other hand, is something India is fairly comfortable with,” said a sector watcher, who did not wish to be identified. “So, the award to a Chinese company raises some eyebrows.”

These wheels are for the Vande Bharat trains. This development can be seen as a fall out of the Russia-Ukraine crisis as there is a dearth of rail wheel suppliers to India," a senior rail ministry official told ET. While the value of the tender is just ₹170 crore, the move is significant in view of the restrictions imposed by New Delhi last July on investments and supplies from companies from countries sharing land border with India following the Galwan valley standoff with China. The last tender awarded to TZ was in March 2020.