Abu Dhabi, April 21 (IANS): Czeck company Tatra Trucks is back in business in India's military space, after the ban on it for alleged corruption was lifted by the government a couple of months ago.

Jiri Kasparek, the company's marketing manager, told India Strategic defence magazine (www.indiastrategic.in ) here recently that the company had signed an agreement with India's BEML in February for continued supplies and production support after the Indian ministry of defence lifted the ban imposed on it following allegations of a bribery attempt made by the then army chief in 2012. The company is now owned by Czeck investors, who bought back about 40 percent of its shares from a London-based Indian, Ravinder Rishi.

Rishi was a majority owner and vice chairman. But he had also set up a subsidiary for dealings with India's state-run BEML for supplying the heavy trucks and spares. Three years ago, the then army chief, Gen. V.K. Singh, had alleged that a retired lieutenant general - working for Rishi - had offered him a bribe to recommend about 800 trucks for the army.

All the three Services, Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, as well as DRDO and BrahMos, use Tatra's heavy trucks for strategic supplies and missile programmes. As transporters, the trucks are regarded as indispensable by the armed forces, which have
bought some 7,000 units over several decades.

Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar had also observed in February that the ban had to be lifted as many Indian defence programmes were stuck due to the unavailability of Tatra trucks and their spares. He had also said that a company should be banned very carefully as many a time, a ban only hurt Indian interests.

Tatra, named after mountains on the Czeck-Poland border, is the world's third oldest automotive company after Daimler (Germany) and Peugeot (France). It produced the first car in central Europe in 1897 and its heavy multi-wheel trucks with independent suspension for sharp turns are known all over the world. The company exports 80 percent of its production.

In its new post-Rishi avatar, the company displayed some of its trucks at the IDEX'15 defence exhibition here. Tatra trucks are in use in Saudi Arabia and reportedly also in Israel, which bought them through another country.

Tatra Trucks is now headed by Petr Rusek (chairman) and Radek Strouhai (vice chairman). There is a supervisory board with three members - René Matera, Marek Galvas and Jiri Krutilek.