@body:Addressing a press conference at the venue of Aero India '98, he said that he was alive to the urgency for the purchase of an AJT but certain factors had delayed the decision making. Revealing the names of the shortlisted aircraft now would not be in the interest of either the sellers or the purchaser, he said.

Discussions at various levels were over and the internal evaluation too was completed by various technical teams of the Defence Ministry. However, he did not give any specific date for announcing the name of the AJT.

Asked why the Government was delaying the decision-making on the crucial purchase of an AJT when the same Government had hardly taken any time for exploding the nuclearbomb, George said exploding the nuclear bomb was not a quick decision but a long term decision.

On the 50 and 100-seater aircraft, he said there was an interaction between the Defence and the Civil Aviation ministries. ``The Civil Aviation ministry will be the nodal agency for identifying the need and demand of the aircraft'', he said.

The whole issue was at the discussion level and there was no fixed time frame for it. For 100-seater aircraft we would prefer a consortium, he added. Even the command structure of the nuclear weapon was ready, he said.

Admitting that there was an inordinate delay in the induction of Main Battle Tank (MBT) in the Indian Army, George said that presently all the defects were being rectified in the tank which where detected during the field trials. The army had already placed an order for 124 tanks and the serial production would commence after the defects were corrected.

On purchasing the Admiral Gorshkov Aircraft Carrier, he said the ministry had raised some queries andthe proposal had been examined by the navy already. ``There was nothing wrong with the carrier and there was no question of reexamining the decision'', he said.

Work on the prestigious Seabird project near Karwar would commence after the Karnataka Government handed over the last piece of acquired land to the Defence Ministry. Chief Minister J H Patel had promised the Defence Minister that the Government would hand over the last piece of land within a month.

On whether India was closer to signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), he said: ``discussions held so far in this regard had not taken one step nearer''. Only a fresh round of talks might result in a positive outcome.

Asked whether defence projects were getting affected due to the sanctions by the United States following the nuclear test, he said some projects of the Defence Research and Development Organisations (DRDO) like BEL and HAL were already under sanctions for over 30 years. ``India will stand sanctions'', he added.

Fernandesalso hinted that the Centre may set up an air and space museum at Bangalore. He assured full support from his ministry for this venture.

His promise to this effect at the opening of the Aero India' 98 followed a suggestion from Civil Aviation Minister Ananth Kumar that the city deserved to house such a museum since it is already known as the aeronautical capital of India.

``If the Civil Aviation ministry takes the lead, my ministry will go all out to support this idea. With the city becoming the permanent venue for the biennial air show, such a museum will be a big asset,'' George said.