Thrust on more indigenisation in Defence procurement policy
Thrust on more indigenisation in Defence procurement policy
The thrust of the Defence Procurement Policy 2010 will be on bringing about more indigenisation of weapons, the Defence Minister, Mr A.K. Antony, said here on Monday.
“Instead of depending too much on foreign suppliers it (the policy) will encourage Indian companies and strengthen domestic industry. There will also be a new policy on defence procurement,” Mr Antony said, at a press conference, after inaugurating the 6 {+t} {+h} International Land and Naval Defence Systems exhibition.
The Defence Minister added that after the introduction of the defence offset policy, the country is gradually becoming a key outsourcing hub for the global defence industry.
Leading companies including L&T, Ashok Leyland, Tata, Mahindra and Mahindra, Punj Lloyd, apart from the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd (HAL), are currently present in the defence arena.
The opportunities for domestic industry are expected to increase manifold with India expected to procure armaments worth $60 billion (Rs 2.8 lakh crore) in the next five years increasing to $100 billion (Rs 4.6 lakh crore) in the next 10 years. The Secretary (Defence Production), Mr Raj Kumar Singh, said that the growth of the private defence industry since 2001 - when it was opened to the private sector - has seen contracts worth over Rs 8,000 crore being signed since the offset policy was introduced in defence acquisitions.
In his inaugural address, the Minister said that the country will soon publish the ‘Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap', covering a period of 15 years, to share the future needs of the Armed Forces.
Expenditure to increase
The Minister said that though the country's defence expenditure is about 2.5 per cent of its GDP, the expenditure on defence in absolute terms is bound to increase with the Indian economy expected to grow at 8-10 per cent for the next two decades.
“This will present the defence industry with new and challenging opportunities to make a more meaningful contribution to the defence sector,” he said.
“Our quest for self-reliance in defence underlines the importance of private sector participation, on the one hand, and in revitalising the public sector, on the other. We want the public sector and the private sector to work in close co-operation, as friendly partners,” the Minister said. The Minister of State for Defence, Dr M.M. Pallam Raju, said that as a result of the steps taken by the Government in the recent past, to reform the domestic defence sector, “the atmosphere in India is now conducive for attracting more and more investments in defence research and development.”
Source: The Business Line
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