Modified defence procurement policy in three months, defence minister Manohar Parrikar says

AHMEDABAD: Defence minister ManoharParrikar said on Sunday that his ministry would come up with defenceprocurement policy (DPP), preferring purchase of equipment made in India, within three months.

Speaking at a seminar ‘Gujarat: Preferred Hub for Defence Production’ during the Vibrant Gujarat summit, the minister said India cannot afford spending $20 billion on defence procurement, and for this, promoting local manufacturing is must and the country will promote private players in this field. “The government hopes to come up with a document in two or three months on a suitable model for defence manufacturing and procurement…We have listed certain items that are not going to be imported from 2016. These will increase later on. But we are coming up with the document in February-March on modified DPP.”

Responding to Gujarat’s keenness on having defence equipment manufacturing facilities, the defence minister said that Gujarat has got an “industrial base and a private line also”, thus for those intending to invest in defence equipment in Gujarat, it would have double advantage. He said that this is the way to realize Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ dream.

Two companies pledged investment for manufacturing defence equipment in Gujarat, and intend to base this industry in North Gujarat districts of Banaskantha, Sabarkantha and the border district of Kutch apart from the coastal region. Bharat Forge said it would upgrade facilities for armoured fighting vehicles, defence electronics manufacturing and radar manufacturing facilities.

Defence experts also lauded the gesture of inviting private players to manufacture defence equipments in India. Chairman of Saab India Lars Olaf Lindgren said, “Not only India will benefit with this, foreign companies with expertise in different fields will also gain by partnering with India and Indian companies to manufacture in this country.”

Sanjay Garg, the defence ministry’s joint secretary, said that in the next 7-8 years, the capital budget for modernization of armed forces is going to be $130 billion. This is the perfect condition for any company to come to India.

Source: Defence News

India-Russia talks on to finalise copter deal

Following the in-principle agreement reached by India and Russia for the production of Russian helicopters in India, both sides are carrying out discussions to work out the details to quickly conclude a deal.

Initially the helicopters will be used to cater to the requirements of the Indian armed forces and only after that will exports happen, Russian embassy officials told The Hindu.

This effectively means that the Utility Helicopter deal which was earlier cancelled as a global tender and changed into “Buy and Make” category under the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) will go the Russian way.

The Russian Deputy Premier Dmitry Rogozin who accompanied the Russian President Vladimir Putin to India on December 11 has said that “the understanding is to assemble 400 advanced Kamov-226T helicopters per year built by Russian Technologies in India”.

No partner has been identified from the Indian side for partnering and as of now it is open to both public and private sector. “Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is a major player but private sector is also part of the negotiations” sources told The Hindu. However embassy officials did not identify those private players. Defence Ministry officials said the details are being worked out.

On the operational front Russian choppers are known for their ruggedness and Indian Armed Forces have been using them for decades which will help in their quick integration. Russian Mi-17 choppers are the mainstay of the Indian Air Force used in diverse roles from search and rescue to VIP transport.

On the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft of which there was no mention in the recent joint statement, embassy officials have said negotiations to sort out the work share are going on and an agreement is likely as early as January.

Russian officials said that Russia is open for equal work share but stated that “Russia has problems with the Indian demand. If India has the ability to provide certain design knowhow and technologies we are open for equal work. But this may not be so as seen with the case of Light Combat Program (LCA) and the aircraft under development is a Fifth Generation program.”

On the new line of submarines under Project-75I, Russia is open to technology transfer and joint production of diesel-electric submarines. India has submitted its requirements and the Russian side responded with attractive options, sources said.

Russian officials felt that, for advanced defence equipment, India and Russia should reach a governmental agreement under the Inter-Governmental framework on similar lines that India has with the US.

Source : The Hindu