India’s defence ministry on Monday put out another list of more than 100 items of defence hardware that the three services will procure from domestic vendors in a bid to promote military equipment manufacturing in the country.
“This will give further boost to indigenisation (Atmanirbhar Bharat programme) with active participation of public and private sector for fulfilling the twin objectives of achieving self-reliance and promoting defence exports,” a statement from the defence ministry said. “All the 108 items (on the list released on Monday) will now be procured from indigenous sources as per provisions given in Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020,” it said.
The second list contains sophisticated hardware and systems like light, medium and heavy combat armoured or mine protected vehicles, helicopter launched anti tank missiles, anti torpedo decoy systems for ships, software defined radio for combat ships, wall penetrating imaging radars, 10 kilometre range battle field surveillance radars, land based medium power radars, thermal imaging and sight intensifiers for small arms including light machine guns and assault rifles and mountain weapons locating radars.
Long range glide bombs, steering gear for destroyers and frigates, deep search mine detectors are also on the list.
Last year in August, the ministry had come out with a first list of 101 items that it said the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force would procure from domestic vendors. It was in February last year that prime minister Narendra Modi set Indian industry a target of $5 billion in defence exports in next five years. This came against the backdrop of India being the world’s second largest importer of defence hardware after Saudi Arabia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
“The ‘Second Positive Indigenisation List’ comprises complex systems, sensors, simulator, weapons and ammunitions like helicopters, next generation corvettes, air borne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems, tank engines, medium power radar for mountains, medium range surface to air missiles and many more such items to full fill the requirements of Indian Armed Forces,” the defence ministry statement said. “This second list is planned to be implemented progressively with effect from December 2021 to December 2025,” it said. It lays “special focus on weapons and systems which are currently under development or trials and are likely to translate into firm orders in the future,” the statement said. “Like the first list, import substitution of ammunition which is a recurring requirement has been given special focus. Not only does the list recognise the potential of local defence industry, it will also give impetus to domestic research and development by attracting fresh investment into technology and manufacturing capabilities,” it said. “This list also provides an excellent opportunity for ‘start-ups’ as also MSMEs which will get tremendous boost from this initiative,” it said.
The defence ministry, Defence Research and Development Organisation and Service Headquarters “will take all necessary steps, including hand holding of the Industry, to ensure that the timelines mentioned in the ‘Second Positive Indigenisation List’ are met, thereby facilitating an environment for Indian Defence Manufacturers to create world class infrastructure and assist in the government’s ‘Make in India’ vision to make India self-reliant in defence,” the statement said.
Welcoming the development, the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers said: “Initial appreciation is that the List is exhaustive and addresses a wide variety of military platforms and systems like Helicopters, Next Generation Corvettes, Tank Engines for Main Battle Tanks, Command and Control systems, and a variety of ammunition.”
Source : Live Mint
