No decision on selling only 'Made in India' products in army canteens: Govt

The defence ministry has not taken any decision on selling only "Made in India" products in military canteens run by it across the country, the government said on Saturday.

"No decision has been taken in this regard," Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said in Rajya Sabha.

He was replying to a question on whether the defence ministry will consider using and selling only "Made in India" products in its stores in light of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's focus on self-reliance and "vocal for local".

In an address to the nation in May, Modi spoke extensively on the need to focus on a self-reliant India and called for promoting products made in India with a larger aim of making Indian economy stronger.

In his reply, Naik also said that the total turnover of defence canteens in 2017-18 was Rs 17,190 crore and it went up to Rs 18,917 crore in 2018-19. The total turnover was reported at Rs 17,588 in 2019-20.

In the current fiscal, the figure has been recorded at Rs 3,692 crore till August, he said.

In reply to a separate question on whether government signed a contract with a private company to modernise 37 airfields, he replied in the affirmative.

"Modernisation of airfield infrastructure has enhanced the capability in terms of facilitating operation in poor weather conditions including night operations, enhanced enroute navigation infrastructure and enhanced traffic handling capabilities," he said.

To a separate question, Naik said 86 military airbases are functioning in the country.