India should not be dependent on defence imports, says Parrikar

Asserting that the country should not be dependent on defence imports for strategic reasons, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said the government hopes to come up with a document in two to three months on a suitable model for defence manufacturing and procurement.

Parrikar, who was speaking at a seminar "Gujarat: Preferred Hub for Defence Production" held on the sidelines of Vibrant Gujarat in Gandhinagar, also stated that his ministry should soon be in a position to decide which items should be manufactured in India and over a period of time, gradually that list would be increased.

Parrikar said that a 20 billion dollar import bill for defence was not affordable.

"Such a huge import bill has undesirable consequences for the economy, development and unemployment in the country," he added.

Parrikar also said that high end technology should be used in defence.

"Once the concepts are clear, we can than engage the Gujarat Government and involve them in the process of defence production," he said.

The Defence Minister hoped that the seminar would come out with good suggestions.