Revised Defence Procurement Manual soon: Defence Minister tells industry

Defence Minister Shri A. K. Antony has reiterated that the government was committed to partnering with industry in the defence production for attaining self-reliance. Speaking at inaugural ceremony of the ‘INDAIR-08: Strategic partnering of IAF and Industry on Modernisation and Indigenisation’ seminar in New Delhi this morning, Shri Antony said, the initiatives undertaken by the government had resulted in a paradigm shift in the role of private sector in the field of indigenisation from the role of supplier of raw materials, components and sub-systems, to partners in the manufacture of complete advanced systems and equipment.” The government has taken a number of initiatives in recent times including opening of the defence industry for up to 100% private sector partnership, transfer of defence related items from the reserved to the licensed category, issuance of detailed guidelines for the grant of industrial license by the Dept of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and dispensing with separate licensing by MoD.”

Responding to an earlier query on delay in Raksha Utpadan Ratnas (RURs), the Defence Minister said that the delay was not only due to trade unions but also due to a section of large and medium industry, especially in the electronics sector, who are opposed to the guidelines in this area. Shri Antony however said “…let me assure you all here that very soon a revised Defence Procurement Manual would be released, work is going on to incorporate amendments based on interface with the industry.”

Highlighting the areas of concern, the Defence Minister said inaccurate projections, lack of facilities to undertake prototype tests, lack of adherence to time schedules, not meeting contracted delivery dates and abrupt stoppage of indigenization activities needed to be addressed. Similarly, he said, from the vendors' perspective, areas of concern were low Minimum Order Quantity, changes in specification, lack of guaranteed repeat orders and long lead times in the submission of prototype and bulk production clearance. Shri Antony expressed hope that these issues would be resolved at this conference through mutual trust and transparency.