Import embargo on 101 defence items would encourage self-reliance: PM Modi

Modi underscored the opportunities the government has created for the private sector by bifurcating the capital procurement budget into separate domestic and foreign procurement routes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the government’s announcement last August of a “negative list”, consisting of 101 defence items embargoed progressively for import, was actually a “positive list” under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-sufficient India) programme.

“This is a positive list that will increase our manufacturing capacities, generate new employment, reduce dependence on imports, and will give a guarantee to the products being manufactured in India to be consumed in India,” Modi said.

The PM was addressing a webinar the Ministry of Defence (MoD) organised in partnership with major industry chambers in the backdrop of a Rs 21,327 crore increase