Competition in defence

Govt must find ways to implement this in reality

Through successive versions of the defence procurement policy, most recently DPP-2016, the defence ministry is gradually abandoning its practice of bestowing orders for indigenous military equipment without competition on its 41 ordnance factories (OFs) and nine defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs). Today it embraces, at least in name, the notion that India’s vibrant and technologically capable private firms must be permitted to compete for defence orders on a level playing field with the public sector. Yet, hurdles prevent this concept’s full implementation. These include the belief amongst some defence ministry bureaucrats, particularly those whose annual assessment reports depend upon how