Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today hinted that the final clearance to the new procurement policy is likely to be given by March 21.
"I think we need to be patient. We would rather have a good document slow and steady then a bad document in haste... But, to all those concerned about what is going to happen to our vision of Make in India in this sector, let me tell that our policy is on the runway and it will soon take off to greater heights," he said.
Addressing a gathering at the opening of the three-day technical festival of IIT Roorkee - Cognizance 2016 - the minister, striking a confident note, said that "nuclear and other sanctions imposed on India ended up helping out in creating its own technology".
Without naming previous regimes, Parrikar said things are taking time to change since it's difficult to "shake off" decades of "inertia".
"Our new defence procurement policy not only aims to incentivise and promote indigenous production but also cut the red tape and remove bureaucratic hurdles, which have delayed plans in the past," he said.
"What this vision gives to stakeholders is an ecosystem for innovation and development... The new DPP will of course expedite business and make defence a modern sector. The modalities have all been worked out and the final clearance to the draft should be given by March 21 and by month end it will be notified," Parrikar said.
During the 'Make in India Week' programme in Mumbai last month, the defence minister had said the new policy would come into effect from April 2.
"The DPP will have a new category of indigenously designed, developed and manufactured (IDMM) as the most preferred category for procurements, which aims to boost domestic private and small-scale industry," he had said, adding, the NDA government seeks to make the defence market "more lucrative" for the Indian industry.
Parrikar, an IIT-Bombay alumnus, exhorted the crowd of aspiring engineers at the sprawling IIT-Roorkee campus to value "knowledge over degree" and think out of the box.
"Your director mentioned the three legs on which an idea or an institution stands - theory, practical and innovation.
"But there is the fourth leg and that is the ecosystem to allow that innovation and development and we seek to provide that kind of ecosystem," he said.
Emphasising the 'Make in India; policy, the defence
minister said implementing the policy means, "cutting off certain imports" where Indian players are developing products, so as to not harm our own interest.
"Yes, we do have some difficulties in our sector. While we are doing good in missile technologies we are importing a lot of fighter planes, and therefore the new DPP will give priority to products indigenously designed, developed and manufactured (IDMM) provided they are selected through procedures that are well-established," he said.
"Also, there are other issues like with the GFR (General Finance Rules). I am going to talk to (Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley, it has to be slightly modified," he added.
"But, it is not just red tape that we seek to tide over with our new policy but also relook some of our old policies," he said.
"So, for instance the clause of fast track, as mentioned in previous policy made us believe that it was only for war time, which isn't. They can be used during peacetime, for special purpose," the defence minister said.
Citing examples of home-grown LCA Tejas and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Parrikar said the he expected to play state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited a greater role in realising the Make in India vision.
Parrikar and other experts from the field later participated in a panel discussion on the theme of Make in India in defence sector.
HAL Chairman and Managing Director T Suvarna Raju said, the Make in India vision provides the right kind of ecosystem for making our scope more focused.
"We have 29 products, 15 indigenous types and 14 licence types, and with this new vision, our LCA Tejas and LCH only will take us closer to our goals," Raju said.
