New Delhi: ‘Make in India’ in defence sector is primarily driven by capital acquisition of defence equipment and other policy measures taken to promote indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipment in the country by harnessing the capabilities of the public and private sector. In the last three financial years i.e. from 2015-16 to 2017-18, Government has accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to 111 proposals, worth Rs.1,78,900 crore approximately, under ‘Buy (Indian-IDDM)’, ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy and Make (Indian)’ or ‘Make’ categories of capital procurement as per Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), which means Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued only to Indian Vendors. In the last three financial years i.e. from 2015-16 to 2017-18, 99 contracts worth about Rs.65,471.28 crore have been signed with Indian vendors for procurement of defence equipment. DPP stipulates a time schedule for completion of the procurement cycle. The time taken to undertake capital procurement of defence equipment depends on the nature and complexity of the equipment being procured.
The Government had promulgated the Defence Production Policy in 2011 which aimed at achieving substantive self-reliance in the design, development and production of equipment, weapon systems, platforms required for defence in as early a time frame as possible; creating conditions conducive for private industry to play an active role in this endeavour; enhancing potential of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in indigenisation and broadening the defence R&D base of the country. Recently, a draft Defence Production Policy-2018 was prepared and placed in public domain to provide a focused, structured and significant thrust to development of defence design and production capabilities in the country. The Defence Production Policy 2018 has not yet been finalized.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri Ram Kumar Kashyap in Rajya Sabha today.
