Defence procurement policy amended

IANS/New Delhi

An official statement said the Defence Acquisition Council, the apex decision-making body of the defence ministry, took a series of decisions including amendments to DPP.

“With the twin objective of infusing greater efficiency in the procurement process and strengthening the defence manufacturing base in the country, the Defence Acquisition Council took a series of decisions today, including amendments to Defence Procurement Procedure,” the statement said.

Defence Minister A K Antony, who chaired the meeting, said the only way forward for the country was rapid indigenisation of defence products with both public and private sectors playing pivotal role in the endeavour.

He said the government will make all efforts to create genuine level playing field for the Indian manufacturing industry vis-à-vis global players.

According to amendments decided by the council, preference for indigenous procurement in the Defence Production Policy 2011 has now been made a part of DPP with a preferred order of categorisation and global cases being the choice of last resort.

“The order of preference, in decreasing order, shall be: (1) `Buy (Indian)’; (2) `Buy & Make (Indian)’; (3) `Make’; (4) `Buy & Make with ToT (transfer of technology)’; and (5) `Buy (Global)’. Any proposal to select a particular category must now state reasons for excluding the higher preferred category/ categories,” the statement said.

The financial powers of service chiefs and director general of Coast Guard for capital acquisition have been enhanced from Rs500mn to Rs1.50bn.

The DAC approved the release of a public version of its 15-year perspective document Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan outlining the “Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap” (TPCR) against LTIPP 2012-2027.