The Ministry of Defence at South Block, New Delhi. (File photo)
New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence’s Defence Acquisition Council approved implementation guidelines for the strategic partnership model in defence purchases, on Monday. The move is aimed to revitalize the country’s defence-industrial ecosystem and progressively build indigenous capabilities in the private sector to design, develop, and manufacture complex weapon systems for the armed forces.
The amplifying guidelines lay emphasis on incentivisation of transfer of niche technology and higher indigenous content. Global majors, who in collaboration with Indian partners are ready to make India a regional/global manufacturing hub for the platform will also be incentivized, defence ministry sources said.
The step will give a major fillip towards encouraging self-reliance and aligning the defence sector with the “Make in India” initiative of the government. The DAC, which is headed by the defence minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, also approved platform specific guidelines for procurement of naval utility helicopters. All procurements under the strategic partnership model would be executed by specially constituted empowered project committees (EPC) to provide focused attention and ensure timely execution, the sources added.
The DAC, further, accorded approval for the acquisition of eight fast patrol vessels for the Indian Coast Guard at an approximate cost of Rs 800 crore under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. These vessels will be indigenously designed and manufactured and would strengthen maritime security.
