In pursuance of ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government, following policy measures have been taken by Ministry of Defence: –
- An innovation ecosystem for Defence titled Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) has been launched in April, 2018. iDEX is aimed at creation of an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, Start-ups, Individual Innovators, R&D institutes and Academia and provide them grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D which has potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs. 24 contracts have been signed so far by the implementing agency -Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO).
- Separate procedure for ‘Make-II’ category has been notified under Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) to encourage indigenous development and manufacture of defence equipment. Number of industry friendly provisions such as relaxation of eligibility criterion, minimal documentation, provision for considering proposals suggested by industry/individual etc. have been introduced in this procedure. 44 proposals have been accorded acceptance in principle.
- Government has notified the ‘Strategic Partnership (SP)’ Model which envisages establishment of long-term strategic partnerships with Indian entities through a transparent and competitive process, wherein they would tie up with global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to seek technology transfers to set up domestic manufacturing infrastructure and supply chains.
- Government has notified a Policy for indigenisation of components and spares used in Defence Platforms in March, 2019 with the objective to create an industry ecosystem which is able to indigenize the imported components (including alloys & special materials) and sub-assemblies for defence equipment and platform manufactured in India.
- Government has decided to establish two defence industrial corridors to serve as an engine of economic development and growth of defence industrial base in the country. They span across Chennai, Hosur, Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu and spanning across Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Kanpur, Chitrakoot and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
- To align with Government of India initiative to promote Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs and private sector and achieve national vision of “Make in India”, the Department has formulated a Policy in May, 2018 on ‘Utilisation of Third Party Inspection Services’ for effective administration of inspection Services with involvement of third parties.
- In order to bring more transparency and efficiency into the Offset discharge process, “Offset portal” has been created in May, 2019.
- The Ministry has instituted a new framework titled ‘Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti’ in November, 2018 which aims to provide boost to the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) culture in indigenous defence industry.
- Defence Investor Cell has been created in Feb, 2018. The Ministry to provide all necessary information including addressing queries related to investment opportunities, procedures and regulatory requirements for investment in the sector.
- Defence Products list requiring Industrial Licences has been rationalised and manufacture of most of parts or components does not require Industrial License.
- Department of Defence Production has notified 112 items under Public Procurement Order 2017 notified by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The Defence PSUs and OFB are thereby required to give preference to domestic manufacturers while procuring these items in accordance with the said policy. This is expected to provide greater opportunities to domestic industry catering to these organizations and reduce dependence on imports.
For the period April -2017 upto Sept 2019, Government has accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to 107 proposals, worth Rs. 1,50,740.6 crore approximately, under various categories of Capital procurement which promotes domestic manufacturing as per DPP 2016.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Naik in a written reply to ShriVijay Goelin Rajya Sabha today.
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