By Anantha Krishnan M
Express News Service
Bangalore: A 10-member senior-level delegation from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is landing in Bangalore on April 14 on a six-day study tour to select aerospace and defence installations. Headed by Ravindra Gupta, the Task Force of Defence Modernisation and Self-Reliance is part of the National Security Council Secretariat attached to the Military Advisor's Wing of MoD.Express News Service
Military sources confirm to Express that the team would suggest measures to enhance indigenisation in defence with a focus to increase Indian private sector participation. “The team would assess means to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework for the Indian defence industry in addition to exploring ways for absorption and upgradation of technologies,” sources said.
The MoD has asked the team to suggest new ideas to strengthen the existing mechanism for finalising SQRs (Staff Quality Requirements) with a view to encouraging competition and reducing single vendor cases. “One of the key tasks of this delegation is to come out with a strategy for price discovery in situations of limited competition, including one vendor situations. Stronger modalities are in the pipeline for penalising the vendor found non-compliant with defence procurement procedures from the vigilance angle,” sources said.
Sources say that the MoD is keen to put stringent regulations in place to avoid controversies at the time of vendor selection, price negotiations and during procurements, in addition to propelling home-grown R&D. During the recent DefExpo in Delhi, Defence Minister A K Antony had emphasised the need to achieve high level of indigenisation in defence. “Our quest for self-reliance in defence underlines the growing importance of private sector participation on the one hand, and revitalising the public sector on the other. Our emphasis is on public-private sector partnership in the defence industry,” Antony had said.
Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Indian Space Research Organisation, Aeronautical Development Agency, Aeronautical Development Establishment, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and Gas Turbine Research Establishment are among the installations that would come under the MoD team's radar.
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