Amid growing security challenges emanating from Pakistan, India will make its defence procurement policy more flexible to fast track the purchase and attainment of defence equipment.
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The Defence Ministry has set March 2020 as the deadline to ascertain a new policy for procurement of defence equipment and also for the maintenance of military assets. This move comes amid demands of the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy to have state of the art equipment and armaments to deal with rising challenges.
While delivering a speech at an event in New Delhi, Apurva Chandra stated that he has been made the chairman of the defence acquisition wing with the aim to revamp the defence procurement procedure as well as the defence procurement manuals. He further assured that the new versions will be ascertained by March 2020.
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While the defence procurement process was revised in 2016, the defence procurement manual was last updated in 2009. The procedures lay down the process for buying weapons and equipment from the defence capital budget while the manuals govern the acquisition from the defence budget.
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A separate chapter on Shipbuilding to be added
After the Indian Naval Chief expressed concerns about the shortage of funds for the Indian Navy, it is anticipated that the new procedures and manuals will have new chapters for shipbuilding to meet the demands of the Indian Navy amid China’s unstoppable Naval expansion in the Indo-Pacific region.
This new procurement policy will also give a great boost to the Make in India campaign of the Narendra Modi government and will bolster India’s ambitions to emerge as a regional superpower.
