'The tools of warfare are changing. The MoD must deepen its engagement with technology thinkers that can present compelling visions of where warfare may be heading.'
'With the new DPP, there will be greater transparency and faster clearances.'
'India has the capital to invest in defence production.' 'With clear timelines and commitments, private industry can deliver surge capacity effectively.'
The significant changes include devolution of powers within the ministry and the service headquarters and concurrent running of the acquisition process.
The Congress on Monday sought a thorough probe in the Rafale defence deal and demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after a French media report claimed that 1.1 million (Rs 9.5 crore) was paid to a "middleman" by the aircraft manufacturer.
Against the backdrop of scams such as the VVIP chopper deal, a new defence procurement policy came into force ay, which aims at enhancing transparency and probity in military purchases and gives first right of refusal to Indian vendors to promote indigenous industry.
The army is planning to procure 100 self-propelled artillery howitzers and three Indian vendors, including two private companies, have been selected for trial of their equipment, Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Seeking to avoid allegations of favouritism and scams in acquisitions, the defence ministry is planning to put an end to single-vendor tenders and is expected to issue directions to the services headquarters soon in this regard.
'Under the present Defence Procurement Procedure, it would have been a nightmare, and a long, long one at that, to build 108 Rafales in India. Modi realised this and took the wise decision, though it is a definitive setback for his Make in India scheme.'
"Within a few months we are going to change the defence procurement procedure again," Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.
It also sought exemption from Research and Development Cess for joint ventures implementing the offset obligations under the Defence Procurement Procedure introduced a couple of years ago to energise the defence market.
Move over artillery gun deals stamp paper fodder and other scams! India's pinnacle of subterfuge will soon belong to a new hustle called offsets on which pliant Indian defence manufacturers are set to ride to riches. Setting the stage for this shakedown is a disinterested Ministry of Defence (MoD), which has artlessly authored a scamster's delight called the Defence Offset Procedure.
The defence ministry stressed that the purchase of 36 Rafales was 'strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects.' However, the DPP-mandated process had not been gone through when Modi announced the agreement on April 10, 2015,' observes Ajai Shukla.
With the armed forces going on a fast-track modernisation drive after 26/11 terror strikes, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said that the "Unnecessary procedures, bottle-necks and red-tape should be cut down for hastening procurement procedures." Antony was addressing the "Jumbo" Majumdar Seminar on 'Dominance of Aerospace Power', in New Delhi.
"The amended second draft (known as DAP) has since been finalised by the review committee driven by tenets of defence reforms announced as part of the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' and has been placed in the public domain," the ministry said.
We have been fine-tuning and improving the Defence procurement Procedure based on periodical reviews," he said while inaugurating the 5th International Land and Naval Systems Exhibition in New Delhi. "The current procurement procedure is also under review to make it more transparent and user-friendly," Antony said.
In a move to cut down delays in armament procurement, the government reintroduced the fast track process in modified form and to make field trials of weapons systems more transparent.
The deal was better in aspects such as capability, price and equipment, it said in a statement.
Easy availability of drones has increased the complexity of security challenges and the Indian military is developing capabilities to effectively deal with the threats, be it from State-sponsored elements or by states themselves, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane said on Thursday.
The United Progressive Alliance government has given a clean chit to former defence minister George Fernandes in the defence procurements made during the Kargil conflict.
The Congress has been attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party government on the defence deal, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of causing loss to the state exchequer by buying the fighter jets at inflated rate.
Gandhi's attack came a day after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had refused to share the details of the deal on the grounds of security agreement signed between India and France.
The procurement is expected to address the shortage of small arms for the armed forces.
Gandhi's remarks came after the Supreme Court gave clean chit to the Modi government on the purchase of 36 fully-loaded Rafale fighter jets from French company Dassault Aviation.
The plea also seeks details of comparative prices during UPA and NDA rule.
'The procurement cycle still consumes too much time; little has changed.'
In the pipeline are 123 naval multi-role helicopters, 111 naval utility helicopters and 6 submarines.
The minister also said that four cases of corruption in defence deals have been registered by the CBI since 2015.
The document titled 'Details of the steps in the decision making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order' stated that the process as laid down in the Defence Procurement Procedure-2013 has been followed in procurement of the Rafale aircraft.
The deal for purchase of 36 Rafale fighter planes from France is not done yet, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday with an assertion that the government was negotiating to reduce to deal value and "save a lot" of money.
'The equipment that you make for us must be the best in the world so that it complements the Indian soldier who is without doubt the very best in the world.'
It is baffling how the PM chose the LCH as an indigenous product to celebrate on Rashtriya Raksha Samarpan Parv, even while his Cabinet holds up manufacturing clearance for 15 LCHs on the grounds that they are not Indian enough.
In what is seen as a significant move, the DAP featured measures to reduce delay in procurement of essential items by the three services as it proposed a new enabling provision to acquire them through capital budget under a simplified procedure in a time-bound manner.
The CBI also carried out searches at the residence and office of controversial arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari in connection with the deal
Complaints of alleged irregularities have been received in connection with Army's plan to procure ultra light howitzers worth over Rs 3,000 crore and a committee has been formed to probe these charges, the government has told Lok Sabha.
Suspense continued on Tuesday over whether the issue of Rafale fighter deal, which has been stuck over cost, will figure in talks that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have with French President Francois Hollande during his visit beginning on Thursday.
The defence ministry has started fresh cost negotiations with the US firm Sikorsky for purchase of 16 multi-role naval helicopters, Lok Sabha was told on Friday.
Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Thursday took over the baton of the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee from outgoing IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha even as the government plans to create a new post to focus exclusively on inter-services issues and acquisitions.
The central probe agency had filed a money laundering case to probe the deal and is carrying out the action to collect evidence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said.
In its report tabled in Parliament, the national auditor said the Dassault Aviation and the MBDA proposed in September 2015 to discharge 30 per cent of their offset obligations by offering high technology to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), but the two firms are yet to do it.
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