India will stop importing 101 Defence weapons and platforms

India has announced a negative arms import list under which acquisition of 101 weapons systems and platforms from abroad will be banned from December 2020 to December 2025. The objective is to boost the domestic manufacturing of defence weapons in the country and become self-sufficient in this arena.

What are these items?

The government has announced 101 such items with different embargo timelines and these are different types of ammunition, sonars, radars, artillery guns, assault rifles, missile destroyers, transport aircraft, light combat helicopters, wheeled armored fighting vehicles, conventional diesel-electric submarines and communication satellites.

What is the significance of this decision?

Procurements of the notified weapons from abroad will be banned but Indian public and private sector companies can continue to tie-up with foreign manufacturers to produce them in India. However, that should be within the FDI limit of 74% as notified by the government, through the automatic clearance route.

What is the present situation regarding arms imports in India?

India has long been one of the largest importers of arms in the world. In fact, India is the second-largest arms importer in the world, just after Saudi Arabia. India accounts for nearly 9.2% of the total global arms imports. On the other hand, India stands at the 23^rd position in the exporters’ list for arms. The main objective of the government is to make India self-reliant in this arena at the earliest.

Impact

Due to this decision, the defence ministry will place order of Rs 4 lakh crore to the domestic industry within the next 6-7 years. This will include items worth of 1.3 lakh crore for the Army and the IAF. Another 1.4 lakh crore worth or order will be placed by the Indian Navy. In the current financial year, around Rs 52000 crores of domestic capital procurement will be done by the Defence Ministry, as per the budget estimates.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2020