The Hindu : National : Reliance still on imports unfortunate, says Antony

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Reliance still on imports unfortunate, says Antony

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister A. K. Antony on Monday said it was “unfortunate and painful” that 70 per cent of defence equipment was still being imported.

Replying to questions in the Lok Sabha, he said the government was working towards manufacturing state-of-the-art equipment indigenously. But until India reached that stage, it would have to rely on imports. “If Indian products are not of state-of the art quality, using them would be dangerous.”

Mr. Antony said the government decided to accord first priority to Indian public and private companies which were able to provide such equipment.

Time frame

To a question whether there was a time frame for India becoming self-sufficient in defence production, he said the process would be “speeded up.”

The procurement policy would be reviewed annually, instead of every two years as was being done now. Minister of State of Defence Vincent Pala conceded that there were deficiencies in bullet-proof jackets but said these were not “sub-standard.”

On delay in buying defence equipment, Mr. Antony said a committee had been constituted and given financial powers which till now were vested with the Defence Minister. “We should understand that we are a democracy and have a system and procedure [for procurement of weapons],” he said, responding to Naveen Jindal of the Congress, who said the forces were still using World War II vintage weapons, while Pakistan and Bangladesh had better arms.

In reply to a query by Lalu Prasad (Rashtriya Janata Dal), Mr. Antony said there was an “inordinate delay” in starting the ordnance factory set up at Rajgir in Bihar during the National Democratic Alliance regime, but it would be expedited now.

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