Rs 70,221 crore allocated for domestic defence procurement, says PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday assured the private sector that India will not import defence equipment that can be manufactured locally even as the government set aside Rs 70,221 crore procurement from domestic manufacturers.

Addressing a webinar organised by the Department of Defence Production, Modi exhorted the private sector to explore avenues for the design and development of defence equipment as assured the industry that they would be involved in such projects from the initial stages.

“The private sector should learn from the experience of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the area of indigenous design and development. Reforms are underway in DRDO to ensure that rules and regulations do not become a hindrance in this regard,” the prime minister said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the government was planning to issue a second negative list of items that can be procured locally by the armed forces.

“My Ministry has planned to invest about 63% of the outlay for 2021-22 on domestic procurement, i.e. about Rs.70221 crore for domestic defence procurement during 2021-22,” Singh said.

Read: In both the World Wars, arms were exported from India: PM Modi

He said the ministry was also working on bringing down the delays in timelines of capital acquisition.

“We will make efforts to complete the defence acquisition within two years, instead of the existing 3-4 years being taken on the average,” Singh said.

The Prime Minister said a total amount of Rs 4.78 lakh crore has been earmarked for the defence ministry in the 2021-22 budget, with a nearly 19% increase in capital outlay.

The prime minister said many small nations were now worried about security given the changing geopolitical reality.

“These nations will look towards India as we have the strength of low cost, high-quality production. We are exporting to over 40 nations now. We now have to emerge as a global exporter,” Modi said.