DEFENCE QUESTIONS IN RAJYA SABHA
INDIGENISATION IN DEFENCE SECTOR
New Delhi, 08 December 2015
The Government
has promulgated Defence Production Policy in 2011 in order to promote
indigenisation in defence sector. The policy aims at achieving substantive
self-reliance in the design, development and production of equipment, weapon
systems, platforms required for defence in as early a time frame as possible;
creating conditions conducive for the private industry to take an active role
in this endeavour; enhancing potential of SMEs in indigenisation and broadening
the defence R&D base of the country. In pursuance of the Policy, the
Government has taken several steps to build strong defence industrial base
which are given as below:-
o
FDI policy has
been revised in Nov 2015 under which Foreign Investment upto 49% is allowed
through automatic route and above 49% under Government route on case-to-case
basis, wherever it is likely to result in access to modern and ‘state-of-art’
technology in the country.
o
The Exchange Rate
Variation (ERV) protection has been allowed on foreign exchange component to
all Indian companies including private companies in all
categories of capital acquisitions, so as to create a level playing field
between the Indian and foreign industry.
o
To establish a
level-playing field between Indian private sector and the public sector, the
anomalies in excise duty/ custom duty have been removed. As per the revised policy, all Indian
industries (public and private) are subjected to the same kind of excise and
custom duty levies.
o
The Defence Products
List for the purpose of issuing Industrial Licences (ILs) under IDR Act has
been revised and most of the components, parts, sub-systems, testing equipment,
and production equipment have been removed from the List, so as to reduce the
entry barriers for the industry, particularly small & medium segment.
o
The initial
validity of the Industrial Licence granted under the IDR Act has been increased
from 7 years to 15 years with a provision to further extend it by 3 years on a
case-to-case basis.
o
To promote the
participation of private sector, particularly SMEs for defence manufacturing,
Outsourcing and Vendor Development Guidelines for DPSUs and OFB have been
formulated and circulated to them. The
guidelines mandate that each DPSU and OFB to have a short-term and long-term
outsourcing and vendor development plan to gradually increase the outsourcing
from private sector including SMEs. The
guidelines also include vendor development for import substitution.
o
The Standard
Operating Procedure (SOP) for the issue of No Objection Certificate (NOC) for
export of military stores has been revised and put on the website. Under the revised SOP, the requirement of End
User Certificate (EUC) to be countersigned/ stamped by the Government
authorities has been done away with for the export of parts, components,
sub-systems etc.
o
The list of
military stores has been finalised and has been put in the public domain to
make the process transparent and unambiguous. The process of receiving
applications for NOC for export of military stores and for issuing NOC has been
made online to reduce the delay and to remove human interface in the process.
o
Preference to
‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ & ‘Make’ categories of
acquisition over ‘Buy (Global)’ category, thereby giving preference to Indian
industry in procurement.
Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has, so far issued 307 Letters of
Intents (LOIs)/Industrial Licences (ILs) to 182 companies to till Oct 2015 for manufacture of a wide range of
defence items to public/private companies. So far 50 licensed companies
covering 79 industrial licenses have reported commencement of production.
34 FDI
proposals/Joint Ventures have been approved in defence sector since 2000, for
manufacture of various defence items, both with Indian public and private
sector companies.
Since the launch
of ‘Make in India’ initiative in Sept 2014, Department of Industrial Policy
&Promotion has issued 81 Industrial Licenses to 61 companies for
manufacture of various defence items.
This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit
Singh in a written reply to Shri Vijay Goel in Rajya Sabha today.
PRODUCTION CAPACITIES OF ORDNANCE FACTORIES
New Delhi:
Agrahayana 17, 1936
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
The annual
production plan of ordnance factories is based on targets mutually agreed with
indentors i.e. Army, Navy, Air Force, Central & State Police etc.The
capacities of ordnance factories are being fully utilized except in small arms
manufacturing factories due to rapidly declining demand from Armed Forces for
the existing small arms.
Ordnance Factory
Board (OFB) has also received long-term demands of various ammunition items
from Army, Navy and Air Force. The OFB
interacts on regular basis with the user so as to match their annual
requirements. The value of production of
Ordnance Factories for supply to Defence and Non-Defence sectors during last
three years is as under:-
(Rs. in Crore)
Year
|
Defence
|
Non Defence
|
Total
|
2012-13
|
10180
|
1794
|
11975
|
2013-14
|
9295
|
1828
|
11123
|
2014-15
|
9824
|
1540
|
11364
|
The percentage of
expenditure on domestic and foreign procurement of Defence equipment for Army,
Navy and Air Force under Capital and Revenue during 2014-15 was 62.89% and
37.11% respectively.
This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit
Singh in a written reply to ShriNaresh Agrawal in Rajya Sabha today.
ARMY PERSONNEL KILLED IN CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS
New Delhi:
Agrahayana 17, 1936
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
The details of ceasefire violations in
J&K along Indo-Pakistan border are
as under:-
Ceasefire
Violations along Line of Control (LC) and International Border (IB) under
operational control of Army
|
Ceasefire
Violations along IB under operational control of BSF
|
151
(from 01
January to 30th Nov, 2015)
|
249
(from 01
January to 31st Oct, 2015)
|
(b)
Six Army personnel were martyred during the ceasefire violations along
the LC in the said period.
(c)
Compensation/benefits being paid to the Next of Kin of Army soldiers
(Fatal Battle Casualties) is as under:
Monetary compensation to army
soldiers’ families:
Ex Gratia Lump
Sum Compensation from Central Government to Next of Kin (NoK) of Battle Casualty:
·
Death occurring
due to accidents in the course of duties - Rs.10.00
lakh.
·
Death in the
course of duties attributable to acts of violence by terrorists, etc. -Rs.10.00
lakh.
·
Death occurring
during enemy action in war or border skirmishes or in action against militants,
terrorists, etc.- Rs.15.00 lakh.
·
Death occurring
during enemy action in International war or war like engagements specifically
notified - Rs.20.00 lakh.
·
Death occurring
while on duty in the specified high altitude, inaccessible border posts, etc.
on account of natural disasters, extreme weather conditions -Rs.15.00 lakh.
Other
Monetary Benefits:
·
Liberalised
Family Pension: as applicable to Battle Casualty that is equal to emoluments
last drawn by the deceased individual.
·
Death-cum-Retirement
Gratuity: that is based on length of
service rendered and emoluments last drawn by the deceased individual.
·
Army Group
Insurance Fund:-
o
Officers : Rs.
50.00 lakh
o
JCO/ORs : Rs.
25.00 lakh
Army Group
Insurance Maturity that is based on the contribution made by the deceased Army
personnel.
·
Army Wives
Welfare Association Fund:-
o
Officers : Rs.10,000/-
o
JCOs/ORs : Rs.15,000/-
(w.e.f. 01 Apr, 2015)
Army Officers
Benevolent Fund : Rs.50,000/-
Army Central
Welfare Fund: Rs.30,000/-
Other Benefits:
o
Education
Concession
o
Air Travel
Concession
o
Telephone
Concession
This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit
Singh in a written reply to Shri P Bhattacharya and Shri Kiranmay Nanda in
Rajya Sabha today.
DEF-EXPO 2016
New Delhi:
Agrahayana 17, 1936
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
It
has been decided to organize Def Expo 2016 in Quitol, Naqueri Betul in Quepem
area of South Goa, in the State of Goa.The Government of Goa was requested to
make approximately 150 acres of land available for the purpose. However, Government of Goa has not allotted
any land formally for the purpose to the Ministry of Defence. The Def Expo has
been organized in previous years in Delhi. No land was allotted for Def Expo in
Delhi. Def Expo used to be organized in
Pragati Maidan, a property of India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), by
hiring the space.
This information was given by Minister of
State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Shri ShantaramNaikin
Rajya Sabha today.
ROLE OF MSME IN DEFENCE SECTOR
New Delhi:
Agrahayana 17, 1936
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
Ministry of
Defence set up a Committee of Experts under the Chairmanship of Shri Dhirendra Singh, IAS (Retd.), in May
2015 to evolve a policy framework for Make in India and to suggest requisite
amendments in Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2013. The Committee submitted
its report in July 2015 and in its report it is mentioned that almost 80% of
component, aggregates and assemblies of complex weapon system and aircraft are
made by MSMEs, which are part of supply chains. The Report also mentions that
there are nearly 6000 MSMEs across the country supplying components and
sub-assemblies to the DPSUs, Ordnance Factories, DRDO and private industries. A
2012 Report of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Boston
Consulting Group (BCG) mentions that the employee base of 1.8 lakh in Ordnance
Factories and DPSUs is similar to the countries like United Kingdom and France
which are amongst the largest producers of defence related items.
The lack of state
of the art defence technology and poor production capabilities are some of the
major reasons for lagging behind by India in the field of defence production.
However, the Government has promulgated Defence Production Policy in 2011aimed
at achieving substantive self-reliance in the design, development and
production of equipment, weapon systems, platforms required for defence in as
early a time frame as possible; creating conditions conducive for the private
industry to take an active role in this endeavour; enhancing potential of SMEs
in indigenisation and broadening the defence R&D base of the country. In
pursuance of the Policy, the Government has taken several steps to build strong
defence industrial base, which are given as below:-
·
FDI policy has
been revised in Nov 2015 under which Foreign Investment upto 49% is allowed
through automatic route and above 49% under Government route on case-to-case
basis, wherever it is likely to result in access to modern and ‘state-of-art’
technology in the country.
·
The Exchange Rate
Variation (ERV) protection has been allowed on foreign exchange component to
all Indian companies including private companies in all categories of capital
acquisitions, so as to create a level playing field between the Indian and
foreign industry.
·
To establish a
level-playing field between Indian private sector and the public sector, the
anomalies in excise duty/ custom duty have been removed. As per the revised policy, all Indian
industries (public and private) are subjected to the same kind of excise and
custom duty levies.
·
The Defence
Products List for the purpose of issuing Industrial Licences (ILs) under IDR
Act has been revised and most of the components, parts, sub-systems, testing
equipment, and production equipment have been removed from the List, so as to
reduce the entry barriers for the industry, particularly small & medium
segment.
·
The initial
validity of the Industrial Licence granted under the IDR Act has been increased
from 7 years to 15 years with a provision to further extend it by 3 years on a
case-to-case basis.
·
To promote the
participation of private sector, particularly SMEs for defence manufacturing, Outsourcing and Vendor
Development Guidelines for DPSUs and OFB have been formulated and circulated to
them. The guidelines mandate that each
DPSU and OFB to have a short-term and long-term outsourcing and vendor
development plan to gradually increase the outsourcing from private sector
including SMEs. The guidelines also
include vendor development for import substitution.
·
The Standard
Operating Procedure (SOP) for the issue of No Objection Certificate (NOC) for
export of military stores has been revised and put on the website. Under the revised SOP, the requirement of End
User Certificate (EUC) to be countersigned/ stamped by the Government
authorities has been done away with for the export of parts, components,
sub-systems etc.
·
The list of
military stores has been finalised and has been put in the public domain to
make the process transparent and unambiguous. The process of receiving
applications for NOC for export of military stores and for issuing NOC has been
made online to reduce the delay and to remove human interface in the process.
·
Preference to
‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ & ‘Make’ categories of
acquisition over ‘Buy (Global)’ category, thereby giving preference to Indian
industry in procurement.
This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit
Singh in a written reply to ShriHarivanshin Rajya Sabha today.
FOREIGN DEALS IN DEFENCE SECTOR UNDER MAKE IN
INDIA POLICY
New Delhi:
Agrahayana 17, 1936
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
The
expenditure on capital acquisition in respect of order placed on Indian vendors
and foreign vendors for the period 2014-15 was Rs.40589.98 Crore (61.89%) and
Rs.24992.36 Crore (38.11%) respectively.
During
2014-15 and current year, contracts have been signed with foreign vendors for
capital procurement of Defence equipment such as Missiles, Simulators,
Helicopters, Rockets and Guns.
Information related to employment of Indians in such projects is not
maintained in the Department.
Capital
procurement of Defence equipment is guided by the Defence Procurement Procedure
(DPP) and the timelines given therein.
The timelines are specifically prescribed in each contract.
This information was given by Minister of
State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to ShriAvinashRai
Khanna in Rajya Sabha today.
INDIGENOUS ENTREPRENEURS IN AVIATION EQUIPMENT
FIELD
New Delhi:
Agrahayana 17, 1936
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
Indigenous
procurement of aviation equipment for Indian Army has increased. Indigenous Procurements have been carried out
for items such as helicopters, helmets, test benches and Gyros. The Defence Production Policy promulgated in
2011 gives preference to indigenous design, development and manufacture of
defence equipment and providing a
level playing field to Indian Industry vis-a-vis foreign industry. Government has also raised the FDI limit in
defence production from 26% to 49% and liberalized the licensing regime. Capital Procurement of Defence Equipment is
done through the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2013 which also provides
for higher preference to the categories of Buy (Indian), Buy & Make
(Indian) and Make (Indian) in that order.
This information was given by Minister of
State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Shri Ambeth Rajan in
Rajya Sabha today.
SHORTAGE OF FIGHTER PLANES IN THE AIR FORCE
New Delhi:
Agrahayana 17, 1936
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
The
Indian Air Force (IAF) is equipped to cater for the threat environment that
exists and is always ready to meet the role assigned to it. Operational preparedness of IAF is reviewed
from time to time based on the threat perception. Further, augmentation of capabilities of IAF
including its modernization is a dynamic and continuous process.
During
the Air Force Commanders Conference in October, 2015, all important issues
related to operations were discussed and directions were given to take suitable
measures to enhance the operational capability of IAF.
The
indigenous Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’ has achieved initial operational
clearance. The production phase is progressing concurrently with developmental
activity.
This information was given by Minister of
State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Shri Vishambhar
Prasad Nishad and Smt Kanak Lata Singh in Rajya Sabha today.
FOOLPROOF COASTAL AND MARINE SECURITY
New Delhi:
Agrahayana 17, 1936
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
Government
regularly reviews the threat perception from time to time and takes appropriate
measures to safeguard the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of
the country. It includes review by
National Committee on Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security against
threats from the sea (NCSMCS). The last
meeting of NCSMCS was held on 16.10.2015.
Consequent to the
events of 26/11, the Government had approved a number of measures for
strengthening coastal security.
Accordingly, National Command Control Communication and Intelligence
Network (NC3IN)) has been established. Further, under Coastal Surveillance Network
(CSN), 45 Radar Stations (RS) have already been made operational along the
coastline. The Coastal Security of the
entire coastline including that of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been
strengthened through Aerial and Electronic Surveillance, Joint Coastal
Exercises and Community Interaction Programmes.
Towards greater monitoring, control and regulation of fishing activity,
registration of boats, issue of biometric fishermen Identity cards and
regulation of fishing traffic at fishing harbours have been introduced. Also Coordinated Patrols (CORPAT) with navies
of Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia have been also undertaken against illegal
fishing and poaching.
This information was given by Minister of
State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Dr. T Subbarami
Reddy in Rajya Sabha today.
SHORTAGE OF WEAPONS AND HELICOPTERS WITH THE
ARMED FORCES
New Delhi:
Agrahayana 17, 1936
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
Request
for Proposal (RFP) for the procurement of Qty.
186,138 Bullet Proof Jackets (BPJs) was retracted on 5th October, 2015
as the BPJs fielded by vendors failed in the trials. The Government has taken into consideration
the deficiencies in some of the critical ammunition and has taken effective
steps to mitigate the deficiencies to ensure desired level of operational –
preparedness commensurate to threat perception.
Government constantly reviews the security scenario and accordingly
decides to induct appropriate defence weapons / equipment. Mismatches between requirements and
availability can sometimes occur which are continually addressed by the
procurement process.
This information was given by Minister of
State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to SmtWansukSyiemin
Rajya Sabha today.
PURCHASING OF NEW AIRCRAFT FOR THE AIR FORCE
New Delhi:
Agrahayana 17, 1936
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
The
Government constantly reviews the security environment and ensures that the
Indian Air Force (IAF) is fully equipped to meet the security challenges. The IAF undertakes the process of
modernization of its fleet by procuring various aircrafts. In addition, existing fleet of aircraft are
upgraded as per requirements. These
measures augment the operational strength of the IAF.
As
per the India-France Joint Statement issued by the two countries during the
Prime Minister’s visit to France, Government of India conveyed to the
Government of France that in
view of the
critical operational necessity
for Multirole Combat
Aircraft for Indian Air Force (IAF), Government of India would like to
acquire [36] Rafale jets in fly-away condition as quickly as possible. The two leaders agreed to conclude an
Inter-Governmental Agreement for supply of the aircraft on terms that would be
better than conveyed by Dassault Aviation as part of a separate process
underway, the delivery would be in time-frame that would be compatible with the
operational requirement of IAF; and that the aircraft and associated systems
and weapons would be delivered on the same configuration as had been tested and
approved by Indian Air Force, and with a longer maintenance responsibility by
France.
A
Negotiating Team has been constituted to negotiate the terms and conditions of
the procurement of 36 Rafale jets and recommend a draft agreement. The meetings of the Indian Negotiating team
with the French side are underway.
This information was given by Minister of
State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to ShriMotilalVora in
Rajya Sabha today.
WOMEN PILOTS COMMANDING FIGHTER PLANES
New Delhi:
Agrahayana 17, 1936
Tuesday, 08 December 2015
Government has accorded the approval for
women to join as Short Service Commission officers in the fighter steam of the
IAF on experimental basis for a period of five years.
This information was given by Minister of
State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Shri LalSinhVadodiain
Rajya Sabha today.
DEFENCE QUESTIONS IN RAJYA SABHA
Reviewed by Unknown
on
10:03:00 PM
Rating:
Reviewed by Unknown
on
10:03:00 PM
Rating:
No comments: