One of the main issues the Indian armed forces have had with the country’s defense industry has been how long the procurement process takes to obtain various systems to meet operational requirements. This was evident when the Indian armed forces utilized the fast-track procedure to acquire weapons and equipment in the wake of the 2020 border dispute with China. The Indian Army made the majority of its fast track purchases from vendors outside of India, including high-altitude clothing, assault rifles, armor-piercing finstabilized discarding sabot ammunition for tanks, and reconnaissance unmanned aerial systems, among other things (See: “The Indian Army’s Shopping List,” OE Watch, September 2020). The accompanying excerpted article reports on one step the Indian government is taking to bolster its defense industry following these purchases of imported systems.
The article from India Today, an Indian English-language independent weekly news magazine, reports how India’s “Ministry of Defence has released a list of 108 more items to be added to the negative import list to give further impetus to self-reliant defence manufacturing.” The article includes an official statement noting that this means “all the 108 items will now be procured from indigenous sources as per provisions given in Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020.” The article mentions a few of the items on the list as well as how “out of the 108 items, 49 will be implemented from December 2021 and the rest will be scattered over the next four years” and that “in August 2020, the first import ban list comprising 101 items was notified.”
According to the accompanying excerpt from the chapter on fast-track procedure in India’s Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, acquisitions of weapons or equipment from outside India can take place, but it “must be related to an operational situation foreseen as imminent or for a situation where a crisis has emerged without prior warning” or that “it may also be applied for cases where timelines of the normal prescribed procedure in procuring of operationally critical equipment is seen to be adversely impacting the capability and operational preparedness of the Armed Forces.” Overall, the second negative import list will likely have an impact on acquisitions for the Indian armed forces over the next few years, but it appears that this will not restrict fast-track purchases for Indian forces dealing with situations like what took place on the border with China.
Out of the 108 items, 49 will be implemented from December 2021 and the rest will be scattered over the next four years.
Source: Abhishek Bhalla and Manjeet Negi, “Mini UAVs, mine-protected vehicles among new list of 108 defence items banned for import,” India Today (Indian English-language independent weekly news magazine), 31 May 2021. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/mini-uavs-mineprotected-vehicles-among-new-list-of-108-defence-items-banned-for-import-full-list-1809194-2021-05-31
…the Ministry of Defence has released a list of 108 more items to be added to the negative import list to give further impetus to self-reliant defence manufacturing…
All the 108 items will now be procured from indigenous sources as per provisions given in Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, the defence ministry said.
…Out of the 108 items, 49 will be implemented from December 2021 and the rest will be scattered over the next four years.
Helicopter with weight up to 3.5 ton, wheeled armoured platforms, next generation corvette, mini UAVs, mine-protected vehicles, border surveillance system, helicopter launched anti-tank guided missile up to 7 km are among the new items that will be banned from December this year.
The Defence Ministry said the second list lays special focus on weapons/systems which are currently under development/trials and are likely to translate into firm orders in the future…In August 2020, the first import ban list comprising 101 items was notified, in pursuance of Government’s endeavor of ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ and to boost indigenisation in the defence sector…
Source: “Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020,” Government of India, Ministry of Defence, 30 September 2020. https://www.mod.gov.in/dod/sites/default/files/DAP2030new_0.pdf
…CHAPTER V
FAST TRACK PROCEDURE (FTP)
…The projected requirement must be related to an operational situation foreseen as imminent or for a situation where a crisis has emerged without prior warning. It may also be applied for cases where timelines of the normal prescribed procedure in procuring of operationally critical equipment is seen to be adversely impacting the capability and operational preparedness of the Armed Forces…
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