Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said today that the defense ministry will stop the import of 101 items “beyond given timeline” to boost indigenous production according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission of Atma Nirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India).
New Delhi| Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said today that the defense ministry will stop the import of 101 items “beyond given timeline” to boost indigenous production according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission of Atma Nirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India). This may lead to the domestic industry receiving contracts worth almost ₹ 4 lakh crore within the next six to seven years. The implementation of the embargo will be done in phases during 2020 and 2024, Singh added.
The list of banned items includes high technology weapon systems such as “artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircrafts, light combat helicopters, radars and many other items”, the centre informed in a statement.
The ministry also said that list also includes wheeled Armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), with an embargo date of December 2021, “of which the Army is expected to contract almost 200 at an approximate cost of over ₹ 5,000 crores”.
Rajnath Singh also said, “Of these, items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force while items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period.”
The defense minister added that all necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for production of equipment as per the Negative Import List are met, stressing that it would include a “co-ordinated mechanism for hand holding of the industry by the Defence Services”.
Informing that no items in this list will be processed for import in the future, Singh said, “More such equipment for import embargo would be identified progressively by the DMA in consultation with all stakeholders. A due note of this will also be made in the DAP to ensure that no item in the negative list is processed for import in the future.”
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