NEW DELHI, Mar 21: In a bid to boost the domestic defence sector, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said he will soon come out with a policy under which certain items will be banned from importing.
“I do not see any reason why we should not export because the items we are specialised in are the items which we don’t import much. We are thinking of policies through which import of certain items will be banned in defence sector in India… which is going to be part of a policy,” he said.
The Minister said the policy is slowly shaping up after talking to all stakeholders.
“We hope we will be able to soon come out with it,” he said addressing a seminar here.
The Government is pushing for ‘Make in India’ initiative in the defence sector as it wants to drastically bring down the nearly 60 per cent dependence on foreign products.
The Government is set to come out with a new Defence Procurement Policy that will include certain initiatives and new procedures to make the Make in India plan a reality.
While the draft has been prepared, it is currently been circulated among the stakeholders including the industry.
Parrikar underlined the need for the country to focus more on export of defence products.
He was of the view that exports could “indirectly” help strengthen countries to ensure peace and stability in the region.
Speaking about the various issues and challenges faced by his ministry, he said, “Nothing happens overnight. A system which has virtually got rusted in a place. Today in defence ministry, things have rusted in place.
“I am coming out with some mechanism. Give me some more time. In the near future, we should be able to solve issues which are haunting through procedural mechanism. Some may still linger on. We can interact for further improvement. Nothing is perfect,” he said.
Noting that one must be “careful” to which countries weapons can be exported, the Minister said it was important to ensure that weapons are supplied to nations which have a “sensible” purpose.
“Sometimes exports of weapons can help strengthen countries which will indirectly ensure that peace and stability comes to the region. You have to be careful about which countries to export,” he said.
The Defence Minister noted that in “western countries, they talk about ISIS. I see on TV that they use Mercedes, BMWs and Toyota cars and have shoulder-held sting missiles.Where are the arms coming from.
“They are not manufactured in Middle East. They obviously come from the big nations which probably sell arms to other side to fight ISIS.Sometimes it goes out of hand. That is a different issue,” he said.
Noting that it was essential to build one’s own “goodwill” in the region whether it was the Indian ocean or ASEAN region, he said one needs support for one’s viewpoint within 1000-2000 kms of one’s location.
He said many countries in the region are threatened and are looking at India with hope that it will be their support in time of need.
“The concept of peace which is understood by us many times is from the position of weakness. I do not see peace as a position of weakness. The best peace can come to you if you are strong.
“There is no weightage of a weak person talking about peace. Let a strong person talk about peace in a ‘mohalla’ and you will find everybody listening to him. Because he has a capacity of putting peace by force if required,” the Defence Minister said.
On a lighter note, he said the reason why India should export was because India has many “friendly” neighbours.
Underlying the benefit of exports, Parrikar said it is “good” for the economy as well as the industry which otherwise depends on his ministry to procure all its items.
“If you export, obviously the possibility of bankruptcy reduces or at least one can sustain. One vendor situation is a dangerous situation. Therefore, if you really want to promote Make in India, exports is one of the backbone of it,” he said.
He said exports are also beneficial for Indian defence forces as they can also result in upgradation of projects which is free upgradation without spending money.
“Not only it makes a company viable, sustainable and profitable but it can also improve the product it gives to the defence forces which is very important,” he said. (PTI)
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