Defence minister Rajnath Singh announced ban on import of 101 weapons and ammunitions earlier this month
NEW DELHI: The armed forces say that they will be forced to seek waivers for certain products in the recently-announced negative arms import list if the domestic defence production industry fails to deliver in terms of quality standards and specified timelines.
A cross-section of senior officers from the Army, Navy and IAF said the negative list was "a welcome step" to boost the indigenous defence-industrial base (DIB) but is fraught with "a number of uncertainties" for the armed forces. "Implementation of the list will have to be contingent on the success of the indigenisation and production process for the specified weapons and ammunition. Operational military readiness cannot be sacrificed, or compromised, at the altar of indigenisation," said a senior officer.
The over 15-lakh strong armed forces are also in the process of "seeking clarifications" about the negative arms imports list because it broad-brushes certain categories of items. The policy, however, has been recently announced and its effects are yet to be fully evaluated in terms of what production capacities will be.
It was on August 9 that defence minister Rajnath Singh announced the acquisition of 101 weapon systems and platforms from abroad will be progressively banned from December 2020 to December 2025. The negative list ranges from types of ammunition, sonars, radars, artillery guns and assault rifles Read More – Source
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