Govt relaxes rules to boost investment
NEWDELHI: The ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Monday said that rules governing arms manufacturing have been liberalised through a government notification in an effort to boost the ‘Make in India’ initiative and create employment opportunities.the new rules came into effect on October 27.
The ministry said that licences granted for manufacturing arms, ammunition, and weapon systems will be valid for the lifetime of the licensee company. Previously, licences had to be renewed every five years and the government’s decision to change the rule is expected to pave the way for private gun manufacturing companies to conduct business without hassles.
An MHA spokesperson told HT that the decision to liberalise arms rules will help India give competition to the arms manufacturing capabilities of China. “The move will help attract foreign investors and when the arms manufactured here will be cheaper than that of other Asian countries, why would a buyer not prefer arms made here?” said a senior ministry official.
Among other rules that have been modified is the condition that small arms and light weapons produced by a manufacturer should be sold to the Central government or the state governments with the prior approval of the ministry.
According to a statement released by the ministry spokesperson, the ministry’s prior approval, earlier required by a manufacturer, is no more needed
“The liberalised rules will apply to licences granted by MHA for small arms and ammunition, and those granted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), under powers delegated to it, for tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, defence aircraft, space crafts, warships of all kinds, arms and ammunition, and allied items of defence equipment other than small arms,” the statement said.
The spokesperson said the new rules are expected to encourage manufacturing and facilitate the availability of world-class weapons to meet the requirement of armed forces and police forces in sync with the country’s defence indigenisation programme.
“The licence fee has been reduced from ₹500 per firearm, which added up to large sums and was a deterrent to seeking manufacturing licences. It will now range from ₹5,000 to a maximum of ₹50,000,” said the statement.