PART OF BUDGET SET ASIDE TO BOOST DOMESTIC DEFENCE BUYS, SAYS PM MODI

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said a portion of the country’s defence budget for 2021-22 was reserved for buying locally produced weapons and systems to boost indigenisation, and stressed that a defence manufacturing ecosystem for the 21st century could not come up without the partnership of the private sector.

Addressing a seminar, Budget Announcements 2021-22: Galvanising Efforts for Atmanirbhar Bharat, the PM highlighted the reforms initiated by the government to transform the sector.

“It has been our endeavour since 2014 to being about transparency, predictability and ease of doing business in the defence sector. We have taken several steps such as de-licensing, de-regulation, export promotion and foreign investment liberalisation,” the PM said.

On the government’s negative import list, he said, “It is a positive list on the strength of which our own manufacturing capacity is going to increase. This is a positive list that will create jobs in India… This is a positive list as it guarantees that products made in India will be sold in India.”

The PM said India should position itself as a defence exporter and take steps to boost its defence manufacturing capabilities as smaller countries will increasingly turn to India for their defence requirements.

Speaking at the same event, defence minister Rajnath Singh said the ₹70,221 crore to be spent on domestic defence procurement this year accounted for 63% of military’s capital budget.

Experts welcomed the move to allocate funds for domestic procurement. “It’s a positive development, provided substantially important operational items are purchased...,” said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.