India’s Defence Ministry introduces “Import Embargo” on 101 items to boost Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh revealed the plan about the embargo imports.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated the ministry had planned a list of 101 items for which the restriction on imports is expected to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024.
The list of 101 restricted items includes some high technology weapon systems like artillery guns, corvettes, transport aircraft, assault rifles, light combat helicopters (LCHs), sonar systems, radars, and many other types of equipment.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said all essential steps would be taken to guarantee that timelines for the domestic generation of equipment classified under a negative list for import are met. Adding the rules and patterns will compute a co-ordinated mechanism for the hand-holding of the activity by the defense services.
The whole announcement made by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
The government of India has announced that it is launching an import restriction on 101 items beyond timelines to encourage the indigenization of defense production. The list of items that includes a range of transport aircraft, simulators, combat helicopters, assault rifles, radar systems, warships, artillery guns, etc.
The movement comes at a point when the Indian Army and the IAF told it would keep a very high level of operational readiness in all areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, North Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh till a “satisfactory” decision to the border dispute with China is reported at.
The tweets of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the plan of embargo imports
The Ministry of Defence is immediately ready for a significant impact on the #AtmanirbharBharat initiative. Ministry of Defence will launch import restriction on 101 items beyond a given timeline to encourage defense production indigenization.
This decision will contribute a great opportunity to the Indian defense industry to produce the items in the negative list by using their design and development capabilities or using the technologies designed & developed by DRDO to meet the Armed Forces’ demands.
Ministry of Defence makes a list after numerous rounds of consultations with all stakeholders that include the Armed Forces, public and private industry to evaluate current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing several resources and equipment within India.
The Tri-Services is engaged in about 260 projects of such types of equipment at an estimated cost of Rs 3.5 lakh crore within April 2015 and August 2020. It is assumed that contracts worth around Rs 4 lakh crore will be set upon the domestic industry in the following 6 to 7 years.
The list adds wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) with a significatory import restriction date of December 2021. The Army is supposed to contract almost 200 at an estimated cost of over Rs 5,000 crore.
The restriction on imports is planned to be progressively executed between 2020 to 2024. Our aim is to appraise the Indian defense industry about the Armed Forces’ expected demands so that they are entirely prepared to realize the intention of indigenization.
All essential actions would be taken to assure that timelines for the generation of equipment as per the Negative Import List are met that will join a coordinated mechanism for hand-holding of the industry by the Defence Services. Further equipment for the import restriction will be recognized progressively by the DMA in discussion with all shareholders.
A proper record of this will also be made in the DAP to assure that no item in the negative list is prepared for import in the prospect. Ministry of Defence has also bifurcated the capital acquisition budget for 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital acquisition plans. A separate accounts leader has been assigned with an expense of approximately Rs 52,000 crore for local capital acquisition in the current financial year.
