A broad rule of thumb in news rooms is that “news” announced on a Sunday is often suspect, aimed at garnering headlines on what is usually a slow news stream.
Even so, it certainly took some gall for the Defence Minster Rajnath Singh to make a big pitch for Atma Nirbhar Bharat in a period when foreign acquisitions have been raining on India. Last month, Boeing completed the delivery of 22 Apache attack helicopters to India, the first five of 36 Rafale fighters arrived and New Delhi announced the procurement of 21 Mig 29 and 12 Sukhoi 30 MKI aircraft from Russia. In May, India had signed a $ 1 billion contract to equip the Indian Navy with 24 MH 60 R helicopters.
The ministry of defence embargo on the import of 101 items in phases between 2020 and 2024 is strictly for public consumption. As former Finance Minister P Chidambaram put it, “ The only importer of defence equipment is the Defence Ministry… What the Defence Minister said in his historic Sunday announcement deserved only an Office Order from the Minister to his Secretaries!”
Instead, a headline grabbing announcement has been made of banning products which were, in many cases, already being made in India.
- The ministry of defence embargo on the import of 101 items in phases between 2020 and 2024 is strictly for public consumption.
- It includes things we weren’t importing any way.
- Sufficient room has been left for yet another round of imports here.
- What the country needs first is a blueprint of an industrial policy which will deliver results, not by the next election but a decade plus from now.
- The DRDO should not be able to make unsubstantiated claims to block an acquisition, something it has repeatedly done in the last half century.
- Just how successful the process will be depends on the honesty with which the Ministry implements it.
Money, Math and Mystery
As per the list there will be an near-immediate embargo on 70 products, another ten will be stretched out till 2021 before the embargo kicks in and finally the balance 21 will be targeted between 2022 and 2025. So clearly sufficient room has been left for yet another round of imports here.
The ministry has conjured up fantastic figures like the Rs 4 lakh crore of contracts that the domestic industry would receive in the next six or seven years.
This doesn’t even make for good arithmetic, considering that the current capital outlay budget is of the order of Rs 1.15 lakh crore, a significant portion of which is spent on importing weapons systems and components and sub-assemblies of systems allegedly made in India like the Sukhoi 30 MKI.
No one can quarrel with the effort of the Ministry to develop an indigenous base. National security is one area where it is best to be self-sufficient to the extent possible. This has been a long-standing dream of the country. But we have fumbled so many times that there is need for caution and careful planning. The country needs to learn to walk before it can run.
Quint August 9, 2020
https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/101-items-embargo-list-defence-ministry-make-in-india#read-more
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