The defence ministry on August 9 introduced import embargo on at least 101 items to boost the indigenisation of defence production
New Delhi: In a major announcement defence minister Rajnath Singh said the Ministry of Defence was ready for a big push to the "Atma Nirbhar Bharat" initiative. Singh has announced the embargo on 101 defence related items.
This is a big step towards self-reliance in defence.
Rajnath Singh said the embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024. He added that our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation.
Rajnath Singh also said that the domestic defence industry can expect defence contracts worth Rs 4 lakh crore to be given to them within the next 6-7 years.
The 101 embargoed items comprises not just simple parts but also some high technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircrafts, LCHs, radars and many other items to fulfil the needs of our Defence Services, said Singh.
The list of the items were prepared by MoD after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including the Armed Forces, public & private industry to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition and equipment within India, Singh added.
Earlier, Singh’s office had informed via a tweet that "Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh will make an important announcement at 10.00 am today."
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