Defence Acquisitions

Addressing a gathering at the valedictory ceremony of Aero India Show here, Singh said that in the last few years, the respect for the Indian defence industry is increasing

KRAS is a joint venture set up by Israeli company, Rafael, in partnership with Kalyani Strategic Systems

In the programme organised at Manekshaw Centre in Delhi Cantonment, he said that logistics is one of the sectors which has benefited the most from this collaboration

The defence ministry has set up an apex committee to conduct "performance and efficiency" audit of capital procurements, logistics, inventory and maintenance of assets of the armed forces. The committee, headed by the defence secretary, will advise Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on measures for overall improvement in strengthening of internal oversight and risk management framework in various aspects of functioning of the ministry. The panel comprises vice chiefs of the three services, secretary defence (finance), chief of integrated staff committee, controller general of defence accounts and director general (acquisition) and other senior officials of the ministry, including representatives from the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The setting up of the committee comes amid efforts to streamline the military procurement procedures and focus on enhancing the country's overall combat readiness. "The Ministry of Defence has set up an institutional mechanism comprising o

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held talks with British Minister of Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin, focusing on bilateral cooperation in areas such as aviation and shipbuilding. "Had a wonderful meeting with the UK Minister of Defence Procurement, Mr. Jeremy Quin. We discussed the opportunities available in areas pertaining to aviation, ship building and other defence industrial programmes for both the countries," Singh tweeted. The talks between Singh and Quin took place days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson agreed on a new and expanded India-UK defence partnership. During his visit to India last week, Johnson announced that the UK is creating an Open General Export Licence (OGEL) for India to "reduce bureaucracy and slashing delivery times" for defence procurement and that London will help New Delhi in the co-development of military hardware including indigenous production of fighter jets.

In a drive to strengthen the indigenous arms industry, 64 per cent of capital outlays in the 2021 Indian military budget was earmarked for acquisitions of domestically-produced arms, the report said

The five largest spenders in 2021 were the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom and Russia, together accounting for 62 per cent of expenditure, it said

These weapons and platforms will be incrementally banned for import, with some items embargoed from December 2022, and additional items added each December until 2027

The problematic issue, though, is India's paltry share in the world's exports

Due to financial constraints, the Philippines has struggled for years to modernise its military, one of the most underfunded in Asia

Make in India for defence equipment is languishing in the absence of large orders that can make local production viable

India had signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems

This is first case processed under strategic partnership model

Defence Acquisition Council has also approved that all capital acquisition contracts shall be concluded within two years

With this digitisation providing the IAF with a firm grip on its inventories, it has begun reducing reliance on foreign OEMs by launching a major programme of indigenising spares

Singh said on Tuesday India cannot remain dependent on other countries for its defence

May join fray for IAF's acquisition of 114 medium fighters

Self-reliance is a strategic necessity but to achieve it a revolution is needed in bureaucratic affairs, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said

This will involve withdrawing the airliners from Air India, sending them to France for fitment of airborne radars

The defence ministry on Monday approved the procurement of arms and military equipment worth Rs 2,290 crore including around 72,000 Sig Sauer assault rifles from the United States, officials said