Govt imposes ban on imports of 351 sub-systems and components for military use
The ministry of defence also released the list of 2500 items that have already been indigenised.
FollowNew Delhi: Giving a further boost to India’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative’, the government on Wednesday notified a fresh list imposing ban on imports of 351 sub-systems and components for military use under a staggered timeline, commencing December next year.
In pursuit of self reliance in the defence equipment making to minimise the imports of military use items, these items will be indigenised in the next three years that would help in saving a foreign exchange of Rs 3,000 crore every year.
The sub-systems which will be banned from importing, include indigenous rocket launcher, diffuser, detector for thermal imaging camera, laser radiator Shakti electronic warfare system, double base propellant, laser warning sensor, Gimbal for tethered UAV among others.
The ministry of defence also released the list of 2500 items that have already been indigenised.
Prior to this, the government had issued the two lists of defence items that to be procured from the domestic source.
In May this year, the ‘Second Positive Indigenisation List’ comprises complex systems, sensors, simulator, weapons and ammunitions like choppers, next generation corvettes, Air Borne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) systems, tank engines, medium power radar for mountains, MRSAM weapon systems among others were released.
The second list has been decided to be implemented progressively from December 2021 to December 2025.
The first list comprising 101 defence items was notified in August last year.
“The Defence industry can gainfully utilise this golden opportunity to build robust Research and Development facilities, capacities and capabilities to meet the futuristic requirements of the Armed Forces. This list also provides an excellent opportunity for ‘start-ups’ as also MSMEs which will get tremendous boost from this initiative,” the ministry of defence had said.
In 2020, Chief of Defence Staff Late Gen Bipin Rawat had said at a DRDO event that the country will win the future war with indigenously-developed weapons.
He had also appreciated the role being played by the DRDO in helping the armed forces to become self-reliant to face the emerging challenges.
On numerous occasions, Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane had echoed the similar views and said that the future war will be won with Made in India weapons.
At the FICCI annual meeting which was held earlier this month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had underscored the significance of achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing and had stated that India cannot depend on other countries for defence technologies due to its stature, its geographical location as well as the security challenges it faces.
