In another move to become self-reliant in defence production, the defence ministry on Sunday approved a fresh list of 928 components and subsystems to be procured from the domestic industry.
The ministry said that the listed components willl come under a phased ban in next 5 to 6 years.
The new list is the fourth such “positive indigenisation list” and comprises replacement units, sub-systems, and components used by various military platforms, equipment, and weapons.
“To promote ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence and minimise imports by defence public sector undertakings, the Ministry of Defence has approved the fourth Positive Indigenisation List (PIL) of 928 strategically-important line replacement units/sub-systems/spares and components, including high-end materials and spares, with import substitution value worth ₹715 crore,” the ministry said in a statement.
The objective of the indigenisation list is to reduce imports by DPSUs in the defence sector. The defence ministry has established a schedule for prohibiting the import of certain items, which will be implemented between December 2023 and December 2028. This list is a follow-up to three similar lists that were released in December 2021, March 2022, and August 2022.
“These lists contain 2,500 items which are already indigenised and 1,238 (351 107 780) items which will be indigenised within the given timelines,” the ministry said. Of the 1,238, 310 items have been indigenised so far, it said.
The ministry said that the items already indigenised contain 262 from the first PIL, 11 from the second list, and 37 from the third PIL.
“The DPSUs will undertake indigenisation of these items through different routes under the ‘Make’ category and in-house development through the capabilities of MSMEs and private Indian industry, thereby providing impetus to the growth in the economy, enhanced investment in defence and reduction in import dependence of DPSUs,” the ministry said.
“In addition, this will augment the design capabilities of the domestic defence industry by involving academia and research institutions,” it said.
It has been estimated that the Indian armed forces will be spending roughly $130 billion towards the acquisition of capital goods during the upcoming five years. In light of this, the government is looking to minimize its reliance on foreign military equipment and has opted to promote domestic defence manufacturing. To this end, the defence ministry has set a target of achieving a turnover of $25 billion (equivalent to ₹1.75 lakh crore) in defence manufacturing within the next five years. This goal includes an objective of exporting $5 billion worth of military hardware.