Private defence industry hails govt’s decision to ban imports of 101 defence items

• Body of private defence manufacturers SIDM welcomed the decision to ban imports of 101 defence equipment

• Private players say govt's decision will be a major push for the domestic defence industry

New Delhi: (Defence News) The Private defence manufacturers across India have hailed the decision taken by Modi government to ban the import of 101 weapon systems and defence items. Sujith Haridas, Director General, Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) speaking to Defence Watch welcomed the announcement made by the Defence Minister and said, "We thank the Minister for reposing faith and giving confidence to the Indian Industry through the announcement. We firmly believe that 330+ SIDM Members can meet the requirements of the import embargo list and beyond." The Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) is a not-for-profit association formed to be the apex body of the Indian defence industry.

Manufacture, don't import

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday had announced a ban on the import of 101 defence equipment. The negative import list will come into effect from December this year till December 2025 to support indigenous manufacturing in the defence sector. The government aims at issuing Rs. 4 lakh crore worth of orders for the armed forces over a period of seven years with domestic manufacturers.

Moreover, the government also wants to cut its big import bill for defence.

'Decision to spur growth in India's defence manufacturing sector'

The centre has also decided to set aside Rs. 52,000 crore in its capital procurement corpus exclusively for domestic players. "The decision and budget exclusively allocated for the capital procurement from domestic players are definitely in the interest of the country. The government since 2014 has been committed towards greater indigenization of defence products, the latest decision is another step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat,'' said Rajesh Gupta, AGM MKU (Pvt) Ltd, a leading manufacturer of ballistic protection solutions for personnel and land-air-sea platforms.

When Defence Watch asked him about the industry's ability to absorb huge orders Gupta said, "The decision to ban certain products has been taken after consultation with all the stakeholders. This is not an arbitrary list. Private players are very much capable of fulfilling India's defence needs."

It is important to note here that India has been among the top 3 importers of defence hardware in the world for years.

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