Defence data fails to portray real picture: panel

A Parliamentary panel has reproached the defence ministry for its “half-baked” approach to assess the exact level of indigenisation achieved by defence production units in the country.

A Parliamentary panel has reproached the defence ministry for its “half-baked” approach to assess the exact level of indigenisation achieved by defence production units in the country.

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A Standing Committee on Defence has expressed “strong displeasure” over the manner in which such data is being maintained by the ministry. The armed forces currently source 65 to 70 per cent of their equipment from foreign vendors.

In a report tabled in Parliament on Friday, the committee noted that the statistics made available to it failed to reflect the true picture since these did not include the foreign component that went into manufacturing defence products indigenously. The committee found it distressing that that a representative of the MoD bumped up indigenisation statistics, claiming that the share of domestically manufactured items was 77 per cent in 2006-07. The panel has asked for concrete steps to harness the potential of the public and private sectors to minimise the dependence on foreign sources.