‘Healthy sign for national security’: Experts back defence reforms by govt

Military experts on Saturday welcomed the reform measures rolled out by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to promote the domestic defence industry, saying their proper implementation will help India significantly cut its ballooning import bill on weapons and military platforms. At a press conference, Sitharaman announced a series of initiatives to promote indigenous defence production which included making separate budgetary outlay to procure Indian-made military hardware, increasing FDI limit from 49 per cent to 74 per cent under the automatic route and generating a year-wise negative list of weapons whose import won't be allowed.