PM bats for embargo on defence products

Last year in August, the government of India had released a “negative list”, consisting of 101 defence items embargoed progressively for import. On Monday, while addressing a webinar the Ministry of Defence (MoD) organised in partnership with major industry chambers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the move actually bode well with the nation’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-sufficient India) programme.

“This is a positive list that will increase our manufacturing capacities, generate new employment, reduce dependence on imports, and will give a guarantee to the products being manufactured in India to be consumed in India,” Modi stated. He also emphasised the opportunities the government has created for the private sector by bifurcating the capital procurement budget into separate domestic and foreign procurement routes.

Meanwhile, referring to the embargo, India’s Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh said “We now intend to notify the next list of items… The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024.”