, The Defence Minister Shri A K Antony has said that the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP)and the Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2006 would be further reviewed, based on experience gained from implementation, to make them even more responsive and effective instruments for meeting the requirements of the Armed Forces by observing highest standards of transparency and probity.
The review of the procurement procedures are held every two years. Addressing the Meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry, here today, Shri Antony said, “if we feel that there is an urgent need for review, we will not wait for two years. Our effort will be to make the procedures foolproof and to avoid any scope for corruption”.
Giving a broad overview of the DPP-2006 and DPM-2006, the Minister said that the acquisition of defence equipment is a complex and intricate process. He said, “It is long, deliberate and arduous. Each step in this process is to be taken with care with the objective of maintaining transparency and probity and for ensuring that the country gets best value for money”.
Describing DPP-2006 and DPM-2006 as part of the policy reforms, initiated by the Ministry of Defence in 2002, Shri Antony listed some of the important features of the Procedures. He said now all major decisions pertaining to procurement process will be taken simultaneously by the Defence Acquisition Council for reducing the time frame for acquisition. Enhanced transparency has also been ensured by placing the generic requirements of the services on the Ministry of Defence website and generating vendor registration through internet.
Shri Antony said that measures have been taken for increased transparency in the conduct of field trials. Other important features include incorporation of integrity pact for all contracts above Rs. 100 crores, an offset obligation for all contracts above Rs. 300 crores and transfer of technology for maintenance of infrastructure to an Indian public / private firm, for providing product support.
Cutting across party lines, the Members of Parliament paid glowing tributes to the Armed Forces for their dedication to protect our borders and were of the view that the soldiers must get the best of equipment. They asked the government to put in place a suitable mechanism so that corruption in defence deals do not take place.
Some members were also of the view that in the changing global and national scenario, the private sector should be encouraged to participate in the production of defence equipment in a bigger way. They also asked the government to improve the security system on an urgent basis so that incidents such as Naval War Room Leak case do not recur.
Members who attended the meeting were Dr. Karan Singh, Shri K Janakrishna Murthy, Shri Santosh Bagrodia, Shri Syed Azees Pasha, Shri Naveen Jindal, Mrs. Jayaben B Thakkar, Shri Samik Lahiri, Shri Kailash Nath Singh Yadav, Shri A Shivajirao Patil, Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy and Shri Shankhlal Majhi.
The Minister of State for Defence Shri M M Pallam Raju, the Defence Secretary Shri Shekhar Dutt, Secretary, Defence Research and Development Shri M Natrajan, Director General Acquisition Shri S Banerjee, Secretary, Defence Finance, Shri Vinod Kumar Mishra and various senior civil and military officials also attended the meeting.
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