Defence and Security of India - September 2015

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The much-awaited Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) is taking too
long in the making. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had promised
about a month ago that the DPP will be ready in the next few months.
Then, early this June he spoke at a seminar organised by the
Vivekananda International Foundation and blamed the previous United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for the “mess” they created with
the DPP. He philosophised that a milieu of ‘distrust’ prevails in the ministry’s procurement
process. He even blamed the British for bestowing on colonial India a system that was
outdated. He even hinted that the attitudes that are a product of the system treats the
suppliers as foes, while they should be treated as partners. Earlier, he had even talked about
removing provisions that ostracise middlemen in defence deals and penalise vendors for
seeking their services. But the internal story in the ministry is that it is finding problems in
incorporating the ‘Make in India’ mantra of Narendra Modi. While that can be considered a
genuine problem, the reasons for it are unknown. Still, the defence industrial complex is getting restive at the absence of the DPP.