With the country's defence market poised to touch an all time high of a billion US dollars by next year, the government is all set to revamp its weapons purchase policy to make sure frontier arms technology takes shape in the country.
For the second time since it came into force in 2002, the government is undertaking a comprehensive revamp of the defence procurement policy that could include setting up of a mechanism to register arms agents, a defence official said on Tuesday.
"We would have a new policy ready by April this year," new Defence Production Secretary Pradeep Kumar said amplifying that the revamp was a means to fine-tune arms purchases through experience gained over the past few years.
Kumar said the highlight of the revamp would be to focus on new concept in India of defence offsets.
"We want to use these offsets to make sure that we gain the know-how to design and field futuristic weapons systems."
The thrust on means to gain capability to build weapons systems of the future comes as the Indian defence industry, even after being operational for the past four decades, still struggles to build fighters, tanks and missiles.
Asked whether the revamp of the policy would entail setting up of separate organisation to deal with Defence offsets, Kumar said though he directly did not deal with the framing of the policy, 'but I can say that in the exercise all options would be considered.'
A number of suggestions have been received from vendors and Chambers on offsets, Kumar said to questions on whether the major international arms firms had asked New Delhi to give them choice of going in for indirect offsets.
The government recently held consultations with multinational vendors, after they publicly voiced reservations whether the Indian defence industry could absorb the quantum of offsets, which would be generated as the country goes in for multi billion mega deals in next three to four years.
The Defence Procurement Policy of 2006 makes it mandatory for all companies bagging mega defence contracts to go in for offsets only in the Defence sector. All major deals beyond the value of Rs 300 crore have mandatory 30 per cent offsets clause.
However, the government recently on floating its biggest ever global defence tenders for purchase of 126 medium range combat aircraft hiked the offsets to 50 per cent of an estimated $10 billion contract.
Secretary, defence production, said henceforth it would be the government's prerogative to fix the quantum of offsets between 30-50 per cent.
Asked for industry's views on the issue, Confederation Of Indian Industry Director General Lt Gen (retd) S S Mehta who was also present at the news conference held to give details of the upcoming Defence-Expo, said 'industry wants to be given an equal opportunity to raise the threshold of Indian defence industry'.