Union Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday said it was "unfortunate and painful" that 70 per cent of the defence equipment was still being imported and informed the Lok Sabha that government was working towards manufacturing state-of-the-art equipment indigenously.
"It is unfortunate and painful that 70 per cent of defence equipment is still being imported," he said during the Question Hour.
Antony said till India reached a stage where it could provide state-of-the-art equipment, it would have to rely on imports.
"If Indian products are not of state-of the art quality, using them would be dangerous," he said. The defence minister said his ministry had decided to accord first priority to Indian public and private companies which are able to provide such equipment.
In reply to a question on whether there was a time-frame by when India would become self-sufficient in defence production, Antony hoped the process would be "speeded up."
He said the procurement policy would be reviewed annually. Minister of State of Defence, Vincent Pala conceded that there were deficiencies in bullet proof jackets but said these were not "sub-standard".
On the issue of delay in buying defence equipment, Antony said a committee has been constituted for the purpose and given financial powers which were till now vested with the defence minister.
"We should understand that we are a democracy and have a system and procedure (for procurement of weapons)," he said, responding to Naveen Jindal (Cong) who said the forces were still using World War II vintage weapons while Pakistan and Bangladesh had better arms.
In reply to a query by Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, Antony said there was an "inordinate delay" in starting the Ordnance Factory set up at Rajgir in Bihar during the National Democratic Alliance regime, but added that it would be expedited now.