(a) whether the Government have set up a Defence Acquisition Council/Procurement Board to bring about transparency in weapon purchases;
(b) if so, the main features of each of them separately;
(c) whether the Defence Acquisition Council is functioning under the Defence procurement board, which has been constituted recently; and
(d) if so, the extent to which the Council/Board are likely to help in removing the corruption prevailing in the defence purchases?
A N S W E R
MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI GEORGE FERNANDES)
(a) to (c): The Government has set up a Defence Acquisitions Council to assist the Raksha Mantri in taking decisions relating to the totality of the new planning process which, inter alia, involves according `in principle` approval to capital acquisitions in the long term perspective plan, according approval `in principle` to each capital acquisition project included in the Five Year Defence Plan, monitoring the progress of major projects, etc. The Defence Acquisitions Council is headed by the Raksha Mantri and consists of the two Raksha Rajya Mantris, the three Service Chiefs, Defence Secretary,
Secretary, Defence Production & Supplies, Secretary, Defence Research & Development, Secretary Defence (Finance), Chief of Integrated Defence Staff of Chairman, COSC (CISC) and Special Secretary (Acquisition). The decisions flowing from the Defence Acquisitions Council are to be implemented by the three Boards viz. the Defence Procurement Board headed by Defence Secretary, Defence Production Board headed by Secretary (Defence Production & Supplies) and the Defence Research and Development Board headed by Secretary Defence Research and Development. The Defence Procurement Board has been entrusted with the responsibility of acquisition on capital account in the Department of Defence.
(d) The new structures will facilitate faster decision making in an integrated manner in regard to the acquisitions for the three Services and would also lead to a higher degree of transparency, probity and cost effectiveness in the Defence acquisition process.