(a) whether the armed forces have been facing huge gap in the military capability;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
(c) whether the Government has cleared the decks for a slew of projects worth several crore to plug gaps in the military’s capability;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) whether the Government propose to make all procurements under buy and make category and if not, the reasons therefor?
MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI MANOHAR PARRIKAR)
(a) to (e): Government constantly reviews the security scenario and accordingly decides to induct appropriate defence equipment to keep the armed forces in a state of readiness and equipped with modern weapon systems.
Some of the proposals for defence services in respect of which Acceptance of Necessity (AON) has been accorded by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in the last one year relate to artillery guns, aircraft and helicopters. As per Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP)-2013, highest preference is given to Buy (Indian), Buy & Make (Indian) and Make (Indian) in that order and the lowest preference is given to Buy (Global) while categorising cases for approval of the DAC.
*******