MoD’s softer blacklist norms likely to be finalised today

To expedite acquisition of military hardware and ensure the Armed forces are not crippled due to the lack of key defence equipment, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) will likely finalise a regime of softer blacklisting norms on Monday.

According to sources, while promoting transparency and rationalisation of standards, the new policy will seek to levy penalties — graded from stiff to soft — on entities found violating Defence Procurement Procedure Rules.

India’s tough blacklisting norms, which prescribed a blanket ban on the procurement of all products of a blacklisted company, had severely handicapped defence procurement, impacting the government’s drive to modernise the Armed forces.

On October 25, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said the issues have already been discussed and the DAC members are fine-tuning the policy. Insisting that “serious crimes” should not go unpunished, Mr Parrikar voiced concerns over indiscriminate blacklisting of companies supplying defence products over “small issues”. “If I have a platform where the company has been banned, I can’t stop operating that platform because the company is now blacklisted which supplied me the platform. So whose loss is it You have to see the national security consideration and not resort to knee-jerk reactions,” he said, adding that even exemptions would be resorted keeping national security in mind.

The DAC — the MoD’s apex procurement panel — is likely to approve the opening of commercial bids for four Landing Platform Docks, an over $3 billion project for which two Indian private shipyards are vying under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

The panel may also give consent to the acquisition of 12 amphibious aircraft from Japan at the cost of Rs 10,000 crore for the Navy. The deal would then be inked during PM Modi’s visit to Tokyo on November 11 and 12.

The IAF’s programme to acquire 83 new version of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is also expected to get the formal nod in the DAC.