Persisting with its objective to make India a hub for manufacturing world class defence equipment, the Government on Wednesday announced a fresh list of 351 sub-systems and components that will not be allowed to be imported under a staggered timeline beginning December next year.
The government in the last one and half years has released three lists including the latest one curbing import of weapon systems and related components. The armed forces will now procure the weapon systems from Indian manufacturers. The new initiative will save foreign exchange equivalent to around Rs 3,000 crore annually.
On Wednesday, the defence ministry also released a list of 2,500 items that it said have already been "indigenised". Officials said "A positive indigenisation list of sub-systems, assemblies, sub-assemblies and components has been notified by the department of defence production as part of the efforts to achieve self-reliance in defence manufacturing and minimise imports by defence public sector undertakings."
The ministry said in a statement "351 imported items" will be "indigenised" in the next three years. The notification on the new list was issued on Monday.
The ministry said the items mentioned in the list will only be procured from Indian industries as per the timelines indicated. According to the notification, import restrictions on the first set of 172 items will come into force by December next year while the same provisions will be applicable on another batch of 89 components by December 2023.
Import restrictions on another set of 90 items will come into effect by December 2024. The items included laser warning sensor, high-pressure check valve, high-pressure globe valve, drainage intrusion detection systems, various types of cables, sockets and voltage control oscillator.
In August last year, the ministry announced that India will stop the import of 101 weapons and military platforms like transport aircraft, light combat helicopters, conventional submarines, cruise missiles and sonar systems by 2024.
A second list, putting import restrictions on 108 military weapons and systems such as next-generation corvettes, airborne early warning ystems, tank engines and radars, was issued in May.
In an effort to attract in the defence manufacturing sector, the government in May last year announced increasing the FDI limit from 49 per cent to 74 per cent under the automatic route in the defence sector.
India is one of the largest importers of arms globally. According to estimates, the Indian armed forces are projected to spend around USD 130 billion (one billion is equal to 100 crores) in capital procurement in the next five years.
Determined to reduce dependence on imported military platforms, the defence ministry has set a goal of a turnover of USD 25 billion (Rs 1.75 lakh crore) in defence manufacturing in the next five years. It includes an export target of USD 5 billion (Rs 35,000 crore) worth of military hardware.