Hampered by long delays in procurement, a panel set up by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to suggest ways to restructure the acquisition wing, has recommended setting up of a separate set up outside the defence Ministry for acquisition. It will come up for scrutiny after the committee submits its report to the the Government this week.
The panel was set up in May last year following recommendations of the Dhirendra Singh Committee, which had given inputs for the new Defence Procurement Policy(DPP). The committee to streamline acquisitions was headed by former bureaucrat Vivek Rae, who had served as the director general (acquisition) in the Defence Ministry.
However, he quit as the chief in November last year following disagreement on key issues with other members of the panel which included former Financial Advisor to the Defence Ministry Amit Cowshish, Air Marshal (retired) N V Tyagi, lt Gen (retired) A V Subramanian, IIM professor Pritam Singh and Defence Ministry officials J R K Rao and Sanjay Garg.
Parrikar had in February last year said the Government was “actively considering” a separate set up for defence acquisition. Ministry sources said the panel’s report is final and will be submitted this week.
Sources said the proposed set up will take responsibility of the acquisition process by synergising legal, financial, costing and technical experts. They will not be restricted by the ministry and professional approach will cut down time for acquisitions, officials said here on Sunday. The panel has also recommended checks and balances to avoid partisanship and corruption, they added.
Named Defence Capital Acquisition Authority, the proposed body will have professionals having specific qualifications and they may be from private sector too. Moreover, acquisition of weapon platforms to be used by three Services will be clubbed together instead of the current practice of each Service procuring its own, sources said.
The new panel is likely to be functional after two years following extensive deliberations in the defence ministry, sources said. However, the ongoing acquisition projects will not form part of the panel, they said.