In an effort to give a major boost to Indian private industry to manufacture hi-tech platforms, the Government on Thursday decided to allow the local firms to build six conventional submarines in the country under the Strategic Partnership programme. The total cost of the proposed deal is over Rs 40,000 crore. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave the go ahead.
The apex body deciding the acquisitions of the three services also gave the nod for acquisition of 5,000 Milan anti-tank guided missiles for the Army. The public sector Bharat Dynamics Limited will manufacture these missiles having a range of nearly three km. The cost of the deal is about Rs 1,200 crores.
The Government some time back had cleared the indigenous construction of six submarines known as Project-75 I but they were to be built under licensed production after inviting tenders. However, the Strategic Partnership allows the India manufacturer to tie up with the foreign vendor and build the weapon systems in India. The Strategic Partnership aims at fast tracking the development of Indian industry’s capabilities to build fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, warships and submarines within the country thereby expanding the defence industrial base.
Incidentally, this is the second project under the Strategic Partnership to be cleared. The first one to get the approval in August last year was for building 111 naval utility helicopters.
The approval for six submarines under the P-75 I programme will give a fillip to the Navy’s plans to acquire additional submarines after the six Scorpene submarines join the fleet in next two years. These submarines are being built with French collaboration at Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL), Mumbai.
Explaining the significance of the decision about submarines, officials said later construction of submarines under the Strategic Partnership programme will provide a major boost to the existing submarine design and manufacturing eco-system through transfer of design and equipment technology as well as necessary skill sets.
On the main objective of Strategic Partnership programme, they said it envisages indigenious manufacturing of major defence platforms by an Indian strategic partner who will collaborate with foreign original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to set up production facilities in the country.
The Strategic Partnership model has a long term vision of promoting India as a manufacturing hub for defence equipment through transfer of niche technologies and higher indigenous content thereby enhancing self- sufficiency for meeting future requirement of the armed forces, they said.
The DAC also approved changes in Defence Procurement Procedure-2016 in the third phase of reforms focussed on making the procedures industry friendly and simplifying unwieldy aspects to ease conduct of business and facilitate smoother and faster procurement of operational urgent requirement of the armed forces.