The second negative import list, which has been now rechristened as the positive list, has been delayed due to the ongoing pandemic and will be issued very soon by the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), said Sanjay Jaju, Additional Secretary Defence Production.
The final version of the ‘Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020’ will also be put out very soon, Mr. Jaju said speaking at a webinar on “defence testing and certification for speedy procurement” by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The draft DPEPP 2020 was released last August for public feedback and once it comes into effect will serve as the overarching guiding document of the Defence Ministry for boosting domestic defence manufacturing as well as exports. The first negative import list issued last year had listed 101 military items that cannot be imported from abroad.
As part of efforts to promote the role of private sector in defence manufacturing testing facilities of DPSUS and DRDO are being opened up for use by private sector while new ones are planned to be set up under the Defence testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS).
On this Mr. Jaju said that the Request For Proposal is expected to be floated soon and industry consultations will also begin shortly, “Under DTIS, testing infrastructure is planned to be set up through public private partnership mode...” he stated while listing a series of measures being taken to simplify the testing and certification procedures like self-certification and using simulations, among others. The RFI for DTIS was issued in February this year.
In this regard, Mr. Jaju said during the recent Combined Commanders Conference, the Secretary Defence Production had made a presentation before Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of improving quality assurance and improving the competitiveness of the industry.
The DTIS proposes setting up six to eight greenfield testing facilities in partnership with private sector with a total Grant-in-Aid of ₹400 crore, according to the Directorate General of Quality Assurance.
