NAYANIMA BASU Amidst a raging controversy over the procurement of Rafale fighter planes from France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at the Opposition, saying “laziness, incompetence and hidden motives” under the previous UPA government had hit defence preparedness.
“There was a time when the critical issue of defence preparedness was hampered by policy paralysis. We have seen the damage such laziness, incompetence, or perhaps some hidden motives, can cause to the nation. Not now, not anymore, never again,” he said during the inauguration of DefExpo 2018 here on Thursday.
The purchase of bullet-proof jackets for soldiers had been delayed by red tape, but it has now been resolved, and an order had been placed, he said, adding that it would boost defence manufacturing in India.
“You would also recall the long-drawn process of procurement of fighter aircraft that never reached any conclusion. We have not only taken bold action to meet our immediate critical requirements, but have also initiated a new process to procure 110 fighter aircraft,” Modi told a huge gathering of global defence manufacturers participating in the expo.
He further said the government is committed to establishing two defence industrial corridors — one each in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh — as announced in the Budget.
Urging global arms manufactures to invest in India, Modi said: “I call all of you to participate in the defence programmes of India. We want to move fast but not take short-cuts.”
He also said India is fast transforming from being the world’s largest arms importer to an exporter.
Four-year progress
“In May 2014, the total number of defence export permissions granted stood at 118, for a total value of $577 million. In less than four years, we have issued 794 more export permissions, for a total value of over $1.3 billion,” he said. The PM also said that the Defence Procurement Procedure has been revised with many specific provisions to stimulate growth in the domestic defence industry.
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