Why in news?
Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence released a new report
What are the findings of the report?
- This report is an authoritative declaration from the government of India.
- The United States has been India’s biggest supplier of weapons platforms over the past three years.
- It is followed by Russia, Israel and France in that order.
- India concluded contracts worth around Rs 29 crore with the US during 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16.
- India also signed contracts worth around Rs 7000 crore with others, which include Germany, the UK, Ukraine and Poland.
- The committee also demolishes the myth of substantial indigenous production by citing orders placed on defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and Ordnance Factories (OFs).
- The report details the extent to which orders for “indigenous” weapon systems and equipment actually pay for imported equipment.
- This is because the equipment supplied by DPSUs and OFs contains many components, sub-systems and systems acquired from foreign vendors.
- e.g Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd retains the import content of the Sukhoi-30MKI fighter at 44%, even after building it in India under licence for over a decade.
Source: Business Standard
