Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar speaks at the inauguration of the “Make in India” portal of the Department of Defence Production, in New Delhi yesterday.

IANS/New Delhi


A new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) has been almost finalised that seeks to remove procedural difficulties in procurements, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said yesterday.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the highest decision- making body in the defence ministry chaired by the minister, will review it by the end of January 2016, Parrikar said.
A “mindset of mistrust” has shadowed the defence ministry in the last 10 years and procedures have taken over the end goals of procurement, Parikkar said after the launch of ‘Make in India’ portal of the department of defence production.
The portal is a platform for interaction between the defence ministry and the industry and will have the latest information on policies and requirements.
There will also be an interactive section where questions can be submitted, and a reply will be sent within three days.
The minister said he hoped the website will prove helpful and does not become an “irritant”.
“Lots of changes have been made in the DPP... it is almost finalised and is being processed through channels. By the end of January 2016, the DAC will review it,” he said.
The minister said the changes were made after suggestions by the Dhirendra Singh committee. Senior officials will vet the prepared document for the next two weeks.
“The first aspect... is to make the (defence procurement) process easy. There are so many requirements to comply with, and then the order does not come despite successful trials... One reason why this happens is the difficult mindset that considers the process more important than the goal,” the minister said.
“Over the last decade, procedure has taken over target... the target to provide equipment to the forces, preferably of local make,” he said.