NEW DELHI: The message is embarrassing but clear: with India failing to get its act together to build a strong defence-industrial base (DIB) unlike China, it will continue to be the world's largest arms importer in the foreseeable future. So, gleeful global armament giants are again lining up to hard-sell their aircraft, helicopters, drones, submarines, howitzers, futuristic infantry combat vehicles, missiles, assault rifles and carbines at India's biennial arms jamboree here. There are going to be 232 foreign firms, mainly from the US, Russia, France, Israel, the UK and Germany, and 60 official delegations in town this week for the four-day "DefExpo-2012' that begins on Thursday. Over 335 Indian exhibitors, including major ones like Tatas, Punj Lloyd, L&T and Mahindra, will also be there to explore tie-ups and joint ventures with foreign companies as well as DRDO, defence PSUs and domestic shipyards. "We understand fully well that indigenization cannot happen through only defence PSUs...we have taken several steps to encourage the private sector," said Shekhar Agarwal, secretary (defence production). The defence ministry has been pushing for JVs and technology transfers to strengthen the DIB, albeit in a haphazard manner, even as it continues to restrict FDI to only 26% in the defence production sector. Foreign vendors who bag arms deals over Rs 300 crore, of course, have to plough back at least 30% of the contract value into India as "offsets" in the defence industrial <b>...</b>
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04
2012
TV9
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INDIAN
DEFENCE
ARMOURS
EQUIPMENTS
VEHICLES
EXPO
EXHIBITION
NEW
DELHI
