Amit Cowshish replies: As the first step, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) needs to formulate a composite policy that focuses on the indigenisation of high priority technology areas, shedding the notion that it must necessarily result in savings. The commercial viability of the identified projects and institutional arrangement for financing them, apart from a mechanism to accommodate the cost of failed efforts, must form the bedrock of the policy.

Amit Cowshish replies: Broadly speaking, there are four reasons for the low level of indigenisation in defence products. The primary reason is the absence of a pragmatic overarching policy which, apart from defining the term ‘indigenisation’ which is presently interpreted in different ways, also recognises that indigenisation cannot always result in savings, especially in areas like development of special alloys and critical technologies which do not offer economy of scales.

Abhay Kumar Singh, D.P.K. Pillay and Kishore Kumar Khera reply: A robust indigenous defence industry is unarguably vital for India given its complex security environment and strategic challenges.

Amit Cowshish replies: The query is not very clear, but to answer it in broad terms, three specific paragraphs in the Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 have a bearing on the issue of multiple bidding.