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Arms exports to get a boost as Ministry of Defence okays 16 broad categories of products |
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NEW DELHI: A formal list of defence items that can be exported has been endorsed by the ministry of defence, bringing India at par with international laws governing arms trade. The move - which identifies 16 broad categories of products that can be exported after clearance - is expected to boost military trade with experts saying that it brings clarity to private companies pursuing export orders.
A military stores list, which was drawn up by the directorate general of foreign trade, has been given a go-ahead by South Block, with a new set of rules being framed to manage export clearances. What the list gives is an indication of what India wishes to export in the coming years, after it joins the Wassenaar arrangement, the international export control regime for arms.
Among the items listed in the Indian military stores list are warships, tanks, armoured vehicles, ammunition, rifles and small arms, military training equipment, electronic warfare devices, software, bombs and torpedoes.
As reported by ET, the defence ministry has also relaxed earlier export control laws that require multiple end-user certificates by Indian companies wishing to export components and parts of larger systems. The two things combined, experts says, will go a long way in boosting foreign trade for Indian private companies.
"To enhance strategic exports the authorities have taken two broad steps in one go. The adoption of the military stores list brings our export control regime in consonance with international laws, whilst the non-requirement of an ultimate end-user certificate for components significantly reduces the chance of a domestic company having to lose out on becoming a part of an OEMs global supply chain," Ankur Gupta of Ernst and Young India told ET.
While India is hopeful of joining two international regimes this year — the Wassenaar arrangement and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) — after which exports will get a boost, DRDO has already drawn up a list of products that it wishes to sell abroad.
This includes the Akash surface to air missile system, Sonar systems, underwater communication systems, the Tejas fighter aircraft, Airborne Early Warning and Control systems, the Nishant UAV and a series of radars, among other things.
Indian private companies are already exporting items but this is still a trickle of their true potential. Tata Advanced Systems Limited makes components and parts for Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky and Pilatus. A small company like Kineco makes composite consoles for Boeing while Bengaluru-based Dynamatics counts Boeing, Bell and Airbus as its clients.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
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