Bribery charges on a vendor should not stop procurement of defence items: Committee

Bribery charges on a vendor should not stop procurement of defence items: Committee

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 11:59 PM IST
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Suggests that the CAG should do pre-audit of the major defence deals rather than raise objections later

New Delhi : No requirement to block the supply of vital defence items even if some graft charge comes up: that is the suggestion now coming from a high-level expert committee headed by former union home secretary, Dhirendra Kumar. Kumar in his recently tabled report before the Ministry of Defence said that such cases unnecessarily hit preparedness of the armed forces. The ministry had set up the committee to suggest changes in the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).

The committee, headed by former union home secretary Dhirendra Kumar, has cited two cases in which the ministry had banned the Bofors artillery guns in the late ‘80s. Since then no purchase of the artillery guns has been made. The report also refers to the recent decision of not procuring AgustaWestland helicopters as suspected bribery charges had emerged. It stressed that the misdeeds and wrong acts of the suppliers or their employees should not be visited on equipment or system.

The committee has suggested that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) should do pre-audit of the major defence deals rather than raise objections later.

The committee also emphasised on following Make in India concept. It says the minimum indigenous content threshold for the categories of ‘buy Indian’ and ‘buy and make Indian’ should be revised to 40 and 60 per cent respectively.

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