‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’: MoD to Introduce Embargo on Import of 101 Items Beyond Stipulated Timeline

Embargo planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024. List of items includes artillery guns, assault rifles, transport aircraft, sonar system, LCHs, AFVs etc.

Updated: August 9, 2020 10:36 AM IST

By India.com News Desk | Edited by Karan Manral

'Atmanirbhar Bharat': MoD to Introduce Embargo on Import of 101 Items Beyond Stipulated Timeline
Rajnath Singh (File Photo)/ANI

New Delhi: In a major push towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday announced that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will introduce embargo on import of 101 items beyond given timeline in a bid to boost indigenisation of defence production.

Making the announcement at 10 AM today, the Defence Minister remarked that the MoD was now ready for a big push towards the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, adding that the ministry’s move was inspired from the Prime Minister’s evocation of the said initiative.

The list of items, he said, had been prepared after discussion with the various stakeholders, including the Armed Forces, to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition and equipment within India.

He added that contracts worth almost Rs four lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next six to seven years, of which, items worth Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force and the remaining Rs 1,40,000 crore for the Navy.

The list of 101 items, the Defence Minister said, included not just simple parts but also some high technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircrafts, LCHs, radars and many other items to fulfil the needs of the country’s Defence Services.

He added that the list also included wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which the Army is expected to contract almost 200 at an approximate cost of over Rs 5,000 crore.

The Raksha Mantri further said that the embargo on imports would be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024, adding that necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for production of equipment as per the Negative Import List are met.

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