The new approach to blacklisting is aimed at removing major obstacles in the way of military modernisation.
New Policy:
- Under its new liberalised blacklisting policy for arms companies, India will now be open to doing business even with a banned firm if there is no alternative available to its weapon system or equipment in the market.
- This can be done on the grounds of national security, operational military readiness and export obligations, after the vice-chief of the Service concerned, the chief of the integrated defence staff or the additional secretary (defence production) signs a certificate to that effect and gets permission from the “competent authority”, who is the Defence Minister.
- Another key element of the new policy is that unlike the blanket ban of 10 years, the government has said that ban on serious defaulters will be for minimum five years. The policy does not mention the maximum time period for ban.
- The policy will have a graded system of punishment to deal with agents of the arms companies and weed out corrupt practices seen intrinsic to procurement of arms and ammunitions.