NEW DELHI: The defence ministry will be adopting a new procurement policy that will define the level of indigenous content for defence equipment and give higher preference to local vendors in contracts and to start with, it has identified military textiles such as bulletproof jackets , boots and high altitude clothing for this purpose.The ministry will also identify other defence equipment where the policy can be applied. The matter stems from an order issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in June 2017 on ‘Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India)’. Comprising of senior officers from the army, it focussed on notifying indigenous content in the supply of technical textiles by Indian vendors. This means that the defence ministry and the army with other stakeholders will define the quantity of indigenisation in textile-based items such as bulletproof jackets, bulletproof patkas (similar to helmets), super high altitude clothing, boots and sleeping bags. A similar meeting was held by Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra in December.According to the order, the minimum local content for an item should be 50%.

Source: Economic Times May 10, 2019 00:56 UTC