Antony roots for indigenous weapon systems

Taking a dig at the armed forces' tendency to opt for imported equipment, Defence Minister AK Antony today said a large number of imported systems had been found defective.

"During my tenure of six months, I found that even some high-tech weapon systems procured from abroad were delivered in a defective condition," he told the heads of India's 39 ordnance factories. The heads are meeting for two days to chalk out plans to modernise the factories.

Antony said the supplies by foreign firms for many key defence projects of strategic importance were witnessing time over-runs. He, however, did not name the weapon systems or the supplier countries.

The government, he said, was acting to ensure that foreign suppliers of military gear strictly complied with contractual obligations. "We will check this," he said.

He made it clear to the armed forces that procurements from abroad could not continue "indefinitely". A country like India, he said, could not afford to spend heavily on weapon imports.

Antony's remarks are important as New Delhi is embarking on the world's largest arms import deals in the coming years for modernisation of its defence forces.

Asking managers of the state-owned defence units to shed their old mindset and excessive secrecy, Antony said ordnance factories should be ready for healthy competition so that the armed forces get the best products at viable prices.

"Indeed, the time has come for a critical review of the functioning of the Ordnance Factories Board. There are complaints regarding the quality of the products," Antony told the chief managers of the country's defence plants.

The ordnance factories, he said, should strive to maximise transparency in financial dealings and management.