India first country to sign Integrity Pact in defense sector
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, Feb 1, IRNA
India-Defense-Integrity Pact
Indian Defense Secretary Shekhar Dutt Wednesday stated that probity, transparency and accountability are the hallmarks of the Defence Procurement Policy 2005, which came into effect from July 1, last year.
He said that the growing economic power of the country in the global arena also meant growing security concerns and the need to reduce imports in defense procurement.
The defense procurement had taken a paradigm shift in the last few years from a virtual monopoly of the public sector to the private sector taking an active role in the procedure.
The increasing number of countries participating in the Defexpo 06 showed that this sector had also become a window for exports said Dutt in his speech was read out by Anup Mukherjee, additional secretary (defense production) in Dutt's absence at a summit on 'India Defense Procurement Procedures 2005' organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Ministry of Defense as part of the Defexpo 06 being held at the Pragati Maidan here.
Dutt further stated that Defense Procurement Procedures (DPP) were very arduous as the requirements of the sector required high-end technology, stringent quality control and commercial negotiations, which required transparency and integrity of the highest order.
He stated that the objective of discussing the DPP 2006 in an open seminar was to ensure a level playing field to all players in the field be it from the private sector, public sector or foreign vendors.
At the same time the government was open to suggestions to make the system more transparent and ensure quality.
"Many countries in the world have signed the Integrity Pact and in that sense it may not be a novel thing but India will probably be the first country in the world to sign an Integrity Pact in the defense sector," he asserted.
Major General H.S. Sehgal, technical manager (land systems) Defense Acquisition Wing, Ministry of Defense, gave the background of the DPP 2006 starting from 1992 to 2005 on how it has evolved over the years to ensure transparency and provide fair play to both the private and public sector in the defense sector.
Earlier, in his welcome address Ashok Seshasayee, vice president, CII and managing director, Ashok Leyland Limited, said that procurement was a very difficult and controversial procedure not only in the public sector but also in the private sector.
He said after the coming into effect of the DPP 2005, the participation of the public and the private sector in the vital defense sector had become a reality and there was a need to ensure transparency and accountability into this.
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