As she announced fourth tranche of Rs 20 lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat package, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State (Finance) Anurag Thakur announced an increase in FDi in defence production from 49 to 74 per cent. However, Nirmala Sitharaman batted for Make In India in order to make the country self-reliant in defence sector.
Sitharaman and Thakur said that the government will make a list of weapons and platforms that will not be imported. There will be a ban on such an import.
Items banned for imports can only be purchased from within the country, she said presenting the fourth tranche of the economic stimulus package.
Also, there will be indigenisation of some imported spares, she said adding separate budget provisioning for domestic capital procurement will be done.
This, she said, will reduce the huge defence import bill.
Ordnance Factory Boards will be corporatised for better management and eventually get listed on the stock market, she said adding corporatisation is not privatisation.
(With PTI inputs)
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