In an effort to boost technology-intensive construction under Make in India in the defence sector, the Defence Ministry is considering the option of allowing one firm to be a strategic partner in more than one segment, especially in areas such as submarines and warships.
The issue was discussed during the talks to finalise the chapter on strategic partnerships (SP) in the revised Defence Procurement Procedure, said sources.
A senior official, involved in the talks, told
“The sub-group observed that constructing technology-intensive platforms, like submarine, requires extremely high level of competence and capabilities on the part of a partner to be able to deliver value to MoD through cost and time efficiency. The committee also agreed that infrastructure required for submarine construction is highly capital-intensive and that relative evaluation of such companies would need to consider the impact of having made such investments in creating infrastructure as also the specific capabilities necessary for submarine construction,” said a FICCI presentation.
A case in point is Mazagaon Dock Ltd, which is involved in making submarines through technology transfer with French firm DCNS and is also engaged in constructing warships.