Sunday, 2nd June, 2013

NATIONAL NEWS

• Transparency at the heart of new defence policy
  • The Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2013 aims to balance the competing requirements of expediting capital procurement, developing a robust indigenous defence sector and conforming to the highest standards of transparency, probity and public accountability, while laying a strong emphasis on promoting indigenisation and creating a level playing field for the Indian industry
  • The new procedure gives the first right of refusal to Indian vendors to promote indigenous industry.
  • “the defence industry as well as the procurement agencies will find the DPP-2013 to be a ‘progressive step’ aimed at giving impetus to indigenisation, creating a level playing field and expediting the procurement process as a whole.”
  • “higher preference explicitly to the Buy [Indian], Buy and Make [Indian] and Make categorisation, besides bringing further clarity in the definition of the ‘Indigenous Content’ and simplifying the Buy and Make [Indian] process.”
  • Seeking to expedite the procurement procedure, the new policy has reduced the validity of Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from two years to one year with a stipulation to freeze the Service Qualitative Requirements before the accord of the AoN.
  • A higher delegation of financial powers to the Service Headquarters and the Defence Procurement Board (DPB) has also been made

• Positive response from pakistan to India's friendly overtures
  • Pakistan responded positively to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s efforts to reach out to the new leadership in Islamabad and called for a resumption of the dialogue process to resolve all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, as well as explore new areas of cooperation

• Eco-senstive zones will not hit development – Jairam
  • Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Saturday allayed fears that declaration of an eco-sensitive zone from Gomukh to Uttarkashi would mean an end to all development activity there