Defence Equipment Bought From Western Countries To Be Overhauled In India By Private Players, Govt Suggests 50 Per Cent Made-In-India Content

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) is working to identify Indian industries that are willing to set-up repair and overhaul facility for maintenance of western-origin equipments in India, reported the Economic Times.

The overhauling and repair of imported western-origin equipment in India by Indian companies will help improve the availability of the equipment.

The MoD is currently working on the capability assessment, current infrastructure and the future plans of the companies interested in overhauling and repairing. Once the MoD's assessment is complete, it will result in contract awards.

Typically, the Ministry of Defence bought aircraft with initial support agreements of five to seven years from delivery.

According to the report, as the maintenance support contracts of western-origin aircrafts, like the Rafale fighter jet fleet, are set to expire, the Indian government is conducting a review before renewing these contracts with the original equipment manufacturer.

This review will also assess the promises made by foreign suppliers to shift repair and overhaul facilities to India when the aircraft were purchased.

Furthermore, the maintenance and repair of C-130J transport, Chinook, and Apache equipment in-house are also being considered. On the other hand, Russian-origin planes already have repair and overhaul facilities set up in India.

Rajnath Singh, India's defence minister, urged for collaborative efforts to transform India into an MRO hub in February. He suggested a 50 per cent indigenous content rule for the maintenance and support of new systems to be obtained.