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The Ministry of Defence has notified the fifth Positive Indigenisation List (PIL) consisting 346 defence items in a major boost to Aatmanirbharta in defence production. 

The items include strategically important Line Replacement Units/Systems/Sub-Systems/Assemblies/Sub-Assemblies/Spares & Components and raw materials, with import substitution value worth Rs 1,048 crore, according to a Ministry of Defence statement issued on Monday.

These items will only be procured from the Indian Industry after the timelines of indigenisation as indicated in the list available on the Srijan portal (https://srijandefence.gov.in).

The Ministry of Defence had launched Srijan portal in 2020. On this portal, defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and Service Headquarters (SHQs) offer defence items to domestic industries, including MSMEs and start-ups, for indigenisation.

The DPSUs will undertake indigenisation of the items mentioned in the fifth PIL through various routes including ‘Make’ procedure or in-house development involving the industry, including MSMEs. This will provide impetus to the growth in the economy, enhanced investment in defence and lead to reduced import dependence. In addition, this will augment the design capabilities of domestic defence Industry due to the involvement of academia and research institutions, the Ministry said.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), BEML Limited, India Optel Limited (IOL), Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) and Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) are the DPSUs involved in defence items of the fifth PIL.

The companies have initiated the process for issuing Expressions of Interest/Requests for Proposal on their respective websites with a link on the ‘Srijan Portal Dashboard (srijandefence.gov.in/DashboardForPublic) specifically designed for this purpose, and Industry/MSMEs/start-ups may come forward to participate in large numbers, according to the official statement.

Earlier, four PILs comprising 4,666 items were notified by the Department of Defence Production for DPSUs, of which 2,972, having import substitution value worth Rs 3,400 crore, have already been indigenised. These five lists for DPSUs are in addition to the five positive indigenisation lists of 509 items notified by the Department of Military Affairs (DMA). These lists include highly complex systems, sensors, weapons and ammunition.

Till June 2024, over 36,000 defence items were offered to domestic industry for indigenisation by the DPSUs and SHQs. Of them, more than 12,300 items have been indigenised in the last three years. As a result, the DPSUs have placed orders on domestic vendors to the tune of Rs 7,572 crore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for Aatmanirbhar Bharat has led to indigenous production in the defence sector scaling a record high of Rs 1.27 lakh crore for the financial year ended on March 31, 2024. India’s exports of defence items during the financial year have crossed the Rs 21,000 crore mark.