Corrupt Defence Firms To Be Blacklisted For One Year Only: New Indian Policy

India’s defense ministry approved a new liberalised blacklisting policy on Monday where armament companies suspected of corruption will be blacklisted for one year at a time, instead of the existing norm of 10 years at a go.

The defence acquisitions council (DAC), chaired by defence minister Manohar Parrikar, approved the new guidelines for suspension or banning of business dealings with arms companies, which will be made public in the next few days, Economic Times reports.

"Under the new policy, the decision to blacklist a company will not be an executive one. It will be done in a collegiate manner by a committee, which will also include the vice-chiefs of the Army , Navy and IAF," a source was quoted as saying in the report. "The operational implications of blacklisting a company will be considered before a final decision is taken. Blacklisting will be for a specific equipment or service, without blanket bans," source added.

Under the new blacklisting norms, procurement of spares for platforms and equipment already purchased from a company under the scanner will be allowed.

Companies already blacklisted will now also be able to appeal to the government for a review based on merits of a case. Moreover, blacklisting will be done with the aim to complete investigations into the charges against a company within six months. "If the period of suspension for blacklisting has to be extended, it will have to be recorded in writing," said the source. 

Four major global firms like Singapore Technologies Kinetics, Israeli Military Industries, Rheinmetall Air Defence, Zurich, and Corporation Defence, Russia, for instance, are blacklisted till 2022.