Citing “numerous positive changes” in the defence field in India, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has asked the US to reciprocate positively for technology transfer approvals and leverage opportunities created by New
Delhi.
“In the past one year, there have been
sincere attempts from the Indian Ministry of Defence to change the
mindset,” he said at a roundtable with senior executives of American and
Indian aerospace and defence companies.
“Numerous positive changes have been
incorporated through the revision of the offset policy and the Defence
Procurement Procedure (DPP),” Parrikar said at the event organised by
the US-India Business Council (USIBC) Wednesday.
“The US government needs to reciprocate
positively for technology transfer approvals and leverage opportunities
created by the procedural changes in Indian defence procurement,” he
said.
Apart from a Ministry of Defence
delegation accompanying Parrikar, US Under Secretary of Defence Frank
Kendall, and both US and Indian Ambassadors also attended the meeting.
Discussions focused on pushing the
needle forward on ‘Make in India’ and challenges around technology
transfer, according to a media release.
Over the past year, scientists and
engineers from the two militaries have conducted five workshops in
Autonomy, Cognitive Sciences, Directed Energy, Materials, and Munitions/
CIED. More workshops, including one on manufacturing, are expected
soon.
Welcoming the minister, USIBC president
Mukesh Aghi said, “The past decade has been a period in which our
bilateral security ties have seen robust growth, not just in value, but
in the level of technical partnership as well.”
Noting that Defence Technology and Trade
Initiative (DTTI) has become a key part of India-US defence
relationship, Kendall said the two sides had identified many new areas
for cooperative research and development.
Both sides are also committed to
continue to exchange ideas in the search for additional projects for
possible co-development and co-production that meet the spirit of DTTI,
he said.
Pathfinder projects under DTTI include
the Raven mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), “roll-on, roll-off”
mission modules for C-130J aircraft, Mobile Electric Hybrid Power
Sources (MEHPS) and Next Generation Protective Ensemble (NGPE) for
soldiers.
As many as 17 new ideas for cooperation
under the DTTI are also being discussed. The US proposed 11 new ideas
for possible cooperation while India has offered six new proposals.
