Defence ministry is working on proposals to further open up and streamline the defence procurement process. Under these the private sector will soon be allowed to manufacture ammunition and military officers in the acquisition wing will be granted longer tenures to ensure continuation Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said.

However, to ensure continued orders and financial viability the private sector would be given ammunition orders for 10 years, Mr. Parrikar said on Thursday while speaking at the inaugural session of the Defence Innovators and Industry Associations.

Currently, ammunition is manufactured only by the Ordinance Factory Board (OFB).

Another critical issue in defence purchases process is the short duration of officers in the acquisition wing which delays procedures as personnel are frequently replaced. To address this `the defence ministry is mulling creating of a separate set up for acquisition and OFB, both for capital and revenue streams.

“The set up will be in place in the current calendar year,” Mr. Parrikar said.

Military officers are usually not keen on extended stints in the acquisition as it would deprive them of field responsibilities which affect their promotion to higher ranks.

Mr. Parrikar said the Army has to work out a mechanism to address this.

Women in combat roles

Women will be would be allowed in a phased manner as infrastructure has to be created, Mr. Parrikar said.

The timelines will be decided by the three services in a phased manner as facilities like training and accommodation need to be created, he said.

The Air Force has recently women fighter pilots on an experimental basis for five years and the Navy has announced intake of women pilots.

Addressing a joint session of the Parliament on Tuesday President Pranab Mukherjee said that in future “the government will induct women in all the fighter streams of our Armed Forces”.