Neelam Mathews
Aug 2, 2012
The cry for making amendments
to the offset policy retroactive is getting louder as many in the industry feel
the very concept of making changes to offsets in the past will prove worthless and
not give the Indian industry a boost as major projects including the MMRCA are
already covered under older policies.
Time and again, the government has made it clear, it will not do so.
But these are changing times. Who would have thought there
would be such a radical change in the government thinking that it would one day even consider allowing a 'private sector only' project without DPUs involvement as in the case
of the replacement of the Avros?
The solution is so clear and simple that one is surprised it
hasn’t been implemented nor discussed. “Offset
amendments have taken place to improve offsets and boost Indian industry. Take
the MMRCA for instance. If commercial bids (MMRCA) were opened in November last year, the offset
policy on that day (DPP 2011) should be applied instead of the DPP 2006 under
which it presently comes under,” says an industry official.
The present system seems unfair because amendments have been
issued to cover gaps in the policy of previous years, explains an SME
official. Besides, looking at delays in project allotment, vendors cannot be blamed for the lapses of the bureaucracy.
Hopefully, one will see a move in this direction soon.
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