Deba R Mohanty Quoted in Times of India Report on 'banning foreign defence contractors'

 "Banning foreign defence contractors is a loss for both country and firms: Experts": Times of India, August 09, 2012

"This is a lose-lose situation for both the companies banned from bidding contracts and the country, which is heavily dependent on foreign countries for purchasing arms and defence technologies," said New Delhi-based Deba Ranjan Mohanty, who is currently the vice-president of Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict.

The Indian defence establishment, which lacks domestic military industrial base, is dependent on foreign imports, at around 70 percent of our total purchases. However, it is often in the vested interest of the foreign suppliers and arms dealers to curb the rise of domestic military base. So actions like blacklisting can often be used to keep such acts under check.

"The current situation is not a very happy one with a lot of companies under scanner, with cases pending against them. The blacklisting act was thus necessary to make the system more transparent. The defence firms will be more careful and not indulge in unfair practices as a result," said Deba Ranjan Mohanty.

"Also, the closed-system of Indian defence establishments has always led suspicions of illegal activities. Though, the defence procurement procedure is a fairly competitive practice there are some procedures likes that of arms purchase which is not entirely transparent. This needs to change," he added.