Article Posted on : - Aug 04, 2011

NEW DELHI (PTI): Indian defence, aerospace and security sectors are expected to receive an investment of USD 30 billion in the next five to ten years through defence offsets accruing from procurement of military hardware.

A Parliamentary Committee on Defence said, "India would be spending more than 100 billion dollars in the next five to ten years for defence procurements. The offsets provisions would be USD 30 billion."

Under the offsets clause, foreign vendors bagging deals over Rs 300 crore, have to invest back 30 per cent of the worth of the deal back in Indian defence, homeland security and aviation sectors.

India has a number of big-ticket deals in the pipeline which include the purchase of 126 combat aircraft, C-17s, C-130Js, Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft and the acquisition of six submarines.

In some of the deals, the amount to be invested back is more than 50 per cent of the worth of the deal.

The Satpal Maharaj-led Committee said though the policy has been there for the last many years, it is yet to be evolved completely and several amendments have been made in it since 2005.