Defence Ministry is ready to give production orders to private sector. Here are the norms they must fulfill

The defence ministry is all set to rope in private players for mega military production orders. It has come up with a list of criteria that the private sector must fulfil.

The ministry will unveil the elaborate procedure in a new policy soon.

ET reported, a new strategic policy (SP) model will be created and six Indian companies will be accorded special status. Once the pool is created, the companies will be given the opportunity to bid for mega defence production orders, expected to be worth over $20 billion.

Here is the list of norms that private players will have to fulfil:

1.In the first stage, six Indian companies will qualify to bid for four upcoming projects - submarines for the navy, a single-engine fighter for the air force, helicopters and armoured vehicles for the army. The companies must have a minimum turnover of Rs 4,000 crore for the past three years.

2.Financial strength, technical capability and existing infrastructure will be the main criteria for selection of the Indian companies. For foreign players, the selection process will be based on technical and commercial grounds.

3.Foreign partners will be roped in for the four identified projects. This selection will be based on technical evaluations and field trials. Once the foreign vendors are shortlisted, the Indian pool will be invited to plan collaborations and present joint proposals that will be the basis of a final selection.

4.Only one Indian company can participate in only one strategic partnership project.

"The defence ministry will shortly invite companies for the qualification process. The companies will be asked to give their priority preference for the four projects. A total of six companies will be selected based on financial parameters and capability,” a senior official told ET.