New Delhi: Stung by various scams in military purchases, the Defence Ministry is considering various moves such as inclusion of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) in the procurement process and creation of a new body to check on corruption in weapon acquisitions.
Besides taking various steps to strengthen the Defence Procurement Procedure to plug loopholes in the process, Defence Ministry is considering moves such as creation of a body on the lines of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to check corruption in procurements, sources said here.
The Ministry is also considering a move to include anti-corruption agencies such as the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) in the procurement procedure to check corruption before the finalisation of any deal, they said.
At present also, the CVC gets involved to check the fairness of procurement procedures if the Government gets any complaint from any source regarding corruption in any defence deal.
However, sources said a final decision on the moves under consideration would be taken after due deliberations by the Ministry in consultation with all the stake-holders including the Services headquarters, they said.
After the VVIP chopper scam, Defence Minister A K Antony has taken serious steps to check corruption and has also decided to give a major thrust to indigenisation to avoid procurements from abroad.
The steps include giving the first right of refusal to Indian industries in procurement for any weapon system and ensuring a level-playing field for the Indian private and public sector industry.
PTI
