Indicia in Media

“Prioritization of procurement categories is a step in the right direction, yet its implementation must be taken in true spirit, else despite emphasizing on ‘make,’ India would still be dependent on outside sources,” said Deba Mohanty, CEO of New Delhi-based defense consulting firm INDICIA Research & Advisory.
Read complete article at Defence News International

While Antony said the government will make all efforts to create a genuine level playing field for Indian manufacturing industries vis-à-vis global players, experts like Deba R Mohanty, chairman and CEO, Indicia Research & Advisory, point out, “Most of the amendments to the DPP 2011 seem to be cosmetic changes from earlier provisions. Provisions like nomination facilities for state-owned enterprises, licensing and related provisions have only been tweaked in a manner which appears to make a big impact. Such measures actually may not bring in desirable results unless fundamentals of issues like usefulness of nomination facilities, bureaucratic complexities in licensing procedures, harmonising export control items with international regimes like the Wassenaar Arrangement (a multilateral export control regime), and related subjects are examined in depth.”

Mohanty added, “There is a need to look at the larger picture. The DPP’s mandate is limited in comparison to a much larger security production and procurement activities. While the DPP only covers procurement for the armed forces, DPSUs, OFB (Ordnance Factory Board) and DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) within the defence ministry follow separate procurement procedures. If one looks at the larger national security procurement landscape, which includes internal security forces, the DPP’s mandate looks limited. Ideally, something like a national security procurement procedure should be created to address issues of production and procurement for national security purposes.”
Read complete article at Financial Express

Maruti Gypsy’s sales to the Indian army may dry up after it fails to meet criteria for the latest contract
The Gypsy’s exit from the army had already been on the cards, said Deba R. Mohanty, chairman and chief knowledge officer, Indicia Research and Advisory. “I presume that Maruti may not be meeting the new requirements. Having said that, I think it will be a huge order and augurs well for the Indian companies involved in it.”
Read complete article at Mint

Tata Motors eyes $10 billion army project
The government seeks to reduce its dependence on imports and in this effort, firms in private sector would play a bigger role in the years ahead, said Deba Mohanty, chairman and chief executive at Indicia Research and Advisory, a Delhi-based firm that offers research and consulting services to the defence and security sector. Moreover, the indigenously produced combat vehicles would save costs by 20-30%, Mohanty said.
Read complete article at Mint

New Defence Budget leaves ex-Army generals, experts unhappy
Delhi-based defence analyst and CEO of Indicia Research and Advisory Deba R Mohanty said the trend of defence allocation in India has been disappointing. "When there is a demand for increasing share of defence budget in relation to national GDP, the trend is actually showing otherwise. As far as India is concerned this is disappointing," he said.
Read complete article at Bussiness Standard

Defence gets Rs 203,672 crore in Budget 2013-14
Given the larger macro-economic conditions, resources allocated for national defence seem reasonable, although not satisfactory. Armed forces are indirectly told, through the budget, to prune their figure further to be more lean and mean in order to accommodate more stealth, fire power, gadgets and mobility. This becomes evident in allocations for stagnant revenue and growing capital budgets.
Read complete article at Financial Express

Time to develop India’s defence production
Defence deals are all prone to manipulation, and banning firms only reduces our choices. India needs to use offsets to develop its local supply base
Read complete article at Financial Express

"When we blacklist big companies like Finmeccanica, it will have ramifications on the company's earlier commitments. The ongoing commitments and future contracts will also be negatively impacted," warned Deba Mohanty, Delhi-based defence analyst and director at Indicia research and advisory.
For details, see, Economic Times

“Issues including arrangement of defense offset obligations and transfer of technology seems still to be resolved,” said Deba Ranjan Mohanty, chairman of the Indicia Research & Advisory, a New Delhi-based defense research organization. The contract could have an estimated value of between $18 billion and $20 billion, Mohanty said.
For details, see, Bloomberg.

“This is essentially being targeted to reduce the revenue expenditure such as pay and allowance, while not hurting the capital expenditures and won’t affect the acquisitions and military modernization programs,” said Deba Ranjan Mohanty, chairman of Indicia Research & Advisory, a New Delhi-based defense research firm. “This temporary reduction comes because of political compulsions keeping a view on the next general elections.”
For details, see, Bloomberg.