Lt. Gen. Amardeep Singh Aujla, Master General Sustenance (MGS), Indian Army, emphasises on need to look at Industry as strategic allies and not just vendors at PHDCCI’s Industry Interactive Session on Monday.
The Indian Army has suggested amendments to Defence Procurement Manual (DPM), under the review of Ministry of Defence since 2021, to correct its tilt towards defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and ensure common level playing field for private industry for true realisation of aatmanirbharta in military domain.
It has also recommended to bring in the concept of ‘apportionment” in certain kinds of tendering so that bidders in a fray, offering the same quality product, too get work if the numbers are high and the L1 emerging company has limited capability, said Lt Gen Amardeep Singh Aujla, Master General Sustenance, which looks after Army’s revenue procurement, at an PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) event on Monday.
Addressing the PHDCCI’s industry interactive session on “Revenue Requirements of Indian Army”, Lt Gen Aujla said: “The DPM has to be revised. We have been at it for the last two years” and “we are pushing policy makers to amend this DPM so that it comes out faster.”
The MGS said the DPM’s Paragraph 2.4.8 which deals with procurement from ordnance factories and DPSU restricts the force not to move away from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
For us 80 per cent of our goods are supplied by the DPSUs, he said of the Army’s revenue procurement. The annual spending of the MGS branch is to the tune of ₹25,000 crore to ₹30,000 crore, the Lt Gen stated.
“We want a level playing field. We want contenders. We want to move away.. to participative and competitive tendering.. while the attempts are on, the systems are such that it takes time. So we are in that period of transition. But very soon you people should see some kind of change, some kind of environment that suits your requirements,” Aujla stated, bringing glee to the faces of industry representatives at the session.
User driven market
In that context, he also observed that it has to be a user driven market and not a vendor driven market. That’s how we look at things, he observed.
The Army and the private industry were on the same page as Vaibha Gupta, CO-Chair PHDCCI Defence & HLS Committee, and Director of Kanpur-based MKU Ltd, too sought release of revised DPM 2021 so that DPSUs and private firms are on the same footing. “Only then can the sector fully align with ambitions of Make in India, strategic partnership and the IDDM framework,” he said in the opening address ahead of Lt Gen Aujla’s speech.
Gupta also flagged that the DPM does not encourage long-term vendor development from private players, and has rigid L1 procurement system giving precedence to cost over capability.
He also pointed out that MSMEs offering digital, predictive maintenance tools with upgrades rarely get shortlisted, while outdated DPSU solutions are preferred due to the defined procurement rules.
Referring to procedural frictions, MKU Ltd Director stressed that cumbersome documentation, inspection norms and delayed payments deter private investment in the defence sector.
Others who participated in the session included Maj General HPS Hansi, Additional Director General MGS Branch, and his two other colleagues- Brigadier Bhupendra Rekhi and Brigadier Pradeep Godara.
Published on April 21, 2025
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