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Hyderabad, Oct 23 (IANS) The meeting of the Joint Working Group on Defense Cooperation between India and Armenia on Thursday saw an exchange of views on bilateral defense cooperation, defense industrial cooperation and other security issues of mutual interest. An officer gave this information.
The Indian delegation to the meeting held here was led by Joint Secretary (IC) Vishvesh Negi, and the Armenian delegation was led by Levon Ayvazyan, head of the Department of Policy and International Military Cooperation of the Defense Ministry of Armenia, the Defense Ministry said in a post on X.
Earlier in the day, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh released the Defense Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025 at a ceremony in South Block, New Delhi.
According to the Ministry of Defense (MoD), effective from November 1, 2025, the new procurement rules will facilitate revenue procurement worth about Rs 1 lakh crore by the three services and other establishments under the Defense Ministry.
Appreciating the efforts of the Ministry of Defense and Headquarters Integrated Defense Staff for the revision of the manual, the Defense Minister expressed confidence that the new manual will simplify procedures, bring uniformity in functioning and be helpful in providing goods and services required by the Armed Forces for operational preparedness.
“This will provide more opportunities to MSMEs and start-ups in the field of defense manufacturing and technology, thereby ensuring fairness, transparency and accountability in procurement,” the Defense Ministry said in its press release.
Notably, some key provisions have been changed to speed up decision making and promote ease of doing business.
“Liquidated damages (LD) levied on delayed delivery of stores and services have been relaxed and a maximum of 10 per cent LD will be levied only in cases of extreme delay. This provision has been further relaxed in case of indigenisation, where only 0.1 per cent LD will be levied instead of 0.5 per cent per week applicable in other cases,” the Defense Ministry said.
Additionally, there are provisions for assured orders for five years and above for items developed by public/private players under indigenization.
–IANS
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