Minister says defence deals need middlemen

A debate is raging within the UPA government about reviewing the system of involving middlemen in defence deals. It has been triggered by the fact that several defence deals, including the Eurocopter deal, have fallen through in the absence of such middlemen.

According to minister of state for defence Rao Birendra Singh, even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has questioned the defence ministry's policy of not involving middlemen. He said, "The policy of not involving middlemen is proving expensive for the country's defence preparedness. Military hardware that should have been inducted into the armed forces 10 years ago has not been inducted."

"In view of the disturbed neighbourhood we are living in, this means we are compromising on national security," Mr Rao Birendra Singh pointed out in the course of an exclusive interview.

The minister believed that though middlemen cannot be banned, "we are concerned about solicitation. Solicitation on behalf of a company is prohibited," he stressed....

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Image and Article source: Asian Age
Article taken from the issue: 28 Jan 2008