The government is in “advanced stages” of formulating a new policy to increase domestic defence manufacturing and reduce dependence on imported high-tech military equipment, Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday. “India is the world’s largest arms importer, spending some 1.8 per cent of its GDP (gross domestic product) on defence. It imports about 70 per cent of defence equipment, a proposition which the government wants to change,” Jaitley said at an event organised by the industry body CII.

The government is in “advanced stages” of formulating a new policy to increase domestic defence manufacturing and reduce dependence on imported high-tech military equipment, Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday. “India is the world’s largest arms importer, spending some 1.8 per cent of its GDP (gross domestic product) on defence. It imports about 70 per cent of defence equipment, a proposition which the government wants to change,” Jaitley said at an event organised by the industry body CII.