Antony warns defence PSUs to maintain transparency

In the backdrop of controversy over Tatra trucks, defence minister A K Antony today issued a stern warning to state-owned defence companies asking them to maintain transparency in their dealings with the armed forces.

"There should be no compromise on transparency in dealings with the clients and users," Antony said, reviewing the performance and functioning of eight defence PSUs including BEML. BEML chief V R S Natarajan was also present in the meeting along with his counterparts from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Bharat Dynamics Ltd and four defence shipyards GRSE, MDL, GSL and HSL.

The review meeting comes after different CBI inquiries have been ordered to look into the procurement of Tatra trucks manufactured by BEML in India. Army Chief Gen V K Singh had levelled allegations that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore by a defence lobbyist to clear a proposal for sale of these trucks.

The defence ministry has already ordered a CBI inquiry into the case. On April 16, Antony will also review the performance of Ordnance Factory Board followed by the review of Army's acquisition process on the next day, Ministry officials said. "It is part of the ongoing review of DPSUs, OFB and the acquisition process of the defence forces. The review will suggest various measures to improve the acquisition process," they added.

Emphasising timely delivery of products, Antony also said that the quality of the product should also be ensured to meet the requirement of the services. "The Defence Minister also asked the DPSUs to set benchmarks of standard and quality for the private sector companies in the defence production," the officials said.