New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian defense ministry has published a comprehensive list of firms who have either been blacklisted or business with whom has been put on hold due to their involvement in corruption charges in defense procurement. The listed firms include those belonging to Israel, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Britain and domestic entities dealing in defense.
According to the document, six firms namely — Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd, Israel Military Industries, TS Kisan & Co, RK Machine Tools, RAD, Corporation Defence will not be able to take part in any defense procurement process initiated by the Indian defense ministry for future orders.
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Apart from these debarred firms, business dealings have been put on hold or transactions have been suspended with 14 other firms including Agusta Westland International Ltd, Leonardo SpA (erstwhile Finmeccanica, Italy) including its subsidiaries, IDS of Tunisia, Infotech Design System of Mauritius with whom Finmeccanica has been in the eye of a storm in India after revelations that it allegedly paid kickbacks in a $570 million deal for selling 12 AgustaWestland VVIP choppers to the Indian government.
Due to the corruption charges, the Indian defense ministry, in 2016, had canceled a $200 million deal with Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS), a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, with whom it had envisaged the procurement of torpedoes for newly inducted Kalvari class submarines.
"It has been decided that further procurements from Rolls Royce and its allied and subsidiary companies may be done only if they are justified and necessary on the basis of operational urgency, national security non-availability of other alternatives and the requirements are justified by senior officers," the order reads.
Meanwhile, a number of Israeli firms are vying for a $2 billion contract for the supply of small arms to the Indian Army's infantry.
