The only positive statements made at India’s DEFEXPO summit were entirely negative. The 26 percent FDI cap would not be raised, and the revised offset regulations were not ready. A poorly attended seminar discussed procurement procedures and offsets; little was new and the event fizzled. DEFEXPO closed, everyone went home — then Defence Minister A.K. Antony announced the changes.....
The European Commission has acted to ensure that Bulgaria and Luxembourg comply with their obligations to implement EU rules on defence procurement. They join Germany and the Netherlands, who faced infringement proceedings served on January 26th.
The Czech government is set to transfer responsibility for the management of future offset contracts from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) to the MoD. The guidelines will be scrapped and all offset negotiations between the MoD and defence contractors will take place on a case-by-case basis.....
The government said 16,917 direct jobs and 33,834 indirect jobs had been created through the NIPP programme. Analysts soon twigged that an entirely theoretical factor of two had provided the government with exactly 16,917 direct jobs.
According to DLA Piper, a global law firm, economic growth in Asia has created an enormous demand for financing solutions for economic and social infrastructure projects in the region.....