New Delhi, April 6 : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will announce a third positive indigenisation list of defence systems on Thursday, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday. The list essentially means that the Army, Navy and Air Force will procure the listed items only from domestic manufacturers, which could be private sector players or Public Sector Undertakings. The defence items/weapon systems or components mentioned in the list will be indigenised in the coming years and will only be procured from Indian industry after the timelines indicated against each of them. This is part of the government’s effort to achieve self-reliance in defence manufacturing and minimise imports. The first such list was announced in August 2020 banning acquisition of 101 weapon systems and platforms from abroad. The second list in May 2021 banned acquisition of 108 items. The government believes that India cannot be import dependent if it is forced to engage in conflicts with India’s adversaries and win against them. Indigenisation, therefore, is the way forward for the country. Besides, the government believes that India’s aspiration of becoming a regional power can be achieved by domestic defence manufacturing and by minimising imports. ASU MR