The Department of Defense is soliciting industry input for its ongoing effort to sign a Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement with the Indian government.
According to the request for information posted in the Federal Register on Tuesday, DOD’s Defense Acquisition Regulations System requires feedback from U.S. companies that previously negotiated procurement deals with India’s Ministry of Defence and its armed forces.
The agency needs to know if the transactions proceeded with transparency, integrity and fairness. The department also wants to hear from industry if acquisition deals with India followed published procedures.
DOD is also interested in learning about details of issues that emerged during the companies’ dealings with the country, if there were any, the notice said.
Through the RFI, the government also seeks to better understand the level of reciprocity between the two countries. In particular, the Defense Department needs to know if the U.S. defense industry would enjoy the same degree of access that India would receive under a new RDP Agreement.
An RDP Agreement between DOD and the Indian government will lead to the implementation of a blanket public interest determination, paving the way for India as one of the qualifying countries at the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, the notice said.
The RDP Agreement is part of a new road map for U.S.-India defense industrial cooperation that was announced during Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s trip to India in June.