There has been an increased trend of counterfeit products getting into India Defense sector and many other government contracts.

If we comprehensively look at the defense sector, the problem is even more complex due to the issues of transparency in procurement process and subsequent visibility or audit on wake of national security. The audit referred here is not the CAGof India  or the statutory audit but verification or visibility of the products to general public or experts or even company representatives.

These issues are even more complicated because of the turnkey projects and tendency of the turnkey contractors to cut costs by using spurious material. Here again, one of the major issues is corruption and lack of clarity/accountability. These problems thrive in the areas affected by insurgency, natural calamities and difficult terrains.

Many times the parts of critical equipment are also compromised putting the national security at a huge risk. The international supply chain of spurious parts which exists in China and transected through many developed nations, makes it even more difficult to control these issues altogether.

In order to address these issues of counterfeits in defense sector, few urgent steps need to be taken. These will include the training of the defense personnel to identify the problem upfront, more industry interface & collaboration, stricter control over the tendering & contract execution processes, involving civil society or social groups & give access & visibility and more so, realizing that there are real issues and we have courage to face the issue upfront rather brush it under the carpet.

Brands and Fakes as an initiative is poised to act as a bridge between the industry and defense sector. www.brandsandfakes.com initiative will not only help the defense sector to get protection against the ill effects of the counterfeits but, also help industry to get tighter coordination with the defense services.