Potential RDP agreement with India has DOD requesting industry help

The Defense Department is considering negotiations of a new Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement with India, requesting industry feedback on past experiences working with India in a notice filed today.

In particular, the department, through the Defense Acquisition Regulations System, requests comments about industry professionals' experience working with the Indian Ministry of Defense of Armed Forces on defense procurements.

RDP Agreements are intended to encourage interoperability, partnership, rationalization and standardization amongst allied or friendly governments concerning market access, defense procurements and implementing procedures.

Currently, there are 28 qualifying countries that have concluded RDP Agreements, which allow the countries certain awareness, product and protection benefits, with the DOD, according to a Federal Register notice.

DOD is presently assessing India’s laws and regulations in public defense procurements and looking for comments from industry professionals with experience in this matter. They also would like comments that relate to the “degree of reciprocity” between the two countries when it comes to using products from a third country, something the department has been working toward eliminating lately.

The department is looking to ensure that transactions between industry and India’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces were all fair, transparent and were done according to the prescribed plan or if any problems occurred during the sale, according to the Federal Register notice.

The DOD is also seeking opinions on if industry professionals believe they would have equal and proportional access to Indian markets if an RDP Agreement was put in place.

Comments need to be received by Nov. 9 and are open to the public.

To submit a comment, email gregory.d.snyder.civ@mail.mil.