The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony said the private sector will be allowed to play an increasingly greater role in the modernisation of the Armed Forces. Speaking at a meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Defence on the subject ‘Ordnance Factories’, Mr Antony said now that revision of Defence Procurement Procedure has become an annual affair, the thrust this year would be to give more roles to the Indian private sector. <br/><br/>Appreciating the role of Ordnance Factories over the years, Shri Antony said these units have been by and large successful in establishing indigenous production facilities for a variety of defence equipment. <br/><br/>Replying to the concerns expressed by several members about corruption in Defence procurement, Shri Antony said his Ministry has been taking strict action against all such aberrations and will continue to do so. The Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju also took part in the discussion. <br/><br/>The meeting was also attended by the Defence Secretary Shri Pradeep Kumar, the Secretary Defence Production Shri Rajkumar Singh and the Scientific Advisor to the Raksha Mantri Dr. VK Saraswat.<br/><br/> <br/><br/>