Why India Is Reconsidering Its Ban on Germany's Rheinmetall And What It Means for Defence

India and Germany are in discussions regarding the lifting of the ban on Rheinmetall AG, a major arms manufacturer. The ban has been in place for over a decade and the two countries have very recently had their initial discussions on lifting the ban. Rheinmetall AG, Germany's largest arms manufacturer (revenue: about 10,000 million Euros)," was blacklisted for a long time and is still blacklisted, but there is an initiation of getting it delisted," the German ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann has said. "I don't know all the details but Rheinmetall is, in principle, interested in dealing with India, even setting up shop here. There is still a way to go. There is a direction here. And that's a good start," he added. The ministries of external

affairs and defence, sources added, have been involved in the discussions, still at a preliminary stage.In 2012, the ministry of defence had banned Rheinmetall for bribing Ordnance Factory Board officials. This is something Rheinmetall has always denied. Submarine dealSpeaking of the likely submarine deal between Thyssen-Krupp and Mazagon Docks to build six submarines in Mumbai, Ackermann said, "the negotiations are underway, and it looks very good." The due "process of diligence," has happened, he said, adding that the offer has been "checked, assessed and vetted." He hoped that the deal would go through and it would be "escorted by government to government measures." The deal would be a "gamechanger" and take defence cooperation between the two countries "to the next level." He added that strategic decisions apart, German submarines are "pretty good" and the four (HDW submarines) the Indian navy had acquired in the 1980s are "still running" and in "good shape." That, he said, was a clear example of German submarines being "quality products." The deal, a multi-billion Euro one, could be signed next year. Closer defence ties between Germany and India are on the anvil and the likely visit of Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, in the coming months, would provide further impetus.