Defence Minister Arun Jaitley is looking to solve a problem that thwarted predecessor Manohar Parrikar throughout his 28 months in office.

On Monday, the defence ministry's apex procurement body, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Jaitley, will try to arrive at an acceptable way of nominating "strategic partners' (SPs) -- private companies, nominated by the defence ministry as chosen production agencies for defence equipment.

Private defence industry and companies hoping to enter this risky field are watching carefully to see whether the SP policy will corner defence production for a handful of big players, or leave space for others to share the profits.

Read Ajai Shukla's piece for Business Standard.