India decides to boost defence, aerospace sector via 'Make In India' venture
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New Delhi, May 1: In order to strengthen the defence industry which is also getting affected by the coronavirus crisis, PM Narendra Modi said that India should reduce dependence on imports and boost the 'Make In India' initiative to build its domestic capabilities for designing, developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art defence equipment.
PM Modi in a detailed meeting that was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and others said to mull over the potential reforms to ensure a robust and self-reliant defence industry.
Had an extensive meeting to discuss reforms in the Mines and Coal sectors. Reviewed ways to ensure abundant supply, upscaling exploration, attracting investment, modern technology and keeping the focus on transparency. https://t.co/8cfn0BRDsP
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 30, 2020
PM Modi asserted on initiatives to promote export of defence products along with industry participation in global defence product value chain and to create an environment that encourages R&D, rewards innovation, creates Indian IP ownership.
PM Modi discussed the defence which supports the short and long term needs of the armed forces and initiatives to give a boost to the economy in the backdrop of this crisis. The discussions involved reforming of the functioning of the Ordnance factories, streamlining procurement procedures, focused resource allocation, encouraging R&D/innovation, attracting investment in critical defence technologies and promotion of exports, an official statement said.
Further, he stated, "there should more emphasis on positioning India among the top countries of the world in Defence and Aerospace sectors, from design to production, with the active participation of public and private sector fulfilling the twin objectives of self-reliance & exports." Meanwhile, he also reviewed the proposed reforms for attracting domestic and foreign investment in the defence sector.
"It was discussed that defence expenditure economize and the savings be channelised for strategic defence capital acquisition. Issues relating to defence procurement processes offset policies, indigenization of spares, transfer of technology, attracting global OEMs to establish manufacturing facilities in India, expanding our presence in international supply chains, etc were also deliberated. For India to emerge as a global leader in defence manufacturing, focus on the export of quality and state-of-the-art equipment/systems/platforms has also been emphasised," the statement further added.