Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reaffirmed the government’s commitment to empowering India’s defence industry by working closely with it to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making the country a global manufacturing hub. Addressing the seventh annual session of the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) in New Delhi in early October, Singh described the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict as a reminder to build a strong defence industrial base, which can be bolstered and expanded with time. The minister asserted that the government, in its third consecutive term, will engender a renewed thrust to its ongoing efforts towards developing a robust, innovative and self-reliant defence ecosystem. He enumerated the steps taken to attain aatmanirbharta in defence, including creation of defence industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, issuance of positive indigenisation lists (PILs), corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board, hand
Rajnath Singh
holding of private industries by DRDO, and unveiling of Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020.
On the 10 PILs notified with over 5,500
items, Singh stated that the idea was to
equip the armed forces with platforms and
equipment manufactured in India. He exhorted the industry to achieve complete
self-reliance for these items within the stipulated time and keep shortening the list. He also urged it to assess and identify products
that can be added to the PILs in view of the
rapid changes being witnessed in the field
of defence across the globe.
The minister emphasised that, due to
the government’s efforts, an environment
conducive to ease of doing business in the
country has been created and a target set
for making India’s defence industry export-oriented. While he lauded the major
contribution of the private sector in taking the defence exports to a record high of
over Rs 21,000 crore in FY 2023-24, he called
upon the industry to keep in mind the export and import figures and strive to reduce
the ratio between the two with a target-oriented approach.
He expressed satisfaction over the annual defence production touching a record
high of Rs 1.27 lakh crore in FY 2023-24.
While the share of defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) was 1 lakh crore, private companies contributed about Rs27,000
crore. He pointed out that there was huge
scope for increasing the share of private industries, and the next target should be to
bring their participation up to at least half
of the total defence production.
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