Remove all secrecy, open up Defence sector: Expert

In his inaugural address at the 3rd edition of Aerospace & Defence Manufacturing Technologies on the theme Fostering a Competitive, Innovative and Robust Industry organised by the CII here on Friday, he said the global spend on defence sector stood at a whopping $ 1.7 tn and the sale of defence equipment remained at $ 5 tn.

Stating that India is yet to show its potential in aerospace and defence, he said the country is the largest importer of defence equipment though its potential as an exporter has not been fully exploited till now. He also highlighted the civil opportunities in the defence sector. 

He wanted the creation of defence testing labs across the country with an aim to certify the new products manufactured from time to time.

He indicated that there is a special window by the US which could allow India to the global supply chain with a provision to share the classified information between the two nations and even Russia is also slated to engage with India in the realm of defence manufacturing. 

Dwelling at length on the aspect of indigenisation in defence manufacturing, Kumar said Chennai and Coimbatore carried the potential to manufacture aeronautical components through their respective hubs and there is also an indigenisation portal that has been created by the government to help the defence manufacturers.

Lt Gen Subrata Saha, Director General, Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), said the country has witnessed unprecedented policy changes in the last four years in defence production though the results are yet to be realised.  

There is a concrete defence production policy though there remained a need to sensitise the parliamentary committee on defence as also improve the coexistence of competition and innovation, using both manned and unmanned systems, he added. 

B Elangovan, Senior GM (Projects), TIDCO Ltd and MD, Tidel Park, said TN has the legacy of meeting 25 per cent of India’s defence needs. TN’s announcement for the creation of a larger ecosystem in the form of defence corridors and the formulation of an exclusive aerospace and defence policy would go a long way in strengthening arms and ammunition manufacturing, using the MSMEs in a larger way.