Previous governments’ paralysis harmed defence preparedness, says Modi

“There was a time when, like many other aspects of governance, the critical issue of defence preparedness was hampered by policy paralysis. We have seen the damage that such laziness, incompetence or perhaps hidden motives, can cause to the nation,” said Modi. He added that issues that should have been addressed by previous governments are being resolved now. 

Spelling out examples, the PM said, “The longdrawn process of procuring fighter aircraft never reached any conclusion. We have not only taken bold action to meet our immediate defence requirements, but also initiated the process to procure 110 fighter aircraft.” “We do not want to spend ten years in discussions without any tangible outcomes. We will work with the industries to keep our defence forces equipped with state-of-the-art products and systems, and create the domestic manufacturing ecosystem required to achieve this,” said Modi. 

He added that several policies were modified to ‘Make in India’ in the defence sector. 

“The results are promising,” said Modi. In May 2014, the number of defence licenses issued stood at 215. In less than four years, 144 more licenses were issued. While the total number of defence export permissions granted was 118 in May 2014 dollars, in less than four years, 794 more export permissions were issued. Procurement from micro and small enterprises by defence public sector undertakings and ordnance factories has gone up from about Rs 3,300 crore in 2014-15 to over Rs 4,250 crore in 2016-17. 

The PM also noted the contribution of MSMEs to the defence production which has grown by 200 per cent in four years. Modi also launched the ‘Innovation for Defence Excellence’, which will encourage start-ups for flexible cost-effective technology, bringing together industrial clusters, DPSUs and academia. The focus will be on exploring defence technology and indigenisation of the armed forces, the PM said.

The upcoming defence quad in Tamil Nadu will have room for everyone – public sector, private sector and foreign firms, said Modi. “These defence industrial corridors will utilise the existing manufacturing ecosystems in these regions, and build upon it,” he added, “These corridors will become the engines of economic development and growth of defence industrial base in the country. We have also established a Defence Investors Cell to assist and handhold the investors involved in Defence Production.”