Admitting that capital infusion in the defence industry required a major thrust, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Subhash Bhamre on Tuesday said the government was planning to invest huge resources for the modernisation of defence sector in the coming years.
“India is going to commit huge resources on defence modernisation in the coming years. Hence, those of you (industry leaders) who are ready to invest in the sector have, perhaps, one of the best opportunities to get favourable returns on investments,” Mr. Bhamre said.
Stressing upon the need for cohesion between government, industry, the research and development (R&D) establishment, and the academia, the Minister said it was imperative for these entities to come together to “evolve Indian technologies for Indian requirements”.
Speaking at a seminar on ‘Defence Industry Indigenisation’ at the city-based Mahratta Chamber of Commerce here, Mr. Bhamre said, “The defence sector has a few requirements today. First, sophistication in design is an extremely important issue. Technology upgradation is extremely rapid and the cost of importing technology is very expensive. The latest technology more often than not is not easily available. Hence, a huge thrust is required to boost exports of products.” He urged industry leaders to invest in the country’s defence sector.
Observing that the market was limited in terms of production and marketing of defence equipment, Mr. Bhamre emphasised the requirement of quality equipment that was cost-competitive in order to make a dent in the export market.
“Today, a lot of defence equipment is being imported. If we put our heads together, it should be possible for us to reverse the equation in the next few years. The Make-I and Make-II procedures (part of the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ in defence initiatives) provide for wonderful avenues for design and development,” he noted, adding that private players, especially large Indian companies, needed to pursue R&D as part of their business models to retain the relevance of their product portfolios.
Mr. Bhamre further stated that the onus was on the industry to gauge, and cater to, the needs and requirements of the armed forces in the coming years.
“Likewise, armed forces also understand that R&D and business establishments require time to develop a world class product, so such initiatives [referring to the seminar] give a big impetus to efforts of indigenisation in the defence sector,” he said.