“Come, Manufacture Defence Equipment In India,” PM Modi Tells Foreign Companies

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reiterated that the government is committed to boosting defence manufacturing in the country. Addressing a seminar on ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in defence manufacturing, Narendra Modi said efforts are being made to develop new technology and give a big role to private players in the defence sector.

He said, for many years, India has been one of the biggest defence importers — though, when India got independence, it had the great capability in defence manufacturing and an ecosystem of defence manufacturing established over 100 years. “Unfortunately, this subject couldn’t get requisite attention,” he bemoaned.

Wooing foreign players to join his push for defence manufacturing in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that producing defence equipment in the country is the best option for them considering the big size of its market and underscored his government’s commitment to creating a robust ecosystem for all manufacturers.

Highlighting the decision to permit up to 74 per cent FDI in the defence manufacturing through the automatic route, PM Modi said that his government has ushered in a “win-win” situation for all players, from the public sector to private and foreign manufacturers, and asserted that the concept of a self-reliant India is not “inward-looking”.

The PM said steps such as earmarking a part of the capital budget for domestic  procurement, 101 items for domestic procurement will encourage and give a fillip to domestic defence industries. He also said that the Government is working on speeding up the procurement process, streamlining the system of testing etc. Speaking about Corporatization of Ordnance factories, PM said once completed it will strengthen both the workers and the Defence sector.

Emphasizing on the need for technology up-gradation for self-sufficiency in modern equipment, the Prime Minister said that in addition to DRDO, Government is encouraging Research and Innovation in the private sector and in academic institutions as well. The Prime Minister mentioned that emphasis is on co-production through joint ventures with foreign partners.

Highlighting that the Government has been working on the mantra of Reform, Perform, and Transform, the Prime Minister said major reforms are underway in areas of Intellectual Property, Taxation, Insolvency and Bankruptcy, Space and Atomic Energy.

On the infrastructure initiatives, the Prime Minister spoke about two defence corridors underway in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.  He said the state of the art infrastructure is being built in collaboration with the state government of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. An investment target of 20 thousand crores in the coming 5 years has been set for this.

PM observed that the iDEX initiative which was launched to encourage entrepreneurs particularly those associated with MSME and Start-ups are also getting positive results. Through this platform, more than 50 start-ups have developed technology and products for military use, he noted.

The Prime Minister said that the goal is to build a capable India to make the Global Economy more resilient, more stable and to bring peace in the world. This is the idea behind Atmanirbharta in Defence Manufacturing. India has the potential to become a reliable supplier of defence equipment to many of its friendly nations. It will strengthen India’s strategic partnerships and strengthen India’s role as a  “net security provider” in the Indian Ocean region, the Prime Minister said.

He said feedback and suggestions received on the  Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy Draft will help in implementing this policy at the earliest.

PM concluded by saying that collective efforts will help in releasing our resolve to become self- reliant, to become an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

PM Modi said the motto of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ was not to be mistaken for inward-looking, but for “making India capable and boosting global peace and economy”.

“Our work for Aatmanirbhar Bharat will also boost India’s ability to be net security provider in the Indian Ocean,” the PM said.

The work on building defence corridor is also on at a rapid pace in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, he said, while adding that Rs 20,000 crore investment would be made for this in the next five years and a state of the art infrastructure will be developed.

Stressing the need for reforms in the defence sector, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the government aims to become self-reliant to contribute to the world in a better way. “The focus is on Atmanirbhar Bharat and draft for defence production 2020 has been formed,” he said.

The Defence Minister also highlighted that the procurement procedure has been made simple and called for more investment in the defence sector.

He thanked PM for his valuable guidance at the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat-Defence Industry Outreach’ webinar.

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