Chennai. 18 January 2018. Not only did the event put minds at rest with the announcement of Defexpo 2018 but also was a positive step towards making the indigenous defence industry at ease and hopeful. The objective of the meet is to forge new partnerships with private industry with the aim to achieve self-reliance in defence production under the overarching ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Union Government.
The two day ‘Defence Industry Development Meet’ organised by Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence (MoD) was inaugurated by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the city which is gearing up to hold Defexpo in April.
The meet is focussing on indigenisation, import substitution and technology infusion. The event which is a part of the Ministry’s initiative to encourage and facilitate participation of private industries especially MSMEs in Defence Manufacturing, is providing private firms/companies especially vendors from Tamil Nadu region an overview of the existing defence procurement policy, indigenisation and outsourcing procedures of DPSUs/OFB and update them on the recent Government policy initiatives to promote indigenisation and outsourcing and the opportunities thereon..
The Department of Defence Production is presenting policy initiatives for supporting Indian vendors especially MSME in the field of Defence Production. Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) is showcasing the technologies, which are available for the private sector for commercial exploitation. RakshaMantri handed over three representative Transfer of Technology agreements of DRDO to Industry – one each for the Army, Navy and the Air force.
HAL, BEL, BEML, BDL, MIDHANI are displaying over 50 products for indigenisation by the industry.
OFB offered more than 20 products to vendors for indigenisation. MDL, GRSE, GSL showcased vendor development opportunities.
The Defence Minister released the simplified ‘Make-II’ procedure, which stipulates relaxed eligibility criteria, minimal documentation, provisions for suo-motu proposals from individuals/industry, particularly for innovative solutions and relaxed eligibility criteria for start-ups. This procedure envisages for assurance of order on successful development of prototype.
She also launched Defence Investor Cell being set up by Department of Defence Production, which will facilitate the investment in defence production sector. The Defence Investor Cell will directly interact with all interested investors with regard to potential investment and the queries related to policy and the projects handled by the MoD.
More than 1,000 vendors are participating in the two day event.
The Indian Army, Navy and the Air Force are projecting their requirements, especially related to MSMEs, for indigenisation. Ministry of MSME presented the policy initiatives to support MSME. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion brought out the initiatives taken by the Government for ‘ease of doing business’ processes and issues related to licensing of defence products. Ministry of Home Affairs presented their requirement for police and paramilitary forces.
DPSUs/OFB are providing facility for on-the-spot vendor registration for prospective vendors for supplying defence needs. This event has brought all defence related vendors and suppliers of Tamil Nadu and other parts under one roof and will facilitate creation of an aerospace &defence ecosystem in the region.
She also highlighted the recent policy initiatives including ‘Make-II’ procedure released by the government on January 16, 2018, Defence Innovation Hub for Coimbatore, CODDISSIA and Defence Investor Cell. She said more initiatives to promote ‘Make in India’ in defence would be taken up.
