Def Min urges industry to invest in defence R

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, July 19 (UNI) Defence Minister A K Antony today called upon the private sector to enter into the defence sphere with a long-term commitment -- not only adapting advanced military technology but also developing their own.

Inaugurating a two-day International Seminar and Exhibition on Naval Armaments -- 'NAVARMS-07' -- here, the minister pointed out that the stupendous economic growth and technological prowess seen during the last decade needed to be translated into a strong, technologically self-reliant and sustainable defence sector as well.

He further exhorted the Indian private sector to combine the inherent strengths and develop domain knowledge in defence technology to compete at the international level.

'NAVARMS-07' has been co-organised by the Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The two-day event has at its focus the objective of creating awareness about the emerging opportunities for greater participation of Indian and foreign industries in India's defence production sector.

Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta -- as the Guest of Honour -- stressed the need to evolve a strong industrial base in the field of weapon/armament systems as the country could ill-afford the astronomical cost of imports.

In a keynote Address, Admiral Mehta spoke of the huge strides made by the country in the field of ship-building and explained the vast potential that awaited tapping in the armament field.

He further called upon the industry to participate not only in manufacturing of armaments but also to invest in research and development for the latest technological developments.

Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal FH Major, Army Vice Chief Lt Gen Deepak Kapoor, Secretary-Defence Production KP Singh and CII President Sunil Bharti Mittal, besides several senior officials from the three Services, the Defence Research&Development Organisation, Ordnance Factory Board, the Industry and foreign delegates attended the seminar.

In his welcome address, CII President Mittal called upon the industry to ''rise to the occasion and grab the opportunity'' which had come their way due to opening up of the defence industry for private participation.

The need of the hour, he said, was to forge ''a mutually rewarding relationship'' and make noteworthy contribution towards the common goal of nation-building.

A large number of Indian industries, defence public sector undertakings and prominent foreign manufacturers from the United States, UK, Germany, Italy, Israel and France are participating in the exhibition segment of 'NAVARMS-07'.

The theme of the five-plenary session seminar segment of 'NAVARMS-07' was evolving a closer synergy with the Industry in the field of Naval Armaments -- and the deliberations were expected to provide a platform for substantive deliberations aimed at evolving policies for future selection, sourcing and product support apart from harnessing the potential of public and private partnership for production of naval armament.

The first of the five plenary sessions focussed on advances made in armament technology as well as future trends. The second session was structured to apprise the armament manufacturers of the user's concerns and to lay down the ''basic ground rules'' for development of weapon systems.

The third session -- on 'Role of Industry-Opportunity and Insight' -- aimed at marketing the possibilities for a manufacturer -- be it a small-scale industry or an MNC -- for armament production.

A session on 'Infrastructure Requirements of the Users and Industry' followed.

The synergy that could be brought about by the pooling of the technical expertise and resources available with the Defence Research&Development Organisation (DRDO) and private industry, the infrastructure that would be needed to be built to promote indigenous production as well as product support were some of the issues that were deliberated upon by the discussants.

This maiden attempt was expected to help bridge the gap between the perception of the industry towards armament production and the Indian Navy's expectations from the Industry.

UNI

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