Sitharaman pushes for 'Make in India' in defence sector
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday issued directions to officials for addressing top military firms' concerns over licensing and tax issues and reiterated the government's commitment to facilitating private sector's participation in defence manufacturing.
Sitharaman discussed various issues relating to implementation of the government's 'Make in India' initiative in the defence sector with representatives of industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), including top executives of a number of Indian and foreign defence firms.
The defence minister issued directions to the team of officers headed by the Defence Secretary for time-bound action on key issues raised at the round table, including the resolution of licensing with the Home Ministry, tax-related matters with the Finance Ministry and commercialisation of technologies developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the defence ministry said in a statement.
It
said
a
wide
range
of
issues,
including
matters
relating
to
licensing,
taxes
and
duties
and
ways
to
speed
up
the
procurement
processes
were
discussed
at
the
meeting.
Ways
to
streamline
the
offsets
regime
and
creation
of
a
tiered
defence
industrial
ecosystem
with
full
integration
and
skilling
of
manpower
in
the
Micro,
Small
and
Medium
Enterprises
sector
were
also
deliberated
upon
during
the
meeting.
Sitharaman conveyed to the top executives of the private defence industry that the government was "fully committed" to removing all the stumbling blocks and facilitating private participation in defence manufacturing with the objective of bringing high value foreign investment into the sector, officials said.
She told them that focus of the initiative is to ensure self-reliance in meeting the country's defence needs and that the government will provide a level playing field to the industry.
Sitharaman also asked the officials to ensure timely conclusion of procurement proposals.
In May, the government had unveiled the strategic partnership model under which select private firms will be roped in to build military platforms such as submarines and fighter jets in India in partnership with foreign entities.
PTI