PANJIM: The Defence Ministry is set to boost indigenisation of defence production as it is expected to soon finalise strategic partners to tie up with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM).
“We are working on a concept of strategic partnership with the OEMs. It will be a foreign company. Four segments such as fighter combat aircrafts, tanks, submarines and helicopters have been identified,” Minister of State for Defence Dr Subhash Bhamre said on Monday while releasing a list of the achievements of the Narenda Modi government.
India, he said, wants world class manufacturers to come and establish their units in association with local partners. “We are looking at foreign defence manufacturers (like Korea) to transfer their technology, work with Indian scientists and the people, and train them so that in the next few years our people will begin manufacturing in the same segment. This idea was proposed by former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and work on it had also begun. In the months to come, we will be able to finalise the strategic partnerships under this program,” he added.
The minister conceded that the country’s armed forced were dependent on the Ordnance Factory Board and Defence Public Sector Units.
“We accept the contribution by OFB and PSUs but in the last 70 years we wanted R&D developed in the defence sector. We wanted to have a kind of platform so that we can export but on export scenario there was no significant growth. As far as R&D is concerned, the growth was not significant because the units worked in protected environment. There was no sense of competition. It (competition) comes when defence manufacturing doors are open to private industry,” he said.
Although Bhamre said that doors were opened to private players in the defence manufacturing sector in 2009, there was no level playing field, and this was the reason why from 2009 to 2014 no private industry invested in it.
