Indian
government asks for private sector involvement in defence production
16 November 2007
New Delhi:
Minister of state for defence production, Rao Inderjit Singh has asked private
industry to seize business opportunity in the defence industry even as India gallops
towards a developed economy and the armed forces transform into a lean and mean
fighting machine.
Addressing an international seminar on Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs)
here today, the first of its kind in the country, Rao Inderjit cited success stories
in private-public partnership in developing weapon systems, notably the Light
Combat Aircraft, Tejas, the Prithvi family of missiles and the Brahmos supersonic
cruise missile and Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRLs). All
this has been made possible since the government threw open defence production
to private sector in 2001, he added. Rao Inderjit further said the government
encourages the DRDO and public-private industry to harness synergies and meet
the huge potential for the needs of the armed forces. In an RFP (Request
for Proposal) for 126 Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) issued a few months ago,
the defence ministry has hiked the 'offset' value of the contract amount, worth
thousands of crores, from the stipulated 30 to 50 per cent for building indigenous
capabilities and percolating the benefits to the domestic industry. In
his address, the chief of army staff, General Deepak Kapoor hoped scientists and
engineers, based on their experience in designing the Main Battle Tank Arjun,
would be able to develop a more versatile AFV for the army's future needs. He
said the Arjun tank took a longer time to build, as it was the first attempt at
indigenously developing an integrated and highly sophisticated mobile weapons
platform. Earlier,
Lt General KDS Shekhawat, DG (mechanised forces), in his theme-address, emphasized
on the need for a compressed timeframe if the vast resources pumped into developing
war machines are to retain cutting edge technology. A large number of
Indian and foreign companies participated in the two-day seminar hosted jointly
by the directorate general of mechanised forces and the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII). Mahindra
Defence Systems, a subsidiary of leading automobile maker Mahindra and Mahindra,
unveiled their Light Specialist Vehicle 'Axe' on the sidelines of the seminar.
A company spokesman said the all-terrain vehicle, which can accommodate six/nine
soldiers, would undergo field user trials by the army in Uttarakhand next month.
Designed prior to the army's RFP, the Axe can be shielded against 7.62 mm armoured
piercing. Besides
Mahindra, Ford Motors has also showcased its Armoured and Special Purpose Vehicles
while TS Kisan and Co. is displaying spares and accessories for T-72 and T-90
tanks and the BMP-II. Among
others, INTEL Design Systems has also put up an array of chips with defence applications.
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