India to modernise defence sector; MSMEs encouraged to boost manufacturing

Subhash Bhamre, Union Minister of State for Defence, said India would invest huge resources on modernisation of the defence sector and boost local manufacturing of defence equipment, PTI reported.

The minister added that a lot of defence equipment is currently being imported. He called for better collaboration between the defence sector and the industry to reverse this trend, and encourage small businesses to become more involved. He also urged industry leaders to invest in the country's defence sector.

Bhamre said he had travelled around the country to understand difficulties faced by the defence industry, especially the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). He was speaking at a seminar on 'Defence Industry Indigenisation', organised by defence-related website bharatshakti.in and Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture.

"When we talk about the defence sector and its requirement, I must flag that technology upgradation has invaded the battlefield in a major way. Technology upgradation is extremely rapid. The cost of importing technology is very expensive," Bhamre said.

The government, industry, research and development (R&D) establishments, and the academia have to come together to evolve India technologies for the country's requirements, the minister said..

"The industry needs to know what the armed forces are looking for. Similarly, armed forces also understand that R&D and business establishments require time to develop a world-class product, so such initiatives are a big step giving impetus to efforts of indigenisation in the defence sector," he added.

Bhamre said private players, especially large Indian companies, need to pursue R&D as part of their business models to retain relevance of their product portfolios. "Pune is important because it is also a important industrial hub with adequate industrial activity that could be spurred by the industry increasing its footprint in the defence sector," he said.

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