Focus is on domestic defence production, says Nirmala Sitharaman
Nirmala said at present there are several manufacturers who send their components to various big vectors and platforms manufactured outside.
Chennai: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the government was focusing on promoting domestic defence production to build capacities that meet the needs of the Indian armed forces.
Towards this goal, Prime Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi had came up with the idea of two defence corridors - one in Tamil Nadu and the other in Uttar Pradesh, she said.
Nirmala said at present there are several manufacturers who send their components to various big vectors and platforms manufactured outside. “Why is it that we won’t be able to produce those very vectors and platforms in India? And that is one of the reasons -- that by announcing the corridor, we have invited quite a lot of manufacturers from abroad to come, choose the location where they want to establish their unit and start producing defence equipment,” she said.
Addressing the Tamil Nadu government’s second Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) here, Nirmala recalled that holding of the Defence Expo last year marked the first time the event was held in Tamil Nadu. Following that, several industries evinced interest in undertaking defence related manufacturing in the state, she added. She also assured the Centre’s full cooperation to realise Tamil Nadu’s aspirations for greater industrialisation.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister K. Palaniswami said around 35 companies from Tamil Nadu, including MRF, had signed Transfer of Technology agreements with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Besides, an aerospace and defence components manufacturing unit was being established in Coimbatore by LMW, he said, adding that “many more such projects are on the anvil.”