'Stakeholders will be consulted on defence procurement policy'

THIRUVIDANTHAI:

Major stakeholders, including foreign and domestic firms, will be consulted on the defence production and procurement policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, asserting that the government was attempting to give a major push to military manufacturing in India.

In his address at the Defence Expo here, Modi, in the presence of top executives of global defence majors, said the government was conscious that creating a defence industrial complex is far from simple but it was sincerely working to achieve it.

We are committed to building a defence industrial complex that has room for everyone -- public sector, private sector, as well as foreign firms, he said.

The government has been projecting the 10th edition of the biennial event here as the first major attempt to transform India into a hub of military manufacturing

We know that a lot needs to be done, and many pieces of this puzzle need to fit together, the prime minister said. The Defence Ministry last month had come out with a draft policy which envisages achieving a turnover of Rs 1,70,000 crore in military goods and services by 2025 by promoting the domestic defence industry. The policy is likely to be finalised in the next two months.

In the weeks ahead, we will undertake extensive consultations with all stakeholders, including both Indian and foreign companies, about our defence production and defence procurement policy space. I call upon all of you to actively participate in this exercise, he said.

India is expected to spend close to USD 300 billion in the next five years in procuring defence equipment and almost all major global defence firms are eying a slice of it. Our aim is not just to discuss, but to draw the right lessons. Our intention is not to lecture, but to listen. Our goal is not merely to tinker, but to transform, Modi said.

The prime minister also launched an Innovation for Defence Excellence' scheme. Under the scheme, defence innovation hubs will be set up throughout the country to provide necessary incubation and infrastructure support to the start-ups in the defence area.

Modi said the government has made a humble beginning over the last few years to strengthen India's defence industry sector. On defence manufacturing licenses, on defence offsets, on defence exports clearances, on Foreign Direct Investment in defence manufacturing, and on reforming our defence procurement, we have taken many steps, he said.