Defence manufacturing hit due to Covid-19: Rajnath Singh
Acknowledging the hardships faced by the defence industry during an e-conclave, Rajnath Singh said defence manufacturing had been hit harder than other sectors as the government was the only buyer of defence products.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the lockdown to combat the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) had hit the manufacturing sector, disrupted supply chains and the defence industry had also been affected due to the strict confinement measures.
Acknowledging the hardships faced by the defence industry during an e-conclave, Singh said defence manufacturing had been hit harder than other sectors as the government was the only buyer of defence products. The SIDM MSME Conclave 2020 was jointly organized by the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the department of defence production.
The minister said the financial package and reforms announced by the government to give a push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ (Self-Reliant India Movement) would strengthen micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector and generate employment.
He said MSMEs were the backbone of Indian economy as they accelerated gross domestic product growth, brought in valuable foreign exchange through exports and provided employment opportunities.
The minister said that more than 8,000 MSMEs were an integral part of the production process of the ordnance factories, defence public sector undertakings, dockyards and base repair depots, and their share equalled nearly 20% of the overall the production of the organisations. He said the government was committed to keeping the MSMEs strong.
Singh praised the contribution of MSMEs in India’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic. “I am very happy to know that SIDM has accelerated the manufacturing of DRDO designed personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, masks, ventilator parts…In less than two months, we have not only met our domestic demand, but we can also think of helping neighbouring countries in the coming time,” a ministry statement quoted Singh as saying.
Talking about the PM’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan,’ the minister said the campaign would provide a raft of opportunities to the industry and help create millions of jobs.
From raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence manufacturing to creating a separate budget for buying locally-made military hardware and notifying a list of weapons/equipment that cannot be imported, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week announced measures to boost self reliance in the defence sector.
The other steps included corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), indigenisation of imported spares and setting realistic qualitative requirements for weapons to support the local industry. The FDI limit in the defence manufacturing sector under the automatic route has been hiked from 49% to 74%.
