Aero India 2023 CEOs Meet: India Seeks To Move Beyond Assembly Work In Defence, Prioritise Cutting-Edge Manufacturing

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called upon Indian and global industry leaders to support the Government’s endeavour to design, develop and manufacture cutting-edge products, using critical technologies, within the country to attain complete ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence, with the overall objective of achieving shared global peace and prosperity.

He was addressing over 70 CEOs of local and global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) during a round table organised as part of Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru on Monday (13 February).

The Aero India 2023 was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. It is being held at Air Force Station Yelahanka in Bengaluru.

Singh asserted that India does not want to remain just an assembly workshop and is looking to engage with friendly countries in defence and security based on sharing expertise and capabilities under the ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He assured industry leaders that the government is open to new ideas and is committed to fully harness the energy, entrepreneurial spirit and capability of private sector partners in the area of defence production.

The minister extended government’s full support towards removing obstacles and facilitating businesses.

Singh voiced the government’s resolve of nurturing a vibrant and world-class defence manufacturing industry, terming it as the key driver of Indian economy.

He enumerated a number of far-reaching reforms undertaken by Ministry of Defence to create a business-friendly climate in the country.

These include setting up of defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; simplification of industrial licensing processes; hike in cap on FDI in defence; opening of government trial and testing facilities for the private sector; increase in capital outlay for defence in Budget 2023-24 and launch of Technology Development Fund and Innovations for Defence Excellence.

He said these reforms will enable Indian defence products to compete with established global defence and aerospace companies.

Singh stressed that indigenisation is the mantra for India today, unlike in the past when import was the default option.

He appreciated the growing enthusiasm and greater participation of private players in defence production and expressed confidence that the CEOs Round Table will sow the seeds of successful new ventures and partnerships, boost investment, expand indigenous manufacturing and bolster aerospace and defence ecosystem in India.

The CEOs Round Table was organised on the theme ‘Sky is not the limit: opportunities beyond boundaries’.

The participating companies included Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industries, General Atomics, Liebherr Group, Raytheon Technologies, Safran, General Authority of Military Industries, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited, BEML Limited, Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge, Dynamatic Technologies and BrahMos Aerospace.