Prime Minister seeks self-reliance in defence production

PM Narendra Modi held a meeting on Thursday to discuss reforms for the defence industry and make it self-reliant. The meeting had Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and senior officials.

According to him, reforms in the defence sector would fulfill the short and long-term needs of the armed forces while giving a boost to the economy in the backdrop of Covid-19.

The discussions involved reforming ordnance factories, streamlining procurement procedures, focused resource allocation, encouraging R&D along with innovation, attracting investment in critical defence technologies and promoting exports.

The PM laid emphasis on positioning India among the top countries of the world in the defence and aerospace sectors in terms of design and production. The discussions involved participation of the public and private sectors for attracting domestic and foreign investment in the defence sector.

It was discussed that defence expenditure be economized and the savings be channelised for strategic defence capital acquisition. Issues relating to defence procurement processes, indigenization of spares, transfer of technology and expanding presence in international supply chains, among many others, were deliberated..