Ministry of Defence: “Until October 2022, 595 industrial licenses have been issued to 366 companies operating in the defense sector”
By Vikas Gupta
Defence News of India, 20 Dec 22
Painting a mixed picture of defense exports and imports, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) told parliament on Monday that foreign defense purchases had risen to 50,061 crore rupees in 2021-22 from 37,030 crore. crores of rupees in 2017-18.
Meanwhile, defense and aerospace exports increased to Rs 12,815 crore from Rs 4,682 crore during the same period.
The volume of imports and exports made in the defense sector from 2017 to 2022, by year, is presented below:
(Rs. in crores)
|
Year |
Export authorizations issued |
Overseas Sourcing* |
|
2017-18 |
4,682 |
37,030 |
|
2018-19 |
10,746 |
45,705 |
|
2019-20 |
9,116 |
47,961 |
|
2020-21 |
8,435 |
53 118 |
|
2021-22 |
12,815 |
50,061 |
*Foreign purchases include purchases made for the purchase of defense stores/equipment in the Income and Capital segments.
Innovation improvements
The Ministry of Defense also told parliament on Monday that there had been good progress in the defense innovation ecosystem, dubbed “Innovations for Defense Excellence” or (iDEX).
The iDEX program was launched in April 2018 to foster innovation and technological development in the fields of defense and aerospace by involving industries such as medium, small and micro-enterprises (MSMEs), start-ups ups, individual innovators, research and development (R&D) institutes and universities.
“Under iDEX, 233 issues were opened, 310 start-ups were engaged, 140 contracts were signed,” the MoD said.
Additionally, an ‘iDEX Prime’ framework was launched under iDEX in 2022 to support start-ups with grants of up to Rs 10 crore, to enable the development of high-end solutions, the MoD said in a statement. written response.
“As of October 2022, a total of 595 industrial licenses have been issued to 366 companies operating in the defense sector,” the defense ministry said.
On Friday, the MoD had said in response to a question on indigenization: “The value of indigenous defense production for the financial years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 is Rs 84,643 crore and Rs 94,846 crore respectively.”
To achieve Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) and realize the “Made in India” goal, the MoD cited the establishment of two Defense Industrial Corridors (DICs) – one in Uttar Pradesh and the other in Tamil Nadu .
Six nodes – Agra, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur and Lucknow – have been identified to develop the Uttar Pradesh Defense Industrial Corridor (UPDIC), the Ministry of Defense said.
Similarly, five nodes – Chennai, Coimbatore, Hosur, Salem and Tiruchirappalli have been identified to develop the Tamil Nadu Defense Industrial Corridor (TNDIC).
According to the government of Uttar Pradesh (UP), 105 Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) have been signed with industries, worth potential investments of Rs 12,139 crore. Already, Rs 2,422 crore has been invested in UPDIC.
A total of 1,608 hectares of land have been acquired for the development of UPDIC.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government claims that arrangements have been made through MoUs etc. for a potential investment of Rs 11,794 crore by 53 industries. Already, Rs 3,847 crore has been invested in TNDIC.
A total of 910 hectares of land have been acquired for the development of TNDIC.
Artillery Factory Board
Seven new Defense Public Sector Enterprises (DPSU) spun off from the former Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) were incorporated as public companies (wholly owned by central government) under the Companies Act 2013 in October 2021 .
The Ministry of Defense told parliament on Friday that the government had taken steps to hold and support these new defense companies. For this, the pending OFB withdrawals have been grandfathered and converted into deemed contracts worth around Rs 70,776 crore for the next five years.
These reputable contracts provide annual targets for product delivery. Each year, 60% of that year’s goal amount would be paid by New DSU Services as an advance in accordance with the terms set out in the deemed contract.
Defense Public Sector Companies (DPSU)
The advances provide working capital to new DPSUs to expand their customer base, including exports to increase the volume of defense production. DPSUs seek export opportunities through interaction with Defense Attachés at Indian Embassies and Missions abroad.
