SOURCE: TNN
Union minister of state for defence Shripad Naik said on Friday that in the current hostile geopolitical situation, there is a greater need to guard India’s coastline and territorial waters. Addressing senior naval officers, and shipyard and MSME representatives, Naik stressed on the need to reduce India’s reliance on defence imports.
He said that manufacturing for defence forces is a massive opportunity for local suppliers, as the Indian Navy itself has orders worth around $60 billion till 2020-30. “We need to be on our guard due to the current geopolitical scenario, as we remain surrounded by a hostile neighbourhood,” said Naik at the virtual meet organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in collaboration with Goa Shipyard Limited.
“To counter the threats, India needs to keep its coastline and surrounding waters under constant surveillance. Proactive and preventive capabilities are essential,” the minister said. Naik said that modernisation of the armed forces and indigenisation has emerged as a focus area in recent months, but that the efforts would pay off only with industrial support from the private sector.
“There is a need to consolidate the Indian maritime defence industry in the best possible way for the growth of the Indian maritime sector,” Naik said.“We should aspire to be a quality shipbuilding nation like Japan or Korea, which can be possible when Indian industry is equipped with in-house, state of the art technology at par with global benchmarks.”
The Indian Navy’s assistant chief of material (modernisation) Rear Admiral S N Alamanda, shed light on the navy’s modernisation plans and future acquisitions, and urged private players to conduct research and develop equipment that is currently being procured from foreign companies.
Alamanda said that as India’s shipbuilding industry matures, the country could become a hub for defence shipbuilding and exports to foreign countries. CII organised the buyer-seller virtual meet with a focus on original equipment manufacturers and vendors from the sectors dealing with component, turn-key contracts and sub-contract works, with an aim to create a strong supplier base to strengthen indigenous manufacturing.
“We should focus more on R&D to develop AI, enable processes to cut costs and enable material savings. The segment is receiving a much-needed push,” said Naik.
