Visakhapatnam: ‘Private sector will have a great opportunity in defence indigenisation’

Visakhapatnam : In order to ensure that more industry partners join the journey of ‘Atmanirbharta,’ the Navy has initiated ‘industry yatras’ wherein multidisciplinary teams visit various industrial corridors to match existing industrial capabilities with navy’s requirements, said Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.

Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry’s southern regional council meeting here on Friday, the Vice Admiral said over the years, the Indian Navy has surged ahead in enhancing the indigenous content in ship and submarine design, construction material, machinery, equipment, and systems. “As we strive towards acquiring a force-level of about 170 ships and submarines by 2035, our thrust remains steadfastly on indigenous design and construction, as also, progressive increase in the indigenous content of systems onboard these platforms. Currently, 67 ships are under construction of which 65 are in Indian shipyards,” the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief informed. Expressing optimism over Atmanirbharta campaign due to the supportive policy framework, the Vice Admiral mentioned that a dedicated organisation has been put in place in the navy to support Atmanirbharta, wherein the Directorate of Indigenisation (DoI) at NHQ, and Indigenisation Units at command level are steering a large number of indigenised projects for import substitution, he added.

The DoI has linked 5,629 items in inventory as import substitutes that have been indigenously developed. DoI is currently steering 107 projects amounting to Rs 3,218.5 crore. Of these, 52 contracts amounting to Rs 680 crore have already been concluded, the Vice Admiral informed.

Further he stated that the navy is also progressing projects with more than 160 MSMEs, startups and large industry, and is at the forefront with 100 projects under iDEX scheme, 25 projects under the TDF scheme, and 37 projects under MAKE scheme.

At the Eastern Naval Command, there is a continuous engagement of MSMEs at various levels. Discussions are in progress with firms located in Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ) towards harnessing the expertise available in common fields of interest like 3D printing and scanning, he said.

The southern region council meeting of the CII was attended by over 60 leading CEOs and captain of industry from half a dozen southern states, including Kamal Bali, Chairman, CII southern region and president and MD, Volvo Group India, R Nandini, deputy chairperson, CII Southern Region and Managing Director, Chandra Textiles, among others.