Emphasising the significance of Vizag as an important region in the defence sector, Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, Former Secretary, Dept of Defence R&D, Chairman of DRDO and Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri, Chairman Governing Body Aeronautical Development Agency said that it would be hugely beneficial to develop Vizag as a vibrant defence & Aerospace hub.
‘With coveted defence-related organizations like NSTL, Eastern Naval Command and Hindustan Shipyard, Vizag has always been a place of paramount significance for the Defence sector/ministry of defence’ said Dr Reddy addressing a CII interactive session in Vizag on promoting the defence sector.
The main focus of the session was to stimulate the Industry to design, develop and manufacture equipment for the defence sector and take their feedback to further improve the ease of doing business in the sector.
Role of the Private Sector
Highlighting the crucial role of the private industry in the defence sector, he said that there is a huge opportunity for private companies to participate and benefit from the opportunities that it presents.
‘Under DcPP i.e. Development cum production partner some private companies have already benefitted and become an important partner in manufacturing for the defence sector’ he noted.
DRDO introduced a policy on the selection of the Development cum Production Partner (DcPP) for DRDO-developed systems, which ensures the involvement of industries from the beginning of development cycle and leads to a reduction in the time frame of the development-to-induction cycle.
DRDO provides the relevant ‘know-how’ in the form of Technology Transfer Documents (TTD) and handholding support to the Indian industry. Technology is transferred to Development cum Production Partner (DcPP)/ Development Partner (DP) / Production Agency (PA) without any ToT Fee and to other industries with a one-time ToT Fee @5% of total project sanction cost.
Role of Startups
Dr Reddy also highlighted the role of iDEX in fostering innovation and technology development in Defence by engaging R&D institutes, academia, industries, startups and individual innovators.
‘Drones have captured the imagination of youngsters and today you see most of the drone startups are being created by them’ said Dr Reddy. Elaborating on some of the government of India’s initiatives in the defence sector over the past few years Dr Reddy said that the country is poised for further growth.
‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi has undertaken 3 critical steps to aggrandize our defence sector. Make In India, Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make for the World.
All these 3 initiatives yielded great results over the past 7-8 years’ said former secretary and chairman Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO).
Defence Exports
Speaking on exports Dr Reddy said that India’s Defence exports crossed Rs 16000 crores last year.
