Defence public sector units have started to increasingly look at startups for small, low-cost Indian innovations to reduce imports. But they cannot guarantee them quick orders or big bucks in their highly quality-conscious niche.
This was the candid picture presented on Friday to newbie entrepreneurs by three Bengaluru-based defence biggies: Bharat Electronics Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and BEML Ltd.
The road to success is slow and hard, Ajit Kalghatgi, BEL's Director R&D, said at a seminar on the role of startups in defence.
Big PSUs need ideas that can quickly become working military devices and it can take at least three years. Novices entering defence electronics must brave stringent quality, reliability standards and upgrade constantly to stay in the race, he said.
BEL has initiated a plan of collaborative design with small companies and startups. "You may not succeed in solving the country's problem of reducing imports [which stand at 65 per cent and include] weapons, platforms and complex items. But you can contribute with the help of established players like the DPSUs by adding value in the indigenisation of many things that are already fielded," was his advice.
BEL CMD M.V. Gowtama said that their company, for one, has waived certain bidding norms for startups and will include them in its annual component buying plan currently worth around Rs. 2,000 crore, its told the gathering of around 50 entrepreneurs. The amount can double in about three years when the company expects to increase its turnover also to around Rs. 16,000 crore, he said.
The opportunities are in the government's plan to seal the north-western border - which needs millions of sensors, connecting them and analysing their data.
HAL supplies aircraft to the Air Force and BEML manufactures land equipment for the Army.
R.H. Muralidhara, BEML's General Manager (Defence Production), KGF complex, spoke of cost reduction after they indigenised their Army trucks. Can startups help BEML to reduce the weight of the trucks so that they can carry more equipment; or help them to monitor the tyre conditions better?
A. Selvaraj, General Manager Indigenisation, said HAL is also drafting a plan of collaboration in design for its products. It has 310 items to be made in the country and a corpus of Rs. 350 crore for services and products. Among them 3D modelling solutions, materials development.
