The Defence Ministry is taking efforts to modernise the sector intensively under the ‘Make in India’ banner in a bid to reduce dependence on other countries in the defence supply chain, Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told journalists in Coonoor on Friday. But putting the concept to practice would entail initial cost overheads for the country. “Cost of production would become cheaper in the long run,” he added.
Mr. Parrikar was here on a one-day visit to the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC). He said that from November 2014 (when he assumed office), the country had signed agreements for modernisation to the tune of Rs. 90,000 crore. “Seventy per cent of the projects were under the ‘Make in India’ banner,” he said.
Of the Rs. 1.05 lakh crore worth projects earmarked for modernisation and cleared recently, 88 per cent of the projects would be made in India.
According to him, modernisation of the defence sector to suit current needs would happen in about three to ten years.
India has been successful in bringing border infiltration by militants under control , he said.
Women in Defence
“When Arabs have a fighter bomber, why not us?” Mr. Parrikar asked. Stating that women are equally or at times could be more capable than men in the defence sector, he said that 10 core areas to commission women in the armed forces have been identified. They will be commissioned in six of those areas shortly.
In the four other areas, they would be accommodated after providing the necessary infrastructure and facilities, he said and expressed the need for out-of-the-box thinking to ensure better inclusion of women in the defence sector. He noted that for the first time, a set of five women fighter pilots will undergo training at DSSC.
Training
Currently 35 defence officers from 24 countries are undergoing training at DSSC, which is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. Officers from Sri Lanka are not admitted here (in recent times) due to local protests and also considering the level of comfort of officers from that country due to the political situation prevailing here. They are, however, undergoing training at other DSSCs, he added.
Homage paid to martyrs
Earlier in the day, Mr. Parrikar paid homage to martyrs by placing a wreath at the war memorial. He also interacted with veterans and officers of the college and addressed students of the 71{+s}{+t}staff course.
The Minister's arrival was delayed by an hour due to inclement weather. He reached Sulur Base Repair Depot of the Air Force in Coimbatore, by a special flight around 12.45 p.m. and was scheduled to reach Coonoor by an army helicopter at 1.15 pm.
The Minister, however, arrived in Coonoor by road at 2.15 p.m. On Saturday morning, he is scheduled to leave Coonoor by helicopter at 7 a.m.
