The Union Government is looking at doubling the number of Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the defence and aerospace sectors in the next four to five years, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said here on Wednesday.
Launching defence activities through the Codissia Defence Innovation and Atal Incubation Centre (CDIIC) at a virtual meet, he said the industrial eco-system and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Coimbatore should now get into the defence and aerospace sectors, which are at a watershed moment in the country.
With several initiatives of the government to indigenise and encourage innovation in the sectors, there were huge opportunities for MSMEs. The units should look at not just producing for the Indian needs but also explore export opportunities. Global OEMs are open to sourcing from India, he said.
Mr. Ajay Kumar exhorted the MSMEs to ensure that the products that they made were of high quality and cost-effective. Further, testing and certification procedures need to be bench-marked against the best in the world. “This is an area we need to start doing some work. The cost should come down for testing and certification and there can be tremendous use of technology for it. The Codissia (Coimbatore District Small Industries Association) and CDIIC should partner with the government to identify other areas that can be taken up under indigenisation and innovation,” he said.
Mission Director of Atal Innovation Mission Ramanan Ramanathan said the mission had selected 100 centres, including the one set up in Coimbatore. The aim was to create world class start-ups and provide facilities for them to develop the best products.
Sanjay Jaju, Joint Secretary (DIP), Department of Defence Production, said 50 products had been identified for indigenisation with CDIIC in four years.
K. Gopal, MSME Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, said the State government was taking a lot of efforts to push Defence-related activities in the Defence corridor in the State.
V. Sundaram, director of CDIIC, said 10 incubatees would be selected for incubation this year and four of them had been identified. Another six would be finalised soon. The CDIIC would look at having testing and prototyping facilities too. He urged the government to come out with a single tender process for MSMEs.
R. Ramamurthy, president of Coimbatore District Small Industries Association, said the plan was to make Coimbatore a Defence hub in another 10 years.
The CDIIC signed agreements with 5 Base Repair Depot, Air Force and Naval Ship Repair Yard, Kochi, for indigenisation of their components and products. Rear Admiral Deepak Bansal, Admiral Superintendent of Yard, Naval Ship Repair Yard, Indian Navy, and Air Commodore P.K. Sreekumar, Air Officer, Commanding, 5 Base Repair Depot, Indian Air Force, were present at the launch event.
A press release from NSRY said, the MoU allowed it to use world class facilities of MSMEs based in Coimbatore for hardware development, material testing and analysis and obsolescence mitigation programmes in respect of legacy equipment. In addition to this, the Naval Yard would be exposed to new manufacturing techniques, Industrial Safety and Quality Assurance that were being pursued by modern MSMEs.
