Private sector evinces interest in supplying to defence

Awareness and interest in supplying to the defence sector is said to be growing among the domestic private industries as the indigenisation programme gains momentum.

Subrata Saha, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Planning and Systems), was in the city on Friday to talk on “Make in India – Defence”, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry – Coimbatore Zone.

He told

The Hindu that the Army was reaching out to the private sector through such meetings that were organised by industrial associations and had covered five cities, including Coimbatore, since January this year.

It planned to go to more places, such as Jammu, Nasik, Aurangabad and Kanpur. These are all industrial hubs and the private industries were able to understand the requirements of the Army and know more about the procedures they need to follow to supply to the defence sector. For the Army, it was an opportunity to learn about the capabilities of the industries.

Such meetings brought about larger network of suppliers.

“The user is coming to the industry to talk. It promotes better understanding,” he added.

The Army was also looking at engaging with the academia to share its requirements. There was an increasing trend of response to the requirements, he said.

The Army’s requirements were more suited for Make in India.

The manufacture and supply could be for main warfare items, smaller systems, or for current and on-going operations. There were different categories under which the Indian private sector can supply to the defence.

The most preferred category was Buy Indian (design, developed and manufactured items). “Inherent in the categorisation is indigenisation,” he said.