MSME entrepreneurs in the city feel that the exclusive park mooted by the State government for them should be earmarked for manufacturing defence components.
With Visakhapatnam turning into a hub for defence-based industries, naval establishments and laboratories, CII former president and Maple Software CEO G.S. Shiv Kumar told The Hindu that an exclusive MSME Park for defence equipment should be set up in the district.
“The CII is planning to hold meetings with the officials concerned and the stakeholders to explain about incentives being offered to the MSMEs in the defence sector, apart from interactive sessions with venture capitalists and AP State Financial Corporation on how to build the working capital,” Mr. Shiv Kumar said. The city, along with its neighbourhood, is home for the headquarters of Eastern Naval Command (ENC), INS Kalinga, Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Shipbuilding Centre and Naval Alternate Operational Base. MSME entrepreneurs have already approached Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and IT Minister N. Lokesh with a plea to concede their demand. The government has already announced that it would establish a MSME park in each Assembly constituency. The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) has been told to earmark space for the proposed parks to encourage downstream and ancillary units. This will lead to creation of strong vendor base and creation of employment opportunities.
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Make in India
With the ‘Make in India’ initiative aiming to achieve defence industry turnover of ₹1.7 lakh crore by 2025, it will certainly offer a window of opportunities to the MSME units, indigenisation and transfer of technology from foreign collaborators.
According to Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) vice-president Jayant D. Patil, the government has decided to call for tenders worth ₹4 lakh crore in the next four years. Defence exports would go up from ₹2,000-₹2,500 crore this year to more than $1 billion by 2020 and $5 billion by 2025, he said. Mr. Patil, who is also the Director (Defence Business) in Larsen & Toubro, said the MSMEs had a bright future due to ambitious defence expansion plan. “The Indian Navy has placed orders for 32 ships, which are now at various stages of construction. The target is to increase the fleet size from 136 to 200 by 2025 as per the long-term plan of the Union Ministry of Defence. All this will lead to development of good vendor base by local entrepreneurs,” he added.
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Santosh Patnaik