With the aim of achieving a manufacturing turnover of $25 bn or ₹1,75,000 crore, including exports of $5 bn in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Monday put out a draft ‘Defence Production & Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020’ for public feedback.
“The DPEPP 2020 is envisaged as overarching guiding document of MoD to provide a focused, structured and significant thrust to defence production capabilities of the country for self-reliance and exports,” the Ministry said in a statement. Inputs and comments on the draft policy can be sent upto August 17.
“The share of domestic procurement in overall defence procurement is about 60%. In order to enhance procurement from domestic industry, it is incumbent that procurement is doubled from the current ₹70,000 crore to ₹1,40,000 crore by 2025,” the draft document states.
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On increasing defence exports, the policy states that Defence Attachés have been mandated and are supported to promote export of indigenous defence equipment abroad. This effort would be supplemented by selected Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU) which would work as export promotion agencies for certain countries with earnings linked to success fee, to promote export of defence products abroad. “Subject to strategic considerations, domestically manufactured defence products will be promoted through Government to Government agreements and Lines of Credit/Funding.”
Opportunities in aerospace industry
The opportunities in the aerospace industry have been identified in the following segments - aircraft build work, aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO), helicopters, engine manufacturing and MRO work, line replaceable units, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and upgrades and retrofits.
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Given the long time lines involved in defence procurement a Project Management Unit (PMU) will be set up with representation from the Services for estimation of development and production lead times specifications and technologies involved, life cycle costs and maintenance requirements of platforms, equipment and weapon systems.
In addition, with the aim to move away from licensed production to design, develop and produce indigenously and own the design rights and Intellectual Property (IP) of the systems projected in Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) of the Services a Technology Assessment Cell (TAC) would be created. The TAC would also assess the industrial capability for design, development and production, including re-engineering for production of major systems such as armoured vehicles, submarines, fighter aircraft, helicopters and radars with the major industries in the country, the policy states.
As already announced by the government, the policy states that a negative list of weapons and platforms will be notified with year-wise time lines for placing an embargo on import of such items from those dates.