Calls upon Indian & global industry leaders to support the Government’s endeavour
“We’re committed to fully harness the energy, spirit & capability of private sector partners”
Government-Industry partnership based on equality & mutual trust: Shri Rajnath Singh
New Delhi:- Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has called upon Indian & global industry leaders to support the Government’s endeavour to design, develop and manufacture cutting-edge products, using critical technologies, within the country to attain complete ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence, with the overall objective of achieving shared global peace and prosperity. He was addressing over 70 CEOs of local and global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) during a Round Table organised as part of Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru on February 13, 2023. 
The Raksha Mantri asserted that India does not want to remain just an assembly workshop and is looking to engage with friendly countries in defence and security based on sharing expertise and capabilities under the ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He assured industry leaders that the government is open to new ideas and is committed to fully harness the energy, entrepreneurial spirit and capability of private sector partners in the area of defence production. He extended government’s full support towards removing obstacles and facilitating businesses.
Rajnath Singh voiced the Government’s resolve of nurturing a vibrant and world-class defence manufacturing industry, terming it as the key driver of Indian economy. He enumerated a number of far-reaching reforms undertaken by Ministry of Defence to create a business-friendly climate in the country. These include setting up of defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; simplification of industrial licensing processes; hike in cap on FDI in defence; opening of government trial and testing facilities for the private sector; increase in capital outlay for defence in Budget 2023-24 and launch of Technology Development Fund and Innovations for Defence Excellence. He said, these reforms will enable Indian defence products to compete with established global defence and aerospace companies.
The Raksha Mantri stressed that indigenisation is the mantra for India today, unlike in the past when import was the default option. He appreciated the growing enthusiasm & greater participation of private players in defence production and expressed confidence that the CEOs Round Table will sow the seeds of successful new ventures and partnerships, boost investment, expand indigenous manufacturing and bolster aerospace and defence ecosystem in India. He stated that the partnership between Government and the Industry is based on equality & mutual trust.
The CEOs Round Table was organised on the theme ‘Sky is not the limit: opportunities beyond boundaries’. The participating companies included Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industries, General Atomics, Liebherr Group, Raytheon Technologies, Safran, General Authority of Military Industries, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited, BEML Limited, Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge, Dynamatic Technologies and BrahMos Aerospace.
In-depth discussions took place between Industry partners and Government during the meeting with an eye to bolster ‘Make in India’ campaign. The aim was to increase ‘Ease of doing business’ in India and provide a favourable platform to OEMs to manufacture within the country.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande and Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane also attended the Round Table.
