Odisha invites industries to tap opportunities in defence, aerospace sectors

Odisha invites industries to tap opportunities in defence, aerospace sectors


Bhubaneswar: Industries secretary made a strong pitch to the defence industry to tap the opportunities that Odisha had to offer in the aerospace and defence sectors.

He was addressing at the ‘Aerospace & Defence Manufacturing Session’ at the Make in Odisha Conclave 2018 here on Tuesday.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is the industry partner for the event.

Chopra briefed the industry on the comprehensive ecosystem in place and the policy measures that have been initiated, including the recently announced Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Policy aimed at creating a robust defence industrial base.

Ravin Kulshrestha, Director Planning and Coordination, Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, reaffirmed Government of India’s support to the defence industry and spoke about the initiatives by the Government of India and the opportunities that are available in the defence sector.

Kulshrestha detailed the enabling factors for MSMEs to contribute to India’s defence production.

Maj Gen PS Bhatia VSM, Commandant Army Air Defence College, Indian Army, emphasised on collaborative approach on the part of the user, industry and academia to cater to the needs of the armed forces.

He added that in the last two years industry and academia have come out with path-breaking solutions to the problem statements of Indian Army and mentioned that further strengthening the user-industry-academia interface will be a win-win situation for all.

While advocating a strong public-private partnership, D K Hota, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, spelt out the initiatives taken by BEML to develop a strong defence vendor base across the country.