NEW DELHI: Pushing for ‘Make in India’ initiative in the defence sector, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman has issued instructions to her ministry’s officials for addressing top military firms' concerns over licensing and tax issues. Her directions came in the backdrop of BJP led NDA government’s commitment to facilitating private sector's participation in defence manufacturing.
Speaking with representatives of industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), including top executives of a number of Indian and foreign defence firms, minister discussed various issues relating to implementation of the government's 'Make in India' initiative in the defence sector.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, the defence minister issued directions to the team of officers headed by the Defence Secretary for time-bound action on key issues raised at the round table, including the resolution of licensing with the Home Ministry, tax-related matters with the Finance Ministry and commercialisation of technologies developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
“A wide range of issues, including matters relating to licensing, taxes and duties and ways to speed up the procurement processes were discussed at the meeting,” statement reads out.
Official claim that ways to streamline the offsets regime and creation of a tiered defence industrial ecosystem with full integration and skilling of manpower in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector were also deliberated upon during the meeting.
“The present government is fully committed to removing all the stumbling blocks and facilitating private participation in defence manufacturing with the objective of bringing high value foreign investment into the defence sector, building indigenous capabilities, fostering absorption and assimilation of technologies, and ensuring self-reliance in meeting the country’s defence needs by providing a level playing field,” Sitharam reported to have conveyed to the gathering..
Sitharaman conveyed to the top executives of the private defence industry that the government was "fully committed" to removing all the stumbling blocks and facilitating private participation in defence manufacturing with the objective of bringing high value foreign investment into the sector, officials said.
She told them that focus of the initiative is to ensure self-reliance in meeting the country's defence needs and that the government will provide a level playing field to the industry.