BENGALURU: Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said that narrow-minded policies had led to lack of indigenous production in the defence sector, but hailed the latest efforts in this regard by defence PSUs. The Minister, who also holds the portfolios of Finance and Corporate Affairs, inaugurated the production line of a 5.8 ton category Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) — Hawk-i — designed by HAL and dedicated the chopper to the nation at HAL airport here on Saturday.
The helicopter can operate under extreme weather conditions at different altitudes, hot and cold weather and Himalayan altitudes. The LCH has reportedly demonstrated capability to land and take off from the Siachen Range with considerable load, fuel and weapons that are beyond any other combat helicopters. Speaking on the occasion, Jaitely said a change was overdue with regard to increased indigenous development of defence equipment.
He hailed HAL’s confidence to develop Hawk-i and LCH. “We are moving in the right direction in evolving ourselves into a major manufacturing hub and even supply to other countries. In this context, today’s experience has been encouraging,” he said. Jaitley also visited two BEML plants at Kolar and Bengaluru respectively where he launched indigenously developed equipment — a 180-ton excavator and an 850 HP bulldozer.
He termed it ‘ironical’ that India had to buy so much of its defence equipment from other countries in spite of being adept at technology-related fields. He also hailed Bharat Electronics Ltd’s development of a “state-of-the-art training institute and the country’s largest facility for testing radar waves.” He said there was a need for the nation’s resources to bolster defence preparedness.