Parrikar engages pvt firms to boost indigenous arms

For the first time since the private sector was allowed into defence production in 2001, a defence minister has met private sector defence CEOs face-to-face to discuss the role they could play in boosting defence production in India. On Saturday, at the Taj Vivanta Hotel in Goa, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar - alone, except for a personal secretary - met for three hours captains of private defence industry. Not one of his ministry's five secretary-level officers was in attendance. Nor was anyone from the public sector invited. Major issues discussed included the 'Make' category of procurement; ways of harnessing micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs); and boosting defence exports. Industrialists who flew down to Goa for the meeting included Baba Kalyani from the Kalyani Group, and the defence vertical chiefs of Bharat Forge, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Advanced Systems, Godrej & Boyce, Ashok Leyland, Punj Lloyd, Alpha Design Technologies, Zen Technologies, Data Patterns and Pipavav Shipyard. Local Goa group, Dempo, also sent a representative. The meeting was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry. Business Standard was briefed on the meeting by three CEOs who attended it. All of them agree that after 13 years of operating from the sidelines under three successive defence ministers - George Fernandes of the National Democratic Alliance; and Pranab Mukherjee and A K Antony of the United Progressive Alliance - Parrikar's readiness to interact face-to-face is an encouraging indicator of change. "We spoke frankly and Parrikar listened carefully, interjected frequently and took notes during the meeting.





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Parrikar engages pvt firms to boost indigenous arms | Business Standard News

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