India does not want to remain just an assembly workshop: Rajnath Singh

Defence minister Rajnath Singh Monday sought the industry’s support on the government’s endeavour to reach complete self-reliance in defence, through the design, development and manufacturing of cutting-edge products, using critical technologies, the defence ministry said.

Singh made the comments while addressing over 70 CEOs of local and global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) during a round table organised as part of Aero India 2023. More than 75 companies, including 28 foreign OEMs from 15 countries and domestic companies and Defence PSUs, participated in the discussion aimed at forging partnerships between domestic and global Industries of the aerospace and defence sector. There was official participation from Sudan and Saudi Arabia as well.

Companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industries, General Atomics, Safran, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited, BEML Limited, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge, Dynamatic Technologies, and BrahMos Aerospace participated in the discussion.

Emphasising 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, Singh told the industry leaders that the government is open to new ideas and is committed to harnessing the energy, entrepreneurial spirit and capability of the private sector partners in the area of defence production.

The defence minister said 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.”

“This platform was to address the present and future global needs and discuss the importance of supply chain strategy and operations as the world deals with the aftermath of the pandemic and global disruptions,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

Several foreign OEMs made announcements regarding their plans for investments and collaborations including Safran, Boeing, Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Thales in the defence and aerospace sector.

Read More at https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-assembly-workshop-rajnath-singh-8443404/