Parrikar… India plans to export Tejas fighter aircraft
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has set a US$2 billion export target for Indian defence related products over the next two years.
“I have set a target for myself. In the next two years, why not touch USD 2 billion. It is not an impossible target, he told delegates at the Aerospace & Defence Summit organised by the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India.
The government is pushing for defence exports and plan to export Tejas fighter aircraft. India’s defence exports is about US$350 million currently.
“I know it is not easy. Weapons and export of defence goods have double problems. One is whom you are exporting to and the second is one has to go on checking all international requirements,” he said at the summit held May 14.
Meanwhile, Parrikar has put all speculations to rest, assuring his ministry was “not facing any problems” over the proposed strategic partnership (SP) model being developed for high end and critical defence manufacturing in selected fields.
A task force set up under former Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) chief, Dr V K Atre had earlier this year submitted a report to the defence ministry suggesting guidelines for identifying and selecting domestic private firms as strategic partners for developing select defence projects.
“Despite a task force, you may not necessarily come out with an offer which will not be controversial… That depends on whose interest the task force finally serves…” Parrikar said on May 14, 2016.
Parrikar said he was in discussions with defence players as he wants to follows a transparent process to finalise the SP model.
The Atre committee’s report has categorised the sectors in two groups. The first includes aircraft, helicopters, aero engines, submarines, warships, guns, including artillery guns, and armoured vehicles including tanks, and it has been suggested that only one partner should be finalised for these.
The second group includes metallic material and alloys, non-metallic material, including composites and polymers, and ammunition including smart ammunition, for which the Task Force said two partners can be identified. fii-news.com
