Scope for Swedish-Indian industries for co-production and co-development
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has invited Swedish companies to invest in Defence Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, saying that they can benefit from the unique incentives being offered by the state governments and the availability of a highly-skilled workforce in India.
Stressing that there is a huge potential for more India-Sweden partnerships, he highlighted the strong capabilities of Indian defence industry in various fields and their willingness to collaborate with Swedish companies for co-development and co-production in areas of mutual interest.
“Swedish firms already have a major presence in India. There is a lot of scope for Swedish and Indian defence Industries for co-production and co-development. Indian industry can also supply components to Swedish Industries,” Singh said on 8 June 2021 at a webinar on India-Sweden Defence Industry Cooperation ‘Capitalizing Opportunities for Growth and Security’.
“Technology-centric FDI policy will enable Indian industries to collaborate with Swedish companies in the field of niche and proven military technologies,” assured Singh.
The webinar was organised under the aegis of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence through Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and Swedish Security and Defence Industry (SOFF). The Defence Minister of Sweden Peter Hultqvist was the Guest of Honour along with Minister Singh at the webinar. Ambassador of India to Sweden Tanmaya Lal; Ambassador of Sweden to India Klas Molin; Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production) Raj Kumar; other senior officers of Defence Ministries of the two countries; representatives of Indian and Swedish Defence Industries and officials of SIDM & SOFF also attended the webinar.
Singh pointed out that India has a vast defence industrial base with 41 Ordnance factories, nine Defence Public Sector Undertakings and expanding private sector Industries supported by an ecosystem of over 12,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
He also highlighted that the Indian Defence Industries possess expertise on a wide range of high-tech defence systems for air, land, sea and space applications.
“India has a robust shipbuilding industry. The ships constructed by Indian shipyards are of global standards and extremely cost effective. India and Sweden can collaborate in the shipbuilding industry for mutual benefit,” he said.
Singh lauded the continuous efforts of SIDM, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and SOFF to strengthen the industrial cooperation between the two countries.
On the occasion, an MoU was signed between SIDM and SOFF to promote bilateral defence industrial relations wherein a dedicated Joint Working Group will be formed to take forward mutual objectives.
Singh also released the first edition of the ‘SIDM Members Directory 2020-21’ – A 360º Overview of the Indian Defence and Aerospace Sector’. The Directory captures the capabilities of 437 companies in the Defence and Aerospace sector, facilitates ease of access to information on the Indian Industry and serves as a one-stop reference for the global defence community. The Directory also contains the latest 108 item 2nd Positive Indigenisation List. #investment #technology #manufacturing /fiinews.com
