The value of India’s defence production has crossed the figure of Rs one lakh crore for the first time ever during financial year 2022-23, the Parliament was told on Friday.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said that the government has taken several policy initiatives in the past few years and brought in reforms to encourage indigenous design, development, and manufacture of defence equipment by Indian industry, including MSMEs and start-ups, thereby promoting ease of doing business in defence manufacturing and technology in the country.
He also said that the government promotes participation of MSMEs and startups for development of defence technology under various schemes like Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), Technology Development Fund (TDF), and ‘Make’ procedure under Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020.
The DAP 2020 provides special provisions to encourage MSMEs and startups.
Moreover, Public Procurement Policy for MSEs Order, 2012 has been implemented at DPSUs under which the price preference is given to MSME bidders under certain conditions. Further, DPSUs and services have uploaded more than 30,000 defence items on ‘Srijan portal for indigenisation’ and offered them to Industry including MSMEs to become partners in indigenisation process, Bhatt added.
The Minister also said that Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) has given boost to defence industrial manufacturing ecosystem by promoting formation of startups by individual innovators, and supporting sustenance to existing startups/MSMEs. This has also led to the generation of employment opportunities.
Moreover, to bring MSMEs into the defence supply chain and thereby boost the self-reliance in defence sector in the country and also to contribute towards defence exports, Ministry of Defence has made a scheme of promotion of MSMEs in defence.
Under this scheme, workshops and seminars are organised in collaboration with Industry associations and other stakeholders from different parts of the country, Bhatt added.
Beside this, the Indian Army has received the patent for the project ‘Accident Prevention System based on Artificial Intelligence’ developed indigenously by research and development within the organisation. The Accident Prevention System would save lives by alerting drivers falling asleep while driving and reducing the vulnerability to accidents caused by drowsiness.
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