Dassault-Reliance aims for defence manufacturing eco-system in India

The Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd would set up an indigenous value-added supply chain in India to build a strong base for the success of the Rafale programme under the "Make in India" initiative, a statement said on Wednesday.

The joint venture of Dassault Aviation and Reliance Defence would be part of the planned Aerospace Park in Nagpur as well.

"The ambition is to develop a complete supply chain allowing the completion of the existing ambitious Rafale offsets obligations under the Rafale contract signed in September 2016 and build a strong base for the success of Rafale under the Make in India initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Dassault Aviation said in a statement.

The company is obligated to invest in India 50 per cent of the total amount of the acquisition contract of 36 Rafales - the twin-jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base.

To deepen the existing ties between the French and Indian entrepreneurs and to promote defence manufacturing eco-system in India, Dassault Aviation and Reliance Defence on Wednesday organised a conference which saw participation of close to 200 delegates from the aerospace industry from around 60 Indian and 25 French companies.

The event aimed to promote Business to Business (B2B) interactions between the French and Indian Aerospace manufacturers, the statement said.

"In keeping with the Skill India plan of the Union Government, this B2B interface between the French and domestic Indian entrepreneurs aims to deepen existing links, create new opportunities of collaboration and work towards establishing a full-fledged defense manufacturing eco-system in India," it added.

The statement added that through the cooperation between the Indian and French companies, Indian partners would benefit from the technological know-how transfer opportunities while thousands of Indian engineers and technicians will benefit from a massive skills transfer opportunity.

--IANS

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