Page 3 - Indian Defence Industry

Effective defence-industry ecosystem developing in country: General Pande

Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Wednesday said an effective defence-industry ecosystem is taking shape in the country and veterans with their field experience are "ideally suited" for incorporation into indigenous research and manufacturing of technological solutions required by the force. In his address at the Army Welfare Placement Organisation (AWPO) Summit 2024 held at the Manekshaw Centre here, he said the Army's responsibility towards its veterans remains a "sacred commitment". The aim of the summit was to bring together different stakeholders on a common platform, to narrow down the gap between enterprise requirements, veteran competencies and the pursuits of AWPO. "While the demand for skilled and experienced workforce exists at the industry end, at the same time, a human resource pool of veterans with adequate experience and unique skill sets is also available, after they exit from active service each year. The endeavour is to synergise the two as well as strengthen the ...

Nifty can hit 100,000; mid, smallcaps are a real pot of gold: Vikas Khemani

By 2035, India's market-cap can touch $18-20 trillion as compared to around $4 trillion right now, Vikas Khemani said in this interview.

India successfully flight-tests Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile: DRDO

India on Thursday successfully flight-tested the Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM) from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur off the coast of Odisha, the DRDO said. During the test, all subsystems performed as per expectation. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO for the successful test flight of the ITCM. He stated that the successful development of the indigenous long-range subsonic cruise missile powered by indigenous propulsion is a major milestone for Indian defence R&D. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said that the performance of the missile was monitored by several Range Sensors such as Radar, Electro Optical Tracking System (EOTS) and Telemetry deployed by the Integrated Test Range at various locations to ensure complete coverage of the flight path. The flight of the missile was also monitored from the Su-30-Mk-I aircraft of the Indian Air Force, they said. The missile followed the desired path using waypoint navigation an

Ex-DRDO chairman Reddy hails Divyastra, calls it a game-changer for forces

Prime Minister Narendra Modi came out in praise of the DRDO after the successful launch of 'Mission Divyastra', which put India in an elite club of nations to have developed the MIRV tech

India cannot afford to remain dependent on defence imports, says Rajnath

A huge country like India cannot remain dependent on import of military hardware as such dependency can be "fatal" for its strategic autonomy, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday, showcasing the Modi government's priority for boosting domestic manufacturing. In an address at a conference, Singh, without elaborating, also said that India had to face "trouble" in "difficult times" in the past due to its reliance on defence imports. He said the annual volume of domestic defence production has crossed the record figure of Rs 1 lakh crore which was nearly Rs 44,000 crore around 2014. "We will be able to maintain strategic autonomy only when arms and equipment are made in our own country, by our own people. We worked towards this, and we also saw positive results," Singh said. "While around 2014, our domestic defence production was around Rs 44,000 crore, today our domestic defence production has crossed the record figure of Rs 1 lakh crore, and it is continuously growing," he

Govt's determination pushed Make in India in defence: DRDO chief Kamat

DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat on Saturday said the Indian government's determination to make India self-reliant in defence production has led to a leap in the sector. Asked about what made the 'Make in India' a success story, Kamat said, "Several factors have made this story possible, the first amongst it is government determination to make Aatmnirbharta happen. I think that is the most important factor which has changed the storyline." "We have been talking about self-reliance for a long time but there was no determination on the part of the government. Once the present government has come to power they have really made a strong push to enforce Aatmnirbharta," Kamat said at the Firstpost Defence Summit 2024. "The list that the government has published, which services now have to buy from Indian companies, has given a push to Indian companies to invest and start making the systems within the country... Also speeding up of the acquisition process with DAP 2020, has given fillip to this

Rs 3 trn by FY29: Rajnath lays down ambitious defence production target

The defence minister also raised the annual export target for aerospace and defence services and production to Rs 50,000 crore in the same time frame

LIVE: BJP meeting underway in Bihar as political uncertainty continues

From a renewed commitment towards India-France partnership to court's decision on Donald Trump having to pay a hefty penalty, catch all the latest updates from around the world here

India-France defence industrial roadmap; Tata, Airbus sign helicopter deal

India and France on Friday unveiled ambitious defence industrial roadmap to co-develop critical military hardware, firmed up a space situational awareness programme even as the Tata Group and Airbus announced to jointly build H125 helicopters following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, announcing the outcomes of Thursday's Modi-Macron talks in Jaipur, said a scheme for exchange of professionals in the age bracket of 18 to 35 years and activation of Schengen visas with a five-year validity for Indian postgraduate alumni alumni of French institutions were among other key decisions. The two sides inked a total of nine agreements that would provide for cooperation in a large number of areas including defence-space partnership, satellite launches boosting engagement in the healthcare sector and scientific research. The pacts inclucded the defence industrial roadmap and the Tata-Airbus deal. The two sides also

Best of BS Opinion: Public versus private challenges, Crash test & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Public versus private challenges

The struggle to bridge the gap between defence exports and imports raises questions about the viability of strategic partnerships

Defence PSU making headway in developing indigenous top-end military gear

Troop Comforts Ltd (TCL), a defence PSU, has received a request for proposal (RFP) for a number of its indigenously developed military gear while several of its products are in the field trial stage. Among the products being developed by the company are boots and crampons, ice pitons, hammer pitons, sleeping bags and multi-purpose bags, besides clothing items. The RFPs have been received from the Northern Command of the Indian Army, while field trials are going under the Eastern Command, its officials said. TCL was carved out of the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board and commenced functioning under its present format in October 2021. We are working on indigenously developing specialised gear needed for our personnel posted in difficult terrain, from mountainous regions to extremely cold conditions, Ranveer Singh, junior works manager, told PTI. We had been importing most of these gear entirely or at least major components of them. Now, we are working on developing the products with

First long-range side swing revolver launched, can hit targets up to 50 m

The country's first long-range side swing revolver 'Prabal' with "twice the range of other revolvers" was launched on Friday for civilians and arms dealers. Manufactured by the state-owned enterprise Advanced Weapons and Equipment India (AWEIL) based in Kanpur, the Prabal revolver boasts of a firing range of up to 50 metres, officiating director Rajiv Sharma said. Sharma said the .32 bore revolver is capable of accurately hitting targets up to 50 metres away. "This range is more than double that of other revolvers currently in production, establishing Prabal as a frontrunner in the field of long-range handguns," he added. "The feature that sets Prabal apart from its counterparts is the incorporation of a side swing out cylinder. This innovative design element eliminates the need to fold the firearm for cartridge insertion, simplifying the reloading process and enhancing user convenience," he said. Sharma said the single and double action 'Prabal' revolver weighs 675 grams (excludi

US-India defence cooperation: Fighter jet engines to ship repairs

HAL-GE's India plant could eventually produce close to a 1,000 F414 engines

PM Modi in US: India, US launch defence acceleration ecosystem Indus-X

The Indus-X seeks to "expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation" between US and India

SFC carries out successful training launch of Agni-1 ballistic missile

India on Thursday carried out a successful training launch of the Agni-1 ballistic missile that validated all operational and technical parameters of the strategic weapon. The defence ministry said the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) carried out the missile launch from APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha. "A successful training launch of a medium-range ballistic missile, Agni-1, was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha, on June 1," it said in a statement. "The missile is a proven system, capable of striking targets with a very high degree of precision. The user training launch successfully validated all operational and technical parameters of the missile," it said. In the last two decades, India has been focusing on enhancing its strategic deterrent capability by developing various ballistic missiles, precision-guided munitions and related platforms. India has developed various variants of the Agni series of missiles. In December last, India

To boost self-reliance, Centre approves indigenisation of 928 defence items

The defence ministry has approved a fresh list of 928 components and subsystems which will only be procured from domestic industry after a ban on their import kicks in under a staggered timeline of around five-and-a-half years. The ministry on Sunday said the aim of the move is in sync with the government's overall aim to promote 'Aatmanirbharta' (self-reliance) in defence production. It is the fourth such "positive indigenisation list (PIL)" comprising line replacement units, sub-systems and components used for various military platforms, equipment and weapons. "To promote 'Aatmanirbharta' in defence and minimise imports by defence public sector undertakings, the Ministry of Defence has approved fourth Positive Indigenisation List (PIL) of 928 strategically-important line replacement units/sub-systems/spares and components, including high-end materials and spares, with import substitution value worth Rs 715 crore," the ministry said in a statement. The aim of the indigenisation li

India exported military hardware worth Rs 13,399 crore in current fiscal

India exported military hardware worth Rs 13,399 crore till March 6 in the current fiscal, a significant increase from just Rs 4,682 crore in 2017-18, according to official data. The details of the year-wise export of military hardware were provided in the Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt while replying to a question. Bhatt said the total defence exports in 2021-22 stood at Rs 12,815 crore while it was Rs 8,435 crore in 2020-21, Rs 9,116 crore in 2019-20 and Rs 10,746 crore in 2018-19. The amount in 2017-18 was Rs 4,682 crore. The minister said the total value of defence exports till March 6 in the current fiscal was Rs 13,399 crore. "The government has given focus on the indigenisation of various defence items to achieve 'Aatmanirbharta' (self-reliance). The indigenised items made from local resources become globally cost competitive and it also facilitates integration of MSMEs in the global supply chain," Bhatt said. "The new technologies developed by DRDO

Defence procurement from foreign sources reducing, shows govt data

The expenditure on defence procurement from foreign sources has reduced from 46 per cent of the overall expenditure in 2018-19 to 36.7 per cent as per data till December last, according to government data. Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, replying to a question in Rajya Sabha on Monday, listed 155mm Artillery Gun system 'Dhanush'', Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, surface-to air missile system 'Akash', main battle tank 'Arjun', T-90 tank, T-72 tank and Cheetah helicopter as indigenous key defence projects. "The expenditure on defence procurement from foreign sources has reduced from 46 per cent of overall expenditure in 2018-19 to 36.7 per cent as per data till December, 2022," he said on Monday. Last month, Bhatt said Kalashnikov AK-203 rifles for Indian armed forces were under manufacturing and testing stage at an Indo-Russian joint venture at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh. Bhatt said the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Ltd (IRRPL) has established all facilities to commence production

Indian Ambassador to UAE, Sunjay Sudhir visits IDEX exhibition in Dubai

Indian Ambassador to UAE Sunjay Sudhir visited the BrahMos Aerospace stall at the IDEX defence exhibition there. The Indian envoy was briefed on the different projects