Defence Minister unveils 15 products developed by Defence PSUs

The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has unveiled four products each by the Ordnance Factory Board and Bharat Earth Movers Limited, two by BEL and one each by HAL, BDL, MDL, GRSE and GSL. All these products have been developed as part of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Week’ launched by the Defence Ministry.

Details of the Products

The products that have been launched are the prototype of Nag Missile Carrier developed by Ordnance Factory Board, Medak in association with DRDL, Hyderabad. This has the potential for import substitution of defence products to the tune of Rs 260 Cr in the first phase and it may go up to Rs 3000 Cr.

There are other products of the OFB such as the fully indigenous 14.5 mm Anti Material Rifle, the upgraded Commander’s Thermal Imager Cum Day Sight for T90 Main Battle Tank and the prototype of 8.6× 70 mm Sniper, etc.

Atmanirbhar Bharat Week

The Defence Minister launched the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Week’ in order to give a push to the defence manufacturing sector in the country, on August 10. This will continue till August 14. This comes on the backdrop of the embargo list prepared by the Defence Ministry that bans 101 items for import from December 2020 to December 2025.

Importance of Self-Reliance in Defence Production

India is the second-largest arms imported in the world. India is mainly reliant on countries such as the USA, Israel, etc. for import of arms. However, the government is of the view that the sector should be self-reliant and most of the production should be within the country only. In this regard, the government has also increased the FDI limit through the automatic route from 49% to 74% so that more foreign investment can be made in this sector in the country. The government aims to place orders worth Rs 53000 crores in the current fiscal to the defence PSUs in the country.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2020