The Indian manufacturing sector is poised to benefit from Make in India initiative of Government of India and Defence sector is at the core of Make in India. With a commitment to 'Make in India', several decisions taken by the Ministry of Defence has paved the way for ease of doing business, latest being the revised Defence Procurement Procedure, which is expected to be rolled out soon.
Ordnance Factories contributes a major share of defence production in India. However, the sector requires a well chalked out plan to translate Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision into reality. Whilst the larger projects may take few years to frutify, the need of the hour: is to look at low hanging fruits, including import substitution of components, sub-assemblies, sub-systems and helping Ordnance Factory (OF) Board to develop vendors for outsourcing. While import substitution would have a huge impact on local manufacturing, aggressive indigenisation will encourage more players to become a part of the supply chain in defence production. As a result, we will have a vibrant domestic-defence industrial base. The Indian Industry is keen to actively participate in defence sector and support various initiatives of OFB towards indigenisation and make in India.
The OFs should work as Centre of Excellence for military technology, fully supported by the private sector. Partnership with the private sector could be in different areas as prioritized by the Ordnance factories either in the areas of after-sales support, maintenance, or focus on product development and upgradation of technology of the vendors.
It is imperative for the OFB and the private sector to complement each other to reduce imports, capitalise on their respective strengths and plan to become global players. Ordinance Factories have a large and modern infrastructure built over 200 years and a vast experience in the manufacture of defence stores. Hence, both OFs and Private Sector must together find ways to reduce dependence on imports for critical defence requirement and work towards promoting defence exports with an aim to sustain the production base, upgrade technology and provide much needed employment in the manufacturing sector.
To promote OFB – Private Sector Partnership, CII in partnership with Ordnance Factory Board is organizing SEMINAR ON OFB – INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP FOR VENDOR DEVELOPMENT AND OUTSOURCING BY OFS on 24th & 25th August 2016 at India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi.
The seminar would enable OFs to spell out their indigenisation requirements. It would also help industry to identify opportunities to partner with OFs.
Provide a platform for OFB to spell out their requirements from the private sector, mainly focusing on import substitution and vendor development.
The seminar would pave the way for both: OFs and Private Sector companies to identify areas for partnering by complementing each other with their respective strengths towards developing a strong defence industrial base in the country.