Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley in his Budget Speech 2018-19 has inter alia announced various steps for promotion of defence Production. These steps include (a) measures to develop two Defence Industrial Corridors in the country; (b) bringing out an industry friendly Defence Production Policy 2018 to promote domestic production by Public sector, Private sector and MSMEs. Thanking the finance Minister on these path breaking announcements, Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, said, “These are the First Ever Defence Production Corridors being formed in the country. These Defence Industry Corridors will give a big boost to defence production in the country.”
The Department of Defence Production had recently conducted a major Defence Industries Development Meet in Chennai in January 2018 with huge participation from defence industries, including MSME from Chennai, Mysore, Coimbatore, Salem, Tiruchirappalli and from other states as well. The meet highlighted the prevailing ecosystem, albeit scattered, conducive for Defence Production in Tamil Nadu. The announcement by Shri Jaitley has paved the way for setting up the first Defence Production Corridor in Tamil Nadu. This shall provide impetus to the defence production industry in the country and in the region, in particular, Smt Sitharaman said.
NAo/Nampi/DK/Rajib
