Private companies for help in defence drive |
The government of India presented a long-delayed plan to industry officials for selecting private arms manufacturers to help build an indigenous defence industry. Local companies will be chosen as strategic partners that can combine with foreign firms to manufacture single-engine fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines and armoured vehicles. New Delhi hopes the yet-to-be-finalised "Strategic Partnership" model will boost the role of private companies, grow India`s small defence industry, which is dominated by state-run companies, and end its role as the world`s largest arms importer. Officials from Tata Sons, Reliance Industries, Larsen and Toubro and Adani Enterprises among others attended a presentation made by defence and finance minister Arun Jaitley. New Delhi will use a range of financial and technical criteria to pick companies for "design, development and manufacturing of strategic (defence) platforms for future. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to reverse India`s dependence on imports by building a local manufacturing industry. The government is forecast to spend $250 billion on modernisation of its armed forces over the next decade.
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