Defence productions: Private firms need to be treated on par with PSUs, says Amitabh Kant

NEW DELHI: India must create about 50-60 national champions in defence from the private sector, which will help cut down on India's dependence on imports, department of industrial policy and promotion secretary Amitabh Kant said on Tuesday at a ‘Make in India’ panel discussion.

He further said that the private sector and public sector undertakings must be treated on a par with each other to encourage indigenisation of defence productions. "We need to break away from the monopoly of PSUs in defence manufacturing and encourage entry of private players. We should create about 50-60 national champions, the way US has done," said Kant at the panel discussion called by the University of Chicago at its Delhi Centre.

The BJP government enhanced the FDI limit in defence to 49% from 26% and also deregulated 60% defence items. Apolicy change in August allowed more than one Indian company to hold 51% share to encourage more domestic players in the sector.