Make India defence production hub, says NITI Aayog member

NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat on Thursday called upon stakeholders in the defence electronics sector to transform India to be the centre of the fourth wave in defence manufacturing.

Delivering the inaugural speech at the DEFTRONICS 2016, the flagship defence electronics event organised by the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) in association with Nasscom, Saraswat said the defence manufacturing shift globally has seen the Wave 1 from the US to Japan.

“The Wave 2 was witnessed from Japan to Europe and the Wave 3 from South East Asia to China. I want the Wave 4 to be from China to India,” he added. Saraswat also unveiled the Defence Electronics and System Design Policy Recommendations report brought out by the IESA and Nasscom along with global strategy consulting firm Roland Bergerand.

The report estimates that the aeronautics and defence electronics market for India is estimated to be in the range between $70 billion and $72 billion in the next 10-12 years. Almost $53 billion to $54 billion comes from electronics spend as a part of platforms.

“This indicates immense potential as there exists a significant gap between supply and demand. Though India is considered as a ‘soft power’ in the space, we are yet to witness a single Indian company that develops strong end-to-end aerospace and defence software solutions,” he said.

The former Chief Scientific Adviser to the Indian Minister of Defence and Director General of DRDO said this has compelled India to keep depending on foreign companies. “The only option for Indian electronics component companies is to target strategic electronics (defence) industry, and we should act now. We need to understand that the return on investments in the defence electronics industry in India is long-term and the players need to have a long-term view,” he said.

Speaking at the event, Nasscom President R Chandrashekhar said India is required to keep pace with the innovation happening across the globe and need to start providing a stimulus to companies in the defence electronics domain.

“Hence, it is really important for us to create an arrangement for technology transfer with more advanced nations and the role of the government will be significant. They should create an environment for the domestic players to cross-pollinate knowledge and technologies with other countries,” he said.

Commenting on the occasion, IESA President M N Vidyashankar said India is the seventh largest aeronautics and defence market globally and is still dependent on imports to fulfil defence needs.