Army to reduce imports of small parts-weapon systems, huge scope for Indian MSMEs: DISA

New Delhi, July 24 (KNN) In a bid to reduce the volume of imports involved in the defence sector, there are talks of focussing on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for developing the small parts and weapon systems.

Talking to KNN, Prakash C Tripathi President of Defense and Strategic Industries Association of India (DISA) informed about the development.

He said that reducing imports is a part of the country larger project of Make in India that aims to encourage manufacturing at the domestic level.

“The Defense sector organizations import over 90 per cent of its requirement of parts and systems from countries including Russia, but this volume of import is expected to come down to 30 per cent, which will open up a good scope for the Indian MSMEs to engage” said Tripathi

Tripathi added that through vendor development programs, the MSME in the country will be equipped to adopt the technological standards that exist at the global level.

There have been reports of Master General of the Ordnance (MGO) that takes care of the artillery needs, and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) comprising of 41 ordnance factories exploring the possibilities of moving away from the imports to the products manufactured by the domestic MSMEs. The organizations have already held discussions with over 80 MSMEs so far.

The industry is expecting a detailed roadmap of in the line in the coming month.

(KNN/ DA)