Bengaluru: In the run up to the upcoming Global Investors Meet (GIM) in November, the State Industries Department is ready with the Aerospace and Defence Policy (2022-27) which aims to establish the state as the preferred investment destination for aerospace and defence manufacturing.
The Defence Ministry has set a target of 70 per cent self-reliance in weapons by 2027, creating huge prospects for industry players.
“To attract investments to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore ($6 billion) in the aerospace and defence sector during the policy period of 5 years, this would create additional employment opportunities for 70,000 people and to develop the state as a manufacturing hub including MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) and space applications for both Indian market and exports. These are some of the key features of A and D policy,” noted Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh R. Nirani on Sunday June 19.
Minister Niranai, who has piloted the policy, said that India’s current market size of approximately $7 billion is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5 per cent to reach $15 billion by 2032 presenting a significant opportunity for defence electronics players in India to capitalize upon.
“Karnataka contributes a major share of 40 per cent of defence electronics systems/products. To give further boost, the A and D policy offers a huge land and financial incentives packages for space, defence and aerospace manufacturers and other sub-sectors,” he stated.
Electronics is the primary capability in modern warfare systems with a value contribution being more than 40 per cent across leading platforms. The growth in demand for electronics in policy A and D is driven by modernisation of weapon platforms, introduction of state-of-art weapons, impact of indigenisation and Make in India initiative.
Under the A and D policy, the state will develop five aerospace and defence hubs — Bengaluru, Belagavi, Mysuru, Tumakuru and Chamarajanagar.
“The policy promotes A and D parks which will have a comprehensive infrastructure facilities including roads, captive power generation, water supply, facilities for R and D, common training facilities, common warehouse facilities, plug-n-play facilities like manufacturing complex and built-in space for all precision manufacturing companies, government ITIs to provide courses pertaining to the A and D sector to create a strong pool of talent for the companies setting up their units within the parks,” Nirani said.
The department is already developing phase 2 of the A and D park in Haralur near Bengaluru International Airport in over 1,200 acres. Financial incentives have been earmarked to A and D park developers as per the Karnataka Industrial Policy (2020-25).
Another key thrust of the policy is to focus on setting up of Defence Testing Infrastructure (DTI). “Lack of accessible testing infrastructure is the main impediment for the domestic A and D production units. The DTIs will be set up under the private sector with government assistance,” Nirani said.
“With Karnataka leading the Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) of over 40 per cent share in the country, I have no doubt that the state will be a hub of defence and aerospace sector thereby following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call of Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he added.
