Chandigarh, July 29, To boost self-reliance in defence and contribute to the burgeoning defence exports market, the Ministry of Defence is reaching out to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Tier-II and Tier-III cities and integrating them into the defence supply chain.

Pointing out that it is “high time” that measures be adopted that help create an enabling environment to milk the potential of MSMEs vis-à-vis the defence sector to the maximum, a new policy introduced by the Department of Defence Production this month states that MSMEs from non-defence sectors will be connected with Ordnance Factories Board, original equipment manufacturers and defence public sector undertakings to help them avail the opportunities under the Make in India programme in the defence sector.

“However, the MSME units within the country are not fully integrated like the chambers in developed nations. Further, the Indian labour laws are not in sync with our competitors in China and ASEAN countries,” the policy document states.

“The value addition by the MSMEs in India is also comparably low. Therefore, despite having immense potential, in terms of know-how and technical expertise, lack of clear policy and organised hand-holding has prevented the full exploitation of MSMEs,” it adds.

There are over 3.5 lakh MSMEs in Punjab, Haryana and HP that can be brought into the fold of the new scheme. The region’s share towards the national GDP is around 26 per cent and a sizable portion of this is the contribution of MSMEs, which are also the second largest employers after agriculture.

The scheme aims to consolidate the existing defence manufacturing ecosystem and induct competent MSMEs of other sectors to the defence sector.

To be battle ready

60%  Defence manufacturing components being imported

20-30%  Current contribution of MSMEs in manufacturing equipment

70%   Govt target to increase the contribution in 5 yrs

Published On : 30-07-2019

Source : The Tribune