Defence Manufacturing Gained Momentum Under Modi, Says Naval Group Senior Official

Project 75 which was started in 2006 has been a first of its kind in indigenous naval defence manufacturing, and it has gained momentum ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, said Soumyajyoti Basu, Vice President of Sales at Naval Group (India).

Speaking to ANI on the Make in India initiative, he said, India's 'Atmanirbhar' initiative aims to promote domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on imports.

The initiative has been supported by various groups, including Naval Group, which collaborates for indigenous building of submarine by Mumbai based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited.

In January 2024, India and France announced joint defence cooperation roadmap together including the joint production of aircrafts, submarines, and other defence equipment for the Indian Defence Forces following Narendra Modi and Emmaneul Macron's meeting in New Delhi and following announcement of Horizon 2047 during Indian PM's state visit to France during 14 July 2023.

He further said that Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited has successfully built six Kalvari (Scorpene) diesel-electric attack submarines with technology transfer from Naval Group.

The company has been working closely with Indian industry for over a decade, transferring technology and providing equipment and aftersales support to the Indian Navy.

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited is now working with Indian companies to empower them in building more such submarines in India.

On its part, Naval Group is also working with different DRDO laboratories and academia on cooperation in defence technologies. Also, it is cooperating with Indian shipyards for potential joint export to mutually friendly nations.

On talks of three more of such submarines based on Scorpene design, he said, "We are working on the additional submarine led by Mazagon Dock, and it is one of the subjects at the core of India and France bilateral ties."

Naval Group is one of the key participants of Euronaval exhibition in Paris from November 4-7 where India is also invited.

"We are expecting Indian customer and industry to participate in the upcoming Euro Naval conference in France. The conference will showcase the latest defense equipment and technology. India and France shares unique sense of strategic autonomy and shall continue to collaborate on technical and strategic activities in the defence sector," he said.

Notably, the government has taken several policy initiatives in the past few years and brought in reforms to encourage indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipment, thereby promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing.

The government is also investing heavily in defence and aerospace manufacturing, with several defence hubs being set up. Notably, many global companies have either shared or showed intent, to share critical defence and aerospace knowledge with India.

India's defence exports have touched a record Rs 21,083 crore (about USD 2.63 billion) in the financial year 2023-24, with a growth of 32.5 per cent over the last fiscal when the figure was Rs 15,920 crore. The recent figures indicate that the defence exports have grown by 31 times in the last 10 years as compared to 2013-14.

The total value of defence production in India rose 17 per cent to Rs 126,887 crore last fiscal year. (ANI)