Concrete steps being taken to make India export hub in defence: Parrikar

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said, the concrete steps are being taken to make India an export hub in defence and make it self-reliant. Addressing a meeting of ex-servicemen in Bhubaneswar yesterday, Mr Parrikar said, to fulfill this objective, the government has increased the limit of Foreign Direct Investment.

Rejecting apprehension that local manufacturers would be affected after allowing FDI in the defence sector, the Minister said,



when the NDA government came to power, rate of import of defence material by India was 70 per cent. Now, he said, the import of defence items has come down to below 60 per cent. He hoped that by the time the government ends its first term, the NDA government will be able to bring down imports to 40 per cent.

The Defence Minister also said, the Centre has decided to double the production capacity of two defence establishments in Odisha.