Rajnath approves Rs 400-cr scheme for testing infrastructure

Published May 16, 2020

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By admin

SOURCE: HT

Defence minister Rajnath Singh has approved a Rs 400-crore scheme for creating testing infrastructure in the defence sector, the ministry said in a statement on Friday. Called the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme, it will run for five years and envisages the setting up of six to eight modern testing facilities in partnership with the private sector.

The majority of the testing facilities are expected to come up in the two defence industrial corridors (DICs) in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, officials said. The scheme, however, will not be limited to setting up facilities in the DICs only.

The scheme is aimed at giving a boost to domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing.

“This will facilitate indigenous defence production and consequently reduce import of military equipment and help make the country self-reliant,” the statement said, adding that the projects under the scheme will be given up to 75% government funding.

The remaining 25% of the cost will be borne by the special purpose vehicle (SPV) whose constituents will be Indian private entities and the state governments.

The SPVs under the scheme will be registered under the Companies Act 2013 and operate and maintain assets “in a self-sustainable manner by collecting user charges,” the ministry said. The equipment tested will be certified as per appropriate accreditation, it added.

The draft Defence Production Policy-2018 visualises India as one of the top five countries in the aerospace and defence sectors in the coming years, with defence goods and services accounting for a turnover of Rs 1.7 lakh crore by 2025. It also seeks to drastically reduce India’s dependence on imported military hardware over the next five years.

Despite pursuing the Make in India programme vigorously to reduce military imports, the country was the second-largest arms importer in the world over the last five years, according to data published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in March.

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