India marching past Make in India to make for the world, says Rajnath Singh

CM B S Yediyurappa pointed out that the state accounts for 65 per cent of all helicopter and aircraft exports from India

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh began Aero India 2021 with a proclamation that India is no longer in just “Make in India” mode but that it is ready to “make for the world.”

Speaking during the inauguration of the first day of the 13th edition of the air show on Wednesday, the defence minister said that India’s huge investment in the aerospace market had paid dividends in the form of major aircraft developments.

The crux of the defence minister's speech was bolstered by the show’s flypast, which occurred shortly highlighting homegrown aircraft such as the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), the Advanced Light helicopter and the LCA Tejas. The selection of indigenous aircraft appeared to have been made to lend weight to Singh’s statement that the country’s defence manufacturing sector was on par with the international arms market.

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“India has made huge investments in the aerospace market and as result, India is marching past "Make in India" and is making for the world,” Singh said.

Of the Rs 1.75 lakh turnover of the defence industry in India, Singh said new Delhi is aiming to increase Indian military exports to Rs 35,000 by the year 2034.

Highlighting Karnataka, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa pointed out that the state accounts for 65 per cent of all helicopter and aircraft exports from India while the state accounts for 67 per cent of all military hardware produced in the country. “Karnataka is also the first state in the country to pass an aerospace policy. Our proposed investment is Rs 14,700 which has the capacity to employ 10,600 people,” he said.

Meantime, Singh told international attendees that the government had instituted a series of policies to help the country sell its military hardware to foreign customers. Among the improvements cited by Singh were a series of defence policies. A new high-level committee has been authorised to enable faster approval of military exports and what the minister described as a significant jump in the ease of doing business.

“Our international standing in the ease of doing business is 63 out of 190 countries worldwide, which is significantly better than 2019 when we were at 77th place. Our aim is to make India one of the biggest members of the worldwide defence network” he said.