Bangalore, August 4, 2016: A document spelling out Defence Electronics and System Design Policy Recommendations was unveiled here yesterday at DEFTRONICS 2016, the annual flagship Aerospace and Defence event jointly hosted by India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), the premier trade body representing the Indian Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) industry.
The document is authored by IESA, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), along with Roland Berger, a leading global strategy consulting firm, event. The recommendations are based on current aerospace, defense and internal security trends and happenings to provide guidance towards the formulation of Defense policies by the Union ministry.
The chief guest Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Member NITI Aayog and Former Chief Scientific Advisor to the Indian Minister of Defence & Director General, DRDO spoke on the event theme, throwing light on the importance of the need to build India's Strategic Electronics ecosystem for greater self-reliance and emphasized on its global relevance to areas in fields of Defence, Aerospace and Internal Security. He said “India’s electronics market has been witnessing huge market in Consumer Electronics, Industrial, Communication, Strategic Electronics. Today, the size of Strategic Electronics is projected to grow to $72 Bn from the present $1.7 Bn market, and this indicates immense potential as there exists a significant gap between supply and demand. Though India is considered as a ‘Soft Power’ in the space, we are yet to witness a single Indian company that develops strong end-to-end Aerospace and Defence software solutions. As a result, we keep depending on foreign companies. The only on boarding option for Indian electronics component companies in India is to target Strategic Electronics (Defense) industry, and we should act now. We need to understand that the return on investments in the Defense Electronics industry in India is long term and the players need to have a long-term view.”
“We expect the government to support startups in the Defense Electronics industry in India. The Defense manufacturing shifts globally has seen the Wave 1 from US to Japan; Wave 2 from Japan to Europe, Wave 3 from South East Asia to China; I want Wave 4 to be from China to India,” he added.
______________________________________________________________________
DEFTRONICS AWARDS 2016 applauding the outstanding contribution in
the Aerospace and Defence Electronics space have been announced.
The guest of honor, Yael Hashavit, Consul General of Israel, Consulate General of the State Israel also provided her insights into the Indian defense, aerospace and the innovation in the ESDM sector with respect to her expertise relating to the Israel Defence Force.
The policy recommendations in the document indicate that India not only needs to create world-class companies, but it is imperative to bring them in the global value chain of OEMs. It suggests that the government needs to have the vision to provide the Indian companies the required visibility, timely closure of contracts, ensure technology transfer and provide the manufacturing push through certain initiatives and incentivisation.
In order to promote exports of Defence Electronics, the policy recommendations have stated the need for an introduction of a multiplier that will ensure export base of defence electronics around valid technologies. Moreover, the draft has suggested that DPSUs need to leave control of the supply chain and the government needs to ensure more opportunities in the private industry. Another key issue that the government and the industry need to address together is the shortage of key infrastructure and talent.
Said K. Krishna Moorthy, Chairman-IESA: “Defense, Aerospace and Internal Security are not only most important for National Security perspective but also can be the biggest job generator in an economy which is growing faster than the rest of the world. With global companies investing in India and leveraging the R&D talent here to create globally competitive products amplifies the fact that we can innovate and develop products and solutions that will meet our growing demands in these verticals. We need to have polices and processes which can accelerate this through skill development, enabling a strong start up eco system which innovates and also absorbs technology which come as part of technology transfers and then develops the next generation technology here, as well as create the infrastructure for defence manufacturing powerhouse.”
R. Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM added: “We are required to keep pace with the innovation happening across the globe and need to start providing a stimulus to the companies in the defence electronics domain. Hence, it is really important for us to create an arrangement for technology transfer with more advanced nations and the role of the government will be significant here. They should create an environment for the domestic players to cross-pollinate knowledge and technologies with other countries.”
M. N. Vidyashankar, President, India Electronics & Semiconductor Association said, “India has the third largest Army, the fourth largest Air force and the seventh largest Navy in the world. We are the 7th largest A&D market globally. And, we are still dependent on imports to fulfil our defence needs. Therefore, achieving self-reliance and reducing dependence on foreign countries for defence is a necessity today rather than a choice, both for strategic and economic reasons. We have a visionary Prime Minister to bring 'Make in India' policy for this sector that aims at facilitating investments and fostering innovations for the manufacturing sector in India. Hence, we believe Defence Electronics and System Design Policy will be instrumental in helping A&D Electronics segment in India, thus ensuring increased self-reliance for the Indian Defence Sector.
On Day 2,Guest of Honor, RV Deshpande, Minister for Large & Medium Industries & Infrastructure Development, Govt. of Karnataka said, “We are a visionary state and want to encourage women entrepreneurs and first generation businesspersons with incentives and guidance. It is important that DEFTRONICS should become a platform where it can attract investments going forward.”
BVR Mohan Reddy, Executive Chairman, Cyient, reiterated his concern with domestic electronics manufacturing. He said, “Electronics import bill to go up to $400 Bn by 2020, while the domestic manufacturing will be close to $104 Bn, surpassing oil import bill. Hence, self-reliance is the key challenge of 21st century.”
See our Special Feature for executive summary of the Defence Elecronics policy report.