Gearing up for aerospace and defence policy: Karnataka minister Nirani

Karnataka minister Murugesh Nirani, in a statement, said that this policy aimed to attract investments to the tune of ₹60,000 crore (around $6 billion) in the aerospace & defence sector during the policy period of five years.

The Karnataka government is already preparing for the new Aerospace & Defence Policy (2022-27), which aims to facilitate investments in these sectors and bring in fresh capital into the southern state, minister for large and medium industries, Murugesh Nirani, said on Sunday.

The Karnataka government is already preparing for the new Aerospace & Defence Policy (2022-27), which aims to facilitate investments in these sectors and bring in fresh capital into the southern state, Murugesh Nirani said on Sunday. (Agencies)

“The defence ministry has set (a) target of 70% self-reliance in weapons by 2027, creating huge prospects for industry players,” Nirani said.

The minister, in a statement, said that this policy aimed to attract investments to the tune of ₹60,000 crore (around $6 billion) in the aerospace & defence sector during the policy period of five years.

He added that this would create additional employment opportunities, with the potential to generate 70,000 new jobs, and develop the state as a manufacturing hub, including MROand space applications for both Indian and export markets.

“India’s current market size of approximately $7 Bn is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% to reach $15 Bn by 2032, presenting a significant opportunity for defence electronics players in India to capitalise upon. Karnataka contributes (a) a major share of 40% of defence electronics systems/products,” the minister added.

Karnataka hosts several defence majors, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), and several labs of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), among others.

“Electronics is the primary capability in modern warfare systems with a value contribution being more than 40% across leading platforms. The growth in demand for electronics in Indian A&D is driven by modernisation of weapon platforms, the introduction of state-of-art weapons, impact of indigenization and make in India initiative,” Nirani said.

The government said that it will develop five aerospace and defence hubs in Bengaluru, Belagavi, Mysuru, Tumakuru & Chamarajanagara districts.

“The policy promotes for A&D parks which will have comprehensive infrastructure facilities including roads, captive power generation, water supply, facilities for R&D, common training facilities, common warehouse facilities, plug-n-play facilities like manufacturing complex and built-in space for all precision manufacturing companies, government ITIs to provide courses about the A&D sector to create a strong pool of talent for the companies setting up their units within the parks,” Nirani said.

The industries department said it is already developing Phase 2 of the A&D park near Haralur, around Bengaluru International Airport over 1,200 acres.

“Lack of accessible testing infrastructure is the main impediment for the domestic A&D production units. The DTIs will be set up under the private sector with government assistance,” he added.