Rajnath Singh, who is in charge of defence, said on Wednesday that 75% of the government’s budget for buying weapons will go to domestic companies. Last year, it was 68%.
The government is trying to make its weapons systems more “indigenous,” so it is making more purchases from Indian companies. With this change, Indian private and public defence companies will be able to get contracts worth 1 lakh crore in the new fiscal year.
“If you take one step, the government says it will take ten. You said that land should follow the path of development. We are giving you the whole world, “he said. “Setting aside three-quarters of the budget for buying capital goods for the local industry is a step in the right direction.”
Singh tied the number to the fact that the country had been free for 75 years. He was also in charge of a ceremony called “Bandhan” at the Aero India show, where 266 partnerships were made between private companies, state-owned public sector undertakings (PSUs), startups, and foreign vendors.
Officials say that the value of all the deals and announcements would be more than 80,000 crore. One of the agreements is between Safran and HAL to design, develop, and make helicopter engines. Another agreement is to work together to make weaponized boat swarms and Indian drone radars.
As part of the Defense India Startup Challenges (DISC) project, the minister also gave the industry a set of “challenges.”