The Army, Navy and Air Force are projecting their requirements, especially related to MSMEs, for indigenisation. (PTI)

A day after releasing the simplified Make II procedure, which prescribes guidelines to be followed to develop and manufacture defence equipment through private players, the defence ministry on Thursday kicked off its first-ever defence industry development meet in Chennai for forging new partnerships with the industry for defence production. The Army, Navy and Air Force are projecting their requirements, especially related to MSMEs, for indigenisation. Talking at a press conference on the sidelines of the two-day event being participated by 1,000 vendors, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said with the industry’s increased participation in defence production, the country can become a exporter of products in the future from the current status of being the third-largest country that imports such equipment. To attract small industries and start-ups to get into tie-ups for defence production, similar industry development meets are on the cards across the major cities of the country.

Sitharaman also formally launched a Defence Investor Cell being set up by department of defence which will facilitate the investment in the defence production sector. The Defence Investor Cell will directly interact with all the interested investors with regard to potential investment, as well as queries related to policy and the projects handled by the defence ministry.