Metalogic PMS, India’s leading Metals & Mining intelligence firm, successfully hosted the conference on Steel & Metals for Defence Sector. The conference scheduled for 31st July, 2024; Wednesday held at Indian Habitat Centre in New Delhi aimed to highlight the pivotal role of steel in meeting India’s rising defence needs.
Need to produce indigeneous defence materials for national security – Sh. Bandary Dattatraya, Honble Governor of Haryana, Government of Haryana
The event was presided over by the esteemed presence of distinguished dignitaries including Sh. Bandaru Dattatraya, Governor of Haryana, Government of Haryana, who was the Chief Guest at the event., Mr. S. K. Jha, CMD Midhani Limited, Mr. Vijay Sharma, Director Jindal Stainless Ltd., Sh. S V Chakravarthy, Director (Commercial), SAIL and, Sh. P V Raja Ram, Director (Production) with Addl. charge of Director (Technical), Bharat Dynamics Limited.
Mrs. Monica Bachchan Duvvuri, Founder & CEO of Metalogic PMS mentioned that, “We are thrilled to host this conference, which aims to highlight the significant contributions of the steel and metals industry to India’s defence sector. By bringing together industry leaders and experts, we hope to spark new ideas and collaborations that will drive innovation and strengthen our nation’s defence capabilities.”
The discussions during the event were focused on the growth trajectory of Indian defence sector and its needs from the steel industry to ensure national security and reduce reliance on imports.
Country’s defence sector has started producing and exporting indigenous goods with annual domestic defence production, reached nearly Rs. 1.27 trillion in FY24, a 16.7 percent rise from Rs. 1.09 trillion in the previous fiscal year. In addition, the sector also recorded highest-ever defence exports, reaching $2.5 billion in the fiscal year 2023-24. This significant milestone marks a 25% increase from the $2 billion reported in FY23.
However, the sector still faces challenges like inadequate availability of input materials domestically, which are used for producing defence specific products like special alloy grade material and light weight high tensile products etc. India still ranks amongst the largest defence and arms importing nation accounting for 9.8 percent of the global arms sales. The recent advances in steel manufacturing, fabrication technologies, light weighting of steel was highlighted during the course of the event.
In this regard, Sh. Bandaru Dattatraya mentioned that Defence Ministry has set the target of 70 percent for sourcing of arms and guns produced from indigenous material by FY2027 with the possibility of broader pathways for smaller as well as large scale players. He further added that Defence Ministry has provided level playing field to domestic manufacturers of around 101 arms and ammunitions by planning imports substitution model.
He concluded by adding that this initiative of the government has led to substitute the imports of few defence related equipment including arms and ammunitions like helicopters, ATV, and small range missiles, etc.
In the recent Union Budget of FY25 announced by Fin Min Sh. Nirmala Sitharaman, Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been allocated Rs. 6,21,940.85 crore, the highest among the Ministries. The allocation to MoD for FY 2024-25 is higher by approx. Rs. one lakh crore (18.43%) over the allocation for FY 2022-23 and 4.79% more than allocation of FY 2023-24. Indian steel industry is thriving to supply its steel and reduce the reliance on imports of the defence sector.
This event will bring together industry leaders, policymakers, and experts to explore the critical role of steels and metals in strengthening India’s defence capabilities.