Defence manufacturing corridor will augur well for nation: Pon Radhakrishnan
Chennai: With Chennai, Coimbatore and Hosur regions emerging as promising vibrant start-up ecosystems in the State, a defence manufacturing corridor, if established in Tamil Nadu, would augur well for the country's prosperity and security, asserts Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan.
The Minister who is lobbying with the Centre to industrialise TN in a big way under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheme of Make in India, has urged the Defence Ministry to set up a Defence Manufacturing Corridor in TN, which is the most suitable State in India for the development of a high-tech defence industry complex. "It is in economic as well as security interest of the country that defence equipments are of indigenous design and make.
The Indigenous requirements of defence and paramilitary services essentially pertain to three domains viz. platforms, products and services", he said.
Tamil Nadu, Mr. Radhakrishnan argued is a strategic location and it is beyond the range of most Chinese and Pakistani missiles and aircraft and its 1,000 km long coastline is suitable to control vital shipping routes. "Thus physical security for this vital industry during war or emergencies is highest", Mr. Radhakrishnan said and added that Hosur aerodrome provides secure testing facilities for prototypes just like HAL's airport in Bengaluru. Also, Hosur is in close proximity to the vibrant aviation military industrial complex.
Further, the presence of key industry players in Chennai (Kattupalli, Kalpakkam and Avadi), Tiruchi, Coimbatore, Hosur and the proximity of the State to Bengaluru where major tier 1 firms are located, with added influence of the prospect to tap the potential of the MSMEs in the surrounding areas presents an opportunity to enhance the State's scope of specilisation in the defence sector.
"In order to realise this opportunity, it is conceptualised to create a defence manufacturing corridor in TN", the Minister said while urging the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to take steps in this direction. It is hoped that the Centre is likely to consider this plea and may announce it during the Parliament session.
