“Gujarat has the potential to develop as a major defence manufacturing hub in the days to come,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while inaugurating the 12th DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar.
Gujarat has the right ingredients to become a key link in the Indian defence supply chain with skilled manpower, intensive manufacturing capabilities and robust infrastructure.
“This Defence Expo is giving a new height to this identity,” Modi said commenting on the entrepreneurial skills of the Gujaratis and the state’s industrial capabilities.
Located on the western coast of India, Gujarat has the longest coastline of 1,600 km in the country. Gujarat also happens to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the country with 42 ports, 18 domestic airports, one international airport, 106 product clusters and 60 notified special economic zones (SEZs).
The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of the Deesa airfield being built at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore in Banaskantha district, near India’s western border in northwest Gujarat.
“After forming the government, we decided to set up an operational base in Deesa. This expectation of our forces is being fulfilled today. This region will now become an effective centre of security of the country”, Modi added. According to the Prime Minister, because of the strategic location of Deesa airbase close to the international border, India is now better prepared to respond to any misadventure by Pakistan on the western border.
The central government has approved close to 20 licences for defence production in Gujarat and relaxed the FDI policy in defence to modernize the Indian defence sector and lower the dependence on imports. Gujarat already has over 100 MSMEs and start-ups who are equally keen to make the most of the huge opportunities in defence manufacturing and offsets.
At least 20 Private companies have set up Aerospace & Defence (A&D) manufacturing units in the Dholera, Kutch, Bhavnagar, Amreli, Kheda, and Vadodara districts of Gujarat. The Gujarat government has identified Kutch, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha Ahmedabad and other coastal districts for developing special defence manufacturing zones in the State.
In what is essentially being seen as icing on the cake, the Gujarat government is offering a number of incentives to tap investments in the A&D sector under the ‘Make in India‘ program.
Advantage Gujarat:
According to industry pundits Gujarat has a number of advantages and is ideally suited for setting up the following industry units:
- Artillery
- Combat Vehicles
- Shipbuilding
- Aircraft Assembly and Manufacturing
- Ammunition & Small Arms
- Defence-tech fabrics and Composites
- A&D Electronic Systems
- Casting & Forging Products
- Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul
- Research & Development
Gujarat has emerged as a preferred destination for a large number of companies in the A&D sector due to its proven engineering and industrial capabilities. Gujarat has a thriving engineering industry in Ahmedabad, Anand, Rajkot, Vadodara, Surendranagar, Jamnagar, Mehsana, {anchmahal and Kutch region. Gujarat is also famous for its expertise in welded/forged products, and technical textiles.
Gujarat’s fundamental strengths in the Aerospace and Defence sector include:
- integrated industrial facilities with robust infrastructure
- existing engineering and precision engineering industry
- Large number of MSMEs
- extensive operational shipbuilding yards and dry docks
- availability of contiguous land parcels for testing ranges
The Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Ltd (GUJSAIL) is conducting a feasibility study to set up an aviation park in Bagodara near Ahmedabad which will have facilities like an airstrip, helipad, training school, and space for setting up small manufacturing units.
According to the Aerospace and Defence Policy 2016 drafted by the state’s Industries and Mines Department, Gujarat is emerging as a major Aerospace and Defence manufacturing hub and favourable destination with a number of private sector companies setting up factories in the state.
The Gujarat Government’s vision is to establish Gujarat as India’s leading hub for indigenous Aerospace & Defence manufacturing by developing globally competitive talent in the sector, promoting investments in research & development to drive globally-recognized innovation in product design and manufacturing, and supporting enabling institutions in the Aerospace & Defence manufacturing ecosystem.
The objectives of the policy are to:
- Attract public and private sector investments into Gujarat in Aerospace & Defence design, development and manufacturing with a target to attract 10- !5% of the orders in the defence industry in India over the next 5 years
- Create Aerospace & Defence manufacturing hubs within the State with state-of-the-art infrastructure where Mega A&D Units and MSMEs can jointly thrive
- Develop a strong A&D supply chain ecosystem in the State. Create synergies for A&D companies to meet their defence offset obligations by promoting and supporting the SME sector
- Attract a significant portion of fresh offset obligations discharged by companies in India over the next decade.
- Develop skilled manpower and innovation in the A&D sector across the research, design, development and manufacturing value chain.
- Create direct and indirect employment in State through the A&D sector
If the current trends are an indication Gujarat is making its presence felt on the country’s defence manufacturing map and would soon bypass Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to transform India into a world-class defence manufacturing destination.
Some of the well-known names like Adani Defence & Aerospace, Larsen and Toubro, Rudra Aerospace & Defence Private Limited, Jaivel Aerospace, Unique Forge (Gujarat), Jasubhai Engineering Group, Shreeram Aerospace & Defence and Pushpak Aerospace have established their manufacturing units in Gujarat to develop high-end precision products and services for the Defence, and Aerospace sector.
Airbus France has signed an agreement with the Dholera Industrial City Development Ltd (DICDL) of the Gujarat government for setting up an aerospace and defence cluster. The Gujarat government is investing Rs 3,000 crore to develop the Dholera region as a world-class city. The strategic partnership will lead to the establishment of ancillary industries in the area.
Adani Defence and Aerospace owned by a Gujarati billionaire called Gautam Shantilal Adani – the fourth richest person in the world, has set up India’s first private sector manufacturing unit to make unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Tactical Loitering Munition, Multi Rotor Low Altitude VTOL UAV (Vertical Take-off and Landing), AI-Based Long endurance Quadcopter, comply with the most stringent military standards, counter-drone systems, radars, SIGINT, RF/GNSS Jamming Systems small arms, ammunition, to transform India into a world-class defence manufacturing destination.
The Adani group has also floated separate joint ventures with Israel-based Elbit Systems and Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) drones and small arms complying with the most stringent military standards. The Adani group’s ethos is SwaRaksha (a Sanskrit word; Swa means ‘Self’ and Raksha means ‘Defence’)
Some of the other companies that have set up their manufacturing units in Gujarat include Anil Ambani-led Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited (RNAVAL), Adani Aero Defence Systems & Technologies Ltd, Investment & Precision Castings Ltd. (IPCL), Kalyani group, AMW Motors, Asteria Aerospace, Fedders Lloyd Corporation, Jaivel Aerospace, eInfochips and Modest infrastructure.
In its hay-days Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited (RNAVAL) promoted by Anil Ambani formerly known as Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Company Limited claimed to have one of the largest engineering infrastructures in the world, was the first private sector company in India to be commissioned to build warships for the Indian Navy. The shipbuilding company headquartered in Mumbai had a shipyard in Pipavav, Gujarat – 90 km South of Amreli, 15 km South of Rajula and 140 km South West of Bhavnagar — the largest shipyard in India.
In June 2010, the company was awarded a US$330 million contract to build five offshore patrol vessels for the Indian Navy. Once again the company bagged the USD 3 bn ‘Make in India’ naval frigate order – the biggest-ever warship-building project given to a private sector company in July 2015. However, in 2020 the Ministry of Defence cancelled the Rs 2,500-crore contract signed with Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd (RNEL) in 2011 to build five naval offshore patrol vessels (NPOVs) for the Indian Navy, owing to insolvency proceedings and delay in delivery of the vessels. RNEL today reportedly has an outstanding debt of over Rs 11,000 crore.
Meanwhile, Kalyani group a global high-tech brand in the manufacturing industry owned by Baba Kalyani has signed a joint venture with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel in line with the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy and is aiming to set up a defence manufacturing unit at Dholera in Gujarat which would provide employment to about 2,500 people. The land for putting up the plant at Dholera has been offered by the state government. The Kalyani group has conducted a successful flight of its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and is now seeking to build a quadcopter which can carry up to 50 kg weight in high altitude areas and other high-tech products like guided bombs weighing around 250 kg to 1,000 kgs and capable of destroying the target with a high level of accuracy. The Kalyani Group’s ultimate goal is to increase the business three to four times over the next 10 years.
Likewise, Larsen & Toubro Ltd has established a Knowledge City at Vadodara and new green-field manufacturing – integration – testing complex at Hazira, Gujarat. It has already invested more than Rs 250 crore and is currently executing the ‘K9 VAJRA-T’ Self-propelled Howitzer Guns program providing employment to more than 800 people. The Rs4 500 crore order to supply artillery guns to the Indian Army is the largest contract awarded by the MoD to an Indian private company.
Likewise, Unique Forge (Guj), Pushpak Aerospace and Defence engineering and Jaivel Aerospace have set up their manufacturing units in Gujarat.
-The writer is a seasoned media professional with over three decades of experience in print, electronic, and web media. He is presently Editor of Taazakhabar News
–The writer is a seasoned media professional with over three decades of experience in print, electronic, and web media. He is presently Editor of Taazakhabar News. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
