Indian foundries see larger play in Defence sector in run-up to Vikshit Bharat

• Defence ministry targets 15% procurements from MSMEs
  
  
• Precision casting required to meet stringent Defence needs
  
  

The message was clear at the one-day "National Conference on Made in India: Foundry Industry Revitalising Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defence Production" -- that the roadmap to Vikshit Bharat by 2047 will include a far larger play by the country's medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs). And that Indias Defence sector will be looking at a greater share of indigenous castings procurements, going forward.

The event was organized by the Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) with BigMint as the knowledge partner.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Shri R.K. Rai, Additional Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME, Government of India said, as far as India's Defence sector is concerned, Budget 2025-26 shows a 9% increase in allocation to INR 6.81 lakh crore in which INR 1.8 lakh crore is towards components, which is primarily the foundry castings market. He said the ministry is doing programmes to link up with Defence. These include:

1) The Public Procurement policy: Here, all government PSUs and departments must procure 25% of their requirements from MSMEs and that the Defence ministry has targeted 15% procurements from Indian MSMES, which is again mainly the castings market.

2) He also suggested that the government is mulling an INR 30-crore common testing facility for Defence-related supplies.

3) Vendor development programme: This includes exclusive programmes with Defence on foundry requirements. "We can organise several in future," Shri Rai said.

4) Technology centres: There are currently 18 while 12 have been added and 26 are in the pipeline.

Brigadier Agarwal, DACIDS (Indigenisation), HQ IDS, Ministry of Defence, said, India's Defence sector is undergoing a transformation. The GoI had made a roadmap whereby opportunities have already been laid down in the form of revision in Defence acquisition procedures, innovation for Defence excellence, and Make in India policy, which are running successfully and that these initiatives have allowed products to reach the Defence sector faster. He further said, these initiatives are designed for domestic value addition and reducing dependency on imports.

However, he added that an area in which Indian foundries must work include precision casting, since quality control is needed to meet stringent demands of the modern Defence industry. He urged IIF to invest in these technologies, collaborate wth DRDO, DPSUS and private defence majors as well as MSMEs and reach capabilities that can match global benchmarks. He stressed that reliability and quality were of paramount importance.

Dr Hanif Qureshi, IPS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, GoI, brought attention to some important points. He said the Indian automobile industry was valued at $240 billion. India is the worlds largest producer of three- and two-wheelers, and third-largest producer in cars. "We are confident that the size of the industry is driven by the indigenization and mainly by the MSMEs," he said.

He added that an important component of Vikshit Bharat by 2047 is Make in India for the World and becoming self-reliant.

These objectives have led to PLIs from the government. Of the 14 PLIs, two are in the Ministry of Heavy Industries -- automobiles and advanced EV cells. The latter is not made in India, and is fully imported, mainly from China. This PLI comprises an INR 18,000 crore scheme where companies in India can manufacture, for which they are given certain incentives. "We expect a number of companies to start manufacturing from later this year and early next year, which would be a key step in manufacturing of EVs in India," he indicated.

The auto PLI is worth INR 26,000-crore for production of electric cars. As a result of this OEMs have to buy components to make these in India. So indirectly, these will benefit MSMEs.

The ministry has been thinking about the global value chain in automobiles. "India currently has 3% share in the global value chain in automobiles and in order to increase this share, we would be keen to engage with foundries," he added.

"Indian soldiers and foundry members must now walk hand-in-hand, partners in defending our sovereignty and future," observed Mr Navneet Agarwal, President, IIF. Some important contributions of Indian foundry in Defence include artillery, tanks, engine blocks, gear boxes, subsystems like transmissions and R&D collaborations in newer alloys, stronger and lighter material in ferrous and non-ferrous, Mr Agarwal rounded off.