SHRIPAD NAIK ADDRESSES MSME IN SHIPBUILDING AND DEFENCE AT CII CONFERENCE
PANAJI: At a virtual meet on opportunities at Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDSL) organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik stated that more than 60 per cent of the Indian Navy’s budget is dedicated to capital expenditure and nearly 70 per cent of this capital budget has been spent on indigenous sourcing amounting to nearly Rs 66,000 crore in the last five years.
Naik stated that with more than 60 major surface and sub-surface platforms being built for mainly the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard at GSL, MDSL, Garden Reach Shipbuilder and Engineers (GRSE), Hindustan Shipyards Limited (HSL) and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), the potential for MSMEs is vast.
Naik, who is also the Minister for AYUSH, said that expected orders for surface ships and submarines to be executed from 2020 to 2030 is to the tune of $51 Billion.
“I congratulate Goa Shipyard Limited and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited for taking the initiative and of course the Confederation of Indian Industry for organising this event to help strengthen ancillary industry and boost/promote business, through vendor registrations and B2B, understand and explore business opportunity in Shipbuilding and Defence,” said Naik.
CII Goa State Council chairman Blaise Costabir setting the theme of the session stated that with India’s maritime interests growing at a fast pace, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a $5 trillion economy by 2025, the country’s shipbuilding will see increased focus and demand. The country’s vast coastline and the evolving geopolitical situation in India’s neighbourhood has also put a greater thrust on maritime safety and security.
Addressing 150+ companies participating in the event, GSL chairman and managing director Cmde B B Nagpal stated that the defence shipbuilding sector will continue to see robust growth. “There is 9.3% growth in the defence budget in 2019-2020,” he said and added that the country expects to see the same trend for the next 10 years.
“GSL is keen to handhold and strengthen the local vendor ecosystem including the Konkan Maritime Cluster and in view of the project that are currently being executed and those in the pipeline, there is immense opportunity for the industry and for MSMEs to participate,” Cmde Nagpal said.
MDSL Director (Shipbuilding) Radm A K Saxena, NM, IN addressed the gathering on the opportunities and challenges in shipbuilding at MDSL; MDSL general manager Biju George and A
GSL chief general manager (commercial and outsourcing) V Raviprakash expressed keen interest in working with local MSMEs and Goan shipyards.
Biju George stated they were open to collaborate and jointly bid for contracts, both in the foreign market as well as domestic market.
SIDM Marine Systems Committee chairman Cmdre Mukesh Bharagava and Member of the Board, L&T Defence, RAdm Anian George, NM, IN ADGQA (WP), Indian Navy spoke on QA and Indian Defence Industry: scripting future of Atmanirbhar Navy.
At the technical session that followed, GSL former Director (Operations) S J Kamat moderated the session. GSL Deputy Manager (Commercial) Abhijeet briefed the gathering on the introduction of Intellectual Property Rights concept and Goa Shipyard initiative”.
GEM Advisor-Defence Procurement, Cmdre B. K. Munjal, VSM (Retd) briefed on the process, importance and advantages of registering GeM Portal, and Director of Konkan Maritime Cluster, Goa, Brijesh Manerikar spoke on the initiatives of the KMC.