New Delhi, Jagran Bureau. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has said that not only the production of defense sector in the Corona lockdown has affected the companies most seriously. Units in the defense manufacturing sector have also been affected due to the supply chain disrupting because the government is the only purchaser of defense products.
Corona cannot affect our faith
The Defense Minister said that with the economic package and reforms announced by the Prime Minister, the condition of the economy will change. Crises like Corona can affect our resources but cannot shatter our faith. This was stated by Rajnath Singh while addressing the e-conclave of the Society for Defense Manufactures and other MSMEs, a group of companies associated with the defense sector.
In this conclave organized by CII and the Department of Defense Production, the Defense Minister expressed happiness that defense companies should speed up the construction of DRDO’s PPE kits, ventilators and masks etc. to meet the challenge of Kovid-19 crisis Have been. Due to their high speed, in less than two months, we are not only meeting the domestic demand for these essential commodities, but now we can think of helping the neighboring countries in the coming days.
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Keeping the MSME strong is a major priority of the government
The Defense Minister said that MSMEs are the backbone of the country’s economy and their rapid growth not only increases exports but is also a major source of our foreign exchange. Also, this sector is also a big source of employment. Therefore, maintaining the MSMEs is a major priority of the government. Defense sector government companies have partnership of about eight thousand MSME companies and these companies contribute about 20 percent of defense production.
Discussion about challenges arising out of lockdown
Rajnath said that the Defense Manufacturers Organization has had discussions with senior officials of the Ministry of Defense regarding the challenges arising out of the lockdown. Along with understanding the problems of the defense sector, suggestions for their solution have also been received and the Ministry of Defense has also taken several steps in this direction. Rajnath said that many steps taken by the government and the Reserve Bank will help the defense sector companies to overcome the crisis.
45 lakh MSME units to benefit from credit guarantee
He said that the Prime Minister’s initiative of self-reliant India will give opportunity to give back millions of jobs to the industry of the country. Emphasizing the adoption of Swadeshi, he said that 45 lakh MSME units would benefit from the Rs 3 lakh crore credit guarantee announced in the package for the MSME sector. The Defense Minister said that the decision not to withdraw the global tender for work below Rs 200 crore would also be very beneficial for this sector.
