Governor for more private sector role in Defence

HYDERABAD: Noting that the technological prowess of the private sector be given due recognition and considered a national asset, governor ESL Narasimhan has said the government has to create an environment wherein the private sector feels assured of just business opportunities, levelplaying ground and fair play. In his keynote address at the inaugural of a national seminar, 'SwavalambanII', organised by the Indian School of Business and College of Defence Management on the ISB campus at Gachibowli here on Friday, he said, "The objective of achieving selfreliance will remain elusive unless the private sector is duly integrated and its potential fully harnessed to build a viable indigenous defence industrial base."
He said the security framework needed to be rejigged in the context of greater role for private enterprise with adherence to an all encompassing security protocol. The country should have a dependable and secure supply chain to empower its security instead of depending on the tenuous supply lines. "Most of the countries, including developed nations which are in the fore front of defence technologies, have several inbuilt mechanisms and budgetary provisions to fund and support their industries to take up challenging R D work for military applications through innovative ideas. The Kelkar Committee had recommended creation of Defence Technology Development Fund (DTDF) for use by private sector industries to undertake highrisk development tasks. It is essential that this corpus fund is created and the same can be managed through an appropriate board under DRDO. The government should foresee and facilitate creation of a new breed of joint ventures and special purpose vehicles.''