The Hindu : National : BrahMos production to be trebled

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Sunday, Mar 18, 2007
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National

National

BrahMos production to be trebled

Special Correspondent

KOCHI: India is going to treble the production of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.

"We plan to increase the production of the missile system by 300 per cent in the next two years," A. Sivathanu Pillai, chief executive officer and managing director of BrahMos Aerospace, told reporters on Friday.

Dr. Pillai, who is also the chief controller of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), noted that BrahMos, already inducted into the Navy, was a world-class cruise missile. The Defence services required more number of the missile.

Dr. Pillai said there were plans for exporting the missile, too. He pointed out that the country had a huge potential for exporting defence products, particularly to Asian countries. India was a top manufacturer of sonar systems and these could be a key export item.

He said DRDO and other Defence units had in the recent years jacked up their partnership with private sector industries. Defence outsourcing was set to get a boost in the coming years. "Gone are the days when we partnered with only public sector undertakings," he said. Now, the private-public distinction had vanished.

"Whoever is capable of meeting our needs, whether public or private, will be picked up." Performance and the capacity to deliver the goods on time were the main criteria. The Government had taken a policy decision to partner with industry. This was mainly because Indian industry was doing very well now and they were capable of making top-class supplies on time.

Dr. Pillai, who presided at an industry-NPOL (Naval Physical Oceanographic Laboratory) interface, the first of its kind, here on Friday, urged the industry to partner with the Defence services. He told industrialists that the Navy was going to build many ships and submarines, which might together be worth around Rs. 3,000 crores. This was a wonderful opportunity for the industry. "We are ready to work with you; are you ready?" he asked.

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