Industrialist Anil Ambani has announced an additional investment of Rs 5,000 crore in the Pipavav shipyard project over the next few years. The ADAG (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) Chairman who spoke on the company's acquisition of the Pipavav Defence Company in Gujarat, called it the company's contribution towards self reliance in the defence sector. “We will invest an additional Rs 5,000 crore over the next few years as part of our commitment towards indigenisation efforts.”
“Transparent, fair procedures and processes create a favourable climate, encourage competitiveness and eventually deliver the best overall value for the country,” he said. He added that specific measures towards ease of doing business will encourage industry participation to boost the confidence of the private sector in the new 'Make in India' initiative. “This is necessary as the Ministry of Defence is the sole domestic customer.”
In the speech, he emphasised on self sustenance for flexibility to pursue the country's foreign policy objectives. Accentuating the fact that Pipavav has the largest dry dock in the country, and the second largest in the world, he said, with more than 30 lakh square feet of covered for fabrication and integration alone, it could perhaps be the largest single location defence manufacturing facility in the country.
“We are committed to making it a Global Centre of Excellence in ship building. This facility will be capable of delivering all requirements of the Indian Navy from frigates to aircraft carrier to submarines.”
Stressing that ADAG will equip country's armed forces with the best technology, weapons and equipment, all Made in India, he said it's heartening to see a paradigm shift in country's approach to achieving this. “For a country with one of the longest coastlines in the region and vast expanse of territories over the seas, self-reliance in naval capabilities is an ever-challenging imperative. Given the current geo-political environment, we have no option, but to be in the lead with a potent 'Blue Water Presence'.”
Ambani said talked about his dedicated facility in Noida that works solely to develop 'Combat Management Systems' for future naval vessels. “We are working with market leaders like SAAB to offer the best solutions for our Navy,” he said. He also promoted the pooling of resources between the private and public sector, besides DRDO. “The future belongs to Public Private Partnerships (PPP). We are enthusiastic about working together, specifically with the Navy, public sector shipyards and DRDO to develop innovative solutions. The key is a combined national effort to achieve our goal.”
