Not long after the awe-inspiring flypast during the Republic Day Parade this year in New Delhi and just before the jaw-dropping drones show that concluded the Beating Retreat ceremony, it was a matter of immense pride and satisfaction for all Indians to learn that their nation had just signed a US$375 million (approximately Rs 2,770 crore) contract to export BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines.
Aside from the national pride factor, this defence deal is by far the best news of this year so far because it serves a plethora of purposes.
Paving the way for similar deals in the future with not just the Philippines but many other countries from the Indo-Pacific region, Middle East and even Africa, the BrahMos contract makes for a flying start to India’s ambitious target of exporting defence equipment worth US$5 billion (approximately Rs 36,500 crore) by the year 2025.
The value of India’s defence exports has already risen an incredible fourfold since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, but the BrahMos deal is a landmark in that it involves a big-ticket military system for a major military platform.
Deals like this will go a long way in significantly reducing the enormous burden that defence imports place on the exchequer, even as they boost the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) vision and, not to mention, strengthen the economy at large.
Such deals can effectively counter Beijing’s influence as a major supplier of defence equipment in Asia. But, more importantly, they will enable all countries – such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and India, to name a few – facing the threat of Chinese expansionism in the Indo-Pacific region to better defend their sovereignty and interests collectively as well as individually.
Interestingly, Odisha – the state from where the BrahMos missiles have been test-fired – is also emerging as one of the front-runners of the Make in India initiative. It is well on its way to becoming a national manufacturing hub across sectors, including even defence.
This was evident when Anadrone Systems, situated in Ganjam district, recently won the contract for supply of advanced defence equipment to the Indian Army and the Air Force. According to official sources, the company will supply Manoeuvrable Expendable Aerial Targets (MEAT) and associated equipment worth Rs 96 crore, under the Make in India-II category, meant for research and development projects.
The Naveen Patnaik administration’s focus on promoting aerospace, defence and other new-age industries under the Make in Odisha program has begun showing visibly impressive results. Many experts from across industries share the view that such developments will attract more MSMEs to the defence sector, which will further boost indigenous defence manufacturing in India.
Meanwhile, news about another commendable outcome of the Make in Odisha initiative – this time from the health sector – came along when the Indian Council of Medical Research approved a COVID-19 rapid antigen test kit developed by IMGENEX India Pvt Ltd, a private company based in the state capital of Bhubaneswar. The kit can successfully detect various Covid-19 variants through the use of nasopharyngeal swab samples.
These days, there is indeed much to be proud of India as well as Odisha.
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