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The United Ship-building Corporation of Russia, a state-owned corporation with a market share of 95 per cent in that country, is very keen on partnering with Andhra Pradesh in developing the industry here and to set up a manufacturing facility not only to meet the needs of the Indian market but also the export market, according to Alexey L. Rakhmanov, the president.
He was speaking here on Tuesday evening at an interaction session organised by the FICCI on opportunities in defence manufacturing sector in Andhra Pradesh. Rakhmanov led a Russian delegation to the event.
He said his shipyard had developed great expertise in building of merchant vessels as well as warships and weapon systems. "We take the Make-in-India campaign very seriously and we believe there is a great opportunity for Russia and India to co-operate in the sector of defence manufacturing. We are particularly enthusiastic about Andhra Pradesh, as Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu is evincing great interest in this sector," he said and added that in particular his corporation could be useful in providing vessels for the waterways in Andhra Pradesh.
Earlier, Rear-Admiral L.V Sarat Babu, the Chairman and Managing Director of the Hindusthan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), said the Union Government had given infrastructure status to the ship-building industry and was planning to offer graded assistance to the sector. He said Russia and India, AP in particular, could set up joint manufacturing facilities. "Almost 45 per cent of inputs that go into ship-building in India are imported and therefore Russia and India can build these components in the country itself through joint ventures or some other route," he said.
Vice-Admiral HCS Bisht, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, said the friendship between Russia and India "is one of the most enduring ones after the Second World War" and Russians played a critical role in building the Visakhapatnam steel plant and the naval dockyard here. He expressed the confidence that they would play an equally significant part in future in building up of Visakhapatnam, the city of destiny, and Andhra Pradesh.
Kartikeya Mishra, the director of Industries and Commerce, AP, spoke about the opportunities of investing in AP in the defence sector and J. Krishna Kishore, the CEO of AP Economic Development Board, also spoke.
sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in
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