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Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Group, on Saturday said that India’s defence sector should be corporatised so as to be able to reduce dependence on imports of arms and ammunition into the country.
There are as many as 52 defence factories for manufacturing arms and ammunition in the country at present but most of them are running at 10 per cent capacity, he said.
“We (India) can be largest producer of arms and ammunition. We have 52 factories but they are running at 10 per cent capacity. If they can be corporatised it will bring a new way of thinking,” Agarwal said while addressing the inauguration of the 16th batch of the Post Graduate Programme for Executives for Visionary Leadership in Management (PGPEX-VLM) virtually from London on Saturday.
Ramping up production
According to him, with prices skyrocketing and increasing inflation, the country needs to focus on ramping up its production across sectors to remain sustainable.
There is a huge outgo in terms of imports of oil and defence products in India at present and that needs to be addressed.
He remained bullish about oil and gas output from India as it has a reserve of 300 billion barrels of oil reserves. The country needs to produce at least 50 per cent of requirement for energy security, he observed.
India has one of the largest and best bauxite mines in the world and the government is in the process of privatizing the mines. According to him, the country holds immense potential for aluminium production as demand will shift from steel in several applications. “Bauxite mining will open up in the next one-to-two years,” he said.
Semi-conductor production
Vedanta is hopeful of commencing semi-conductor production in India in the next two years.
“Semi conductor is like the Sutradhar for any industry. We are looking to set up a glass and semi-conductor company in India. In the next two years time we should start producing semi-conductors in India,” he said.
Vedanta, signed a MoU with Foxconn in February this year to form a joint venture company that will manufacture semiconductors in India.
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