Karnataka proposes defence manufacturing policy consultations

Bengaluru: Karnataka has proposed a long-term aerospace and defence policy, a dedicated facilitation cell with a single-window mechanism, and defence manufacturing clusters as part of efforts to strengthen India's defence manufacturing ecosystem.

The recommendations were discussed at a stakeholder workshop in Bengaluru, where Karnataka led consultations under a national policy formulation exercise. The state has been entrusted with leading the process given its strong presence in the aerospace and defence sectors, the industries department said in a statement.

The workshop brought together officials from the ministries of defence and skill development, the state's IT/BT and industries departments, defence PSUs such as HAL, BDL, BEML and metals and metal alloys manufacturing firm Mishra Dhatu Nigam, and industry representatives.


“We will assess the existing ecosystem, consolidate stakeholder inputs and prepare a comprehensive set of recommendations. Similar consultations will also be held across the country,” IT/BT department secretary N Manjula said.

She said the initiative aims to support India's self-reliance in defence manufacturing and strengthen the sector through policy, infrastructure, testing, skill development, MSME participation and exports.

Other recommendations included setting up a Karnataka defence testing and certification network, strengthening MSMEs and startups, developing the Bengaluru–Mysuru–Belagavi defence manufacturing corridor, creating plug-and-play industrial parks and launching specialised Centres of Excellence (CoE).

More than 50 representatives from organisations including L&T, Mahindra Aerospace, and deeptech startups such as Galaxy and Digantara participated in the workshop, the statement said.