Make in India: Vibrant Gujarat summit may open doors for defence manufacturers to set shops in India

GANDHINAGAR: The Prime Minister’s call to “Make in India” may well be targeted at defence sector among others, where the country spends a big chunk of its fund on imports. And if indications are anything to go by, the Vibrant Gujarat 2015 summit may well open the gate for defence equipment manufacturers to set shops in India, particularly in Gujarat.

The flagship biennial event of Gujarat Government is assuming its grandest scale ever with heads of several nations attending the same and sources maintain defence production will be one of the focus areas of the event.

As a matter of fact, a seminar on “Gujarat: preferred hub for defence production”, is scheduled for January 11, the first day of the three day event. While the organizers are expecting the Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to attend the same, more than 250 registrations for the same have already taken place and the number is growing. “We are looking at the engineering companies who are into defence production,” said RJ Shah from Gujarat Chapter of FICCI, which is partnering the event.