Odisha seeks to woo investors to aerospace and defence

Odisha government Tuesday sought to woo investors to the aerospace and defence manufacturing sector saying that the state besides having a diverse ecosystem for it has abundant steel and aluminum required for making components.

The Integrated Test Range (ITR) and Proof Experimental Establishment at Chandipur in Balasore district of the state provide a ready ecosystem for testing military equipment, Odisha Industries Minister Ananta Das said at the 'Make in Odisha Conclave 2018' here.

Addressing representatives of different manufacturing companies, he said no state in India has so much facilities to encourage defence manufacturers. The engine manufacturing division of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in Koraput and Ordinance Factory at Badmal provide a ready market for ancillary component suppliers to set up facilities in Odisha.

Besides Odisha has a long coastline, deep water ports at Paradip, Dhamara and Gopalpur ports which ensures substantial savings on logistics and transportation cost.

Being the highest producer of aluminium, steel and stainless steel, we can easily provide aerospace and defence grade products for use in the industry, Das said adding the state also has several research and training institutes for aerospace and defence manufacturing.

Elaborating, he said Odisha has the Army Air Defence College at Gopalpur and INS Chilika wich serves as the sailor training institute. This apart, the state has facilities like international cargo operations equipped with custom clearance for dispatching cargo.

Seeking investment in the sector, the state government said that the Central Tool Room and Training Centre (CTTC) here has played a key role by supplying various components to light combat aircraft 'Tejas', 'Mangalayan' and 'Chandrayan'.

The state has national institutes like IIT, IIM, NIT, NISER and IIIT and others which may come to the help of the sector.

To meet its raw material requirement, the aerospace and defence manufacturing units can easily avail steel and stainless steel from different industries including SAILs RSP and aluminium from Nalco, Vedanta and Hindalco in the state.

Highlighting the advantages in Odisha, its industries secretary Sanjeev Chopra said Odisha Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Policy 2018 aims to carry forward the process of industrialisation through promotion of aerospace and defence manufacturing enterprises, generate employment and promote value addition.

The policy provides capital grant of 50 per cent of infrastructure cost limited to Rs 10 crore, Chopra said adding the state has proposed to extend subsidy upto 50 per cent of the cost of land, building, plant and machinery to SPV setting up the first state-of-the art Aerospace and Defence Park in the state with ceiling of Rs 50 crore for common facility centre, Rs 30 crore for Technology Innovation Centre and Rs 25 crore for testing centre set up with private participation.

The meeting was attended aamong others by Ashok Wadhwan, president, manufacturing Business of Punj Lloyd Limited and Philip Shaw, chief executive of Lockheed Martin India.