Indian Military

New Delhi – International and national defence majors are eagerly anticipating the government approval for the development of the aerospace special economic zone (SEZ) near the Bangalore international airport in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

The aerospace SEZ in Karnataka will enable various defence players to set shop in India and tap the defence aerospace business here as well as cater to the export market. Out of the 1,000 acres of land acquired by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), around half of the area will be given to firms for the creation of factories. The SEZ will also capitalise from the growing defence offsets market in India besides creating a dedicated Maintenance Repair and overhaul centre (MRO) in the aerospace SEZ.

According to sources, Amada of Japan, Dynamatics Technologies, Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have acquired land at the Aerospace SEZ in Karnataka. State-owned BEML has invested $70 million in its set-up and products to be manufactured at this plant include aircraft components, assemblies and MRO activities related to aerospace applications.

[India Defence Online] Dynamatic Technologies Limited, the Indian private giant which produces highly specialised engineering products for various crucial sectors such as defence, aerospace and automotive components, has received three industrial defence production licenses from the Indian government. Bangalore based Dynamatic Technologies has received the license to industrially produce heavy vehicles such as battle tanks, land systems and sub-systems. Besides that, it has received two more licenses that will enable it to manufacture two more defence products, namely the Distribution Mechanism and Hydraulic Coupling which will be fitted on Heavy Armoured Vehicles.

New Delhi — Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are set to gain substantially from the growing aerospace business in the country that will arise from the offsets policy. According to an estimate by the reputed PricewaterhouseCoopers, India will spend $25 billion on commercial aircraft and $100 billion on defence until 2014. India is importing passenger and military aircraft in large numbers and the SMEs are eyeing the business that the offsets policy will bring for them.

A host of units that are opening up in the southern Indian state of Karnataka where an aerospace-specific special economic zone (SEZ) is being developed will provide business for the SMEs. About 55 per cent of the land will be allotted to companies for setting up factories and aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities will be undertaken as well. So far, the state-owned defence suppliers Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Mahindra and Mahindra, Dynamatic Technologies and Japan’s Amada have been allotted land.