Manohar Parrikar releases booklet on defence production works

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar released a booklet in New Delhi yesterday highlighting the efforts made by Department of Defence Production in the last two years. The booklet is a compilation of the achievements in the field of indigenous production of weapon systems and policy initiatives undertaken during the period.

Under the Make in India programme, the emphasis has been given to improve the business environment, encourage participation of Indian public and private sector in defence production and promote innovation and indigenous development of equipment and weapon platforms.

The booklet also talks about a number of policy initiatives including relaxation in FDI Policy, liberalising licensing policy and streamlining defence offset guidelines. The booklet also reveals that during the last two years, exports have almost doubled and 119 industrial licenses have been issued.

It also mentions that all Naval ships and submarines on order are being constructed in Indian shipyards. The expenditure on capital procurement from foreign vendors in the last two years has come down from about 35 thousand crore



rupees to nearly Rs 22,400 crore.

Govt. conducting research across India to identify quake prone areas: Dr.Hash Vardhan

Government is conducting comprehensive research across the country to identify the earthquake prone areas to prevent major disasters resulting from the quakes. In an exclusive interview to All India Radio, Science and Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said the government has fixed sensors at Koyana in Maharashtra to know the reasons of frequent tremors in the area. 

He said if the research becomes successful, India would be able to deal with earthquake effectively. The Minister said a similar project is underway at Shillong which witnesses frequent quakes.  Mr. Harsh Vardhan also said the Centre has taken several initiatives in the fields of weather forecasting, formulation of new vaccines, biotechnology and energy research in the last two years. 

The Minister said, India's weather forecasting has become world class and its Tsunami warning system is constantly being tested and will have the maximum possible warning period in case of another strike.