He said Narendra Modi told him in December 2021 that if they want to provide employment to Indians, it is essential to spend money on Indian industries and manufacturing within the country

Mysore: Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane said here on Sunday that the government has no plans to close any Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSUs). In fact, it gave 95 per cent of the orders to Indian industries last year to generate employment, he pointed out.

The government has allocated 75 per cent of the orders to Indian industries, which will increase after this year’s budget. After inspecting the BEML Mysuru plant and launching the `Swachhta Hi Sewa ‘ campaign here, he said, “I hope Indian companies are equipped to measure up to the expectations of the Prime Minister.”

He said Narendra Modi told him in December 2021 that if they want to provide employment to Indians, it is essential to spend money on Indian industries and manufacturing within the country. He said the Mysuru BEML unit will not be closed as long as it remains a PSU. On the BEML unit in KGF, he said that too will not be closed till it is profitable and viable.

On steps taken to encourage R&D activities, he said the Defence Research Development Organisation is the primary agency that conducts research in the defence sector. The government has allocated Rs 25,000 crore for research activities among PSUs, startups and private companies.

He said they are also thinking of launching the Athithi scheme, where the focus will be on complex defence technologies, where higher grants will be provided to private companies. The defence ministry has tied up with the R&D ecosystem of US industries to come up with new innovations in the defence sector, he added. He said BEML has a great potential in the Metro rail business and Railways, which is seeing a rapid expansion of Vande Bharat services. The central government is converting all tracks into highspeed and electric, which will give scope for BEML to supply to the Railways, he added.

He said there are huge opportunities in the defence sector for companies like BEML that have alert management and staff. He said the BEML and its CMD should identify areas where they can achieve excellence and said efficiency and productivity should be maintained.