SME Times News Bureau | 16 Apr, 2018
The
government will create a
dedicated defence & aerospace SME fund, registered with SEBI
where minority stake could be taken by investors, said
Secretary,
Department of Defence Production, MoD, Ajay Kumar recently.
This
fund would help channelize investments into the two defence corridors
announced by the Government in Tamil Nadu & Uttar Pradesh.
During
the FICCI Session on 'Offsets: Way forward towards a win-win
framework', held at the Defexpo 2018, Ajay Kumar shared the
Government's thought process on major reforms in the offset policy.
He said that the OEMs and the Government were both dissatisfied with
the earlier policy and the MoD wishes to indulge in a larger dialogue
with all stakeholders.
Kumar highlighted that the new paradigm would focus on three
principles - investment in defence infrastructure like Government
identified PSU/ quasi-PSU projects, providing higher incentives for
transfer of 'Know Why' and targeted offset discharge. He added
"Investments into testing infrastructure, training facilities
and test beds would attract higher value of multiplier".
The
government has addressed the current concerns of OEMs of delays in
offset discharge by putting in place a framework for ensuring ease in
doing business. In addition, measures such as facilitating third
party certification based on data provided by the Registrar of
Companies (ROC) subject to physical verification and statutory audits
have also been taken.