Tamil Nadu is going to be the focus of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) because the State has a well-established industrial sector, which is excellent, Samir V. Kamat, Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development, and Chairman, DRDO, said at the Global Investors Meet 2024 on Sunday.
In his keynote address at the session, ‘Unlocking the potential of aerospace and defence sector through dedicated corridors’, Mr. Kamat said this was the right time to enter the defence industry. Pointing out that the defence corridors that the government had established during 2016-17 were reaching maturity now, he said, “We are going to invest in both the Uttar Pradesh corridor and the Tamil Nadu corridor to set up test and simulation centres, which can help small industries that cannot afford such facilities to test the products which they develop.”
The DRDO will also offer consultancy at these centres. “So, Tamil Nadu is going to be a focus area for us. We are looking at working with TIDCO [Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation]. Because Tamil Nadu has a well-established industrial sector, unlike Uttar Pradesh where it will take longer for the eco-system to build up.”
Mr. Kamat said the industrial infrastructure in Tamil Nadu was excellent.
“I think with a small amount of fine-tuning, the same industries which contribute so much to automobile and software can contribute significantly to the defence and aerospace sectors,” he added.
Earlier, former DRDO chief S. Christopher and S. Somanath, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), were engaged in a fireside chat.
To a question by Mr. Christopher on ISRO’s plans for the second spaceport at Kulasekharapatnam in Thoothukudi district, Mr. Somanath said it was not to replace Sriharikota or declutter it, but to create an alternative launch site. One of the objectives was that an industrial cluster should come up around the launch site, which would support the manufacture of components and launch of rockets and satellites. “If you look at it in that sense, I believe that Kulasekharapatnam is apt for it. It gives you a higher payload capability. We are also looking at a lower turnaround time for launch,” he said.
