Date:27/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/27/stories/2007072753100500.htm

Kerala - Kochi

Centre welcomes joint venture

Staff Reporter

With Russian company for production of titanium sponge

— Photo: Vipinchandran

Key partnership: State Industries Principal Secretary T. Balakrishnan with Union Defence Production Secretary K.P. Singh at the inauguration of Defence Industry Symposium in Kochi on Thursday.

KOCHI: The Union Defence Ministry has welcomed the State Government move to forge a joint venture with a Russian company for production of titanium sponge.

This a good initiative as titanium sponge was a key requirement for the defence industry for use in missiles, air and spacecraft, said K.P. Singh, Union Secretary for Defence Production, here on Thursday.

He was inaugurating Defence Industry Symposium, a defence-industry convergence seminar.

Mr. Singh said that titanium sponge was not readily available now in the country and that the Union Defence Ministry was keen to source the product from the proposed new venture. Mr. Singh said the Indian defence establishment had been sourcing products and components from the private sector for long. However, the policy gave a new thrust to indigenisation in 2006 through the offset policy which required that when more than Rs.300 crore worth of defence purchases were made at least 30 per cent of it should be from the domestic market.

The two-day symposium was attended by about 150 local entrepreneurs who were keen to take a look at the new opportunities available to them in the defence market that has been thrown open to the private players as well.

T. Balakrishnan, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Government of Kerala, welcomed the gathering. Umang Patodia, Chairman, CII, Kerala, and T.O. Sooraj, Director, Industries and Commerce, were among those who spoke at the inaugural function.