Defence Watch yearbook launched by CDS Rawat amidst stuka screams at DefExpo

Lucknow: Amidst the drone of military helicopters and Stuka screams of jets, PSU Watch's first yearbook — Defence Watch — was unveiled by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Yesso Naik and Chairman and Managing Directors of BEL, HAL, GRSE, GSL, among others, on the second day of DefExpo 2020.

Defence Watch yearbook launch: CDS stresses indigenisation

Launching the Defence Watch yearbook, General Rawat stressed on the need for indigenisation and the creation of a level playing field for both the public and the private sector. Naik, in his message, noted that the yearbook was a very important initiative. "It is very heartening to see that Defence Watch has come up with a yearbook on the state of defence production in India. It is a very important initiative, especially at a time when India has a goal of $5 trillion before it and defence production has the potential to contribute towards it in a big way."

Minister of State for Defence Shripad Yesso Naik (left) holds the Defence Watch Yearbook, along with Defence Watch's Editor Vivek Shukla.

HAL CMD R Madhavan (left) along with Defence Watch's Editor Vivek Shukla.

What does the yearbook cover?

The yearbook looks at the current state of defence production in India and evaluates the role played by PSUs, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), foreign OEMs and policies in the sector. In keeping with the theme of DefExpo — Digital transformation of defence — the cover story of the book reviews the progress made by India in Artificial Intelligence in the arena of defence and asks how long does it to have to wait for a warfare revolution 4.0.

GSL CMD BB Nagpal (left) along with Defence watch's Editor Vivek Shukla.

The other stories evaluate the changing role of PSUs in the defence sector as the private sector seeks a bigger role, how the North-East has been left out of the ambit of Make in India so far, India's indigenous showpiece IAC-1, among others. There's another piece from CII's Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) representing the private sector perspective on what else India needs to do in order to give a fillip to the private sector and involve MSMEs in defence production.

BEL CMD Gowtama MV (left) and Defence Watch's Editor Vivek Shukla.

GRSE CMD RAdm (Retd) Vipin Kumar Saxena, IN (left) with Defence Watch's Editor Vivek Shukla

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