Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

CII defence team to visit US in May

Aditi Phadnis

The first-ever delegation of the domestic private sector defence industry will visit the United States from May 13 to May 18.

The Confederation of Indian Industry delegation will be led by Atul Kirloskar, managing director of Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Infotech and few other defence equipment manufacturing companies will be part of the delegation.

The CII move comes after the success of similar missions to the UK and South Africa. The chamber has been mulling the US move for over a year now, and even this is a tentative one because neither side is clear about what it expects from private sector defence ties.

While the US, till recently, viewed India only as a potential market, and was interested in setting up agencies to market its products, Indian industry is equally determined that any relationship with US manufacturers of defence equipment must be predicated on manufacturing and setting up factories together and cannot be a mere trading and marketing arrangement.

CII sources said after the defence sector was opened up for private sector investment, the US was viewed as a valuable source of technology transfer and investment.

This and other issues will be discussed at the India Defence Seminar in Washington DC. The seminar will be attended by the US Defence Manufacturers' Association.

The Indian delegation will be taken on a tour of US security institutions. The industry representatives will also meet policymakers to reassure themselves that the Indo-US private sector defence initiative will be a lasting one and will not be subject to sanctions and other punitive actions, at some later stage.

Powered by

ALSO READ:
The Rediff Budget Special
The Rediff-Business Standard Special
Money

Tell us what you think of this report