Ample opportunity exists in Odisha for the state to become a defence manufacturing hub as India advances towards self-reliance in the production of equipment and components for the armed forces, defence experts said on Saturday.

Odisha already hosts defence installations like the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in Sunabeda, the Ordnance Factory in Balangir, the Interim Test Range (ITR) and Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE) in Chandipur, and the Air Defence College in Gopalpur. The state could be developed into a defence manufacturing hub, as no such industrial corridor currently exists in eastern India, they said.

“There is a tremendous amount of opportunity in Odisha where a Defence Manufacturing Corridor can come up as the state has every ingredient to make such a venture successful,” Lt Gen Chandi Prasad Mohanty, former Vice Chief of Army Staff, said.

Lt Gen Mohanty was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the ‘Mission: Make in Odisha for Defence Industry—Opportunities Galore’ conclave held at the Siksha ‘O’Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here.

The conclave was jointly organised by the Odisha Corporate Foundation (OCF), SOA, and SOA Centre for Innovation and Incubation (SOA-CII), to bring entrepreneurs and industry professionals on a single platform with the defence experts.

The inaugural session was also addressed by Mr Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Member of Parliament, Air Marshal DK Patnaik, former AOC-in-C, Eastern Air Command, Dr BK Das, Director General, Electronic and Communication System, DRDO, Maj Gen Ramesh Chandra Padhi, former Additional Surveyor General who is also the Chairman of OCF, Brig (Dr) LC Patnaik, Co-chairman, OCF, and Mr Tushar Sahu, former Executive Director, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).

Lt Gen Mohanty said that the conclave served as a platform to place Odisha as a defence manufacturing location, highlighting its substantial mineral wealth, 480-km long coastline, road network, and a large number of trained workforce.

The magnitude of defence manufacturing can be imagined from the fact that a single aircraft carrier costs Rs 23,000 crore, which is double the amount of the annual budget of a state like Sikkim. Besides, an Arjun tank costs Rs 75 crore and a combat helicopter is priced at Rs 110 crore, Lt Gen Mohanty said.

The new government in Odisha aims to attract investments amounting to Rs 5 lakh crore, he said, adding that it has created a land bank of 160,000 acres and that the state has a surplus of power and water.

Complimenting the efforts to establish Odisha as a defence manufacturing hub, Mr Sarangi emphasised the importance of bringing this initiative to fruition. “Your efforts can yield results because a favourable government is currently in the saddle in Odisha,” he said.

Dr Das, former Director of the ITR in Chandipur, noted that during the development of the Trishul missile, which has a range of ten km, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had to import components from the USA and Israel. When the supply of necessary components was stopped, India decided to manufacture them indigenously and achieved great success.

Thereafter, when the Agni missile was developed with a range of 5,000 km, all the components used in its production were developed at home. Every equipment and component used in radar and telemetry systems is manufactured in India today, he said.

Brig (Dr) Pattnaik said that India must strengthen its defence capabilities to emerge as a major global power, highlighting the immense scope for manufacturing in this sector. He said that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Sunabeda had received an order worth Rs 26,000 crore for manufacturing aircraft engines.

The day-long conclave featured multiple panel discussions on topics related to defence manufacturing. Mr Tushar Sahu concluded the event by proposing a vote of thanks.