Eight Anil Ambani group cos get conditional approval for defence units

New Delhi - A high-powered panel has cleared as many as 32 proposals for setting up manufacturing units in defence and explosive sectors which includes conditional approval to eight subsidiaries of Reliance Infra. The cases were decided in the fifth licensing committee meeting held here on 6 November. [caption id=“attachment_2515968” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Reuters[/caption] The inter-ministerial committee was chaired by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Amitabh Kant. The licensing committee considered 33 proposals. Of this, 25 were from the defence manufacturing sector, 7 from the explosives sector, and one from consumer. DIPP has given conditional approval to 11 proposals of eight subsidiaries of Reliance Infra which includes Reliance Defence Technologies Pvt Ltd, Reliance Helicopters, Reliance Propulsion Systems Ltd, Reliance Aero-structure Ltd and Reliance Naval Systems Ltd. To attract foreign direct investment and boost defence manufacturing in the country, which imports up to 70 per cent of its military hardware, the government had recently relaxed the policy. It has allowed FDI up to 49 per cent under automatic route and beyond through the FIPB’s approval. Portfolio investment and investment by FVCIs has also been allowed up to permitted automatic route level of 49 per cent. Reliance Group bet Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group is betting big on defence sector in the wake of government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. The Group had recently committed to invest around Rs 46,000 crore in sectors such as defence, IT, electronics and energy in Madhya Pradesh. The Reliance Group plans to invest in Pithampur industrial area near Indore and Bhopal in the defence sector. “An Integrated Land System Defence Manufacturing Hub in Pithampur and a Rotary Wing Helicopter Manufacturing Unit in Bhopal will be set up with an investment of nearly Rs 6,000 crore,” a state government press release had said. The state government will allot 400 acres of land in Pithampur and 70 acres in Bhopal for Reliance Group’s projects. PTI