MSMEs urged to take advantage of opportunities in the defense sector

(L-R) Deputy General Manager Hindustan Shipyards Ravi Kumar General Secretary Bharat Chamber of Commerce Keka Sharma Executive Vice President AP Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry B. Rajasekhar Senior General Manager HSL D. Srinivasa Rao Director (Finance & Trade) Kiran Easankarala Joint Development and Production Authority FDIRW Deputy Director MS KKdavaci Director R. Senthil Kumar Director Defense Production (NDCD) Neeraj Kumar Quality Assurance Officer QAE (Navy) Captain SU Nair, MSME Technology Center DGM G. Prasada Reddy and Bharat Chamber of Commerce Secretary Avik Roy at the MSME conclave in Tirupati on Wednesday. | Photo credit: ARRANGEMENT

At a state-level MSME conclave on ‘Indian Defense Sector: A New Era for MSMEs’ held in Tirupati on Wednesday, speakers highlighted that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) could tap new avenues opening up in the defense manufacturing sector.

The conclave was conducted by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce (Kolkata), in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense Production, Ministry of Defence. Hindustan Shipyard Limited was the “Nodal Defense Public Sector Undertaking” (DPSU) and AP Chamber of Commerce and Industry Federation was the supporting chamber. The objective of the event was to outline the business opportunities available to MSMEs in and around Tirupati and enable them to become part of the ever-expanding defense manufacturing and export business.

Shubham Bansal, Director, Industries, Commerce and Export Promotion, who participated virtually, emphasized that the aerospace and defense sector offers huge potential and MSMEs can play a big role. He also shared that the ministry is actively exploring other support measures through the proposed industrial housing policy aimed at increasing the state’s competitiveness.

KK Yadav, Deputy Director General (DIRW), Department of Defense Production, Ministry of Defence, explained that the Union Budget 2026-27 has allocated more than ₹ 7 crore for defence, with 75% of the capital purchase budget of nearly ₹ 1.39 lakh crore earmarked for procurement from domestic industries.

“The private sector contributed 24% of India’s domestic defense production in FY 2025-26 and is expected to grow to 30% in the current fiscal,” Yadav added.

Kiran Easankarala, Director (Finance & Commercial), Hindustan Shipyard Limited, pointed to the changing geopolitical environment and recent global conflicts that have driven India’s need to build a strong domestic maritime industrial base.

Neeraj Kumar, Director (NDCD), Ministry of Defense Production outlined a comprehensive policy framework aimed at promoting indigenous design, development and manufacturing through Defense Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, Defense Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025, iDEX, Defense Industrial Corridors and Defense Investment Cell.

D. Srinivasa Rao, Senior General Manager, Commercial, Hindustan Shipyard Ltd., highlighted the rich heritage and strategic importance of HSL as a leading defense public sector.

Piyush Kumar, Director (Indigenization), Ministry of Defense Production, addressing ‘Indigenization Opportunities for SMEs’ said, “Being indigenous is a key pillar of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and aims to reduce import dependency.

Abdul R. Owaisi, Head (Monitoring & Evaluation), PM-SETU, Department of Skill Development, Employment & Training (DSET) spoke on ‘PM-SETU and Defence’ and highlighted the Department’s strategic partnerships through MoU.

Published – 15 Jul 2026 22:21 IST