<p>BENGALURU, DHNS: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the Union gov- ernment's pursuit of indigeni- sation in the defence sector would enable MSMEs in the sector to become self-reliant.</p><p>Singh was speaking after inaugurating the India Man- ufacturing Show 2023 at the Bengaluru International Ex- hibition Centre here.</p><p>Detailing steps initiated to support MSMEs in the sector, he noted that the government imposed restrictions on the import of 509 weapons and systems and released five pos- itive indigenisation lists that facilitated the manufacturing of these items in India.</p><p>He said four positive indi- genisation lists for the Defence Public Sector Undertakings were also promulgated, under which 4,666 items were identi- fied, to be manufactured within India.</p><p>"To ensure adequate de- mand assurance for our do- mestic industries, we reserved 75% of the defence capital acquisition budget, which amounts to approximately Rs one lakh crore, for purchases from local companies," he said.</p><p>These steps will strengthen our MSMEs and make them aatmanirbhar (self-reliant)," he added.</p><p>Underlining efforts as part of the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative, Singh said IDEX Prime was launched to expedite projects by startups that require sup- port of up to Rs 10 crore.</p><p>Small-scale industries are the backbone of India's econo- my and contribute significantly to the country's socio-econom- ic development in the form of employment generation and dispersion of wealth.</p><p>Singh said many MSMEs are also becoming a part of the sup- ply chain of global companies.</p>
