The Centre informed parliament that MoUs have been signed by 53 industries and organisations for a potential investment of Rs 11,794 crore in the TN Defence Industrial Corridor

Photo Credit : TNDIC,

The Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor (TNDIC) has managed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) from 53 industries and organisations for a potential investment of 11,794 crores, of which 3,861 crore has already been invested in the Corridor, according to the Ministry of Defence.

The government expects the TNDIC, which will be spread across five nodes in Chennai, Coimbatore, Hosur, Salem and Tiruchirappalli, to generate opportunities for direct and indirect employment, according to Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) MP Dr Anbumani Ramadoss in Rajya Sabha. “Support sought by the Government of Tamil Nadu from time to time for the development of TNDIC is appropriately addressed,” the minister said.

In another question, the Centre claimed that actual defence spending has only increased, even though the percentage of total government spending has decreased. For example, the gross defence expenditure for BE 2022-23 was 5,55,484 crore, while the Central government expenditure was 30,44,909 crore, representing 14.08 per cent of defence spending on central spending. This was slightly higher than the previous fiscal year's RE 2021-22 figure of 14.20 per cent.

Sharing spending details from 2014-15 till 2022-23, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said data showed defence expenditure as a percentage of Central Government Expenditure may appear to be decreasing due to an increasing trend in the growth of Central Government Expenditure. However, Defence Expenditure is increasing in absolute terms, implying higher spending. His response was in response to a question from Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam.

The junior minister also informed the legislature that following the corporatisation of the former Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), the government provided Troop Comforts Limited (TCL) with 550.64 crores in financial assistance during the fiscal years 2021-22 and 2022-23.

In response to another question from MP Visam, the Minister stated that the fabric manufacturing process for the newly designed digital combat uniform includes wet processing (chemical refining of fabric), dyeing (application of colour and shades), and printing (of design). Garmenting is the final stage in the production of stitched apparel.

“The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) have been obtained for Digital Camouflage Pattern and it starts from wet processing onwards. As a result, this specific qualifying criterion was included in the Request for Proposal (RFP) to increase manufacturer accountability and reduce unauthorised proliferation,” the minister said. Furthermore, the procurement is being conducted through an Open Tender Enquiry (OTE), and in order to ensure compliance with the tender conditions, adequate time has been allotted to all bidders, including TCL, prior to the opening of the bid, he added.