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India to boost defence exports |
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In a major shift in India’s maritime policy, the government has now decided to boost collaboration with other countries for production of naval vessels and equipment as well as an aggressive promotion of defence exports, Defence Secretary Yogendra Narain has said.
Speaking to the press after commissioning the missile corvette INS Prabal in Mumbai, Narain said the government had decided to chart out a new policy to collaborate with countries like Russia for making warships and weapons, instead of purchasing them from these countries.
Citing the example of the Brahmos missile, which was developed in collaboration with Russia, he said India would take up similar ventures in future. Efforts were being made to boost defence exports, including warships and equipment, to countries like Myanmar, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka to counter the Chinese influence. Indian products would be offered at subsidised rates currently to boost exports.
He said Thai officials, who were in India recently, had shown keen interest in Indian offshore patrol vessels. Similar interest in vessels made in Indian shipyards had been evinced by other countries and French naval officials who were currently in Mumbai, Narain said. The indigenously built INS Prabal, armed with 16 Russian-made Uran surface-to-surface missiles and 76mm guns, became the latest warship to join the Indian Navy. The warship will be part of the Western Naval Command and will be based at Mumbai.
Prabal is an upgraded version of the Russian-designed Veer-class missile corvettes, 11 of which are currently serving with the navy.
Work on Prabal began at the state-owned Mazagon Dockyard in September 2000. The warship has better radars and electronic warfare equipment than other Veer-class corvettes. Pralaya, the sister ship of Prabal, is currently being built at the state-owned Goa shipyard.
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