HAL welcomes increased defence FDI, new airports

Increased FDI limit in defence sector would provide a boost to the military industry in country and will help public sector firms play a big role in defence sector manufacturing, HAL chief R K Tyagi said today.

"HAL welcomes 49 per cent FDI in defence sector as we feel that it would give boost to production activities in India. This opens the door for leading company like HAL to play a big role along with the other players in defence manufacturing," he said. The government yesterday raised the FDI limit in defence sector to 49 per cent from the existing 26 per cent in the general Budget.

Tyagi said the budget also gives a thrust to modernisation "as it seeks to create conducive environment for technology development and research". The HAL, which has two civil airports in Bangalore and Nashik in Maharashtra also welcomed the government's resolve to create new airports in smaller cities and towns.

"This would enable us to take up civilian operations with more confidence. Our airport at Nashik just over 100 km from Mumbai is prime example of this," Tyagi said.

Commenting on the government decision to give management role to Indian companies only, a senior Deloitte official said, "The Government has attempted to follow a balanced approach for foreign and Indian companies to work for the indigenous defence manufacturing requirements in India."

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