Aiming to cash in on government's plan to enhance defence procurement from domestic sources, the Pune-based Kalyani Group is fast building capacity with the objective of becoming a major artillery player in a decade.
"Our aim is to become, in the next ten years, a major artillery house in the country and to that extent, we are also tying up with the technology partners," Group Chairman Baba Kalyani told PTI on the sidelines of Defexpo here.
The USD 2.5 billion Kalyani Group's flagship firm Bharat Forge is the world's largest forging firm with manufacturing facilities spread across India, Germany and Sweden. It is also a leading auto component manufacturer.
The group operates its defence business as a separate entity. It has inked joint venture with Israel's Elbit Systems for manufacturing modern gun systems and mine protected vehicles in the country. It has also signed a pact with SAAB of Sweden to provide air defence solutions.
"So, clearly we are building a defence business. Defence Ministry has said that it will give more and more work to the Indian industry and there is a drive towards indigenisation. There is a make and buy India programme. We only hope is that the implementation of the policy framework happens faster," he said.
Kalyani said the Group would use its strong platform of metallurgical knowledge, design and engineering capability and manufacturing prowess, to make the aim a reality.
"We are determined to scale up our contribution to the armed forces and play a vital role in the defence sector by providing technology-intensive weapon systems. The development of indigenously-built howitzer gun is a testimony to that," he said.
"Testing is with the government. We have requested the government to provide us the testing facility and I think they are looking at it very positively and I am sure some solution will emerge," he added.
