Metropolis might quickly manufacture small arms and ammunition

COIMBATORE: Soon, the defence, paramilitary and police personnel across the nation might be using guns and bullets manufactured from the city. Coimbatore, which is already known for manufacturing defence products, is soon going to become a hub for manufacturing small arms and ammunition.
The Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries Association (Codissia) has submitted a proposal to the defence ministry requesting to provide them with a commitment for manufacturing defence products. “Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman has requested the Indian to include Codissia in the defence manufacturing discussions. And, we have submitted a proposal to the defence ministry requesting for a commitment on its requirement from MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) here,” said the president of Codissia, V .

The proposal is to set up a public limited company comprising a group of members from Codissia that will manufacture the products required by the Army. “For instance, about 2,500 out of the 5,000 member companies will come together and invest a capital and manufacture the products. All the companies will be stakeholders but will behave like vendors,” said Sundaram.

Sundaram also said that this will also serve as an opportunity for start-ups that will come up in the Codissia Industrial Park. “The start-ups can become suppliers of products to the MSMEs and gain business. About 300 companies will come up in the 400-acre Industrial Park,” he said.

The Indian Army is bringing in academia and industry together to come out with solutions for the problem statements made by them by conducting 32 seminars across the country. “During one such seminar organised here last week, Codissia displayed 13 stalls showcasing the potential of the member companies for manufacturing defence products,” said Sundaram.

Indian Army vice-chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand had told during the seminar that India will require about 2.5million ammunition and 1.5million small arms in the next 15 years. “I told the vice-chief of the Army that Coimbatore is the best place to look for manufacturing small arms and ammunition as the city‘s industries have all the expertise and equipment,” Sundaram said. “If needed, we might also partner with companies in the and Germany and work along with them in return for certain equity in the company,” Sundaram added.

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