Dignitaries at the TN Def X 2026 conclave, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in the city on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: J. Johan Sathyadas
Private industries in the defence sector have big potential for producing defence products, B.K. Das, Director General (Electronics and Communication systems) of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said.With a defence budget of ₹1.78 lakh crore and with the Defence Industrial Corridor having been set up in Tamil Nadu, huge potential exists in the area, Mr. Das said. He was speaking after inaugurating the TN Def X 2026 conclave, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the city on Tuesday.He said micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), along with the digital start-ups have a big space for indigenisation of defence products. In his address titled ‘Changing warfare and our role for national defence’, he said the State possesses one of the most comprehensive combinations of industrial capability, research infrastructure, skilled workforce, and policy support for producing defence electronics.“The presence of a Defence Industrial Corridor and the combined strengths of the manufacturing capabilities available in the three metro cities of Chennai, Tiruchi, and Coimbatore, would go on to become centres of excellence. The State has to create an innovation ecosystem with a strong manufacturing base along with the research talents available in premium educational institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and Anna University,” he said.D. Karthikeyan, Chairman and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), said recently a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with ISRO in Ahmedabad for setting up space technology in Kulasekarapattinam of Thoothukudi. Mr. Karthikeyan pointed out that testing laboratories are being set up for the Defence sector in the State.Senior officials of the Defence department have also been interacting with MSMEs located in Coimbatore, Tiruchi, and Tirunelveli, to understand the capabilities. A defence conference is planned to be held in the State in the coming months.Mr. Karthikeyan said that TIDCO has partnered with big corporates including GE and Bosch for electronic testing facility which would be helpful for the MSMEs to test their products.Rajesh Mittal, Chairman-CII TN Defence Manufacturing taskforce, and Gowri Kailasam, Vice Chairperson, CII Chennai zone, also spoke on the occasion. Published - July 01, 2026 04:45 am IST
