MAKE IN INDIA

As world economies restart their engines in a bid to regain lost ground due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India too shows signs of economic buoyancy and promise. India’s Make in India initiative holds a key to the global economic revival, something that should interest Australian government ministries, corporate sector, entrepreneurs, institutions seeking R&D collaborations and Australia Inc in general, among others. India assumes greater importance as several major world economies including American, Japanese, German, British and South Korean look to move out and diversify their businesses from China. India has jumped to 63rd rank in the World Bank’s Ease of Development 2020 report, and has also been ranked as the 9th largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment destinations in 2019 by the World Investment Report 2020 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Wings for F-16 to be made by TataLockheed Martin JV in India

Chennai, March 10 (IANS)

Global defence aerospace player Lockheed Martin and Indias Tata Group have inked an agreement for the production of fighter plane wings at their joint venture Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Ltd (TLMAL) in Hyderabad.

According to Lockheed Martin, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) envisions production of 29 fighter wing shipsets, with an option of additional shipsets, with deliveries commencing in 2025. "These wings are initially intended for the F-16 Block 70/72 jets and would be delivered to our US facility in Greenville, South Carolina, for inclusion into the production/final assembly line. However, the transfer of technology and manufacturing rigor that Lockheed Martin and Tata have demonstrated will transfer to the F-21 if/ when selected by the Indian Air Force. We are proposing the F-21 for India and these would be produced in India," a Lockheed Martin official told IANS.

Lockheed Martin formally recognised TLMAL as a potential co-producer of fighter wings in October 2021 after the latter's successful production and qualification of a prototype fighter wing shipset. Through this prototype project, TLMAL was required to demonstrate the capability to perform detailed part

manufacturing and delivery of a fully-compliant fuel-carrying 9-g, 12,000 hour, interchangeable/ replaceable representative fighter wing, Lockheed Martin said on Friday.

"That achievement further strengthened Lockheed Martin's partnership with India, and supports its F-21 offering for procurement of 114 new fighter aircraft exclusively for India and the Indian Air Force by proving additional indigenous production capability. The India F-21 represents an unprecedented strategic and economic opportunity for the US-India relationship and represents a catalyst to future advanced technology cooperation," Lockheed Martin said. According to the Lockheed Martin official, the F-21 would serve as a force multiplier for the Indian Air Force with an unmatched capability-to-cost ratio compared to the competition.

"In addition, the F-21 is equipped with state-of-the-art systems and sensors that would allow the Indian Air Force to detect, track and engage multiple targets in a contested environment. The current and future state of warfare is and will be centered on gathering and sharing information across multiple domains (air, land, sea, space and cyber) to make effective decisions as quickly as possible. The F-21 will be able to integrate across these domains and across Indian services to provide current and future relevance," the official added.

The F-21 will leverage advanced technologies from across the Lockheed Martin fighter portfolio.

It is a single engine, low life cycle cost platform with an optimal max take-off weight right in between the Rafale and Tejas.

"Our F-21 offer is also 'Make in India' which addresses the goals of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' while providing India with an improved security cooperation relationship with the United States," ythe official said.

Also, the F-21's industrial offering will put India at the epicentre of the world's largest fighter production and sustainment market, creating thousands of highly-skilled jobs in India, the official added.

Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics had established TLMAL as a joint venture in 2010.

TLMAL serves as the single global source of C-130J empennage assemblies that are installed on all new Super Hercules aircraft. To date, TLMAL has manufactured and delivered nearly 200 C-130J empennages.

"I am proud of Tata Group's partnership with Lockheed Martin on this prestigious project. I would like to congratulate the TLMAL team for successfully industrialising and qualifying the fighter wing in spite of the technological complexity involved. I am confident the initiative of manufacturing fighter wings in India will go a long way in strengthening the aerospace and defence manufacturing ecosystem in India," said N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

India to cross $10 bn worth mobile exports in FY22-23, Apple leads at 50%

New Delhi, March 22 (IANS)

Buoyed by attractive government incentives towards local manufacturing, India is all set to reach a remarkable $10 billion (over Rs 82,000 crore) worth smartphone exports in the fiscal year ending March 31, industry data showed on Wednesday.

According to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), Apple's 'Make in India' smartphone now constitutes 50 per cent of total exports.

Samsung is second with 40 per cent mobile exports while other smartphone players constitute 10 per cent export share.

Smartphone exports from India have doubled from a corresponding period from last fiscal year, driven by productionlinked incentive (PLI) schemes.

The top five global destinations India currently exports mobile phones to are the UAE, the US, the Netherlands, the UK and Italy,

according to the ICEA data. "Efficacy and maturity of an industry is only judged with robust exports. Mobile phones policy and outreach initiatives have been relentless and the results are in front of us," Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of ICEA, told IANS.

"The mobile phone industry will cross $40 billion manufacturing output and 25 per cent exports at $10 billion is a stellar performance," he added. Reports surfaced earlier this year that Tim Cook-led Apple will quickly shift some of its China manufacturing to India and Vietnam in the next 2-3 years. India is likely to produce 45-50 per cent of Apple's iPhones by 2027, at par with China, where 80-85 per cent of iPhones were produced in 2022.

According to estimates by DigiTimes research analysts, India and Vietnam are to become the biggest beneficiaries of smartphone supply chain migration out of China. India accounted for 10-15 per cent of iPhones' overall production capacity at the end of 2022. Apple became the first smartphone player in India to have exported $1 billion worth iPhones in the month of December. It currently manufactures iPhones 12, 13, 14 and 14 Plus in the country. According to Mohindroo, the country is now moving in a different direction, "which is largely export-focused and led by the government's performancelinked scheme (PLI) push". The government is also working to strengthen the electronic manufacturing ecosystem beyond mobiles to boost its global share in hearables and wearables, IT hardware and electronic components etc.

India to achieve $750 bn of exports in 2022-23: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi, March 14 (IANS)

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India's goods and services exports are set to cross $750 billion mark in the current fiscal.

He also added that talks with some countries to expand rupee trade are in final stages. Goyal said this on Monday while addressing the CII Partnership Summit in the national capital. The three-day summit got underway on Monday.

"Sustainability has been at the core of G20 agenda for several years now, the core of all multilateral and bilateral engagements over the last few years, but for India, sustainability is a way of life," he said.

The Minister said that partnerships between citizens, communities and countries, when working together in the spirit of cooperation, collaboration and sometimes competition, collectively can contribute to a more stable and prosperous future.

Dukgeun Ahn, Trade Minister of South Korea, said on the occasion that India is playing a prominent role in the IT sector, including Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, as the world's largest source of human talent and outstanding engineers.

He observed that India has been successful in creating favourable conditions for businesses with its 'Make in India' and 'Self-Reliant India' policies, playing a pivotal role in establishing a stable global supply chain.

Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, United Arab Emirates, said that global issues require global solutions and cannot be resolved by a single nation or a small group of nations, as they require significant concrete actions. The UAE, he said, is dedicated towards collaborating with international partners bilaterally and multilaterally in order to tackle world problems and build a more sustainable and prosperous future for everyone.