Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday lauded Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for its “consistently excellent financial performance” over the last five years and urged it to face private sector competition as “a challenge and an opportunity”.
Addressing employees at HAL’s cultural event, ‘Kannada Naada Habba’, Mr. Singh hailed HAL, which supplies 80% of military aircraft to the armed forces, as the backbone of national security.
Once the sole defence aircraft supplier, it has been forced in recent years to take part in competitive bidding against smaller private companies. This trend, he said, should not daunt the ₹19,700-crore defence public sector behemoth, which has a rich manufacturing experience and skilled staff.
Key role
As the country tries to get out of huge defence imports and even double its defence exports to ₹35,000 crore by 2024, HAL has a key role in indigenous manufacture, he said.
Mr. Singh later inaugurated a new production hangar of the 5.5-tonne Light Combat Helicopter at HAL’s helicopter complex.
