Mumbai: The State Government has started the work of setting up defence and aerospace fund to give a boost to the arms manufacturing industry.

The State Government will provide financial help of Rs 1,000 crore to encourage entrepreneurs in the State in the next four years.

IDBI Capital Markets and Securities is the mediator in the process and its officials are having discussions with 10 to 12 industries in the State.

India is among top 10 countries with highest spending on defence. It is estimated that India will spend about 120 billion dollars in the coming decade on defence. Currently, India is spending 70% cost on imports in the defence sector. The objective is to reduce the import by 30%. This fund has been set up towards this purpose. 

“When we thought of Maharashtra for this fund, we saw many small and medium-sized enterprises working in the ancillary sector to manufacture defence material in Nagpur, Pune, Kolhapur and Ahmednagar regions. In Nashik, this ratio is more than other regions. We are in touch with all these industries. We are communicating with 10 to 12 industries,” said Amey Balorkar, Vice President of IDBI Capital Markets and Securities.