Produce textile products for defence forces, local units told

Neeraj Bagga

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Amritsar, March 20

To engage MSMEs and startups in manufacturing material required by the defence forces, IIT Ropar called upon the local manufacturing units to fathom their emerging needs to produce them.

Addressing members of the local unit of the CII during its annual zonal and interactive session here recently, Atharva Poundarik, assistant professor and coordinator, Center of Excellence for Studies and Applied Research in Defence and Security, said these products could be in electronic, material design, prototyping and textiles.

He said this would provide tremendous business to strengthen national security through technological education and offer research-based solutions. It will not only make the country self-reliant in its requirement but also give good earning opportunities to the MSME sector. After joint consultations with the Army Training Command (ARTRAC), Shimla, IIT Ropar formulated several projects to provide solutions for operational needs.

Karan Verma, chairman, CII Amritsar Zone, said the holy city has woolen industry units specialising in rolling out tweeds, blazers and other varieties of clothes. These units could prove handy in providing clothes for troops deployed in high altitude areas.

In his address, Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Sawhney said he would arrange a meeting of holy city-based industrialists with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to take up their problems.

During the interaction, the founding chairman of CII Amritsar, Gunbir Singh, said the G20 Summit brought in diverse flavours into the holy city and a taste of what the city can be if given sufficient attention. Suddenly the traffic was moving, the administration was on autopilot, the citizens following rules and the state government was using additional forces to set “disorder” in order. He hoped that with spillover benefits to the state’s revenues, grounds for a major convention centre, with trade and exhibition provisioning, a demand reiterated for a decade by the CII, would be met.

With logistics, communication and hospitality infrastructure in place, the attraction of Golden Temple, Ram Tirath and Attari-Wagah border, the city is an apt destination for holding meetings, conferences and exhibitions.