Need For Indigenisation Of Defence Engineering Projects Metalogic Webinar

TITLE: Need for Indigenisation of Defence Engineering Projects - Metalogic Webinar CHANNEL: Metalogic PMS DATE: 2026-06-24 ---TRANSCRIPT--- In an industry that builds nations, information is power. Insight is [music] strategy. The steel and mining industry drives the backbone of modern infrastructure. But in a rapidly changing market, every decision needs reliable intelligence. It began [music] with a simple idea, a morning WhatsApp news update for the steel and mining [music] industry. The updates quickly gained industry participation and credibility across the sector. This growing community [music] led to the formation of metallergic research and advisory. During the global [music] disruption of co we launched our digital intelligence platform mymetalogic.com a central hub [music] delivering market intelligence, industry analysis and strategic insights. From daily [music] market movements to weekly strategic analysis, our reports keep the industry informed. 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Powerful [music] product and company launches that capture attention. Because we don’t just host events, [music] we create industry brands. From brainstorming sessions to [music] live demonstrations, we create spaces where innovation comes alive and exhibitions [music] that showcase the technologies shaping tomorrow. Metallogic events connecting ideas, industry, and innovation. Join us to shape the future [music] of steel and mining. Hey Hey, HEY, HEY, Afternoon everyone and a very warm welcome to all our speakers participants joining us today. Good afternoon. Uh it gives me an immense pleasure to welcome you all to Metrologic 65th webinar on the theme of need for indigenization of defense engineering projects role of alloy and specialtity steel. I am Monica Bachan Dvuri founder of metologic projects management service. On behalf of entire methlogic team I extend a warm welcome to our distinguished speakers and participants who have joined us from across the country. India today is witnessing a transformational shift in its defense manufacturing ecosystem. With the government’s strong emphasis on Atman Bharat, indigenous capability, development has become a strategic necessity rather than merely an economic objective. From the armor that protects our soldiers to the missiles that safeguards our skies. From strategic air base to military hospitals built in record time. Every defense asset begin with one fundamental element advanced materials. And at the heart of these material lies alloy and specialtity steel. The backbone of India’s journey towards defense self-reliance. In this journey, alloy and specialtity steel play a pivotal role. These advanced material provide superior strength, toughness and corrosion resistance, heat resistance and reliability required for critical defense applications operating under extreme conditions. Developing indigenous capabilities in specialtity materials is therefore essential to reducing import dependence. Strengthening national security and building a global competitive defense manufacturing ecosystem. Beyond conventional structural application, the future of defense engineering also depends on advanced material technologies such as radar absorbing coatings, anti-raar paints and specialized surface engineering solution that enhance stealth capabilities and survivability of defense platforms. When combined with indigenous allo and specialtity steel developments, these advanced materials can significantly strengthen India’s technological edge and strategic self-reliance in modern warfare systems. Before we begin today’s discussion, I would like to take this opportunity to invite all our esteemed speakers and participants to Mettologic’s 9th annual conference on making steel making bat which will be held on 13th of August at Lee Meridian New Delhi. Today’s webinar aims to bring together experts from defense organization, military engineering, strategic industries and specialtity steel manufacturing to discuss the opportunities, challenges and future road map for strengthening India’s self-reliance in defense engineering through advanced materials. It is now my privilege to introduce our esteemed panel of speakers. We have Mr. Vienna Naidu IFS chief general manager design and development center of FMK Hyderabad Armored Vehicle Nam Limited. We have Mr. Sanjay Kumar Metal Director Architect Headquarters Chief Engineer Air Force Priagat Zone Military Engineer Service Ministry of Defense. We have Mr. AK Singh director planning uh chief engineer air force priagra zone military engineer service ministry of defense and Mr. Shalendra Bilah, Chief Strategic Business Unit, Special Material Defense and Aerospit Agindal Stainless. I welcome you all. I sincerely thank all our distinguished speakers for taking time from their busy schedule to share their valuable insights with us. Now we will start the webinar and I’ll take up questions by questions. I request all the u audience to stay attentive as we will also be having some quiz uh questions uh poll questions to take it from you. So the first question goes to Mr. Va Naidu. Sir, modern armored vehicle require material that combine high strength with reduced weight. How is India progressing in indigenous material development for next generation armored platform? Sir, over to you. Please unmute your mic. Yeah, thank you Monica. this u last I know from ’ 70s we were having a transfer of technology for a steel manufacturing uh from Russian origin T series of tanks where we have been using SP armor Jakal armor and 54 pi armor all these origin is from Russia However, our defense metological research laboratory Hyderabad in combined efforts of sale as a man production agency. So we could able to meet all the requirements as per the uh that good specifications. Now the time has come that E series tanks manufacturing steel is on but the numbers have been reduced because of the modern scenario and modern tanks requirement. Now everybody is looking for a light armor vehicles with enhanced ballastic production or blast production wherein you can add so many other systems onto the AF that is armored fighting vehicles because of the recent scenarios We witness because we need now mostly air defense systems mounted on the tanks. Aerial objects we need to counter them with systems mounted. Earlier this was not the case. It was only the land will occupy in the following areas and protect our our own. So in this scenario now again the BMR has come up with certain uh specialized steels which Midhani and many other industries have been given to license for manufacturing within the country. So in that if to name few who has taken like Milani anyway there also taking and besides that AMNS that is metal nipple steel is one of the you know very actively involving in the developing the steels and also JSL Jindal steels and I understand Jindal stainless ste also have few grades of polyic production. which JD JD grades. So and besides this we got so many other you know foreign vendors which have set up their indigenous you know or India offices where they will get it here and do certain value addition and sell it to the finished component stage. So uh to name a few like we got and we got like indust France there are these are the guys who are having this and majorly I can say ha I care homogeneous armor called RHA. Now in that if you say high hardness steel, medium hardness steel and light hardness steel that is structural steel and then it is like high nitrogen steel also one of the uh you know the motor steels which having very high strength. All these are depending on the application where it is being used and the valability the farmability and the other properties and this depends on this. Definitely now we are self sustained but only constraint is the numbers. If you want to put a steel uh mill, it is a very highly capital intensive industry where you need thousands of tons of requirement of steel. And if you see any tank of T series, it will be having a 50 55 tons weight in which you have a 20 30 tons. But 20 30 tons in how many numbers in a year you will produce this all matters the rolling setup and the heat treatment setup if you do it it cost millions of roads there the rate you know the return on investment also matters here that is why we may be not very much you know encouraged because of the low tail requirement of the steels Yes, I think I have answered your

uh thank you. Going forward uh to Mr. AK Singh uh sir I wanted to ask you India has made a significant progress in producing structural steel domestically from your experience how self-reliant are we today in defense structural engineering projects over to you sir please unmute Anil uh please unmute. Yeah. Good afternoon everyone. Am I audible? Yes sir. Yes sir. You’re audible. uh as brought out uh by the uh earlier speaker uh we have got uh certain uh shortcomings as far as the good alloy material is concerned. If we if we go back in the history, we have produced uh the steel during the MAS period that uh the steel which is there kept at Delhi and at Vanasi uh that has not yet got the rust. So we were quite ahead in the time in the olden days. Now we are lacking behind. Normally in defense project uh we use the products which are normally available. One part pecular uh issue came when I was doing one project in

It was a baffl range project wherein we wanted uh uh plates armored plates and armored plates were not being produced that time in India. So we had to import it was 2 m by 1 m plate and the import process was uh quite difficult like we have to get give the demand to our highquarter that they used to place it to some Indian company and that Indian company was not producing it was actually importing it. So the import license was required then we have to spend what is our need. So with lot of uh delay we got the material and then we got it fixed. I have checked up recently. Now this plate is being uh produced in India. Now by Hindustan Steel Corporation. Uh those days we used to get the plates. Now since it has come from outside to we used to take one extra plate and that plate was to be sent to TBR Chundigard for testing. What is the impact of bullet on these uh plates and then we used to reserve that plate as a sample. The another thing uh not related with me when I was at Goa nowadays this cable state bridge is in commonly in use like India has got vast uh reverse and uh to reduce the cost we are going for the cable state bridge during the covid time that bridge work has stopped because we could not uh get the cables and I came to know that this high strength cable steel cable this was being imported from the China and China that time has banned that this material will not be imported so that bridge work was not progressed because of uh non-dely of that material so at times not receiving the material causes delay in producing it and it has got uh cost time over and delay is also there. Uh besides this we use corrosion resistance steel in our uh jetty work that earlier used to be not of good quality because that time we used to get the steel and the steel has got a coating outside coating which is they say it is corrosion resistant. What was happening during the transportation by the time it reaches to the site that corrosion resistant coating gets removed due to this uh handling but this problem has also been resolved to a quite great extent. Now we have got uh steel available with additives like chromium, copper and nickel is available. So our uh issue is that key in defense we prefer the item which are indigenously produced and if suppose something is non-indigenous produced then also we rely more on the indigenous item so that the projects are not delayed because of the non-delying of materials

right uh and uh definitely u if you if we are being so import dependent and if any country comes out with certain kind of san sanctions that would definitely impact our own uh uh you know production of if we are making any developing any bridges or buildings and if we are being import dependent on certain grades and quality of steel uh so thank you Mr. AK Singh for highlighting this important part. Uh coming to you uh Sanjay Mittal Sa Military infrastructure today is evolving beyond conventional buildings into strategic assets. How is steel transforming defense infrastructure development? Uh Sanjay sa good afternoon to all the panelists and ma’am to you too. First I would like to emphasize one thing. We have moved ahead very fast. No two doubts about it. But are we there where we should have been? We are totally dependent still. Mater.che. Because aerial fights drones man-to-man fight has become a very bad story. Now it is not possible swing the seeing the aspects what they are today. So now when we talk about infrastructure whatever we have seen in Israel, Iran and all these countries we have seen the infrastructure getting damaged to a huge extent. But looking forward, we have to definitely work out something. column beam structures buildings. Yes, design parameters have changed. We are working on those design parameters. That’s all we do and that’s all we can do. I would put it that way. But definitely things are going to change. Planning is going to change. Materials are going to change. Buildings 550D 550D steel is much better. People are working for lighter sections. No two doubts which can bear maximum load in spite of being very light in weight. Those are the materials we are working on and I cannot say or predict but yes I see that in the near future we are definitely going to change all those aspects and we are going to make a big difference in defense sector also. Uh Sanjay sir thank you for that and I want to ask you another thing defense orders are often small in quantity. Uh no sorry uh this question is for uh Shalinder. Uh so Shalinder coming to you. Uh so defense orders are often small in quantity but demand are extremely high quality long uh you know qualification cycles. What are the biggest manufacturing and commercial challenges uh you are facing as a general stainless or a steel company, stainless steel company in serving this sector? Because as in from Ramos, AVNL and MEES and everywhere you know uh which part we have developed certain grades uh certain quality of steel uh however we are still being important. So if you could tell us uh on this part ma’am there’s a very valid question and there’s no easy answer to this. So like our company earlier there was demand there in flat steel there is very limited options available. So I’m very happy to share with the panel over here. Your voice is coming low shind if you could be little louder please. Is it better now? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If you can be a little bit global. Yeah. Yes. So I’m saying that uh in flat steel uh we have been supplying to the we have been there in the uh system for a long time and we have taken special initiatives to develop many of the products which were getting imported earlier. So some of these were Russian grades, some of these are the European grades. So we have been able to develop into flat steel. Then our company have moved to long steel also long products and uh recently we have started forg also we are starting forg products also we have started supplying and ESR facilities also we have uh started last year. So ESR product also which pointing at the high quality requirement that is what is the requirement from the defense forces and this is what we would be catering to and once our forging press is commissioned we’ll be able to offer ESR grades through our own foring now the question which came was on the moq that the question is a very valid question so and there is no easy answer to it the How we are able to handle it to the extent we are able to handle it is that we try to see that in defense sector the demands are fluctuating demands. It’s a tender based business. Sometime one person gets sometimes other person gets. So within that fluctuating demand you may not get orders all the time. So we try to see how our capabilities, how our infrastructure, our equipment is able to cater to these grades which can be used even for the commercial applications because bulk of the volume bulk of the business comes from that area only. So this still remains a challenge and we try to mitigate it uh by clubbing some of the requirement or utilizing the infrastructure for the non-defense related uh applications. So that is how man we are able to do it. Some of the grades we have taken technology transfer also. So there also we are trying to support. So from our side we try to support the defense forces and the nation building to the maximum extent possible. But if we are if you are investing in facility I saw one of the audience had raised this question how to invest. So unless there is a visibility of demand from the commercial side it becomes very difficult to focus only on defense and then take a decision on investment. That is what I have to say. Thank you so much uh Shalendra G. Uh coming to you Mr. Naidu. What are the biggest technological challenges in developing armor grade steels and special alloy steel within India? If you could highlight the biggest technological challenges so I can make it in like three four categories of you know uh challenges being faced by the industry or manufacturers. One is having a metological challenges that is development of high strength low steels as per the given application. Uh it’s high hardness and toughness both are required. And then second we need to have a maintaining of ballastic resistance and at ving varying temperatures like uh I can say one D20 material aluminum alloy is there aluminum copper alloy we we don’t need too much of that quantity but still D20 is a special alloy with a high corrosion resistance as well as high ballistic resistance at higher temperatures around 200 around two 200 to 220° C. So these are all the challenges like aluminum armor itself is a challenge for in Indian scenario we don’t have much grades because of various requirements and this is also one of the issue and infrastructure this is a metological challenge and controlling micro structure uniformly across the thickness also is a challenge Then coming to manufacturing challenges we got a vacuum melting secondary refining capabilities needs to be uh in the in the manufacturing system. Then precision heat treatment processes are required and then residual stress and distortion control is very much important. If you’re making a big long sheets uh rooming then a structure is a must which is a very you know total in setup itself is a costly effect and also uh distortion control across the thickness.1 mm maintaining. So it depends very high controlled rolling wheels are required at various stages. Then when you go to material characterization, so we have we need to have a dynamic impact and fracture behavior study needs to be done and high strain rate testing facilities. Uh you know it runs up to 48 hours almost some uh 30 35 days also it runs you know for certain applications and failure mechanism modeling needs to be done. Uh then supply chain issues like availability of alloying elements as rightly pointed out by one of previous speaker. Availability of alling elements in the right quantities and right quality with the minimum impurities I can say and high we can say dependence on import consumables and powders especially while manufacturing this then we also got a limited ecosystem for the advanced ceramics and composites also it is one of the constraint and challenge Then besides this we have a certification challenges also there extensive ballistic qualification requirements availability of adds availability of very high uh blast ranges to testing facilities more than 15 kg 20 kg blast if you want to do in a big setup where no now we are not equipped for that and then The certification agencies needs to have ATDs and many other you know infrastructure things and which now now only it is growing because of the uh the number of manufacturers of users has become more. So now it is going on. Now after that lack of common standards and databases also is an issue with us and very long development cycles. If if I want a steel now at least it may take one or two years for getting that grade or that thickness is not readily available because you need to go to armoral committee you need to go to testing facilities the availability and your slot availability for the blast or ballistic test then so this like I can make it a steel like it is not alone steel making but it involves metal energy, processing, ballasting, welding, structural integration and then characterization of the plates at different thicknesses. So this is these are all the challenges what you know. So you mean to say if anybody want to invest into this industry uh he or she has to get ready with the line of uh technical requirements and confirmations and certifications and then the testing part of it that they need to be mentally ready first before investing into this. Yes. I want to raise poll questions to our audience. Uh they have been waiting for the polls. Uh so I’m launching a poll on the uh sides. The polls are in front of you everyone. So it is visible on the screen. So people who have joined from zoom can start voting. The question number one is what should be India’s top priority for strengthening defense manufacturing. We have got four options. Indigenous steel and alloy development or advanced manufacturing and automation R&D in defense materials or stronger public private collaboration. The question number two in front of your screen is uh which steel application is most critical for rapid military deployment during emergencies. The list is as modular steel bridges are more important or railway infrastructure or military logistic uh vehicles or air base infrastructure. Question number three in front of you is which area should receive the highest investments for defense infrastructure development? Uh the options are as follow underground bunkers, border roads and bridges, air base and hangers, ammunition storage facility. And the last question audience in front of you is can India become a global hub for defense grade steel production? Your options are yes within five years, yes within 10 years. Possible with policy support or the last option is challenging due to technology gap. So now since I’m leaving all the questions for the audience to vote coming uh coming to you architect Sanjay Kumar sir uh during the covid period rapid construction became essential uh what lessons from emergency infrastructure development can be applied to future defense projects sir okay it’s a very interesting question basically co had opened up a door for so many innovations for all of us including we architects. Now whatever the challenges for space normally we try to make spaces cozier than what used to be. It was like co said you have to maintain at least 3 to 4 ft of a distance even if it was a hospital it was a waiting area whatsoever. So requirement of things had to be changed. Now if such kind of requirement was there you can very well imagine that kind of a space or kind of infrastructure requirement were there. So it is something we had to contemplate or decide how the things would be. Now making a infrastructure for such a kind of a calamity was not easy. Now what kind of things should be incorporated? We know we had crunch of time when we were making infrastructure. You need buildings where you can keep people and yet keep them segregated as well. And in that kind of a structure what should it be or rather how should it be that in addition to segregation whatever hospital facilities can be provided can be there and can be added to that infrastructure. So number one when we talk about hospitals hospitals are well- definfined infrastructures where services play a very big role when services play a very big role of course kind of when we we are talking about the topic steel is very big factor in every structure we use steel we can go for I sections we can go for uh I could say when we have PBS those kind of sections and all kind of buildings are there but when it came to co the infrastructure changed a We had halls which were temporary no two doubts but to give them I would say where the people were safe enough to not contract the disease or give the disease to other people both ways. So it was like this open but all other parameters if we say like electrical parameters or the building tiles and the paramedic requirements toilet infrastructure they were in the same way to be provided. So it was something we had to do something which could go very fast yet it should be something where the patients were safe enough not to catch any diseases or catch any infections in the mode of their treatment. So that was a very tough time and we really did few buildings in that time and we had made our own parameters in in addition to the parameters of as provided by NBC and other government bodies at the time. So in addition to that when we added all those things we were able to do yes but those structures were used maximum in those times only those are still there but will god forbids if something of the kind arises again those will be used easily then now reappropriation uh you know idea of fast construction during the covid period when where you build uh hospitals with increasing emphasis on sustainability and speed of construction which is a focus focus which was a focus during that time. How do you see the structural steel changing the way military hospitals, air base or different establishments are designed? You think can be done. So applications air base or defense establishment applicable when we talk about speed construction that is pure steel but again pure steel. Yes, we are getting instructions now that we are planning to work underground that is the need of the R accordingly where the our structures can be shell proof if the bombardment bombardment is there at any place. So people are safe like in Israel they are sent in underground houses whenever the bombing is taking place. Something of the sort will happen because we have enemies all around. We don’t have friends when in a situation like this when you have to fend for yourself in all the bad conditions that that are prevalent all around you with all your neighbors. So definitely we have to think again and go for the infrastructure which is best suited and yes steel is going to play a big role and that too we have to modify and we have to reinvent what are the combinations first journey it crashed why most of the people I don’t know if they know but the fact remaining composition that was not tested in cold ice waters. The properties of the material then made they all changed under the seawater which was 0° temperature. So what we do is we have to reinvent things. We have to go for some material which are economical and cheaper also. Definitely it should not put a big burden on the country. No two doubts infrastructure, defense sub they come at a cost but it does not mean key for major people yet stronger. So should be there and then so that sir what kind of innovation you would like to see from the Indian steel perspective to support future defense infrastructure. Ma’am, here I would like to add on for the products we need and better. So people definitely much better in the world market as well. I’m not saying and we are much better regarding defenseely large scale production people They will help us helping them and right sir. Thank you Sanjay sa Shalendra you want to say something you have raised hand. Yes. Yes. So this is in context of what Mal Sar was just saying. So sir I am very happy to share with you we have developed an indigenous product in collaboration with the DMRL. So we have taken technology transfer for DMRL and it is blast resistance team. So in our view originally the application was to protect against to be used as uh uh to protect against uh mines for the uh tank. So for mine crawler but now with advent of drone and the loitering munitions coming from the top I think for hangar manufacturing also this can be a very very suitable steel because this is very high impact strength and it is stainless steel family. So even if you go underground where the risk of corrosion is high there also it can be a very good product which can be utilized by defense forces. And you are saying that you have to come with products. So we have come up with product and now we are ready to offer this to you and your usage and various other usages which as a user you can be able I can add on to that. Yes ma’am with your permission. Yes. [clears throat] So it’s like this come to us people will take decision and they can be added to our kitty. So Shalendra G you know you have to go and meet sir at air base pri uh to present your definitely definitely sir one of the air bases I have been to but the priagra I have not been to so sir definitely we’ll come and make a presentation to you about the steel and various challenge coming to you you know I wanted to ask you one question uh like one of the panelists were mentioning about the price that after all the quality parameters testing of course everything boils down come to the price also that uh it should match the expectations. When we were having a discussion, you told me that there is a fixed price for a year contract. So what kind of fixed price contract extending over the long period can become difficult when raw material price fluctuates? If you could highlight that and how can procurement model evolve to encourage greater domestic participation as we are seeing with the geopolitical situation the raw material sourcing and the pricing fluctuations are happening a lot. So how do you manage that price uh fluctuation? Shaller ma’am sir you have rightly pointed out it’s a commercial challenge and it’s a herculan challenge because it’s not a regular day-to-day it’s not a product which gets made on a day-to-day basis. So we have to order the material and then supply make steel uh to the defense forces requirement on basis of that material. So there’s a long cycle and what happens during this period especially if it is high alloy steel the alloying elements there’s a huge fluctuation in cost but most of the tenders they come up with only a fixed price contract uh so it becomes a big big challenge to manage our cost so I don’t have any solution for this so basically what we do the moment we get the order we just book try to book the material to the extent possible but still oil prices and you you can’t buy and everything uh in one go prices fluctuation is there gas prices fluctuations is there ma’am you’re on mute uh so sorry so what I was saying is pricing is something which government of India really have to plan out uh you know with the flu fluctuation of raw material prices which directly indirectly you know it’s a cycle uh chain reaction effect that how it affect the end product costing. So definitely it is a concern and chalendra looking ahead which specialtity steel and stainless steel grades will witness the highest demand in India’s expanding defense and aerop aerospace sector as per you ma’am we are seeing a demand all across increasing all types of grades not only stainless but also other steel grades and uh Uh so we are trying to just trying to keep up with the requirement and we keep on adding the facilities increasing the capacity as well as adding uh more uh uh equipment for further refinement of the uh products. So ESR facility we have added electro slag reming facility is getting added and going forward in future we will keep try to keep pace with the requirement stringent requirement of the defense sector because their requirements also are evolving year by year. So we’ll try our best to give the maximum support to the industry to the Thank you so much. Uh coming to you Anal G but before that audience only 65% of you have voted so far. I encourage you to uh keep voting the poll questions. Uh there were four questions on your screen on Zoom. Uh the question number one was what should be India’s top priority for strengthening defense manufacturing? The question number two was what steel application is most critical for rapid military deployment during emergencies? The question number three were uh which area should receive the highest investment for defense infrastructure development? And the question number four, can India become global hub for defense grade steel production? I want to highlight that these poll questions are extremely important. And after each uh webinar, the report is being made which we uploaded on mymetologic.com. It’s a portal and you can find all the findings of this webinar including the poll question, who voted what and who spoke what. So the entire program gets filed. So don’t take it as just a webinar. Uh so coming to you Anil G you mentioned that the most structural steel requirements are met domestically while specialized armor or ballastic plates are still imported. What steps are needed to bridge this gap sir? Please unmute. Can you say again? Your voice is breaking. here. Yes sir. Please continue. Ma’am, am I audible? Yes. Yes, you’re Please repeat the question again. Sir, the question was you mentioned that the most of the structural steel requirements are met domestically while specialized armors or ballistic plates are still imported. So what steps are needed to bridge this gap sir? uh that I told you that uh during the 201213 when one project was there that time we have imported but nowadays this steel is available in India and yeah sorry yeah Hindustan steel corporation now they are making this steel sir which company it is available now Hindustan steel corporation Hindustan steel corporation is managing the steel type. Okay. And how can Indian steel producers align with product development with the specific needs of military engineering projects? We just gap where Shalendra said we have developed and Sanjay G you were saying I we we do not know. So how can this alignment can happen sir? Ma’am as far as we are concerned uh under the building construction uh things are available I mentioned the only thing that cable state bridge may the steel cable uh that still we dependent on the China uh that any thing as far as the structures are concerned defense structures are concerned as far as the armored vehicle other things are there I think innovations are going on because there the criteria is that it should be having good strength size strength, impact strength as well as it should be a lightweight. I think uh in that area uh we are lacking a development uh identity is going on soon it will be covered that also recently I’ve attended a uh a conference other uh in bra only wherein lot of manufacturers uh even the startup companies has participated in that and they have shown uh whatever things earlier we used to import not only with the with reference to the building structure with the other uh things like uh bigger vehicles, armored vehicles and then uh lot of army equipments a lot of startups have come up. I think around 200 startups have participated in that event. So things are improving government is also focusing a lot giving incentive. So I’m sure things will change but what I mentioned initially what I mentioned initially that India was pioneer in making steel long back we have produced the steel used for that uh our uh emblem that steel is still one piece is kept in Sarnat other I think is in Delhi and it is lying in open that has not yet rusted. So we were pioneers but now we are lacking uh behind. Government is now giving uh adequate uh measures giving incentives and a lot of R&D works are going on this gap will also be Anel of defense sir am I audible to you? Yes. Okay sir you audible ma’am. Uh Anil sir I wanted to ask you do you believe the Indian steel industry is ready to meet the future requirements of defense and aerospace applications or are there still critical gaps that needs to be addressed as per you uh just now. So maybe just so you can answer on his behalf. It was like this. I would like to add or give some insight. Yes, people. I’ll give you the answer. There are few people in the defense sector. I know steel manufacturing and mining related they are working on those kind of systems where composition and way of mining those are different from the latest ones they are procuring seals and making lightweight structures. So what I know companies and these are capable of doing the best they can to uh provide each and every need of our industries of defense not only defense other requiring industries in the country. telling absolutely uh thank you Sanjay sa I’m sharing the poll results with you all so question number one what should be India’s top priority ity for strengthening defense manufacturing. Majority of vote has gone to indigenous steel and alloy development and the second highest has gone to R&D in defense material. Question number two, what steel application is more critical for rapid military deployment during emergencies? The maximum voting has gone to military logistic vehicles. Our question number three was which area should receive the highest investments for defense infrastructure development and almost equal uh two options have got almost equal voting. One is border roads and bridges should receive highest uh defense development investments and second is air base and hangers. Our last question was can India become a global hub for defense grade steel production and the majority of voting has gone to possible with policy support. I’m taking up the last question uh with Mr. Naidu. Uh Naidus are looking ahead what advanced material technologies will shape India’s future armored vehicle programs sir please unmute. Ah yes. So like if you see that you know the defense requirement is a very huge uh area it covers it covers and almost everywhere there is a steel application. Uh the steel can be various types of steels. As far as our armored vehicles concerned, we are uh looking for a lighter and yet very stronger material which can withstand um advanced uh you know missiles or you can say loitering mission and also air defense any missiles coming on the on the armored fighting vehicles. So for that we are looking for higher mobility so that after you know uh even after getting the signature we should be moving out. So for that lighter material should be there vehicle can immediately after you know sending the firing and all. So in general if ACA is in a high entropy alliance is the need of the which will have a superior strength to weight ratio excellent impact resistance and potential applications in armor and structural components. So this high entropy alloys is the one of the advanced material. Then nanoructured steels higher hardness and toughness also improved ballastic characteristics. Then you also have need to have once the structure is made to withstand any incoming threats either kinetic energy threat or uh high explosive threats. We need high hardness and toughness and also um we need to have ceramic composite armor like silicon carbide and boron carbide whether fused or chemically bonded reduction 30 to 40% compared to the steel armor is required and then titanium alloys will definitely be a game changer because titanium alloys will have one/ird I mean it can reduce one/ird weight of the any tank just if you use a fillers or any canopy kind of things it can be used there. So the titanium used also to be explored lightweight and corrosion resistance are there and also usually light tanks and amphibious vehicles. So if you see functionally graded materials, the gradual transition of properties across the thickness and also improved energy absorption levels will be added an advantage in a future vehicles and also can I go ahead? Uh yes sir. Yeah please. Yeah, then additive manufacturing is also there where complex geometries and reduced metal wastage is also required and prototyping can be made within no time. These also one of the advantage and then smart materials and embedded sensors is also one of the material requirements. AIdriven material design like alloy design a driven is also is taking a very uh you know the fast implementation of this is being uh adopted by many R&D institutes digital twins reduced experimental cycles and accelerated all development and you have also metials and energy absorbing structures for a blast mitigation and signature management and future adaptive armor concepts. So these are all the primarily the focus should be on these material advancements so that in near future we will have a lighter and more smart and also protected environment for our vehicles as well as any other application. And as for the audience sake this like maybe the armor sheets are used in various applications is a heat treatable things. These are already available from 1960s sale. Maybe people not aware of that. And what about the thickness? We are using uh 8 mm 10 mm onwards from 1965 and ‘7s from si. Now the lighter thicknesses 4 mm to 6 mm is a challenge where Jindal could not do even now could not do but sale is still doing. So there is an requirement of 4 to 6 mm thickness steel for any bulletproofing or any mine protected vehicles. It’s it can it has to be developed. Uh besides all these varieties what I told right sir thank you so much we have already exceeded the time. So now I will have to conclude the webinar and um before concluding the webinar I would like to share a little banner with you all uh over the screen. Um so uh uh before we close today’s webinar I would uh like to take this opportunity to invite all our esteemed speakers and participants to methologic 9th annual conference on making steel making bharat which is scheduled to be held on 13th of August at Lee Meridian New Delhi. Uh so viewers, India’s defense strength is not built only by soldiers on the frontiers or sophisticated weapon systems. It is also built by the engineers who design them, the scientists who innovate and the steel makers who provide the material that makes them stronger, lighter and more resilient. As we move towards Admiral Bharat, indigenization of alloy and specialtity steel will remain a cornerstone of India’s strategic and technological sovereignity. Uh so we will be meeting you again soon with our next webinar on 30th of June which we will be doing on quoting of metals. Till then thank you so much. Thank you to all the speakers for taking out time and have a great evening. Thank you. Thanks a lot. Thank you all micro speakers or panelist. Thank you very much. Thank you to everyone. Thank you panelist and thank you all the audience.