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816 having undergone extensive trials across different terrains both inside and outside of India. This weapon would obviously be the first candidate to be manufactured in India should we receive the official mandate to do so, with others to follow as the circumstances dictated. We are deeply committed to the small arms industry and the defence sector in general in India. What is the potential of collaboration in India and how far would you go? As I mentioned earlier, we are extremely open to collaboration in instances where it is beneficial to all parties involved, and such joint ventures and partnerships with international companies can help catalyse localisation and indigenisation efforts. As part of EDGE Group, which has as its corporate values as being bold, agile, and disruptive, CARACAL is open to business models that create value and suit the circumstances. We embrace collaborations and partnerships with entities large and small.
Is there any misgiving over the 93,000 close quarter battle rifles issue despite being the L1 bidder? Are you discouraged? Not at all. We surpassed global competitors in terms of performance and technicalities to win the bid in 2018. CARACAL was selected to supply the Indian Army with CAR 816 on a fast track mode, after having undergone a rigorous selection process. We have maintained our commitment to the ‘Make in India’ initiative and we remain on standby to supply the product to the Indian Armed Forces. India is a strategically important defence market globally, and we have a long-term vision, commitment and intention to be successful in it. On your company aims, is the plan to be confined largely to the small arms market?
CSR 308 Snipper Rifle, CARACAL
CARACAL specialises in the manufacture of small arms and our wide portfolio of products gives us major competitive advantages, so our intention is to remain focused on this area of operation. We also are part of EDGE Group, and through our parent company we are able to bring to bear enormous capabilities, products, and solutions to help support the further advancement of the defence sector in India.
What is the implication of the India-UAE FTA on trade of military equipment and services in general? How do you see it in your company’s perspective? The UAE and India already enjoy extremely strong bilateral trade relations, with UAE being India’s second largest export destination with exports valued at approximately USD 29 billion in 2019-20. We believe this strengthening of the relationship between the two countries through the signing of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement, will further boost trade and investment between both countries. From CARACAL’s perspective, we believe this agreement helps confirm the company’s position as a strong ally to India’s defence sector, and we possess the proven ability and have shown the willingness to contribute to the development of India’s sovereign capabilities. We therefore look forward to greater engagement and interaction
with defence stakeholders in India with us supplying our highly rated products to the market.
What to your mind are the greatest challenges of the Indian market? India is one of the top-3 defence industries globally from an annual defence budget perspective. It is a vibrant and complex market and we believe we possess numerous key advantages to successfully participating in it. Bilateral diplomatic and economic relations between the UAE and India are extremely close, with the two countries having just signed a further trade agreement. The two countries are also near each other geographically, helping with logistical and transportation considerations. The UAE itself remains a politically neutral country internationally, and taken together, we believe these factors can be utilised to enhance and strengthen the two countries’ existing ties to include the defence sector.
CAR 816 Assault Rifles, CARACAL
Raksha Anirveda january - march 2022
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