Odisha has a huge opportunity to become a hub for defense manufacturing as India moves towards self-reliance in producing equipment for the armed forces, as per defense experts. During the start of the 'Mission: Make in Odisha for Defence Industry Opportunities Galore' conference at Siksha 'O' Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA), Lt. Gen. Mohanty spoke to the audience at this venue.

“There is tremendous amount of opportunity in Odisha where a Defence Manufacturing Corridor can come up as the state has every ingredient to make such a venture successful,” Lt. Gen. Chandi Prasad Mohanty, former Vice Chief of Army Staff, said.

The Odisha Corporate Foundation (OCF), SOA, and SOA Centre for Innovation and Incubation (SOA-CII) teamed up to organize a conference to bring together entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and defence experts.

In Odisha, there were already defense facilities like Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in Sunabeda, Ordnance Factory in Balangir, Interim Test Range (ITR) and Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE) in Chandipur, and Air Defence College in Gopalpur. He pointed out the potential to convert the state into a hub for defense production, as there is currently no industrial corridor for this sector in eastern India.

The cost of one aircraft carrier indicates the magnitude of defense production, amounting to Rs. The cost of an Arjun tank is 23,000 crore, which is the same as the annual budget of a state like Sikkim. 75 crore and a military helicopter valued at Rs. Lt. Gen. Mohanty mentioned that the amount was 110 crore.